GRE AW 作文中的法律相关文章.docx

GRE AW 作文中的法律相关文章.docx

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GREAW作文中的法律相关文章

LAW.Alltherulesrequiringorprohibitingcertainactionsareknownaslaw.Inthemostgeneralsense,therearetwokindsoflaw--naturallawandpositivelaw.Naturallawhasbeenrecognizedsincetheancientworldtobeageneralbodyofrulesofrightconductandjusticecommontoallmankind.Thisconceptgrewfromtheobservationoftheoperationofthelawsofnatureandtheiruniformity.Positivelaw,ontheotherhand,consistsofregulationsformulatedbytheheadsofacountryorsociety.Inmanycases,naturallawshavebeenwrittenintopositivelawsbygovernments.Theprohibitionagainstkilling,forexample,iscommontovirtuallyallofmankind,andmostnationshaveenactedlawsagainstit.ThisarticleisconcernedprimarilywiththemanyaspectsofpositivelawinWesternsociety.

DevelopmentofPositiveLaw

Whenpeoplefirstbegantoliveingroupstheyhadfewrulesorlaws,buttheysoonrealizedthateachindividualhadtopayattentiontotheneedsandwelfareofhisneighborsinordertomakelifenotonlytolerablebutpleasantforthegreatestnumberofpeople.Itwasconsiderednecessary,forinstance,foreachpersontorecognizeeveryoneelse'srightstolifeandtheownershipofproperty.Withoutthismutualrecognition,societycouldnotfunctioninpeace.

Withtheemergenceofwrittenlanguagesitwaspossibletoputlawsintowrittenform.Oneofthebestknownoftheearlycodes,orcollectionsofwrittenlaws,isthatofHammurabi,kingofBabylon,wholivedabout1800BC（seeBabyloniaandAssyria）.Probablythemostfamousoftheancientcodes,however,isthatfoundinthefirstfivebooksoftheBible,thelawsofMoses.TheheartofthiscodeistheTenCommandmentspresentedbyMosestothepeopleofIsrael.Thesecommandmentsarethebasicsummaryofallmorallawdesignedtoregulatethebehaviorofindividualswithregardtoeachother.

Allothersocietiesintheancientworlddevisedsetsoflaws.Inthe7thcenturyBC,alawgivernamedDracodrewupaveryharshcodethatpunishedoffenses,nomatterhowtrivial,withdeath.Notmanyyearslater,anotherGreeklawgiver,Solon,repealedallbutthelawsdealingwithmurder（seeSolon）.IntheGreekcity-stateofSparta,therewasalegendarylawgivernamedLycurguswho,aftergivingtheSpartansacodeoflaw,leftthecitywiththeinstructionthatthelawswerenottobechangeduntilhereturned.Heneverdidreturn（seeLycurgus）.

ThemostcompleteandcomplexsystemoflawsintheancientworldwasdevelopedbytheRomans.Itwastheproductofmanycenturiesofcivilization,fromtheearlyyearsoftheRepublicuntiltheendoftheEmpire.Inthe6thcenturyAD,theemperorJustinian（seeJustinianI）collectedandorganizedthelawsforuseastheRomanCivilLaw.RomanlawhasstronglyinfluencedthegeneralcharacterofthelawsineverynationofWesternEuropeexceptEngland.

AfterthefalloftheRomanEmpireintheWest,AD476,theChristianchurch,asthestrongestinstitutioninsociety,becameamajorlawmakingandlawenforcementbody.Calledcanonlaw（canonsareregulations）,abodyofrulesformulatedbythechurchwasdesignedtoregulatehumanbehavior,withrespecttoreligiousmattersprimarily.Butiteventuallycametoapplytotheactionsofpeopleonsocial,economic,andpoliticallevelsaswell.

Toenforceitslawsagainstthosewhodisagreedwithit,thechurchoftheMiddleAgescreatedtheInquisition（seeInquisition）.Churchcourtsinseveralcountriesexaminedthosewhoweresuspectedofbreakingchurchlaws.Manypeoplewereclearedofwrongdoing,butotherswerenotandwerepunished,frequentlywithdeath.OneofthebestknowntrialswasthatofthescientistGalileo.Heagreed,underpressure,todenyhisopinionthattheplanetsorbitthesuninfavorofthechurchdoctrinethatthesuncircledtheEarth（seeGalileo）.

ThesocietyoftheMiddleAgeswasrigidlystructured,withkings,princes,andnoblesatthetopandthecommonpeople--mostlypeasantsworkingtheland--atthebottom.Withineachkingdomtherulerissuedthelawsbywhichhispeopleweretolive.Suchlawscouldnotconflictwiththoseofthechurch.

InEngland,eachlocalityhaditsownlawsbasedoncustomandtradition.AftertheNormanConquest,1066,judgesappointedbythekingmovedfromoneplacetoanothertoadministertheselocallaws.Astimepassed,locallawsgavewaytojudges'interpretationsofabroadersystemoflawsacceptedinmorethanonearea.Eventuallythedecisionsofthejudges,constantlymodifiedbylaterdecisions,wereacceptedasthebodyofEnglishcommonlaw.

