1. English for Lawyers 1 Lecturer: Miljen Matijašević
G10, room 6/I, Tue 11:30-12:30
Session 9, 8 Dec 2017

2. Legal Systems of the World
Revision

3. Answer the questions What makes a legal system?
What are the main sources of law in general?
What do you know about law-making in the civil law tradition?
What is the role of the courts?
What about the courts in the common law tradition?
Compare the inquisitorial and adversarial type of procedure?
What is the difference between inductive and deductive reasoning?

4. Translation practice
(1) In the civil law tradition, law is created from general principle. (2) The main source of law is codified law, also known as legislation. (3) General rules are intepreted by judges and applied to individual cases. (4) In the common law tradition, the main source of law is case law. (5) Judges create rules of law from individual cases. (6) Their decisions become binding precedents. (7) They must be applied in future cases, which have a similar factual basis.

5. Translation practice
(1) U kontinentalnoj pravnoj tradiciji, pravo nastaje od općih načela. (2) Glavni izvor prava je kodificirano pravo, odnosno zakonodavstvo. (3) Suci tumače opća pravila i primjenjuju ih na pojedinačne slučajeve/predmete. (4) U anglosaksonskoj pravnoj tradiciji, glavni izvor prava je sudska praksa. (5) Suci stvaraju pravna pravila iz pojedinačnih slučajeva/predmeta. (6) Njihove odluke postaju obvezujući presedani. (7) Oni se moraju primjenjivati u budućim predmetima sa sličnom činjeničnom osnovom.

6. State Governance and Administration of Justice
Unit 6

7. State Governance
Who runs our country? Is it one person or a body of persons?
What do you know about the concept of ‘separation of powers’?

8. Separation of Powers
What do you know about the concept of ‘separation of powers’?
separation of powers:
legislative power
the power to make the law
executive power
the power to control the state budget
judicial power
the power to enforce the law in the event of a dispute or prosecution

9. Separation of Powers
the idea of the concept – separation of powers between different persons:
legislative power – legislative branch
executive power – executive branch
judicial power – judicial branch
system of checks and balances
ways in which the three branches control one another and limit each other’s power

10. The Legislative Branch
legislative authority: a LEGISLATURE
usually called a parliament or assembly
HR: Sabor, UK: Parliament, USA: Congress
represents the rule of the people (embodiment of democracy)
consists of elected representatives
unicameral or bicameral
the upper chamber may not be elected but appointed or elected by the lower

11. The Legislative Branch
typical powers:
debating legislative proposals
enacting law
approving the state budget
ratifying treaties
confirming the government
controlling/scrutinizing the work of the executive
debating current issues
legislative proposals may be drawn up by the government or parliamentary representatives

12. The Legislative Branch
Discuss the meaning of the following terms and try to translate them into Croatian:
legislature
parliament
legislative chamber
unicameral/bicameral
elected
state budget
draw up
legislative proposal
enact law

13. The Legislative Branch
Discuss the meaning of the following terms and try to translate them into Croatian:
legislature – zakonodavno tijelo
parliament – parlament (npr. u Hr: Sabor)
legislative chamber – dom zakonodavnog tijela
unicameral/bicameral – jednodomni/dvodomni
elected – izabran (od glasača)
state budget – državni proračun
draw up - sastaviti
legislative proposal – prijedlog zakona
enact law – usvojiti, donijeti zakon

14. The Executive Branch executive branch: central body – the GOVERNMENT
in English-speaking countries: the CABINET
presided over by a PRIME MINISTER
other executive bodies: the ministries, administrations, government offices, agencies, the police, the tax administration, etc.
in some countries also: PRESIDENT
in presidential systems, the president has considerable powers (France, USA)
in semi-presidential, his powers are limited (Croatia)

15. The Executive Branch the government/cabinet consists of ministers
sometimes also known as ‘secretaries’
each is responsible for a government department (ministry)

16. The Executive Branch typical powers:
designing policies in all areas of the life of a state (educational, social, employment, agricultural, industrial policy, etc.)
a policy: a plan of funding, allocation of state budget funds to specific projects, funds
state budget proposed to the legislature for confirmation
once confirmed, it is implemented
policies require a legislative basis – drawing up legislative proposals to be voted and enacted by the legislature

17. The Executive Branch constituting a government:
the party who wins the election chooses a person to be the prime minister
usually the president of the winning party, but it may be anybody
the choice may be subject to the approval by the legislature and/or the president
the prime minister selects member of his government/cabinet
this may also be subject to the approval by the legislature

18. The Executive Branch
Discuss the meaning of the following terms and try to translate them into Croatian:
design policies
implement a development strategy
allocate state budget funds
government (in the narrow sense)
government department
subject to approval by the legislature

19. The Executive Branch design policies – kreirati politike
implement a development strategy – provoditi strategiju razvoja
allocate state budget funds – dodijeliti proračunska sredstva
government (in the narrow sense) – vlada
government department – ministarstvo
subject to the approval by the legislature - podliježe odobrenju od strane zakonodavnog tijela

20. The Judicial Branch the court system
a hierarchy of courts with a supreme court on the top
first-instance courts: trial courts
they hear cases
second-instance courts: appeal courts
multiple levels possible
specialized courts also very common
the supreme court: last instance for appeals

21. The Judicial Branch powers: crucial requirement: impartiality
forums for resolution of disputes and prosecution of crimes
enforcement of law/adjudication in all types of cases
crucial requirement: impartiality
judges prohibited from engaging in political activity
however, judicial appointments may be subject to political involvement: the choice of the legislature or the executive in some countries

22. The Judicial Branch
Discuss the meaning of the following terms and try to translate them into Croatian:
enforce the law
adjudication
consistent application of the law
first-instance court
court of appeal
supreme court

23. The Judicial Branch
Discuss the meaning of the following terms and try to translate them into Croatian:
enforce the law – provoditi zakon
adjudication – sudsko odlučivanje
consistent application of the law – dosljedna primjena zakona
first-instance court – prvostupanjski sud
court of appeal – žalbeni sud
supreme court – vrhovni sud

24. Checks and Balances
Do you know of ways in which the powers vested in the three branches overlap?
What mechanisms of mutual control do you know between the three branches?

25. Checks and Balances
legislative power – sometimes conferred on the executive branch
government can make emergency regulations
ministers, local authorities, and other executive bodies may sometimes issue regulations
the legislature can vote to remove members of government or the entire government (cast a vote of no confidence)
in some countries, some courts can abolish provisions of laws, entire laws and/or invalidate decisions if they find them to be unconstitutional

26. Checks and Balances
Discuss the meaning of the following terms and try to translate them into Croatian:
to expedite a procedure
lay down an emergency law
take effect
cast a vote of no confidence
abrogate a provision of law
invalidate a decision

27. Checks and Balances
Discuss the meaning of the following terms and try to translate them into Croatian:
to expedite a procedure – ubrzati postupak
lay down an emergency law – donijeti hitan propis
take effect – stupiti na snagu
cast a vote of no confidence – izglasati nepovjerenje
abrogate a provision of law – ukinuti odredbu zakona
invalidate a decision – poništiti odluku

28. Thank you for your attention!