法律英語名詞解釋考研復(fù)試口語

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Commonlaw

Commonlawrefersto

\o"Law"

law

andthecorresponding

\o"Legalsystemsoftheworld"

legalsystem

developedthrough

\o"Legalopinion"

decisions

of

\o"Courts"

courts

andsimilartribunals(called

\o"Caselaw"

caselaw

),ratherthanthrough

\o"Statutelaw"

legislativestatutes

or

\o"Executive(government)"

executiveaction

.

Common

\o"Law"

law

islawcreatedandrefinedby

\o"Judge"

judges

:adecisioninacurrentlypending

\o"Legalcase"

legalcase

dependsondecisionsinpreviouscasesandaffectsthelawtobeappliedinfuturecases.Whenthereisnoauthoritativestatementofthelaw,judgeshavetheauthorityanddutytomakelawbycreating

\o"Precedent"

precedent

.

Thebodyofprecedentiscalled"commonlaw"anditbindsfuturedecisions.Infuturecases,whenpartiesdisagreeonwhatthelawis,anidealizedcommonlawcourtlookstopast

\o"Precedent"

precedential

decisionsofrelevantcourts.Ifasimilardisputehasbeenresolvedinthepast,thecourtis

\o"Bindingprecedent"

bound

tofollowthereasoningusedinthepriordecision(thisprincipleisknownas

\o"Staredecisis"

staredecisis

).If,however,thecourtfindsthatthecurrentdisputeisfundamentallydistinctfromallpreviouscases,itwilldecideasa"

\o"Caseoffirstimpression"

matteroffirstimpression

."Thereafter,thenewdecisionbecomesprecedent,andwillbindfuturecourtsundertheprincipleof

\o"Staredecisis"

staredecisis

.

Inpractice,commonlawsystemsareconsiderablymorecomplicatedthantheidealizedsystemdescribedabove.Thedecisionsofacourtarebindingonlyinaparticular

\o"Jurisdiction"

jurisdiction

,andevenwithinagivenjurisdiction,somecourtshavemorepowerthanothers.Forexample,inmostjurisdictions,decisionsby

\o"Appellatecourts"

appellatecourts

arebindingonlowercourtsinthesamejurisdictionandonfuturedecisionsofthesameappellatecourt,butdecisionsofnon-appellatecourtsareonlynon-bindingpersuasiveauthority.Interactionsbetweencommonlaw,

\o"Constitutionallaw"

constitutionallaw

,

\o"Statutory"

statutory

lawand

\o"Regulatorylaw"

regulatorylaw

alsogiverisetoconsiderablecomplexity.Howeverstaredecisis,theprinciplethatsimilarcasesshouldbedecidedaccordingtoconsistentprincipledrulessothattheywillreachsimilarresults,liesattheheartofallcommonlawsystems.

Commonlawlegalsystemsareinwidespreaduse,particularlyinthosenationswhichtracetheirlegalheritagetoBritain,includingthe

\o"UnitedKingdom"

UnitedKingdom

,mostofthe

\o"UnitedStates"

UnitedStates

,andotherformercoloniesofthe

\o"BritishEmpire"

BritishEmpire

suchas

\o"India"

India

,

\o""

[2]

\o"Canada"

Canada

,

\o"NewZealand"

NewZealand

,

\o"Australia"

Australia

and

\o"HongKong"

HongKong

.

\o""

[3]

Injunction

Aninjunctionisan

\o"Equitableremedy"

equitableremedy

intheformofa

\o"Courtorder"

courtorder

,wherebyapartyisrequiredtodo,ortorefrainfromdoing,certainacts.Thepartythatfailstoadheretotheinjunctionfacescivilorcriminalpenaltiesandmayhavetopaydamagesoracceptsanctionsforfailingtofollowthecourt'sorder.Insomecases,breachesofinjunctionsareconsideredseriouscriminaloffencesthatmeritarrestandpossibleprisonsentences.

Misrepresentation

Misrepresentationisa

\o"Contractlaw"

contractlaw

concept.Itmeansafalsestatementoffactmadebyonepartytoanotherparty,whichhastheeffectofinducingthatpartyintothecontract.Forexample,undercertaincircumstances,falsestatementsorpromisesmadebyasellerofgoodsregardingthequalityornatureoftheproductthatthesellerhasmayconstitutemisrepresentation.Afindingofmisrepresentationallowsforaremedyof

\o"Rescission"

rescission

andsometimes

\o"Damages"

damages

dependingonthetypeofmisrepresentation.

