法律英语复习重点.docx

1、法律英语复习重点WhyWhatTools How Additional advice & course descriptionArrangement of the textbook HomeWhat to learn?To learn and refine your own English（扎实的基本功，法律语言句式复杂，长句多）Acquire the language of lawAcquire knowledge of the basic legal conceptsSome features of legal languagecommon words with special meani

2、ngOld and Middle English wordsLatin words and phrasesFrench wordsUse of argotLong sentenceWORDS LEGAL MEANINGaction 诉讼Consideration补偿/对价/约因 Counterpart副本 executed签名使契据生效Hand签字 Instrument文件 eg. Legal instrument: legal document(1) common words with special meaning WORDS LEGAL MEANING Letters 许可证Party

3、诉讼方、合同缔结方、当事人 Prayer诉讼请求 Presents本文件 this legal documentSaid上述的mentioned beforeEg. the said witness 该证人 Serve送达Specialty盖印合同 sealed contractProvide for 规定Remedy补救办法(2) Old and Middle English wordsIf any of the terms or provisions of this Contract shall be declared illegal or unenforceable by any cou

4、rt of competent jurisdiction, then the parties hereto agree to do all things and cooperate in all ways open to them to obtain substantially the same result or as much thereof as may be possible, including the amendment or alteration of these presents 若主管法庭宣布本合同任何条款或规定非法或无效，双方同意将尽最大努力采取一切可行措施，包括修改或更换

5、合同，以取得大体相同或尽可能多的效益here words: hereafter（此后、将来）, hereby（籍此）, herein（此中、此处）, hereinafter（在下文）, hereof, heretothere words: thereby, thereof（因此）, therein（在那里）, thereon, thereto, theretofore, thereupon, therewithaforesaid如前所述said (used as an adjective)Such上述的forthwith立刻thence从那时起, thenceforth从那时起/其后Where

6、 words: whereby（由是、因此）, whereof（关于它）witness (used in the sense of testimony by signature, oath, etc. as “In witness whereof, I have set my hand, .” 签字盖章,特此为证witnesseth鉴于(meaning to provide formal evidence of something, the Old English present indicative, third person singular verb form.) (3) Latin w

7、ords and phrasesalias别名, 化名Alibi不在犯罪现场的证明/不在犯罪现场一种辩护形式bona fide善意/真诚的versus(4) French wordsAction 诉讼Agreement 协议Appeal 上诉arrestarson 纵火assault 袭击attorneys 律师battery 殴打罪bill 法案、议案claim 索取Condition 条款contractevidence 契约法、合同法execution 执行guarantee担保物/抵押品infant未成年人judgesjudgment 审判jurors 陪审员justice(5) Us

8、e of argot The language of the law, sometimes even a particular word, has a dual aspect. Lawyers use language that is intended to speak to lawyers and laymen, as in contracts, jury instructions, notices, and even laws. Lawyers also use language that is intended to speak primarily to each other, as i

9、n pleadings, opinions, argument and in the day-to-day negotiation and discussion that is the lawyers life. In this aspect, a portion of the language of the law is ARGOT, a professional language. E.g.:alleged有嫌疑的casecause of action 原告的起诉原由damages 损害赔偿due care 应有注意inferior court 下级法院issue of fact关于事实的

10、争论点issue of law关于引用法律的争论点 pursuant to stipulationreversed and remanded发回重审superior court 高级法院Any person who, without lawful authority or reasonable excuse, while having dealings of any kind with any other public body, offers any advantage to any public servant employed by that public body, shall be

11、guilty of an offence. 任何人与其它公共机构进行任何事务往来时,无合法权限或合理理由而向受雇于该公共机构的公职人员提供任何利益即属犯罪。 statute n. 制定法，联邦、州、市或县的立法机关均可制定，专指以立法形式创设的法律。 legislation 立法；立法活动；制定法（总称）code：法典n. e.g.美国统一商法典（Uniform Commercial Code,简称UCC）civil law：罗马法；罗马法系；大陆法系；民法法系common law：普通法；普通法系；判例法系After-class assignment 1: What are the majo

