法律英语名词解释考研复试口语.docx

法律英语名词解释考研复试口语.docx

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法律英语名词解释考研复试口语

Commonlaw

Commonlawreferstolawandthecorrespondinglegalsystemdevelopedthroughdecisionsofcourtsandsimilartribunals（calledcaselaw）,ratherthanthroughlegislativestatutesorexecutiveaction.

Commonlawislawcreatedandrefinedbyjudges:

adecisioninacurrentlypendinglegalcasedependsondecisionsinpreviouscasesandaffectsthelawtobeappliedinfuturecases.Whenthereisnoauthoritativestatementofthelaw,judgeshavetheauthorityanddutytomakelawbycreatingprecedent.

Thebodyofprecedentiscalled"commonlaw"anditbindsfuturedecisions.Infuturecases,whenpartiesdisagreeonwhatthelawis,anidealizedcommonlawcourtlookstopastprecedentialdecisionsofrelevantcourts.Ifasimilardisputehasbeenresolvedinthepast,thecourtisboundtofollowthereasoningusedinthepriordecision（thisprincipleisknownasstaredecisis）.If,however,thecourtfindsthatthecurrentdisputeisfundamentallydistinctfromallpreviouscases,itwilldecideasa"matteroffirstimpression."Thereafter,thenewdecisionbecomesprecedent,andwillbindfuturecourtsundertheprincipleofstaredecisis.

Inpractice,commonlawsystemsareconsiderablymorecomplicatedthantheidealizedsystemdescribedabove.Thedecisionsofacourtarebindingonlyinaparticularjurisdiction,andevenwithinagivenjurisdiction,somecourtshavemorepowerthanothers.Forexample,inmostjurisdictions,decisionsbyappellatecourtsarebindingonlowercourtsinthesamejurisdictionandonfuturedecisionsofthesameappellatecourt,butdecisionsofnon-appellatecourtsareonlynon-bindingpersuasiveauthority.Interactionsbetweencommonlaw,constitutionallaw,statutorylawandregulatorylawalsogiverisetoconsiderablecomplexity.Howeverstaredecisis,theprinciplethatsimilarcasesshouldbedecidedaccordingtoconsistentprincipledrulessothattheywillreachsimilarresults,liesattheheartofallcommonlawsystems.

Commonlawlegalsystemsareinwidespreaduse,particularlyinthosenationswhichtracetheirlegalheritagetoBritain,includingtheUnitedKingdom,mostoftheUnitedStates,andotherformercoloniesoftheBritishEmpiresuchasIndia,[2]Canada,NewZealand,AustraliaandHongKong.[3]

Injunction

Aninjunctionisanequitableremedyintheformofacourtorder,wherebyapartyisrequiredtodo,ortorefrainfromdoing,certainacts.Thepartythatfailstoadheretotheinjunctionfacescivilorcriminalpenaltiesandmayhavetopaydamagesoracceptsanctionsforfailingtofollowthecourt'sorder.Insomecases,breachesofinjunctionsareconsideredseriouscriminaloffencesthatmeritarrestandpossibleprisonsentences.

Misrepresentation

Misrepresentationisacontractlawconcept.Itmeansafalsestatementoffactmadebyonepartytoanotherparty,whichhastheeffectofinducingthatpartyintothecontract.Forexample,undercertaincircumstances,falsestatementsorpromisesmadebyasellerofgoodsregardingthequalityornatureoftheproductthatthesellerhasmayconstitutemisrepresentation.Afindingofmisrepresentationallowsforaremedyofrescissionandsometimesdamagesdependingonthetypeofmisrepresentation.

Estoppel

Estoppelisalegaldoctrineatcommonlaw,whereapartyisbarredfromclaimingordenyinganargumentonanequitableground.Estoppelcomplementstherequirementofconsiderationincontractlaw.Ingeneral,estoppelprotectsanaggrievedparty,ifthecounter-partyinducedanexpectationfromtheaggrievedparty,andtheaggrievedpartyreasonablyreliedontheexpectationandwouldsufferdetrimentiftheexpectationisnotmet.

Also,unconscionabilitybyabreachingpartyisalsosufficienttoestopthebreachingparty.

Estoppelisadefensethatpreventsarepresentorfromenforcinglegalrights,orfromrelyingonasetoffactsthatwouldgiverisetoenforceablerights（e.g.wordssaidoractionsperformed）,generallyonlyifthatenforcementorreliancewouldbeunfairtotherepresentee.Becauseitseffectistodefeatgenerallyenforceablelegalrights,thescopeoftheremedyisoftenlimited.Note,however,thatproprietaryestoppel（applicableinEnglishlandlaw）canbebothaswordandashieldandthescopeofitsremedyiswide.

Foranexampleofestoppel,considerthecaseofadebtorandacreditor.Thecreditormightunofficiallyinformthedebtorthatthecreditorforgivesthedebt.Evenifsuchforgivenessisnotformallydocumented,thecreditormaybeestoppedfromchangingitsmindandseekingtocollectthedebt,becausethatchangewouldbeunfair.Inthesameway,alandlordmightinformatenantthatrenthasbeenreduced,forexample,iftherewasconstructionoralapseinutilityservices.Ifthetenantreliesonthisnotice,thelandlordcouldbeestoppedfromcollectingthefullrent.

