Group work. Read the paragraph about Civil Law

Case law

British law is based on the principle of (1)…………….., meaning that if a court has already ruled on a given legal issue and another case arises with the same legal issue, the holding in the previous case will be applied to the new (2)…………. The use of precedents helps to promote stability in the (3) ……, as all parties are given notice as to the current state of the law.

Precedents also have a role to play when new (4)…….. are presented to courts. (5)…… for both sides of a case look to cases that have been decided in the past that support their current arguments. When deciding new legal issues, sometimes courts expand (6)…………...

Through reliance upon precedent established in prior cases the (7)……… has resolved many legal issues and brought stability into many areas of the law, such as the law of….(8).

Exercise 10

a) Underline the words that help to contrast the legal systems.

Civil Law, in contrast to Common Law, is codified. Countries with civil law systems have comprehensive, continuously updated legal codes that specify all matters capable of being brought before a court, the applicable procedure, and the appropriate punishment for each offense. Such codes distinguish between different categories of law: substantive law establishes which acts are subject to criminal or civil prosecution, procedural law establishes how to determine whether a particular action constitutes a criminal act, and penal law establishes the appropriate penalty. In a civil law system, the judge’s role is to establish the facts of the case and to apply the provisions of the applicable code. Though the judge often brings the formal charges, investigates the matter, and decides on the case, he or she works within a framework established by a comprehensive codified set of laws. The judge’s decision is consequently less crucial in shaping civil law than the decisions of legislators and legal scholars who draft and interpret the codes

b) Compare the 2 legal systems, using the table below.

e.g. English law is based on precedent, but continental law is based on enacted law.

Exercise 11

Visit the internet site www.legalskills.com. and make a report about sources of law.