12、r legal systems in the world today?The difference among them? Explain within 8 mins.Common law 普通法 Judge-made law 法官制定的法Precedent 判例、先例（早些时候发生的案例，其判决结果可作为现在及将来类似案件的判决依据）Civil law system 大陆法Precedent/previous judicial decision is binding and is considered as a source of law (the distinctive feature o

13、f common-law system)1. legislationParliament-the supreme legislative authority (House of Lords; House of Commons)British legislation includes: Acts of Parliament（议会立法）, subordinate or delegated legislation（授权立法）, and Community legislation（共同体立法）Acts of Parliament are the supreme form of law-the vali

14、dity of which can not be questioned by any English court2. Courts and tribunalscourt 法庭tribunal 裁判庭arbitration 仲裁exercise v. 执行、行使Court of Appeal 上诉法庭Court of first instance/ Trial court 初审法庭the supreme court 最高法院3. judgesLord Chancellor (英国上议院的)大法官the most important judge in Britain 4. hearinghear

15、v. 审理adversarial procedure辩论式诉讼程序 adversary system对抗制诉讼模式，此制度允许双方当事人为了获得有利于自己的判决而进行辩论，法官只能就辩论的范围以第三者的姿态加以决断。其区别于大陆法系国家纠问制诉讼模式（inquisitorial system） plaintiff原告testimony证词cross-examine交叉盘问，向(对方证人)反询问 Self-reading: p264-2675. Legal profession律师制度Lawyer可以包括律师、检查官、法官、法学教师，亦可译为“法律人”美国的律师通常称为attorney英国的律师

16、分为barrister和solicitorbarrister (英国有资格在高等法庭作辩护的)专门律师,出庭律师，大律师solicitor的意思 【英】初级律师 ( 法律咨询，只能在低级法庭出庭的律师) Barrister一词，源自英格兰法律，多用于英国、新加坡等国和香港地区，又称“大律师”、“巴律师”、“高级律师”、“出庭律师”、“辩护律师”、“专门律师”，指那些能在英国上级法院执行律师职务的律师。Barrister（大律师），一般是精通某门法律或某类案件的专家。他们不仅通过辩护为当事人提供法律服务，而且回答小律师们（solicitor）提出的疑难问题。此外，大律师经过大法官的提名，可被授予

17、皇家大律师（Queenscounsel，也译为王室法律顾问，简称QC。）的称号。大律师还可被任命为高等法院法官和上诉法院法官。由于大律师具有较高的社会地位，所以取得大律师资格的条件很严格：第一，要受过一定的高等教育。第二，必须参加一个大律师组织四大法学院(即林肯律师学院、格雷律师学院、内殿律师学院和中殿律师学院)，作为该院的学生，完成学术与职业训练，参加法学院内一定的餐会次数（Diningterms）。第三，必须提交品格良好的证明书。第四，法学院学习期满后，在有经验的大律师指导下，实习一年，签署入会誓言。Solicitor一词源自英格兰法律，多用于英国、新加坡等国和香港地区，又称“小律师”、“

18、沙律师”、“初级律师”、“撰状律师”、“诉讼律师”，在香港称为“事务律师”。Solicitor是直接受当事人委托，在下级法院及诉讼外执行律师职务，为当事人提供多种法律服务的人。Solicitor(小律师)的活动范围比大律师要广泛得多。他们可以担任政府、公司、银行、商店、公私团体的法律顾问，可以在下级法院，如治安法院、郡法院和验尸官法院执行代理和辩护职务，还可以处理非诉讼案件，为当事人起草法律文书和解答一般法律问题。课文中bar指律师。Bar的意思最初是指法庭上那些用来隔离普通观众区与法官、律师、当事人及法庭官员保留区的栅栏，现转用来指“律师界”，是律师的总称。它与the bench（法官）相对

