unit 1 part A and B.docx

unit 1 part A and B.docx

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unit1partAandB

1.Howwascommonlawestablished?

ThecommonlawtraditionoriginatedinEngland.

Anewlegalorderwasestablishedasearlyas1066bytheNormanconquest,butthecommonlawdidnotexistin1066.WilliamtheConquerordidnotabolishthelocalcustomsandthelocalcourts.Localcourtscontinuedtoapplylocalcustoms.Therewasnolawcommontothewholekingdom.TheKingdidhoweverestablishsomeroyalcourtsatWestminster.Theroyalcourts’jurisdictionwasatfirstverylimitedbuteventuallyexpandedtothepointwherethelocalcourtsfellintodisuse.Thedecisionsoftheroyalcourtsbecamethelawcommontothewholekingdom,thecommonlaw.

2.Whatdoesthecommonlawtraditionincludeaccordingtothetext?

Bothlawandequityarepartofwhatiscalledthecommonlawtradition.

Themaintraditionalsourceofthecommonlawisnotlegislationbutcases.ThisissotruethatwhenthecommonlawevolvedintoanunfairsetofrigidandformalproceduralrulestheKing,ratherthanlegislatetoamendthelaw,createdanewcourt.WhenasubjectthoughtthatacommonlawdecisionleadtoanunfairresulthewouldpetitiontheKing.ThereweresomanypetitionsthattheKingcreatedthecourtofChancerywhichcouldgrantadiscretionaryrelief“inequity”tocorrectthecommonlaw.Thedecisionsofthiscourtgavebirthtoabodyoflawcalledequitywhichisalsobasedonpreviousjudicialdecisions.

3.HowdifferentisthelegalsystemofLouisianafromtherestoftheUnitedStates?

TheUnitedStatedisacommonlawcountry.WhileinLouisiana,thecivillawwasinplacebeforetheUnitedStatesgainedjurisdiction.

4.Whatdoes“civillaw”mean?

Theexpression“civillaw”,inLatinjuscivilis,literallymeansthelawofthecitizensofRome.

5.Whatisthemaindifferencebetweenthecivillawsystemandthecommonlawsystem?

⑴Incommonlawcountries,casesareusuallyconsideredtobetheprimarysourceoflaw.（Yourlegalmethodclassstartswiththestudyofcases.）Whileincivillawcountries,casesaresimplynotasourceoflaw—atleastintheory.（Therealitymightwellbethatlegislationhasbecomeextremelyrelevantincommonlawcountriesandthatcasesarebecomingmoreandmorerelevantincivillawcountries,buttheattitudesandcommonlawyerstowardlegislationandcasesdiffergreatly.）（Commonlawvariesfromcasetocasedependinguponthecustomsofthesocietywhereascivillawhasapredefinedwrittensetofstatutesandcodesforreference.Thejudgeshavetostrictlyfollowthecodificationwritteninthebook.）

⑵Incommonlawjurisdictionslegislationtendstobeconsideredasanexceptiontothecaselaw.Thecourtsthereforehaveatendencytointerpretlegislationmorerestrictively.Boththecourtsandthelegislatortendtoenunciatelegalrulesinveryspecifictermsmeanttoresolveveryspecificproblems.Civillawjuristswillconsiderthecivilcodeasanallencompassingdocument.Theywillinterpretitgenerouslyinordertoallowittoreachitsgoalofregulatingthewholeprivatelaw.Thecodelendsitselftothiskindofinterpretationsinceitsarticlesareusuallydraftedinverygeneralandabstractterms.

⑶Civillawstudentswillread“lawdoctrine”morethancases.Commonlawstudentsreadcasesmorethanlawdoctrine.（The“doctrine”isthecumulatedwritingsoflawprofessorsonwhatthelawisorshouldbe.Incivillawthe“doctrine”isconsideredtobeasourceoflawandahighlyrespectedone.）

⑷Incivillawcountries,lawprofessorshaveanimportantroleindefiningthelaw.Commonlawprofessorsgenerallydonotenjoyasimilarprestigewithintheirownjurisdiction.Herethejudgesgetmostoftheprestige.

⑸ThecasemethodorSocraticmethodispeculiartocommonlawcountries.Incivillawcountries,theteachingstyleismagisterial—theprofessorexposesthelawtohisorherstudents,whotakenotesanddonotinterveneinclass.

（⑹Underacivillawsystem,casesaredecidedbyjudgeswhoarespeciallytrainedfortheirrole.Incommonlawcountries,apersonwhoisinterestedinbecomingajudgemustfirstgothroughtheprocessofgettingtheeducationrequiredtobecomealawyer.Thenextstepintheprocessistopracticeforanumberofyearsbeforebeingelectedorappointedtothebench.

⑺Inacountrywherecommonlawisthemethodused,lawyersareinchargeofpresentingthecasebeforethejudgeinanadversarialsystem.Eachsidetakesapositionandpresentsevidencetosupportit.Underthissystem,thejudgegenerallyremainssilentunlessrespondingtoanobjectionmadebylegalcounsel.Civillawjudgestakeonaninquisitionalrole,andaskthepartiesquestionstounderstandandruleonthelegalissuesinvolved.

