Professional Documents
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OBIECTIVE GENERALE
Limbajul juridic poate fi neles i nsuit doar printr-o cunoatere
temeinic a regulilor gramaticale i a structurilor comunicative de baz ale
limbii engleze cel puin la nivelul mediu. Prezentul suport de curs se bazeaz
pe manualul utilizat n cadrul seminarului: Amy Krois-Lindner, Matt Firth and
TransLegal: Introduction to International Legal English, Cambridge
University Press, 2009, leciile 1-5. Obiectivul general l reprezint nsuirea
vocabularului juridic pentru materiile: contract law, tort law, criminal law,
company law.
Not informativ cu privire la evaluare: 50% activitate la seminar
(inclusiv evaluari pe parcursul semestrului) + 50% examen final scris.
I. Contract law
Obiective: - nsuirea vocabularului juridic corespunztor materiei de drept
consequential
damages,
reliance
damages,
and
specific
performance.
Contracts are promises that the law will enforce. The law provides
remedies if a promise is breached or recognizes the performance of a promise
as a duty. Contracts arise when a duty does or may come into existence,
because of a promise made by one of the parties. To be legally binding as a
contract, a promise must be exchanged for adequate consideration. Adequate
consideration is a benefit or detriment which a party receives which
reasonably and fairly induces them to make the promise/contract. For
example, promises that are purely gifts are not considered enforceable because
the personal satisfaction the grantor of the promise may receive from the act
of giving is normally not considered adequate consideration. Certain promises
that are not considered contracts may, in limited circumstances, be enforced if
one party has relied to his detriment on the assurances of the other party.
Proof of some or all of these elements may be done in writing, though
contracts may be made entirely orally or by conduct. The remedy for breach
of contract can be "damages" in the form of compensation of money or
specific performance enforced through an injunction. Both of these remedies
award the party at loss the "benefit of the bargain" or expectation damages,
which are greater than mere reliance damages, as in promissory estoppel. The
parties may be natural persons or juristic persons. A contract is a legally
enforceable promise or undertaking that something will or will not occur. The
word promise can be used as a legal synonym for contract, although care is
required as a promise may not have the full standing of a contract, as when it
is an agreement without consideration.
Contracts are mainly governed by state statutory and common (judgemade) law and private law. Private law principally includes the terms of the
agreement between the parties who are exchanging promises. This private law
may override many of the rules otherwise established by state law. Statutory
law may require some contracts be put in writing and executed with particular
formalities. Otherwise, the parties may enter into a binding agreement without
signing a formal written document.
Elements
At common law, the elements of a contract are offer, acceptance,
intention to create legal relations, and consideration.
Offer and acceptance
In order for a contract to be formed, the parties must reach mutual
assent (also called a meeting of the minds). This is typically reached through
offer and an acceptance which does not vary the offer's terms, which is known
as the "mirror image rule". If a purported acceptance does vary the terms of an
offer, it is not an acceptance but a counteroffer and, therefore, simultaneously
a rejection of the original offer. It is important to note that where an offer
Consideration
Consideration is something of value given by a promissor to a
promisee in exchange for something of value given by a promisee to a
promissor. Typically, the thing of value is a payment, although it may be an
act, or forbearance to act, when one is privileged to do so, such as an adult
refraining from smoking. This thing of value or forbearance from some legal
right is considered to be a legal detriment. In the exchange of legal detriments,
a bargain is created.
Courts will typically not weigh the "adequacy" of consideration as
long as the consideration is determined to be "sufficient", with sufficiency
defined as meeting the test of law, whereas "adequacy" is the subjective
fairness or equivalence. For instance, agreeing to sell a car for a penny may
constitute a binding contract if a party desires the penny. This is known as the
peppercorn rule, but in some jurisdictions, the penny may constitute legally
Formation
In addition to the elements of a contract:
Exercise/Questions:
1. Please give the definition of the contract.
2. What are the requirements for a valid contract to be formed?
3. Which are the elements of the contract?
4. Which types of contracts are there?
5. What is consideration?
6. In which cases is the intention to create legal relations important?
Tort law is different from criminal law in that: (1) torts may result
from negligent but not intentional or criminal actions and (2) tort lawsuits
have a lower burden of proof such as preponderance of evidence rather than
beyond a reasonable doubt. Sometimes a plaintiff may prevail in a tort case
even if the person who caused the harm was acquitted in an earlier criminal
trial. For example, O.J. Simpson was acquitted in criminal court and later
found liable for the tort of wrongful death.