19、应。Contract Law Basic structureWarm-up activityEssential terms 术语Putting the terms to use术语运用What is contract 什么是合同Forms of Contracts合同形式Clauses of Contracts合同条款Principles of the Contract Law合同法原则How is a contract formed? 合同的缔结Warm-up: discussionWork with your partner and list at least 3 exchanges co

20、vered by contracts, such as the sale of a house.Buying a car; leasing a car; an employment contract; taking a vacation (the contract between you and the hotel or travel agent); obtaining a credit card.What common elements do such exchanges have?Two or more partiesOfferacceptanceEssential terms 重要术语O

21、ffer 要约：作为或不作为的许诺Offeror 要约人：提出商品或服务要约的自然人或公司（卖方）Offeree受要约人：接受要约的自然人或公司（买方）Acceptance承诺：对要约条款和条件的接受Putting the terms to use（术语的运用）Read the following contract form-a bill of sale for automobilesBILL OF SALEDated:_, referred to as “SELLER”, sells, bargains and conveys all of SELLERS rights, title and

22、 interest in:Make:_Model:_ Style of the vehicle:_Year of vehicle:_Vehicle Identification Number (VIN):_ to _, referred to as “BUYER”, his heirs and assigns. The parties agree to the terms and conditions stated herein:_, SELLER (signature)_ (typed name)_, BUYER (signature)_ (typed name)出售单日期：，即为“卖方”，

23、出售、议价和转让下述车辆的权利和利益：制造：型号：款式：生产日期车辆确认号码：给，即“买方”，及其继承人和指定人。双方同意上述条款：，卖方（签名）（打印的名字），买方（签名）（打印的名字）What is contractAn agreement establishing, modifying and terminating the civil rights and obligations between subjects of equal footing1. competent parties 有法定资格的主体2. legal subject matter 合法的标的3. mutuality

24、of agreement 意思表示一致4. mutuality of obligation 互负责任Competent partiesHave appropriate civil capacity of right and civil capacity of conductHave the ability to understand and agree to the terms of the contractMentally competentMinors are often not considered “competent”.Kiefer v. Fred Howe Motors, Inc.

25、A young man, technically a minor, bought a car. However, he then decided that he didnt like the car and tried to take it back to the dealer. The dealer wouldnt take the car back and refund the young mans money so the young man sued for rescission. The young man won, and the dealer had to give him ba

26、ck his money because a contract with a minor isnt (usually) validForms of ContractsA contract can be concluded in written, oral, or other formsWritten forms: a written contractual agreement, letters, telegram, telex, fax, e-mails, etc.If there is a written contract signed together with one partys or

27、al commitment which contains some terms inconsistent with the written contract, then which （ the written contract/ oral commitment ) should be valid?A video clip“ Come on inside, Alex, and well talk about what you want for dinner.” Can Alex insist that he be served what he wants for dinner based on

28、this “contract”?agreeing to talk about something is not the same thing as making a contractAlex and his roommate have a deal. Alex pays for the groceries, and the roommate cooks. Every day for a year, Alexs roommate has asked him what he wanted for dinner and then prepared exactly that. Tonight the

29、roommate cooks something that Alex hates. Alex is furious and thinks the roommate has violated the “contract”. Do you agree? Why?There has been a course of dealing established over the yearCase analysisClauses of Contracts1. title or name and domicile of the parties2. contract object 3. quantity4. q

30、uality5. price or remuneration6. time limit, place and method of performance7. liability for breach of contract8. methods to settle disputesPrinciples of the Contract LawPrinciple of EqualityPrinciple of VoluntarinessPrinciple of Good FaithPrinciple of Abiding by the Laws and Regulations, Observing

31、Social Ethics and the Socioeconomic OrderHow is a contract formed?Offer + acceptance = bona fide contract.An offer a definite promise or proposal made by the offeror to the offeree with the intention to be bound by such promise or proposal without further negotiation. Its contents should be detailed and definite.e.g. “I give you $100 for your not sui