⑻Thereisnotalwaysawrittenconstitutionorcodifiedlawsincommonlawsystem.Inacivillawcountry,thereisgenerallyawrittenconstitutionbasedonspecificcodes（e.g.,civilcode,codescoveringcorporatelaw,administrativelaw,taxlawandconstitutionallaw）enshriningbasicrightsandduties

⑼CivillawhasitsorigininRomanlaw,ascodifiedintheCorpusJurisCivilisofJustinian.Underthisinfluence,intheensuingperiodthecivillawhasbeendevelopedinContinentalEuropeandinmanyotherpartsoftheworld.Themainfeatureofcivillawisthatitiscontainedincivilcodes,whicharedescribedasa"systematic,authoritative,andguidingstatuteofbroadcoverage,breathingthespiritofreformandmarkinganewstartinthelegallifeofanentirenation."Themostobviousdistinctionbetweencivillawandcommonlawsystemsisathatcivillawsystemisacodifiedsystem,whereasthecommonlawisnotcreatedbymeansoflegislationbutisbasedmainlyoncaselaw.Theprincipleisthatearlierjudicialdecisions,usuallyofthehighercourts,madeinasimilarcase,shouldbefollowedinthesubsequentcases,i.e.thatprecedentsshouldberespected.Thisprincipleisknownasstaredecisisandhasneverbeenlegislatedbutisregardedasbindingbythecourts,whichcanevendecidetomodifyit.）

6.Whatdifferentattitudesdothecivillawsystemandthecommonlawsystemholdtowardcaselaw?

Incommonlawcountries,casesareusuallyconsideredtobetheprimarysourceoflaw.（Yourlegalmethodclassstartswiththestudyofcases.）Whileincivillawcountries,casesaresimplynotasourceoflaw—atleastintheory.

7.WhatissignificantabouttheAmericanlegaleducation?

Howislawschoolteachingdifferentfromours?

ThecasemethodorSocraticmethodispeculiartocommonlawcountries.Incivillawcountries,theteachingstyleismagisterial—theprofessorexposesthelawtohisorherstudents,whotakenotesanddonotinterveneinclass.

8.IslawdegreeanundergraduatedegreeintheU.S.?

HowdopeoplegetalawdegreeintheU.S.?

ThereisnoundergraduatelawdegreeintheUnitedStates;thus,studentscannotexpecttostudylawwithoutfirstcompletinganundergraduatedegree.BasicadmissionsrequirementsforAmericanlawschoolsareaBachelor'sdegreeinanyfieldandtheLawSchoolAdmissionsTest（LSAT）.TheAmericanlawdegreeiscalledtheJurisDoctor（JD）andusuallyrequiresthreeyearsofstudy.TheJDprograminvolvescoursesinAmericancommonandstatutelawaswellasinternationalandbusinesslaw.OverseasstudentswhoareconsideringanAmericanJDshouldnotethatthisprogramfocusesonpreparationforUSlegalpractice.

9.CanyoucomparethelegalmethodemployedinAmericanlegaleducationandthelegalmethodusedinothercountries?

MostlawschooleducationintheUnitedStatesisbasedonstandardsdevelopedbyChrist-opherColumbusLangdellandJamesBarrAmesatHarvardLawSchoolduringthe1870s.Professorsgenerallyleadin-classdebatesovertheissuesinselectedcourtcases,compiledinto"casebooks"foreachcourse.Traditionally,lawprofessorschosenottolectureextensively,andinsteadusedtheSocraticmethodtoforcestudentstoteacheachotherbasedontheirindividualunderstandingoflegaltheoryandthefactsofthecaseathand.

ManylawschoolscontinuetousetheSocraticmethod--consistingofcallingonastudentatrandom,askinghimorheraboutanargumentmadeinanassignedcase,askingthestudentwhetherheorsheagreeswiththeargument,andthenusingaseriesofquestionsdesignedtoexposelogicalflawsinthestudent'sargument.Examinationsusuallyentailinterpretingthefactsofahypotheticalcase,determininghowlegaltheoriesapplytothecase,andthenwritinganessay.Thisprocessisintendedtotrainstudentsinthereasoningmethodsnecessarytointerprettheories,statutes,andprecedentscorrectly,andarguetheirvalidity,bothorallyandinwriting.Incontrast,most civillaw countriesbasetheirlegaleducationonprofessoriallecturesandoralexaminations,whicharemoresuitedforthemasteryofcomplicated civilcodes.

10.Whoplayanimportantroleindefiningthelawincivillawsystem,lawprofessorsorjudges?

Whataboutthecommonlawsystem?

Incivillawcountries,lawprofessorshaveanimportantroleindefiningthelaw.Commonlawprofessorsgenerallydonotenjoyasimilarprestigewithintheirownjurisdiction.Herethejudgesgetmostoftheprestige.

PassageB

1.Howiscaselawcreated?

Thedecisionsofjudgesorofotherofficialsempoweredbytheconstitutionorlawsofapoliticalentitytohearanddecidecontroversies,createcaselaw.Whenadecisionmadebythejudgesorotherofficialsbecomesauthorityfordeterminingsubsequentcontroversies,wecandefineitasacaselaw.Caselaw,inotherwords,appliesgenerallawstospecificcases,therebyrefiningthedefinitionofthelawsintheprocess.IfnospecificstatuteorConstitutionalruleisonpoint,judgesmustalso