Statutes are a codified reflection of case law since they are sets of rules from judicial precedents. The Parliament only has to bring the process to a logical conclusion by adopting the so-called "acts on legal reforms," amending the existing statutes, and formalizing the already actively applied law norms.
In English law, the following main branches are distinguished: Constitutional Law, Administrative Law, Family Law, Tort Law, Contract Law (in Business), Property Law, Trusts, Labor Law, Evidentiary Law, Criminal Law.
English law distinguishes the following types of law: common law and the law of equity, and also public and private law. The distinction between civil and criminal liability is central to English law – the procedure for judicial protection and terminology depends on it. The critical difference between public and personal law is who triggers the mechanisms of official coercion: the state or an individual. In the field of business, private law is most applicable, especially corporate law.
Criminal law is part of public law. A private person does not pursue the criminal, but by the state, because society as a whole suffers from the crime – the scale of the harmfulness of the consequences is used to explain why the same act can entail both criminal and civil liability (for example, drunk driving with a downed pedestrian entails both criminal prosecutions for threatening the whole society with drunk driving and civil liability for harming the health of an individual). To find the defendant guilty, the public prosecutor must prove that the actions or omissions had socially dangerous consequences or that the defendant failed to fulfill the obligation to take all necessary measures to avoid criminally punishable consequences.
Civil law is an element of private law. The names of civil cases reflect the fact that a private person initiated the coercion. The plaintiff must convince the court that the veracity of his statements is more likely than improbable (the principle of greater probability). Civil liability is not a punishment but serves as compensation. Therefore, for example, debt collection in civil proceedings cannot entail restriction of the debtor's freedom (hence, in a comparative legal context, the Russian practice of prohibiting the departure of civil debtors abroad looks doubtful). The dispute may be settled out of court at the discretion of the parties. In the field of civil legal relations, the law of justice is most often applied.
An essential difference between the American legal system and the English one is the presence of a written Basic Law, which in the country is the Constitution of September 17, 1787, consisting of a preamble, seven articles, and twenty-seven amendments. English case law is not applied unconditionally.
The Romano-Germanic legal family includes the legal systems of Western, Central, and Southern Europe and the Russian Federation. The main feature of the Romano-Germanic legal system is its formation based on the reception of Roman law. An essential element of Romano-Germanic law is its pronounced codification character. The main source of law is the law (normative legal act). It has a clear sectoral division of legal norms.
The historical feature of Romano-Germanic law is the elevated status of private law relative to public law; that is, the principle of the importance of personal law and the secondary nature of public law is observed. The concept of a legal norm is one of the most important elements of Romano-Germanic law. The understanding of the legal norm boils down to the following: the rule of law is a rule of conduct that is general and generally binding, is of great importance. The legal norm is considered an abstract order, as the highest rule of behavior for citizens and state bodies. Normative legal acts, as a rule, are constructed according to the following hierarchical scheme: constitutional (organic) laws – ordinary (current) laws – by-laws. The leading role in lawmaking belongs to the legislator, as a rule, to a representative body of state power; the prevailing legal doctrine is the doctrine of the rule of law. Firstly, it means that the law has the highest legal force, and all other normative legal acts must be brought into line with the law, and in case of contradiction of the law, any act can be protested or canceled. Secondly, under the doctrine of the rule of law, the law enforcement officer is obliged to act strictly under the law, without creating new legal norms.
The sources of law in the Russian Federation are the Constitution, federal constitutional laws, federal laws, presidential decrees and orders, Government resolutions and orders, departmental acts of federal executive authorities, constitutions (charters) of subjects of the Russian Federation, laws of subjects of the Russian Federation, acts of executive authorities of subjects of the Russian Federation, acts of local self-government bodies; also, international treaties and agreements, if they have been duly ratified, are sources of law.
Russia's legal system is a combination of the national system of law and international legal obligations of the Russian Federation, the legal culture of Russian society, and legal practice in Russia. In the Russian legal system, it is traditionally possible to distinguish: constitutional (state) law, civil law, administrative law, criminal law, civil procedure law, criminal procedure law, agricultural law, land law, labor law, family law, financial law.
Глоссарий Юридической Терминологии
Glossary of the Legal Terminology
А
Аборт относится к числу старейших проблем медицинской этики, а также философии, юриспруденции и теологии. Статья 36 «Основ законодательства РФ об охране здоровья граждан» разрешает «аборт по просьбе» до 12 недель беременности, по социальным показаниям – до 22 недель, по медицинским показаниям – независимо от срока беременности.
Abortion or feticide is the act of stopping a pregnancy. The killing of a fetus in the womb; abortion.
Абсолютная ответственность – вид материальной ответственности, которая основывается на договорном обязательстве полностью возместить материальный ущерб вне зависимости от вины причинителя. Иногда называется объективной ответственностью.
Absolute liability is the liability for an act that causes harm without regard to fault or negligence. Also called strict liability.
А-Б траст (Тип траста на супружеский вычет). Это обходное доверие часто является частью общей стратегии, которая используется для организации упорядоченной передачи имущества и активов в случае смерти. Как правило, обходной траст организован, чтобы разрешить эту передачу от родителя ребенку или в некоторых случаях от одного супруга другому.
A–B trust is a type of marital deduction trust reduces the second spouse's taxation to die by limiting the amount in that person’s estate to a not-taxable sum. Also called the bypass trust, credit shelter trust, and exemption equivalent trust.
Автоматическое приостановление