ANGLIČTINA_KOMPLET

DIVISIONS OF LAW 
 
Private law - concerns disputes among citizens within a country, it defines rights and duties of persons to 
one another and provides a system of remedies such as damages, specific performance or injunction 
-law of trusts, law of torts, land law, law of contracts, law of probate, family law 
Public law - concerns disputes between citizens and the state or between one state and another, sanctions: to 
pay a fine, imprisonment, probation 
-administrative law, constitutional law, criminal law, international law 
 
Substantive law - part of law which creates, defines and regulates rights and duties of parties in the 
proceeding 
- contract law, criminal law, tort law, law of wills 

Procedural law - part of law which prescribes method of enforcing the rights or obtaining redress for their 
invasion, machinery for carrying on procedural aspects of civil or criminal action 
- law of evidence, law of jurisdiction, law of pleading 
 
Civil law - seeks to redress (náprava) wrongs by enforcing compensation or restitution (uvedení do 
původního stavu).  
Criminal law - imposes (ukládá) punishment on the wrongdoer fulfilling the aims of retribution (odplata), 
deterrence (odstrašení) and, possibly, reformation (napravení). 
A tort might be explained as a wrongful act, unlawful conduct which causes harm, damage, injury to an 
individual's person, property or reputation. 
A contract might be referred to as a binding agreement which is made between two or more parties stating 
the details of promises. 
A will may be understood as a legal document where a person states how s/he wants to dispose of his or her 
property when s/he dies. 
A trust may be defined as a property arrangement which aims at transferring the property to one or more 
trustees who become the legal owner(s) who hold and administer the property for the benefit or advantage of 
another person or a group of persons or for a specific purpose. 
Probate – arrangements for dealing with owner’s property after his death 
Crime may be explained as illegal behaviour, unlawful conduct, a wrongful act) which is prosecuted and 
punished by the State. 
A plaintiff could be explained as a party who takes a legal action against somebody in a civil case. 
A defendant could mean a party who is either sued for damages or compensation because of causing harm 
to somebody else or charged with committing an offence. 
Damages may be referred to as a sum of money which the court orders the defendant to pay to the plaintiff 
as compensation for a breach of contract or tort. 
An injunction might be explained as an order of the court which is awarded against the defendant not to do 
something which would be in breach of contract. 
A prosecutor could be defined as a party who brings a criminal charge against the defendant. 
 
Remedy - a court order to enforce compensation for loss 
To petition - to make a formal written request 
To prevail - to take priority  
Injunction - a court order to do something, or to stop doing something 
Specific performance - a court order for a party to perform the actions required under a contract 
 
International law - regulation of relations between governments and also between private citizens from one 
state and those from another 
Constitutional law – regulation of how law itself operates and of the relation between citizens and 
government 
 
Civil procedure - plaintiff sues the defendant,  the compensation is usually amount of money (damages), 
doing or not doing something (injunction) or specific performance;  case is proved on the balance of 
probabilities (what is more probable), usually started by an individual person, civil action can be brought 
also against police 
Criminal procedure - prosecution prosecutes the defendant, when found guilty accused is convicted and 
can be sentenced of imprisonment or he has to pay a fine or some other form of punishment or he may be 
released on probate, the guilt of the criminal must be proved beyond the reasonable doubt, usually started by 
the state, when the defendant is found not guilty, then it leads to his acquittal