Estoppel

Estoppelisa

\o"Law"

legal

\o"Doctrine"

doctrine

at

\o"Commonlaw"

commonlaw

,whereapartyisbarredfromclaimingordenyinganargumentonanequitableground.Estoppelcomplementstherequirementof

\o"Consideration"

consideration

in

\o"Contractlaw"

contractlaw

.Ingeneral,estoppelprotectsanaggrievedparty,ifthecounter-partyinducedanexpectationfromtheaggrievedparty,andtheaggrievedpartyreasonablyreliedontheexpectationandwouldsufferdetrimentiftheexpectationisnotmet.

Also,

\o"Unconscionability"

unconscionability

byabreachingpartyisalsosufficienttoestopthebreachingparty.

Estoppelisadefensethatpreventsarepresentorfromenforcinglegal

\o"Right"

rights

,orfromrelyingonasetoffactsthatwouldgiverisetoenforceablerights(e.g.wordssaidoractionsperformed),generallyonlyifthatenforcementorreliancewouldbeunfairtotherepresentee.Becauseitseffectistodefeatgenerallyenforceablelegalrights,thescopeoftheremedyisoftenlimited.Note,however,thatproprietaryestoppel(applicableinEnglishlandlaw)canbebothaswordandashieldandthescopeofitsremedyiswide.

Foranexampleofestoppel,considerthecaseofadebtorandacreditor.The

\o"Creditor"

creditor

mightunofficiallyinformthe

\o"Debtor"

debtor

thatthecreditorforgivesthe

\o"Debt"

debt

.Evenifsuchforgivenessisnotformallydocumented,thecreditormaybeestoppedfromchangingitsmindandseekingtocollectthedebt,becausethatchangewouldbeunfair.Inthesameway,a

\o"Landlord"

landlord

mightinforma

\o"Tenant"

tenant

thatrenthasbeenreduced,forexample,iftherewasconstructionoralapseinutilityservices.Ifthetenantreliesonthisnotice,thelandlordcouldbeestoppedfromcollectingthefullrent.

Estoppeliscloselyrelatedtothedoctrinesofwaiver,variation,andelectionandisappliedinmanyareasoflaw,includinginsurance,banking,employment,internationaltrade,etc.In

\o"Englishlaw"

Englishlaw

,theconceptof

\o"Legitimateexpectation"

legitimateexpectation

intherealmof

\o"Administrativelaw"

administrativelaw

and

\o"Judicialreview"

judicialreview

isestoppel'scounterpartin

\o"Publiclaw"

publiclaw

,althoughsubtlebutimportantdifferencesexist.

Thistermappearstocomefromthe

\o"Frenchlanguage"

French

estoupail(oravariation),whichmeant"stopperplug",referringtoplacingahaltontheimbalanceofthesituation.Thetermisrelatedtotheverb"estop"whichcomesfromtheOldFrenchtermestopper,meaning"stopup,impede".NotethesimilaritybetweentheEnglishterms"estop"and"stop".

Caselaw

Caselaw(alsoknownasdecisionallaworjudicialprecedent)isthegeneraltermfortheprinciplesand

\o"Rules"

rules

of

\o"Law"

law

setforthin

\o"Judge"

judicial

\o"Legalopinion"

opinions

from

\o"Courtsoflaw"

courtsoflaw

.

\o""

[1]

Caselawincorporatescourts'decisionsfromindividual

\o"Legalcase"

cases

andencompassescourts'interpretationsof

\o"Statutes"

statutes

,

\o"Constitution"

constitutional

provisions,

\o"Administrativelaw"

administrative

\o"Regulations"

regulations

and,insomecases,laworiginatingsolelyfromthecourts.Caselawisoftenpublishedinprint

\o"Lawreport"

lawreportsorreporters

(andincreasinglyon

\o"Lawreport"

courtwebsites

)toestablish

\o"Precedent"

precedent

-rulestoapplyinfuturecourtdecisionsdealingwithsimilarsituations.

Forcountrieswitha

\o"Commonlaw"

commonlaw

\o"Legalsystem"

legalsystem

,suchasinthe

\o"UnitedKingdom"

UnitedKingdom

,

\o"UnitedStates"

UnitedStates

,andmostofthe

\o"CommonwealthofNations"

CommonwealthofNations

,caselawisamajor

\o"Sourceoflaw"

sourceoflaw

.Ingeneral,courtsincommonlawcountriestreatthedecisionsofhigher

\o"Appellatecourts"

appellatecourts

as

\o"Normative"

normative

-layingdownrulesthatshould,orinsomecasesmust,beusedtodecidesimilarlegaldisputes(called"

\o"Bindingprecedent"

bindingprecedent

").Incountrieswithlegalsystemsthatfollowthe

\o"Civillaw(legalsystem)"

civillaw

traditionderivedfrom

\o"Romanlaw"

Romanlaw

,however,thecourtsarenotstrictlyboundbyrulesandprinciplesfromcaselaw.

