Viorica Corceac, Diana Cebotari

Unit I. Law and order

1. The law
LEAD IN
• Why do we have rules and laws?
• What would happen to the society without laws?
• Is the ignorance of law an excuse? Why (not)?
• Why do people break them? Have you ever broken any rules?
• What do you know about the origin of laws?

VOCABULARY NOTES
1. Read, translate and memorize.
 normative, adj. – relating to, stance;
or deriving from a standard or  to behave, vb. – to act or func-
norm, especially of behavior; tion in a specified or usual way;
6  act, n. – a written law passed  regulation, n. – a principle,
by Parliament, Congress, etc.; rule, or law designed to control
 legislative body, n. – persons or govern conduct;
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who make, amend or repeal  to impose upon/on phr. vb –

laws; to establish as something to be
 descriptive, adj. – involving obeyed or complied with; en-
or characterized by description; force;
serving to describe;  to enforce, vb. –  to compel ob-
 prescriptive, adj. – making or servance of or obedience to; to
giving directions, rules, or in- impose a kind of behavior;
junctions;  codified, adj. – arranged ac-
 phenomenon, n. – a fact, oc- cording to a plan or system; en-
currence, or observed circum- acted by a legislative body;
 Viorica Corceac, Diana Cebotari
 to punish, vb. – to force sb. to  to obey, vb. – to carry out or

undergo a penalty or sanction,
such as imprisonment, fines,
death, etc., for some crime or
misdemeanor;
 to reward, vb. – something
given or received in return for a
deed or service rendered;
 to carry out, phr. vb. – to put
into practice or effect; to follow
or obey;
 compulsion, n. – the action or
state of forcing or being forced
to do something; constraint;
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fulfill the command, order, or
instruction of;
 penalty, n. – a punishment
established by law or authority
for a crime or offense;
 anarchy, n. – absence of any
form of political authority; po-
litical disorder and confusion;
 to rule, vb. – to be in total
control or command; exercise
supreme authority;
 to prosecute, vb. – to seek to 7
obtain or enforce by legal action.

2. Work with your vocabulary notes or dictionary. Give

synonyms to the following words.

to obey to rule penalty compulsion to enforce to behave

to punish to conduct

READING
The Law
Generally speaking, by law we understand any normative act
issued by a legislative body of a state. There are more types of laws.
Some laws are descriptive – they simply describe how people, or
even natural phenomena, usually behave. An example of descrip-
tive law is rather consistent law of gravity or the less consistent laws
of economics.
Other laws are prescriptive – they prescribe how people
should or must behave. An example of prescriptive law is traffic
regulations. When we speak of the law of a state we use the term
“law” in a special and strict sense and in that sense law may be
defined as “a rule of human conduct, imposed upon and enforced
among, the members of a given state”.
 Viorica Corceac, Diana Cebotari
In any society, laws have several characteristics. First, laws
symbolize norms, values, traditions. Second, laws must be codified
in some way, usually through writing. Third, there must be a meth-
od of enforcement. This can include police, social pressure, or some
other force that enable society to punish or reward its members.
And finally, there must be something specific to be enforced: laws
are not general, but specific.
The main characteristic of law is that it is enforced, and
such enforcement is usually carried out by the State. If the rules
or laws are broken, compulsion is used to enforce obedience. Thus
if A steals a watch from B, A may be prosecuted before the court.
The court may then order the restitution of the watch to its right-
ful owner, B. If A refuses to obey, he or she may be punished, that
means a penalty will be imposed on A. This is why we need law.
Just imagine if we all behaved according to our personal stand-
ards of behavior and morality, then anarchy would rule the world.

COMPREHENSION
I. Answer the questions.
1. What does the term “law” generally mean?
2. What is the difference between descriptive laws and prescriptive
laws? Give some examples.
3. How is the law of the state defined?
8
4. What do laws symbolize?
5. What can be used as methods of enforcement?
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6. Why do methods of enforcement exist?

7. What is the main characteristic of law?
8. Explain the notion “compulsion”. Give examples.

II. Complete the sentences using the text.

1) Descriptive laws usually describe __________. 2) Prescrip-
tive laws prescribe __________. 3) The law of a state may be
___________ as “the rule of human ___________, imposed
___________ and ___________ among the ___________ of a giv-
en state”. 4) Laws have several ___________: first, they symbolize
 Viorica Corceac, Diana Cebotari
___________; second, they must be ___________ through writing;

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third, there must exist methods of ___________ that enable society
to ___________ or ___________ its members. 5) Such enforce-
ment is usually ___________ by the State. 6) If the laws are broken
___________ is used. 7) Two ideas ___________ the concept of
law: ___________ and ___________.

III. a) Write definitions of your own to the following

words.
• society • order
• obedience • anarchy

b) Compare your definitions with those given in a dic- 9

tionary and decide if you were right or not. Whose definition
is most precise?

