Lesson 02 - Division of Law

8. Criminal law can be defined as the part of law which deals with illegal conduct prohibited and punished by the government ……………………………………………………………………………………….……………

(threatens/because/and/it/safety/harms/public)

NOTE: The definitions above follow the structure of a formal definition:

Term to be defined Verb (to be, to mean, to be defined as, …) Class of concepts Special features Substantive law can be defined as the set of rules which creates, defines and regulates rights and duties of parties, such as crimes and punishments in criminal law. Common law could be understood as a system of law based on custom which is administered and developed by the courts in judicial decisions.

C) Write down formal definitions:

9. Constitutional law …………………………………………………………………………………………………………..………

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

10. Procedural law …………………………………………………………………………………………………………..…………

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Civil and criminal procedure

4. Pair work: Student A reads Text 1, Student B reads Text 2, fill in the appropriate parts of the table below and then share the information.

TEXT 1:

Civil law is a body of law that determines private rights and liabilities, as distinguished from criminal law. Civil cases usually concern private disputes between persons or organizations, such as disputes involving accidents or contracts. Civil procedure seeks to compensate people for monetary losses or settle disputes. The goal is to return the person who suffered the loss to the same position before the loss happened or to resolve a disagreement. Where loss occurred to one party because of the negligent (careless) acts of another party, this is referred to as a ‘tort’ (civil wrong). In civil procedure, the legal dispute is between individuals and does not involve the state. Therefore, the individual must commence the legal proceeding. The person who takes the legal action is known as the claimant or plaintiff. The other party is known as the defendant. The defendant is the person or entity that is being sued. The case citation (reference) in a civil procedure case is written as follows: Svoboda v. Novak. The citation is correctly read: Svoboda and Novak. In the USA, it is read as Svoboda versus Novak. In the court, the claimant can represent themselves or hire a lawyer. The claimant must prove that the defendant committed the civil wrong ‘on the balance of probabilities’. This roughly means ‘more than 50% likely’. If the court is satisfied that the claimant has proved their case on the balance of probabilities then the defendant is found ‘liable’. If not, then the defendant is found ‘not liable’. If the defendant is found liable, the court may award damages (financial compensation) to the claimant. Other remedies may include specific performance or an injunction. Examples of civil procedure cases may involve: injury or financial loss caused by negligence and breach of contract.