Lesson 01 - Introduction to Law and Sources of Law

I. Introduction to Law

Legal studies

1. Discussion: How did you feel this morning when you entered this building?

a) What might be the reasons or motivation for the undergraduates to have decided to study law?

b) What are the usual objectives the law students want to achieve?

c) What are the lawyers required and expected to be able to do?

d) What will the law degree equip you for?

e) What are the compulsory and optional subjects you have to study in the first year? Describe one of them.

f) List some other subjects you are going to study at the Faculty of Law in Brno.

2. Listening: Should I go to law school?

Answer the questions in the table first for yourself and then according to the recording.

Yourself/ In your opinion Recording Why do I want to become a lawyer? I want to practice law What are the benefits for any student? Is a law degree a ticket to any profession?

What is law?

3.1 Read the text and explain the difference between:

• descriptive and prescriptive laws

• informal rules, formal rules and laws

• civil legal action and criminal legal action

The English word law has its origin in the Old Norwegian word literally meaning “laid down” which may refer both to something observed as a natural phenomenon, such as the sun rising and setting every day, or to a rule set by human beings for regulating their mutual coexistence. Hence, two kinds of laws may be distinguished, namely, descriptive and prescriptive ones. The former describe how something behaves, the latter prescribe how one should behave, e. g. how fast people ought to drive or that is not acceptable to hurt others.

It stands to reason that if something is prescribed there must be a sanction, also termed penalty or punishment, for breaking such a prescription, or, in legal terms, a rule. Sanctions may be classified according to seriousness or institutions providing for these rules. Society in general may be regarded as the most informal kind of institution and at this level sanctions may only take the form of criticism, ridiculing or invectives, i.e. negative reactions, so some hard-skinned individuals may live happily through their lives completely ignoring this kind of sanction.

At a more formal level of institutions created by the society, such as schools, sports clubs or churches, sanctions are felt more strongly. One may be subject to a warning preceding suspension of membership or the ultimate penalty which is expulsion from the respective institution.

The powers that come into play at the most formal level are those that the State dispose of, i.e. police and courts, and the rule-makers. This kind of level is what we are most interested in at the English for Lawyers Course so let us examine this in more detail taking as an example a model situation from the area of sports. Suppose, an ice hockey player rams his opponent so hard that the unfortunate is left badly injured and unable to walk for a long period of time. At the most informal level of social rules he may be exposed to booing, abusive words or even some objects such as coins being thrown at him, which is of course not tolerated by the referees as this behavior crosses the line between the informal rules and the more formal rules of social institutions such as sports clubs. At this more formal level the rough player may face suspension or financial penalty, or both, followed by or accompanied with sanctions at the most formal level, i.e. that of the government-made laws. These have the form of statutes in civil law countries and/or precedents in common law countries. Two kinds of legal action may ensue. First, the injured player, called party harmed or aggrieved party, may bring a civil action against the player who caused him harm. This kind of dispute could be dealt with in a civil court resulting in the claim being enforced by the court if the other player refused to settle privately. The usual award of the civil court to the winning party is damages, i.e. financial compensation. The other kind of legal action could be criminal prosecution conducted by the State as certain kinds of behavior are considered harmful to the well-being of the whole society and not simply a private matter between two individuals. In a criminal trial the loser of the case may be convicted and sentenced to a fine or even to imprisonment.