IV. Translate the following sentences into English.

1) Legile şi tradiţiile societăţii determină comportamentul
oamenilor. 2) Tradiţiile sunt elemente de cultură transmise din
generaţie în generaţie. 3) O persoană este pedepsită atunci când
încalcă legea. 4) Dacă noi toţi ne-am comporta în conformitate
cu standardele noastre personale de comportament şi moralitate,
atunci anarhia ar conduce lumea. 5) Legile trebuie să fie cunoscute
de toată lumea. 6) Metoda de aplicare a legii poate include poliţia,
presiunea socială, sau o altă forţă care permite societăţii de a pede-
psi sau recompensa membrii săi.

V. Complete the text using the words from the box below
and translate it into Romanian.
Law, morality and custom
Respect immoral governments legal actions break the rules
societies behave penalty moral choice prescriptive laws
instructions informal rules experience

In all __________ relations between people are regulated

 Viorica Corceac, Diana Cebotari
by__________. Some of them are customs – that is, _________
of social and moral behavior. Customs need not to be made
by________, and they need not to be written down. We learn
how we are expected to _____ in society through the _________
of family and teachers, the advice of friends, and our own ______
in communication with other people. Thus moral rules and ethics
remind us that it is _______ to covet, to tell lies, or to defame
the dead. Sometimes we can break these rules without suffering
any_________. But if we continually________, or break a very
important one, we may lose our friends or their _______. The law,
however, is not concerned with these matters and leaves them to
the individual’s ________ and the pressure of public opinion results
no______.

WRITING
1. What did you learn? Fill the word web below with as
many words related to LAW as you can think of.

LAW
10

2. Write your opinion on one of the following statements.

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• Written laws are like spider’s webs; they will catch it is true,
the weak and the poor, but would be torn in pieces by the rich and
powerful.
• The study of law is useful in a variety of points of view. It
qualifies a man to be useful to the public.
• The more laws, the less justice.
• Nobody has a more sacred obligation to obey the law than
those who make the law.
• Good people do not need laws to tell them to act responsibly,
while bad people will find a way around the laws.
 Viorica Corceac, Diana Cebotari
INFO BOX

A Practical Course
ODD LAWS AROUND THE WORLD
There are many laws around the world which may eas-
ily provoke blank stares, disgust and – most of all – laughter.
Many of these appear to be written as silly
jokes, but it seems that most of them made it
to actual legal books and even produced se-
rious legal effects. What makes these laws so
different from all the others is either their hi-
larious hypothesis, or the way justice is made
in certain situations. For example:
її In Arkansas, schoolteachers who bob
their hair are not eligible for a raise. 11
їїIn Los Angeles, a man can legally beat his wife with a leath-
er belt or strap, but the belt can’t be wider than 2 inches, unless
he has his wife’s consent to beat her with a wider strap. Consent
should be given prior to the event, as is carefully stipulated.
їїIn Oklahoma, you can be arrested for making ugly faces at
a dog.
їїIn California it is illegal to set a mouse trap without a hunt-
ing license.
їїIn Massachusetts, it is illegal to go to bed without first hav-
ing a bath.
їїIn England, it is illegal to die in the Houses of Parliament.
їїYou are not allowed to jump off a building. The penalty is
death (New York).
їїIn Miami, Florida, imitating animals is illegal.
їїIn Texas, if you are going to commit a crime, you legally
have to give 24 hours notice to the police.
їїIt is illegal for a lady to eat chocolates on a bus or on the
underground (United Kingdom).
їїIn France, it’s illegal to name a pig Napoleon.
їїIn Afghanistan the Taliban banned women from wearing
white socks, for fear men might find them attractive.
їїIn Bangladesh you face prison time for cheating at school.
 Viorica Corceac, Diana Cebotari

їїIn Denmark it is not against the law to escape from prison.

їїIn Michigan, a woman isn’t allowed to cut her hair without
her husband’s permission.
їїIf a person finds a lost child they can claim the child as their
own if a parent does not turn up within 2 hours (Denmark).
їїYou are not permitted to wear cowboy boots if you don´t
own at least two cows (California).
їїIt is considered an offense if a woman appears in public, un-
less accompanied by a male relative or guardian (Saudi Arabia).
їїIt is illegal for men to go top-less in the center of town
(New York).
їїSelling gum is prohibited (Singapore).
їїIf you are convicted of littering three times, you will have
to clean the streets on Sundays with a bib on saying,” I am a
litterer.” This will then be broadcasted on the local news (Sin-
gapore).

DISCUSSION
• What is the purpose of each law mentioned above?
• Which one is the most ridiculous in your opinion? Explain.
• Are these laws difficult or easy to be respected? Why?
12 • If someone doesn’t know there is a law against something he
does, is it still a reason for punishment?
• How would a world without laws be? Give some examples of
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situations to support your ideas.