Regardless of the tort action, three elements must be present:
certain way.
Negligence
Negligence is a tort which arises from the breach of the duty of care
owed by one person to another from the perspective of a reasonable person.
The majority determined that the definition of negligence can be divided into
four component parts that the plaintiff must prove to establish negligence. The
elements in determining the liability for negligence are:
Intentional torts
Intentional torts are any intentional acts that are reasonably
foreseeable to cause harm to an individual, and that do so. Intentional torts
have several subcategories:
Statutory torts
A statutory tort is like any other, in that it imposes duties on private or
public parties, however they are created by the legislature, not the courts. For
example, the European Union's Product Liability Directive imposes strict
liability for defective products that harm people.
Business torts
Business or economic torts typically involve commercial transactions,
and include tortious interference with trade or contract, fraud, injurious
falsehood, and negligent misrepresentation. Negligent misrepresentation torts
are distinct from contractual cases involving misrepresentation in that there is
no privity of contract; these torts are likely to involve pure economic loss
which has been less-commonly recoverable in tort. One criterion for
determining whether economic loss is recoverable is the "foreseeability"
doctrine.
Remedies
The main remedy against tortious loss is compensation in 'damages' or
money. In a limited range of cases, tort law will tolerate self-help, such as
reasonable force to expel a trespasser. This is a defense against the tort of
battery. Further, in the case of a continuing tort, or even where harm is merely
threatened, the courts will sometimes grant an injunction. This means a
command, for something other than money by the court, such as restraining
the continuance or threat of harm. Usually injunctions will not impose positive
obligations on tortfeasors.
Exercise/Questions:
1. What are torts?
2. Name the objectives of tort law.
3. What does the term injuction mean?
4. What types of loss can be compensated by an award for
damages?
5. What are the differences between tort law and criminal law?
6. Name the elements of the tort action.
7. Which are the categories of torts?
8. What is negligence and how can it be determined?
9. What are intentional torts?
is the most widely seen goal. Criminals have taken improper advantage,
or inflicted unfair detriment, upon others and consequently, the criminal
law will put criminals at some unpleasant disadvantage to "balance the
scales." People submit to the law to receive the right not to be murdered
and if people contravene these laws, they surrender the rights granted to
them by the law. Thus, one who murders may be executed himself. A
related theory includes the idea of "righting the balance."
from society so that the public is protected from their misconduct. This
is often achieved through prison sentences today. The death penalty or
banishment have served the same purpose.
Elements
The criminal law generally prohibits undesirable acts. Thus, proof of a
crime requires proof of some act. Scholars label this the requirement of an
actus reus or guilty act. Some crimes particularly modern regulatory
offenses require no more, and they are known as strict liability offenses.
Nevertheless, because of the potentially severe consequences of criminal
conviction, judges at common law also sought proof of an intent to do some
bad thing, the mens rea or guilty mind. As to crimes of which both actus reus
and mens rea are requirements, judges have concluded that the elements must
be present at precisely the same moment and it is not enough that they
occurred sequentially at different times.
Fatal offenses
A murder, defined broadly, is an unlawful killing. Unlawful killing is
probably the act most frequently targeted by the criminal law. In many
jurisdictions, the crime of murder is divided into various gradations of
severity, e.g., murder in the first degree, based on intent. Malice is a required
element of murder. Manslaughter (Culpable Homicide in Scotland) is a lesser
variety of killing committed in the absence of malice, brought about by
reasonable provocation, or diminished capacity. Involuntary manslaughter,
where it is recognized, is a killing that lacks all but the most attenuated guilty
intent, recklessness.
Settled insanity is a possible defense.
Personal offenses
Many criminal codes protect the physical integrity of the body. The
crime of battery is traditionally understood as an unlawful touching, although
this does not include everyday knocks and jolts to which people silently
consent as the result of presence in a crowd. Creating a fear of imminent
battery is an assault, and also may give rise to criminal liability. Nonconsensual intercourse, or rape, is a particularly egregious form of battery.
Property offenses
Property often is protected by the criminal law. Trespassing is
unlawful entry onto the real property of another. Many criminal codes provide
penalties for conversion, embezzlement, theft, all of which involve
deprivations of the value of the property.
