Unit 29

Types of English Civil Law

CIVIL LAW a legal system

prevalent in continental Europe that is based on written codes

(in this sense contrasts with

the common-law system used in England and most of the United States)

an area of law governing disputes between individuals

(as opposed to criminal law)

CIVIL LAW (as a branch of law) SUBCATEGORIES IN CIVIL LAW SYSTEMS- an area of private law regulating relations between individuals

Basic branches: Law of property Law of obligations (Contract law) Law of sucession

New branches: Law of securites Commercial law Copy-right law Insurance law

IN COMMON LAW SYSTEM

an area of law concerned with

a) relations between private individuals

b) non-criminal relations between governments and private individuals or other entities

Subcategories:

Law of contract

Law of torts

Law of property

Law of succession

Family law 

Revenue law; Patents and copyright; Trade unions; Administrative law

PARTIES IN A CIVIL LAWSUIT

PLAINTIFF

(CLAIMANT)

- the party bringing a

civil action (filing a claim) – the injured party

DEFENDANT

- the party against whom an action is brought (a claim filed)

THE LAW OF CONTRACT  CONTRACT = a legally binding agreement made

between two or more persons, by which rights are acquired by one or more to acts or forbearances on the part of the other or others

Subcategories of the law of contract: 1. shipping contracts, 2. hire purchase, 3. sale of goods etc.

THE LAW OF TORTS TORT = a less serious civil wrong committed by one citizen against another

    serious enough to merit the award of compensation

to the injured party     not serious enough to amount to the breaking of

the the criminal law

CIVIL LIABILITY 

NOT PUNISHABLE BY THE STATE

Offender tortfeasor Action taken by the injured party

SUBCATEGORIES OF TORTS1.  Negligence2.  Nuisance3.  Defamation 4.  Intentional torts5.  Statutory torts6.  Economic torts7.  Competition law

NEGLIGENCE an unreasonable breach of duty by one person to another

the failure to take reasonable care to avoid foreseeable injury to others

Example:

the modern law of negligence started with a decomposed snail contained in a drink consumed in a public bar; the manufacturer was sued by the consumer for her consequent illness

NUISANCE unreasonable interference with a person’s use or

enjoyment of property

Example:

Jones v Powell 1629 - A brewery made stinking fumes waft to neighbors’ property, damaging his documents. Because he was a landowner, the neighbor sued in nuisance for this damage

DEFAMATION- tarnishing the reputation of someone(making factual assertion for which you

cannot provide evidence of its truth)

LIBEL defaming somebody

through

print or broadcasting

SLANDER spoken defamation

READ THE FOLLOWING EXAMPLE

A teacher may be bumped walking down the hallway at school by a grade nine student. No real harm is done. The grade nine student was not intending to cause him / her any harm.

When harm is deliberately caused, for example, if that same grade nine student intentionally punched the teacher in the face, an intentional tort has been committed. The person doing the punching is responsible for any injury caused by the action.

Intentional torts take place when someone deliberately comes into contact with another person or his or her property to the point where damage is done.

INTENTIONAL TORTSany intentional acts that are reasonably

foreseeable to cause harm to an individual

AGAINST THE PERSON

assault battery false imprisonment intentional infliction emotional distress fraud

PROPERTY TORTS trespass to land trespass to chattels conversion

Other tortso STATUTORY TORTS - created by the legislature, not the courts (consumer protection - Product Liability Directive of the

EU)

o ECONOMIC TORTS - protect people from interference with their trade or

business (eg. trade libel;)

o COMPETETION LAW (ANTI-TRUST LAW) - an important method for regulating the conduct of

business (the abuse of market power by monopolists, or the substantial lessening of competition through merger, acquisition, or concentration of enterprises)

REMEDIES

COMPENSATION IN DAMAGES

OR MONEY

SELF-HELP(reasonable

force to expel a trespasser)

INJUNCTION(a commandby the court)

ESSENTIAL EXPRESSIONS a tort a plaintiff/claimant a defendant to bring a civil action a wrong negligence nuisance false imprisonment

assault and battery trespass to land trespass to chattels defamation slander libel a remedy an injunction

Read the text and find the English equivalents for the following Croatian legal terms:

pravno obvezujući ugovor

nečinjenje

dodjela naknade/odštete; dodijeliti/dosuditi odštetu

građanska odgovornost

oštećena strana

kršenje ugovora osoba koja neovlašteno ulazi na tuđe imanje;

počinitelj građanskog delikta

pravična obveza

tužiti za nanesenu štetu zbog nemara

Smatrati pravno odgovornim