InFrance,undertheguidanceofNapoleon,acivilcodewasenactedin1804.Withrevisions,itstillremainsinforceandhasbeenamajorinfluenceinthelegalsystemsofmostEuropeancountriesandinLatinAmerica.TheCodeNapoleonwasmadenecessarybythediversityandconfusionoflawsthathaddevelopedinFranceandotherpartsofEuropeduringtheMiddleAgesandearlymodernperiod.Thepremiseforthecodewastheideathat,forthefirsttimeinhistory,alawbasedpurelyoncommonsenseshouldbecreated,freeofallpastprejudicesandinequities.Underthecodeallcitizenswererecognizedasequal,andallclassprivilegesweredoneawaywith.ThecodewasoriginallyintroducedinareasunderFrenchcontrolin1804:

Belgium,Luxembourg,northwesternItaly,andpartsofGermany.AftertheNapoleonicconquestsitwasintroducedintoconqueredItaly,theNetherlands,andmostofGermany.Itwasvoluntarilyadoptedduringthe19thcenturyinanumberofotherplaces,includingHaiti,theDominicanRepublic,Chile,Bolivia,Ecuador,Colombia,andArgentina.IntheUnitedStates,onlyLouisianahasacivilcodecloselyconnectedwiththeNapoleoniccode.

TheinfluenceoftheNapoleoniccodewassomewhatdiminishedatthestartofthe20thcenturybytheintroductionoftheGermanCivilCodein1900andtheSwissCivilCodein1912.JapanadoptedtheGermancodeandTurkeytheSwisscode.

CommonLawandStatuteLaw

Asnotedabove,thelawinEnglanddevelopedoverthecenturiesfromthecombineddecisionsofjudges,thedecisionsbasedonrulesalreadyestablished.Knownpopularlyasthecommonlaw,itwasembodiedinreportsofdecidedcasesthatoriginatedintheearlyMiddleAges.ThebroadacceptanceofthecommonlawinEnglandwaslargelyduetothedominantpositionoftheroyalcourts,especiallytheKing'sCourtestablishedatWestminster（nowpartofLondon）.TheroyaljudgeswentouttotheprovincialtownsandinterpretedthelawofWestminsterinbothcivilandcriminalcases.HencecommonlawcametoapplyeverywhereinEngland.ThisearlycentralizationofthecourtsystemremovedthenecessityofimportingintoEnglandanyforeignsystem,suchasRomanlaw.

Statutelawdiffersfromcommonlawinthatitislegislation,orcodesoflawmadebylegislativebodiessuchasparliaments,congresses,andlegislatures.InEngland,forexample,statutesarepassedbyParliament.IntheUnitedStateslawsarepassedbytheCongressinWashington,D.C.EachstateintheUnitedStateshasitsownlegislaturethatmakesstatutelaws,andtherearemanylocallawmakingbodiessuchascitycouncilsandtowncouncilsaswell.Statutelawgrewupbecauseconditionsarosetowhichcommonlawdidnotapply.

Thechiefdifferencebetweencommonlawandstatutelawisthatcommonlawisbasedonwhathashappened,onprecedents,whilestatutelawispassedtomeetpresentcircumstancesandfuturepossibilities.Thecomplexityofmodernsocietyineveryindustrializednationhasbredanenormousamountofstatutelawthataffectstheprivateandpubliclifeofeveryindividual--lawsoncompulsoryeducation,taxation,regulationofbusinesses,protectionoftheenvironment,andmanymore.

Inrecentyears,governmentsunderthecommon-lawsystemhaveincreasinglyadoptedstatutelawsandregulations.Inthissituation,thedifferencebetweencommonlawandstatutelawhasbecomemuchlessdistinctthanitoncewas.

TheAmericanSystemofLaw

LawintheUnitedStateshasbecomeacomplexblendofcommonandstatutelaw.WhenthefirstEnglishcolonistscametoAmericainthe17thcentury,theybroughtEnglishcustomswiththem,buttherewaslittleexpertiseinlaw.Colonialcharters,oragreementswithEngland,gavethecoloniststheEnglishmen'straditionalrightsthathaddevelopedaspartofthecommonlaw.Anexampleistherighttotrialbeforeajuryofone'speers,orequals.Buttherewerefewmentrainedinthelaw,fewjudges,andnoschoolsoflaw.Localjurisdictionspassedtheirownstatutestomeetspecificsituations.

Bytheearly18thcentury,therewerelawyerspracticinginthecolonies.TheyusedEnglishlawbooksandfollowedEnglishproceduresandprecedents.In1701thecolonyofRhodeIslandacceptedEnglishlawinfull,subjecttolocallegislation.TheCarolinassoonfollowedsuit,andeventuallymostofthecolonieshadtheirownmixtureofEnglishcommonlawandlocalstatute.LegalbattlesbeforetheAmericanRevolutionwerefoughtoncommon-lawprinciples.AftertherevolutionmanyAmericanswantedtodivorcethemselvesfromEnglishpractices,butotherEuropeanlegalsystemsweretoodifferentandwritteninunfamiliarlanguages.The'Commentaries'ofWilliamBlackstonehadbeenprintedinthecoloniesin1771andhadcomeintowideuse.Thus,despitetheobjectionsofmanycitizens,EnglishcommonlawremainedtheheartoftheAmericanlegalsystem（seeBlackstone）.

TheworkofBlackstonewasreinforcedbyjudgesintheUnitedStates.AschiefjusticeoftheSupremeCourt,JohnMarshallhadapowerfulinfluenceinshapingthedevelopmentofconstitutionallawthroughhislegaldecisions（seeMarshall,John）.Inthe1830stwoimp