Statute

Statutelawislawmadebyparliamentseg.thecrimesact1900madebynswparliament

Astatuteisaformalwrittenenactmentofa

\o"Legislative"

legislative

authoritythatgovernsa

\o"Country"

country

,

\o"State"

state

,

\o"City"

city

,or

\o"County"

county

.

\o""

[1]

Typically,statutescommandorprohibitsomething,ordeclarepolicy.Thewordisoftenusedtodistinguish

\o"Law"

law

madeby

\o"Legislature"

legislative

bodiesfromthe

\o"Legalopinions"

judicialdecisions

ofthe

\o"Commonlaw"

commonlaw

andthe

\o"Regulations"

regulations

issuedby

\o"Governmentagencies"

Governmentagencies

.

\o""

[1]

Statutesaresometimesreferredtoas

\o"Legislation"

legislation

or"

\o"Blackletterlaw"

blackletterlaw

".Asasourceof

\o"Law"

law

,statutesareconsidered

\o"Primaryauthority"

primaryauthority

(asopposedto

\o"Secondaryauthority"

secondaryauthority

).

Beforeastatutebecomes

\o"Law"

law

insomecountries,itmustbeagreeduponbythehighest

\o"Executivebranch"

executive

inthe

\o"Government"

government

,andfinallypublishedaspartofa

\o"Code(law)"

code

.Inmanycountries,statutesareorganizedintopicalarrangements(or

\o"Codification"

"codified"

)withinpublicationscalled

\o"Code(law)"

codes

,suchasthe

\o"UnitedStatesCode"

UnitedStatesCode

.IntheUnitedStates,

\o"Statutorylaw"

statutorylaw

isdistinguishedfromandsubordinateto

\o"Constitutionallaw"

constitutionallaw

.

Agency(law)

Agencyisanareaof

\o"Commerciallaw"

commerciallaw

dealingwitha

\o"Contract"

contractual

or

\o"Quasi-contract"

quasi-contractual

\o"Tripartite"

tripartite

,ornon-contractualsetofrelationshipswhenan

\o"Agent(law)"

agent

isauthorizedtoactonbehalfofanother(calledthe

\o"Principal(law)"

Principal

)tocreatealegalrelationshipwithaThirdParty.

\o""

[1]

Succinctly,itmaybereferredtoastherelationshipbetweenaprincipalandanagentwherebytheprincipal,expresslyorimpliedly,authorizestheagenttoworkunderhiscontrolandonhisbehalf.Theagentis,thus,requiredtonegotiateonbehalfoftheprincipalorbringhimandthirdpartiesintocontractualrelationship.Thisbranchoflawseparatesandregulatestherelationshipsbetween:

AgentsandPrincipals;

AgentsandtheThirdPartieswithwhomtheydealontheirPrincipals'behalf;and

PrincipalsandtheThirdPartieswhentheAgentspurporttodealontheirbehalf.

The

\o"Commonlaw"

commonlaw

principleinoperationisusuallyrepresentedinthe

\o"Latin"

Latin

phrase,quifacitperalium,facitperse,i.e.theonewhoactsthroughanother,actsinhisorherowninterestsanditisaparallelconceptto

\o"Vicariousliability"

vicariousliability

and

\o"Strictliability"

strictliability

inwhichonepersonisheldliablein

\o"Criminallaw"

Criminallaw

or

\o"Tort"

Tort

fortheactsoromissionsofanother.

Goodfaith

Goodfaith,orin

\o"Latinlanguage"

Latin

bonafides(bonafidemeans"ingoodfaith"),isthe

\o"Mentalstate"

mental

and

\o"Morality"

moralstate

of

\o"Honesty"

honesty

,

\o"Belief"

conviction

astothe

\o"Truth"

truth

or

\o"Falsehood"

falsehood

ofa

\o"Proposition"

proposition

orbodyof

\o"Opinion"

opinion

,orastotherectitudeordepravityofalineof

\o"Conduct"

conduct

.Thisconceptisimportantin

\o"Law"

law

,especiallyequitablematters.