Participatory offenses
Some criminal codes criminalize association with a criminal venture
or involvement in criminality that does not actually come to fruition. Some
examples are aiding, abetting, conspiracy, and attempt.
Exercise/Questions:
What is criminal law?
What ar the objectives of criminal law?
Define the crime. Which are the types of crimes?
What types of punishments are there?
What are the elements of a criminal offence?
Corporation
Limited company
Unlimited company
Limited partnership
Not-for-profit corporation
Partnership
Sole Proprietorship
hybrid entity, usually used where the company is formed for noncommercial purposes, but the activities of the company are partly
funded by investors who expect a return.
Exercise/Questions:
Modele de grila:
1. This area of law covers liability for injuries caused to person and property:
a) contract law
b) criminal law
c) tort law
2. A partner is:
a) someone's boyfriend or girlfiend
b) a colleague
c) one of the owners of a partnership
3. A law clinic is:
a) a practice specialised in medical issues
b) a clinic for lawyers
c) a centre offering free legal assistance
4. courses in . writing and research
a) law
b) legally
c) legal
5. apply recruitment programme
a) for
b) on
c) to
6. to award
a) an offer
b) damages
c) a contract
7. to perform
a) an offer
b) a contract
c) a lawsuit
8. to file
a) a contract
b) a lawsuit
c) for damages
9. to file
a) a contract
b) a police report
c) for damages
10. assignee means:
a) cedent
b) cesionar
c) debitor
11. the injured party is:
a) the non-breaching party
b) the breaching party
c) the third party
12. defendant means:
a) parat
b) reclamant
c) partea prejudiciata
13. A type of remedy is:
a) damages
b) the counter-offer
c) the price
14. What is not a requirement for formation of contracts?
a) remedy
b) agreement
c) consideration
15. My client had requested me to .. a lawsuit against you.
a) make
b) award
c) file
16. You the offer my client made to you.
a) awarded
b) admitted
c) accepted
17. When you sign a contract, legal rights are .. which are enforceable under the
law.
a) called
b) claimed
c) created
18. not to carry out the obligations under the contract means:
a) to terminate the contract
b) to reject the contract
c) to breach the contract
19. the injured party can
a) accept damages
b) enforce damages
c) claim damages
20. civil
a) party
b) wrong
c) damages
21. fraudulent
a) damages
b) misrepresentation
c) relations
22. the tortfeasor is
a) a criminal offender
b) a wrongdoer
c) the injured party
c) defendant
30. When a court states that a judgment of a lower court is true, it that judgment.
a) finds for
b) agrees to
c) affirms
31. When a court changes the judgment of a lower court to its opposite, it .. that
judgment.
a) contradicts
b) reverses
c) finds against
32. the use of spoken words to harm someone's reputation is:
a) libel
b) slander
c) insult
33. defamation is:
a) a tort
b) an offence
c) a breach of a contract
34. to render:
a) a suit
b) a verdict
c) a sentence
35. Which is a criminal offence?
a) libel
b) battery
c) defamation
36. a criminal law case is initiated by
a) the victim
b) the state
c) the lawyer
37. the barrister is:
a) a lawyer
b) the judge
c) the breaching party
38. prostitution is:
a) an offence against the person
b) an offence against property
c) a public-order crime
39. the trier can be:
a) the lawyer
b) the judge
c) the prosecutor
40. rape is:
a) a tort
b) a felony
c) a misdemeanour
41. a misdemeanour is:
a) a serious offence
b) a tort
c) a less serious offence
42. to be on parole is:
a) being released before the sentence is finished
b) to be given a period of time in which to behave well in order to avoid prison
c) to perform unpaid work for the community in order to avoid prison
43. to be placed on a community service order means:
a) being released before the sentence is finished
b) to be given a period of time in which to behave well in order to avoid prison
c) to perform unpaid work for the community in order to avoid prison
44. is not a white-collar crime:
a) bribery
b) insider-dealing
c) embezzlement
45. fraudulently gaining access to personal information from financial institutions is:
a) pretexting
b) skimming
c) phishing
47. the law
a) prescribes
b) proscribes
c) describes
48. this document contains regulations relating to the internal affairs of a company:
a) memorandum
b) certificate of incorporation
c) articles of association
49. In which type of business the shareholders arent liable for the companys debts?
a) corporation
b) partnership
c) sole proprietorship