CRIMINAL LAW
Criminal law is a branch of public law that defines crimes and fixes punishments. It also regulates the methods of charging and trying criminals.
The principal notion of criminal law is crime - violation of law punishable by the state.
Criminal law of most modern states classifies crimes as:
offences against the safety of the state (treason, tax evasion, bribery, counterfeiting); ч
offences against the public peace and order (drunk and disorderly conduct, carrying weapons, illegal
speeding);
- offences against a person (homicide, assault, kidnapping, rape); offences against property (theft, larceny, robbery, burglary); offences against decency (bigamy, sexual harassment).
According to their gravity, crimes are divided into felonies and misdemeanors. Felonies are the most serious crimes. Misdemeanors are less serious crimes.
Two things must be present for a crime to be committed: a criminal act itself (Actus Reus) and a criminal state of mind (Mens Rea). In a murder, for example. Actus Reus is the killing of a human being by another human. Mens Rea is the person's intent to kill.
One important principle of criminal law is presumption of innocence. Under this principle if the defendant has pleaded not guilty his innocence should be presumed until the state proves his guilt beyond reasonable doubt.
Even if Actus and Mens have been proved, the defendant may still avoid punishment if heican show that he has a defense - a reason the court should excuse his act. The most common defenses are: insanity, self- defense and duress - being forced to commit a crime.
Punishment is fine, imprisonment, or other penalty provided by law and imposed by the court. The punishment for a felony is imprisonment for at feast one year or death in some limited cases. The punishment for a misdemeanor is fine or imprisonment for no more than one year. The ultimate penalty is death or capital punishment. Almost half the countries of the world have abolished the use of the death penalty.
The purpose of punishment is to reform and rehabilitate criminals, and lo deter them and others from similar behavior in the future.
Criminal law is one of the fastest growing areas of the law. One of the reasons is that the number of crimes committed in some countries is increasing rapidly. Another reason is that different governments continually review their ideas of what should be considered a crime.
FAMILY LAW
Family law deals with legal rights and obligations within the family: marriage, annulment, divorce, premarital agreement, child support and custody, property division, visitation rights, living together, and more.
Getting Married. Under the US family law both the man and the woman must be at least 18 years old to marry without parental consent. And there is no upper age limitation on marriages. Your spouse must be of the opposite sex and you can't marry certain Close relatives (marriages between a parent and a child, grandparent and grandchild, brother and sister, uncle and niece, and aunt and nephew are prohibited). And finally, you can have only one spouse at a time. If you remarry before divorcing your current spouse, you are guilty of bigamy. The second marriage is void from the very beginning.
Annulment and Divorce. In Anglo-American law, some marriages may be annulled. In other cases a couple may seek a divorce. The difference between a divorce and annulment is this: in a divorce, a valid marriage is legally ended, while an annulment means that the "marriage'" never existed.
The major grounds for an annulment are: an underage party, an incestuous marriage, and bigamy.
The major grounds for a divorce are: adultery, unreasonable behavior, living apart for a set period of time.
A very important issue when people divorce is Protection of Children. This includes child custody, visitation rights and child support.
Child custody can be awarded to the mother or the father. If neither parent is fit to take care of the child, the judge ma}' award custody to grandparents, other relatives or place the child in a public institution or a foster home.
Visitation rights are awarded to the parent who doesn't have custody of the children.
The parent who has no custody of the children must pay monthly payment called child support. The amount of child support depends on: the needs of the children and the parent's ability to pay. The obligation to support a child ends only when the child reaches the age of majority or becomes emancipated. _
When issuing a divorce the judge has to decide on Division of Property. There are 2 kinds of marital property: community property and separate property. Community property is everything earned or acquired by a couple during marriage; separate property is everything a person owned before marriage, as well as gifts and inheritances received during marriage. The judge can divide only the community property, separate property remains the property of the spouse who owns it.
Rights of succession. The property of a dead relative is mostly dealt with in Anglo-American law under the law of probate. This is distinct from family law.
Many people make a will before their death. In English law, the maker of a will is called a testator.
If there is no will the laws of succession lay down who has the right to the property of a dead relative and in what order. Under Anglo-American law a surviving spouse is at the top of this order, followed by children, parents, brothers and sisters, grandparents and uncles, aunts and cousins. If there are 110 relatives at all the properly passes to the State.
CONTRACT LAW
Vocabulary
contract - контракт, договор
enforceable contract - имеющий исковую силу contractor - контрагент, сторона в договоре breach of contract — нарушение контракта be in breach of contract - нарушить контракт offer - оферта (предложение)
acceptance - акцептирование оферты (принятие предложения)
capacity - (право)способность, дееспособность
award — решение суда в гражданских делах
remedy - средство судебной защита, средство защиты права
damages (pi) - возмещение убытков
specific performance - постановление суда о выполнении условий договора injunction - судебный запрет
Contract law is a central part of legal systems all over the world. It is the means by which exchange relations are supported. Many people think that a contract must be written and signed by the parties to the contract. This is a mistake. Simple transactions such as buying of a bus ticket or a packet of chips from a supermarket are enforceable contracts.
Agreement between the parties is an essential element of a contract. It must include an offer and an acceptance of the offer. The terms of the agreement offered and accepted by the parties must be certain and clear - that is, the contractors must know what they agree to. Another important element of an enforceable contract is the intention of the parties to be legallv,bound (there is no contract if, for example, the parties were just joking when they made the agreement).
Most legal systems also consider the capacity of the contractors - that is, their right to contract. There are some special rules if one of the contractors is under the age of 18, or insane; rules when one of the contractors made a mistake or was pressured or tricked into making an agreement, and rules for dealing with illegal contracts. For example, the agreement to commit a crime.
When a court decides if a contract has been made, it must consider all these elements.
A failure to comply with the terms of contract is called a breach of contract. If one of the parties fails to perform his or her obligations, the other party may apply to a court for a legal remedy. If the court decides that there was a breach of contract, it must then judge how the party in breach must compensate the other party.
The usual award for the loss because of the breach is monetary compensation, or damages.
Instead of damages, the court can force the other contractor to carry out the contract. This is called specific performance.
A plaintiff may also ask the court to award an injunction against the defendant, that is, to order the defendant not to do something which would be in breach of contract.
Contracts are especially important in international business, where the parties try to specify all the parts of their agreement in a clear written contract so that to avoid differences of law and custom between their countries.
PROPERTY LAW
Property Law - право собственности, вешное право