\o""

[1]

IncontemporaryEnglish,"bonafides"issometimesusedasa

\o"Synonym"

synonym

for

\o"Credential"

credentials

,background,ordocumentationofaperson's

\o"Identitydocument"

identity

."Showmeyourbonafides"canmean:WhyshouldItrustyou(yourgoodfaithinthismatter)?Tellmewhoyouare.Inthissense,thephraseissometimesusedinjobadvertisements,andshouldnotbeconfusedwiththe

\o"Bonafideoccupationalqualifications"

bonafideoccupationalqualifications

ortheemployer'sgoodfaitheffort,asdescribedbelow.

\o""

[2]

Commissioner

Commissionerisinprincipalthetitlegiventotheholderofa

\o"Commission"

commission

,inthesenseofamandate,whetherindividuallyorshared,notablyasmemberofacollegialcommission.

Inpracticethetitleofcommissionerhasevolvedtoincludeavarietyofseniorofficials,oftensittingonaspecificcommission.Inparticular,commissionerfrequentlyreferstosenior

\o"Police"

police

orgovernmentofficials.AHighCommissionerisequivalenttoan

\o"Ambassador"

ambassador

,betweenCommonwealthstatessharingthesameMonarchasheadofstate.

Thetitleisalsosometimesgiventoseniorofficialsintheprivatesector,forinstancemany

\o"NorthAmerica"

NorthAmerican

\o"Sport"

sports

leagues.

Partnership

Apartnershipisatypeof

\o"Businessentity"

businessentity

inwhichpartners(owners)sharewitheachothertheprofitsorlossesofthebusinessundertakinginwhichallhaveinvested.Partnershipsareoftenfavoredover

\o"Corporation"

corporations

fortaxationpurposes,asthepartnershipstructuredoesnotgenerallyincurataxonprofitsbeforeitisdistributedtothepartners(i.e.thereisno

\o"Dividendtax"

dividendtax

levied).However,dependingonthepartnershipstructureandthe

\o"Jurisdiction"

jurisdiction

inwhichitoperates,ownersofapartnershipmaybeexposedtogreaterpersonalliabilitythantheywouldas

\o"Shareholder"

shareholders

ofacorporation.

Jointandseveralliability

Underjointandseveralliability,aclaimantmaypursueanobligationagainstanyonepartyasiftheywerejointlyliableanditbecomestheresponsibilityofthedefendantstosortouttheirrespectiveproportionsofliabilityandpayment.Thismeansthatiftheclaimantpursuesonedefendantandreceivespayment,thatdefendantmustthenpursuetheotherobligorsforacontributiontotheirshareoftheliability.

Jointandseveralliabilityismostrelevantin

\o"Tort"

tort

claims,wherebya

\o"Plaintiff"

plaintiff

mayrecoverallthe

\o"Damages"

damages

fromanyofthe

\o"Defendant"

defendants

regardlessoftheirindividualshareoftheliability.Theruleisoftenappliedin

\o"Negligence"

negligence

cases,thoughitissometimesinvokedinotherareasoflaw.

Inthe

\o"UnitedStates"

UnitedStates

,46ofthe50

\o"U.S.states"

states

havearuleofjointandseveralliability,althoughinresponseto"

\o"Tortreform"

tortreform

"efforts,somehavelimitedtheapplicabilityoftherule.

Tort

Tortlawisthenamegiventoabodyoflawthataddresses,andprovidesremediesfor,civilwrongsnotarisingoutof

\o"Contract"

contractual

obligations.

\o""

[1]

Apersonwhosufferslegal

\o"Damages"

damages

maybeabletousetortlawtoreceivecompensationfromsomeonewhois

\o"Liability"

legallyresponsible

,or"liable,"forthoseinjuries.Generallyspeaking,tortlawdefineswhatconstitutesalegalinjuryandestablishesthecircumstancesunderwhichonepersonmaybeheldliableforanother'sinjury.Tortscoverintentionalactsandaccidents.

Forinstance,Alicethrowsaballand

\o"Accident"

accidentally

hitsBrendaintheeye.BrendamaysueAliceforlossesoccasionedbytheaccident(e.g.,costsofmedicaltreatment,lostincomeduringtimeoffwork,painandsuffering,etc.).WhetherornotBrendawinsher

\o"Lawsuit"

suit

dependsonifshecanproveAliceengagedintortiousconduct.Here,Brendawouldattemptto

\o"Burdenofproof"

prove

Alicehada

\o"Dutyofcare"

duty

andfailedtoexercisethe

\o"Standardofcare"

standardofcare

whicha

\o"Reasonableperson"

reasonableperson

wouldrenderinthrowingtheball.