Estoppeliscloselyrelatedtothedoctrinesofwaiver,variation,andelectionandisappliedinmanyareasoflaw,includinginsurance,banking,employment,internationaltrade,etc.InEnglishlaw,theconceptoflegitimateexpectationintherealmofadministrativelawandjudicialreviewisestoppel'scounterpartinpubliclaw,althoughsubtlebutimportantdifferencesexist.

ThistermappearstocomefromtheFrenchestoupail（oravariation）,whichmeant"stopperplug",referringtoplacingahaltontheimbalanceofthesituation.Thetermisrelatedtotheverb"estop"whichcomesfromtheOldFrenchtermestopper,meaning"stopup,impede".NotethesimilaritybetweentheEnglishterms"estop"and"stop".

Caselaw

Caselaw（alsoknownasdecisionallaworjudicialprecedent）isthegeneraltermfortheprinciplesandrulesoflawsetforthinjudicialopinionsfromcourtsoflaw.[1]Caselawincorporatescourts'decisionsfromindividualcasesandencompassescourts'interpretationsofstatutes,constitutionalprovisions,administrativeregulationsand,insomecases,laworiginatingsolelyfromthecourts.Caselawisoftenpublishedinprintlawreportsorreporters（andincreasinglyoncourtwebsites）toestablishprecedent-rulestoapplyinfuturecourtdecisionsdealingwithsimilarsituations.

Forcountrieswithacommonlawlegalsystem,suchasintheUnitedKingdom,UnitedStates,andmostoftheCommonwealthofNations,caselawisamajorsourceoflaw.Ingeneral,courtsincommonlawcountriestreatthedecisionsofhigherappellatecourtsasnormative-layingdownrulesthatshould,orinsomecasesmust,beusedtodecidesimilarlegaldisputes（called"bindingprecedent"）.IncountrieswithlegalsystemsthatfollowthecivillawtraditionderivedfromRomanlaw,however,thecourtsarenotstrictlyboundbyrulesandprinciplesfromcaselaw.

Statute

Statutelawislawmadebyparliamentseg.thecrimesact1900madebynswparliament

Astatuteisaformalwrittenenactmentofalegislativeauthoritythatgovernsacountry,state,city,orcounty.[1]Typically,statutescommandorprohibitsomething,ordeclarepolicy.ThewordisoftenusedtodistinguishlawmadebylegislativebodiesfromthejudicialdecisionsofthecommonlawandtheregulationsissuedbyGovernmentagencies.[1]Statutesaresometimesreferredtoaslegislationor"blackletterlaw".Asasourceoflaw,statutesareconsideredprimaryauthority（asopposedtosecondaryauthority）.

Beforeastatutebecomeslawinsomecountries,itmustbeagreeduponbythehighestexecutiveinthegovernment,andfinallypublishedaspartofacode.Inmanycountries,statutesareorganizedintopicalarrangements（or"codified"）withinpublicationscalledcodes,suchastheUnitedStatesCode.IntheUnitedStates,statutorylawisdistinguishedfromandsubordinatetoconstitutionallaw.

Agency（law）

Agencyisanareaofcommerciallawdealingwithacontractualorquasi-contractualtripartite,ornon-contractualsetofrelationshipswhenanagentisauthorizedtoactonbehalfofanother（calledthePrincipal）tocreatealegalrelationshipwithaThirdParty.[1]Succinctly,itmaybereferredtoastherelationshipbetweenaprincipalandanagentwherebytheprincipal,expresslyorimpliedly,authorizestheagenttoworkunderhiscontrolandonhisbehalf.Theagentis,thus,requiredtonegotiateonbehalfoftheprincipalorbringhimandthirdpartiesintocontractualrelationship.Thisbranchoflawseparatesandregulatestherelationshipsbetween:

∙AgentsandPrincipals;

∙AgentsandtheThirdPartieswithwhomtheydealontheirPrincipals'behalf;and

∙PrincipalsandtheThirdPartieswhentheAgentspurporttodealontheirbehalf.

ThecommonlawprincipleinoperationisusuallyrepresentedintheLatinphrase,quifacitperalium,facitperse,i.e.theonewhoactsthroughanother,actsinhisorherowninterestsanditisaparallelconcepttovicariousliabilityandstrictliabilityinwhichonepersonisheldliableinCriminallaworTortfortheactsoromissionsofanother.

Goodfaith

Goodfaith,orinLatinbonafides（bonafidemeans"ingoodfaith"）,isthementalandmoralstateofhonesty,convictionastothetruthorfalsehoodofapropositionorbodyofopinion,orastotherectitudeordepravityofalineofconduct.Thisconceptisimportantinlaw,especiallyequitablematters.[1]

IncontemporaryEnglish,"bonafides"issometimesusedasasynonymforcredentials,background,ordocumentationofaperson'sidentity."Showmeyourbonafides"canmean:

WhyshouldItrustyou（yourgoodfaithinthismatter）?

Tellmewhoyouare.Inthissense,thephraseissometimesusedinjobadvertisements,andshouldnotbeconfusedwiththebonafideoccupationalqualificationsortheemployer'sgoodfaitheffort,asdescribedbelow.[2]

Commissioner

Commissionerisinprincipaltheti