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shoplifting.
As the key witness took the , there
was complete silence in the court.
The prosecution hasnt got enough
to secure a guilty verdict.
Barristers are lawyers who have been
called to the .
The lawyers for the complained that
their client could not get a fair trial.
shoplifting.
As the key witness took the stand, there
was complete silence in the court.
The prosecution hasnt got enough
evidence to secure a guilty verdict.
Barristers are lawyers who have been
called to the bar.
The lawyers for the defence complained
that their client could not get a fair trial.
Editura: Niculescu
An apariie: 2005
Numr de pagini: 270
Editura: CH Beck
Numr de pagini: 136
Editura: Niculescu
An apariie: 2003
www.answers.com
http://www.law-dictionary.org/
http://dictionary.law.com/
http://www.legaldictionaries.org/
http://duhaime.org/LegalDictionary.aspx
http://www.rubinian.com/dictionar.php
In our society, law plays an important part in the creation and maintenance of
social order. We must be aware, however, that law as we know it is not
the only means of creating order. Even in our society, order is not solely
dependent on law, but also involves questions of a more general
moral and political character. Our aim is to describe and explain the key
institutional aspects of that particular form of order that is legal order.
The most obvious way in which law contributes to the maintenance of social
order is the way in which it deals with disorder or conflict. Our interest is,
therefore, particularly concerned with the institutions and procedures, both
civil and criminal, through which law operates to ensure a particular form of
social order by dealing with various conflicts when they arise.
Law is a formal mechanism of social control; there are, also, other aspects to
law that are less immediately apparent, but of no less importance, such as the
inescapable political nature of law. The best approach of law is the one that
recognises that studying a legal system is not just about learning legal rules,
but is also about considering a social institution of fundamental importance.
CATEGORIES OF LAW
There are various ways of
categorising law, which initially tend to
confuse the non-lawyer.
What follows will set out these
categorisations in their
usual dual form, while at
the same time trying to
overcome the confusion
inherent in such duality.
Crime categories
A crime is an illegal act which may result in prosecution
and punishment by the state if the accused (= the
person or people charged with a crime) is / are
convicted (= found guilty in a court of law). Generally,
in order to be convicted of a crime, the accused must be
shown to have committed
an illegal (= unlawful) act
with a criminal state of mind.
Crimes against the person: abduction; actual bodily harm; assault; battery; grievous bodily
harm; indecent assault; infanticide; manslaughter; murder; paedophilia (also called
unlawful sex); racial abuse; rape; wounding. Note that some crimes against the person,
such as murder and paedophilia, are also considered to be crimes against society.
Crimes against property: arson; being equipped to steal; blackmail; breaking and entering;
burglary (if the burglar is armed, this is called aggravated burglary); criminal damage;
deception or fraud; embezzlement; forgery; handling stolen goods; money laundering;
piracy (specifically intellectual property. Note that piracy can also refer to the attacking
of ships at sea in order to commit a robbery); possessing something with intent to
damage or destroy property; robbery; theft.
Public order offences: committing a breach of the peace; drug dealing (the moving of
drugs from one country to another is called drug trafficking); misuse of drugs; obscenity;
obstruction of the police; possessing weapons; unlawful assembly.
Road traffic offences: careless or reckless driving; driving without a licence or insurance;
drunk in charge.
Sexual offences: bigamy; indecency; paedophilia; rape.
Political offences: breach of the Official Secrets Act; bribery; espionage; sedition;
terrorism; treason.
Offences against justice: aiding and abetting an offender; bribery (especially if the person
being bribed is, for example, a police officer or a juror); conspiracy; contempt of court;
perjury; perverting the course of justice.
Law breakers
Chapter summary
Law may be categorised in a number of ways, although the various categories are
not mutually exclusive.
Common law and civil law relate to distinct legal systems. The English legal
system is a common law one as opposed to continental systems, which are based
on civil law.
Common law and equity distinguish the two historical sources and systems of
English law. Common law emerged in the process of establishing a single legal
system throughout the country. Equity was developed later to soften the formal
rigour of the common law. The two systems are now united, but in the final
analysis, equity should prevail.
Common law and statute relate to the source of law. Common law is judge made;
statute law is produced by parliament.
Private law and public law relate to whom the law is addressed. Private law relates
to individual citizens, whereas public law relates to institutions of government.
Civil law and criminal law distinguish between law, the purpose of which is to
facilitate the interaction of individuals and law that is aimed at enforcing
particular standards of behaviour.