法律英语课文总结何家弘.docx
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法律英语课文总结何家弘
LessonOne:
LegalSystem法律制度
PartOne
TheUnitedStatesisatonceaverynewnationandaveryoldnation.Itisanewnationcomparedwithmanyothercountries,anditisnew,too,inthesensethatitisconstantlybeingrenewedbytheadditionofnewelementsofpopulationandofnewStates.Butinothersensesitisold.Itistheoldestofthe"new"nations--thefirstonetobemadeoutofanOldWorldcolony.Ithastheoldestwrittenconstitution,theoldestcontinuousfederalsystem,andtheoldestpracticeofself-governmentofanynation.
OneofthemostinterestingfeaturesofAmericansyouthisthatthewholeofitshistorybelongsintheperiodsincetheinventionoftheprintingpress.Thewholeofitshistoryis,therefore,recorded:
indeed,itissafetosaythatnoothermajornationhassocomprehensivearecordofitshistoryashastheUnitedStates,foreventssuchasthosethatarelostinthelegendarypastofItalyorFranceorEnglandarepartoftheprintedrecordoftheUnitedStates.AndtheAmericanrecordisnotonlycomprehensive;itisimmense.ItembracesnotonlytherecordofthecolonialeraandoftheNationsince1776,butofthepresentfiftyStatesaswell,andtheintricatenetworkofrelationshipsbetweenStatesandNation.Thus,totakeaveryelementaryexample,thereportsoftheUnitedStatesSupremeCourtfillsome350volumes,andthereportsofsomeStatesarealmostequallyvoluminous:
thereaderwhowantstotracethehistoryoflawinAmericaisconfrontedwithover5,000stoutvolumesoflegalcases.
Noonedocument,nohandfulofdocuments,canproperlybesaidtorevealthecharacterofapeopleoroftheirgovernment.Butwhenhundredsandthousandsofdocumentsstrikeaconsistentnote,overmorethanahundredyears,wehavearighttosaythatisthekeynote.Whenhundredsandthousandsofdocumentsaddressthemselvesinthesameways,tothesameoverarchingproblems,wehavearighttoreadfromthemcertainconclusionswhichwecancallnationalcharacteristics.
PartTwo
TheAmericanlegalsystem,liketheEnglish,ismethodologicallymainlyacaselawsystem.Mostfieldsofprivatelawstillconsistprimarilyofcaselawandtheextensiveandsteadilygrowingstatutorylawcontinuestobesubjecttobindinginterpretationthroughcaselaw.KnowledgeofthecaselawmethodaswellasofthetechniqueofworkingwithcaselawthereforeisofcentralimportanceforanunderstandingofAmericanlawandlegalmethodology.
TheCommonLawishistoricallythecommongenerallaw--withsupremacyoverlocallaw--whichwasdecreedbytheitinerantjudgesoftheEnglishroyalcourt.Theenforcementofaclaimpresupposedtheexistenceofaspecialformofaction,awrit,withtheresultthattheoriginalcommonlawrepresentedasystemof"actions"similartothatofclassicalRomanlaw.Ifawritexisted(in1227)aclaimcouldbeenforced;therewasnorecourseforaclaimwithoutawrit,theclaimdidnotexist.Thissystembecameinflexiblewhenthe"ProvisionsofOxford"(1258)prohibitedthecreationofnewwrits,exceptfortheflexibilitywhichthe"writuponthecase"allowedandwhichlaterledtothedevelopmentofcontractandtortlaw.
Thenarrowlimitsoftheformsofactionandthelimitedrecoursetheyprovidedledtothedevelopmentofequitylawandequitycaselaw."Equity",initsgeneralmeaningofdoing"equity",decidingexaequoetbono,wasfirstgrantedbytheKing,andlaterbyhisChancelloras"keeperoftheKing'sconscience",toaffordreliefinhardshipcases.Inthefifteenthcentury,however,equitylawandequitycaselawdevelopedintoanindependentlegalsystemandjudiciary(CourtofChancery)whichcompetedwiththeordinarycommonlawcourts.Itsrulesandmaximsbecamefixedand,toadegree,inflexibleasinanylegalsystem.Specialcharacteristicsofequitylawinclude:
reliefintheformofspecificperformance(incontrasttothecommonlawawardofcompensatorydamages),theinjunction(atemporaryorfinalordertodoornottodoaspecificact),thedevelopmentofsocalledmaximsofequitylawwhichpermeatedtheentirelegalsystemandinmanycasesexplaintheoriginofmodernlegalconcepts.However,equitablereliefregularlywilllieonlywhenthecommonlawreliefisinadequate.Forinstance,specificperformanceforthepurchaseofrealpropertywillbegrantedbecausecommonlawdamagesaredeemedtobeinadequatesincetheycannotcompensatethebuyerinviewoftheuniquenessattributedtorealproperty.
Asthecommonlaw,equitylawbecamepartofAmericanlaweitherthroughjudicialacceptanceorthroughexpressstatutoryprovision.Today,bothlegalsystemshavebeenmergedinmanyAmericanjurisdictions(beginningwithNewYorkin1848),withtheresultthatthereisonlyoneformofcivilsuitinthesejurisdictionsaswellasinfederalpractice.OnlyfewState