BRANCHES OF LAW

BRANCHES OF LAW
• Which branches of law are you familiar with? What do they deal with?
 THE SYSTEMIC CHARACTER OF
LAW
• Legal order – systemic character
• Classification of law:
• 1) according to the type of law (the matters that the law is regulating)
• 2) according to the source from which it comes
 CLASSIFICATION ACCORDING TO
THE TYPE
1. Substantive law and procedural law
2. National and international law
3. Public international law
4. Public law
5. Private law
 PUBLIC LAW
• Three main types:
• 1) Constitutional law – the rules which regulate the structure of the main branches of
government, their relationship to each other, as well as determine their main functions;
additionally, the rules also define the rights of citizens
• 2) Administrative law – governs the exercise of powers and duties by public authorities
• 3) Criminal law – sets out the types of behavior which are forbidden and are subject to
punishment
 PRIVATE LAW
• Usually called civil law
• The main branches:
• 1) Law of contract – branch of law which determines whether a promise is legally
enforceable and what are its legal consequences
• 2) law of torts – deals with civil wrongs (nuisance, negligence, defamation, trespass)
• 3) law of property – determines the nature and extent of the rights which people may enjoy
over land and other property
• 4) family law – covers such matters whether a marriage is valid, what the rules are for
divorce and who should have the custody of the children
 PRIVATE LAW
• 5) law of succession – concerned both with regulating who inherits property when a person
dies without a will, and also with the rules for making a valid will
• 6) company law – regulates how a company should be formed, sets out formal rules for
running companies, and deals with the rights and duties of shareholders and directors
• 7) employment law – covers all aspects of employment, from the original formation of a
contract of employment to situations of redundancy or unfair dismissal
 CIVIL VS CRIMINAL LAW
• Civil law – usually invoked only by the parties seeking to protect their private rights or
interests; the state has no interest in pursuing your civil claim
• Criminal offence – a wrong against community; the state may prosecute the offender,
whether or not the victim of a crime wishes to take action against him/her; the aim is to
punish the wrongdoer
 BRANCHES OF LAW
Private law Public law
 COMPREHENSION CHECK
Work on a crossword first
• What is the difference between substantive and procedural law?
• What is the difference between national and international law?
• What are the main branches of public law?
• What is the basic difference between public and private law?
• Why does criminal law belong to public law?
• What are the main branches of private law?
 EXERCISE
• Fill in the gaps with the missing words.
STATE, ENFORCED, DISPUTES, CRIME, CONVENTIONS, SUBSTANTIVE, RULES,
CITIZENS, PROCEDURAL, REGULATE
• While _______ law regulates areas of human activity, ____________ law sets down the
rules for the manner of enforcing that law in relation to that activity. While the first refers
to the body of rules of law which ____________ the rights, duties and liabilities among
__________ and governments, the latter lays down ________ governing the manner in
which a right is ________ under civil law, or a __________ is prosecuted under criminal
law.
• Within national law there is usually a clear distinction between public and private law.
Pubic law involves the _______ or government in some way, while private law is
concerned with __________ between private individuals or businesses. Public
international law, on the other hand, governs the relationships between states and other
entities on the international plane and is contained in _________ and treaties.
 TORT LAW
• Tort (civil wrong)-when one person or entity inflicts an injury upon another in which the
injured party can sue for damages.
• The injured party=plaintiff (civil cases)/prosecutor (criminal cases)
• The defending party=defendant
• Compensation is done through a personal injury attorney
• Three main types of tort: intentional torts, negligence, and strict liability.
 INTENTIONAL TORT
• An individual or an entity purposely engages in conduct that causes injury or damage to
another.
• Example: striking someone in a fight (battery) is an intentional act, where accidentally
hitting another person wouldn’t be intentional because there was no intent to strike.
• Crime=a wrongful act that interferes with interests of society. Charges here are brough by
the governments-fine or jail time.
• Tort=a wrongful act that interferes with individual’s well-being or property. Charges here are
brought by a plaintiff seeking compensation for damages that defendant must pay if they
lose.
 EXAMPLES OF INTENTIONAL
TORTS
• Assault
• Battery
• False imprisonment
• Conversion
• Intentional infliction of emotional distress
• Fraud
• Trespass
• Defamation
 NEGLIGENCE
• Failure to adhere to a legal duty of the public to act a certain way in order to reduce the risk
of harm to others.
• The most common type of tort
• Happens when an individual or entity is careless and fails to provide a duty owed to another
person.
 EXAMPLES OF NEGLIGENCE
• Slip and fall accidents
• Car/truck accidents
• Motorcycle accidents
• Bicycle accidents
• Pedestrian accidents
• Medical malpractice
 STRICT LIABILITY
• applies to cases where responsibility for an injury can be imposed on the wrongdoer
without proof of negligence or direct fault.
• An action occurred and resulted in the eventual injury of another person.
• Examples: defective products, animal attacks, abnormally dangerous activities
• What is Tort Law-Video
 FAMOUS TORT CASES
• Liebeck vs. McDonald’s
• Grimshaw vs. Ford Motor Company
• Bollea vs. Gawker
• Anderson vs. Cryovac, Inc.
• Anderson et at. vs. Pacific Gas & Electric
Read the cases and discuss with the class!
 REFERENCES
• Sočanac, Lelija, Miljen Matijašević, Marijana Javornik Čubrić, Snježana Husinec, Irena
Horvatić Bilić (2017). English for the Legal Profession. Zagreb: Narodne Novine
• Sierocka, Halina (2017). Legal English. Poland: PUBLIKATOR Sp. z.o.o.