Oneofthemaintopicsofthesubstanceoftortlawisdeterminingthe"

\o"Standardofcare"

standardofcare

"-alegalphrasethatmeansdistinguishingbetweenwhenconductisorisnottortious.Putanotherway,thebigissueiswhetherapersonsuffersthelossfromhisowninjury,orwhetheritgetstransferredtosomeoneelse.

Goingbacktotheexampleabove,ifAlicethrewtheballatBrendaonpurpose,Brendacouldsueforthe

\o"Intentionaltort"

intentionaltort

of

\o"Battery(tort)"

battery

.Ifitwasanaccident,Brendamustprove

\o"Negligence"

negligence

.Todothis,Brendamustshowthatherinjurywasreasonablyforeseeable,thatAliceowedBrendaa

\o"Dutyofcare"

dutyofcare

nottohitherwiththeball,andthatAlicefailedtomeetthe

\o"Standardofcare"

standardofcare

required.

Inmuchofthewesternworld,thetouchstoneoftortliabilityis

\o"Negligence"

negligence

.Iftheinjuredpartycannotprovethatthepersonbelievedtohavecausedtheinjuryactedwithnegligence,attheveryleast,tortlawwillnotcompensatethem.Tortlawalsorecognizes

\o"Intentionaltorts"

intentionaltorts

and

\o"Strictliability"

strictliability

,whichapplytodefendantswhoengageincertainactions.

Intortlaw,injuryisdefinedbroadly.Injurydoesnotjustmeanaphysicalinjury,suchaswhereBrendawasstruckbyaball.Injuriesintortlawreflectanyinvasionofanynumberofindividual"interests."Thisincludesinterestsrecognizedinotherareasoflaw,suchas

\o"Property"

property

rights.Actionsfor

\o"Nuisance"

nuisance

and

\o"Trespass"

trespass

tolandcanarisefrominterferingwithrightsinrealproperty.

\o"Conversion(law)"

Conversion

andtrespasstochattelscanprotectinterferencewithmovableproperty.Interestsinprospectiveeconomicadvantagesfrom

\o"Contracts"

contracts

canalsobeinjuredandbecomethesubjectoftortactions.Anumberofsituationscausedbypartiesinacontractualrelationshipmayneverthelessbetortratherthancontractclaims,suchasbreachof

\o"Fiduciaryduty"

fiduciaryduty

.

Tortlawmayalsobeusedtocompensateforinjuriestoanumberofotherindividualintereststhatarenotrecognizedinpropertyorcontractlaw,andareintangible.Thisincludesaninterestinfreedomfromemotionaldistress,privacyinterests,andreputation.Theseareprotectedbyanumberoftortssuchas

\o"Intentionalinflictionofemotionaldistress"

infliction

,

\o"Privacy"

privacy

torts,and

\o"Defamation"

defamation

.Defamationandprivacytortsmay,forexample,allowacelebritytosueanewspaperforpublishinganuntrueandharmfulstatementabouthim.Otherprotectedinterestsincludefreedomofmovement,protectedbytheintentionaltortof

\o"Falseimprisonment"

falseimprisonment

.

Theequivalentoftortin

\o"Civillaw(legalsystem)"

civillaw

jurisdictionsis

\o"Delict"

delict

.

\o""

[2]

Thelawoftortscanbecategorisedaspartofthe

\o"Lawofobligations"

lawofobligations

,butunlikevoluntarilyassumedobligations(suchasthoseofcontract,ortrust),thedutiesimposedbythelawoftortsapplytoallthosesubjecttotherelevant

\o"Jurisdiction"

jurisdiction

.Tobehavein'tortious'manneristoharmanother's

\o"Humanrights"

body

,

\o"Propertyrights"

property

,orlegalrights,orpossibly,tobreachadutyowedunder

\o"Statutorylaw"

statute

.Onewhocommitsatortiousactiscalleda"tortfeasor".

\o""

[3]

Tortsisoneofthe

\o"AmericanBarAssociation"

AmericanBarAssociation

mandatoryfirstyearlawschoolcourses.

\o""

[4]

Piercingthecorporateveil

The

\o"Corporationslaw"

corporatelaw

conceptofpiercing(lifting)thecorporateveildescribesalegaldecisionwhereashareholderordirectorofa

\o"Corporation"

corporation

isheldliableforthe

\o"Debts"

debts

orliabilitiesofthecorporationdespitethegeneralprinciplethatshareholdersareimmunefromsuit