What is the main difference between customs and law?

Can we refer to the Bible as the main source of law?

Vocabulary notes:

to determine	визначати
judicial decisions	юридичні рішення
to reduce	зменшувати
to set out	викласти (у збірці)
to derive	походити
a solemnity	важливість, законність
misleading	помилковий
to enact	постановляти, вводити закон
wholesale	повний, масовий
subsidiary	допоміжний
ultimate	основний, кінцевий
a set of laws	збірка законів
a volume	обсяг
a legislation	законодавство
an enactment	постанова
a hallmark	критерій
to signify	визначати
to preponderate, to prevail, to be predominant	переважати

SOURCES OF LAW

The courts are the interpreters and declarers of the law, the ‘sources’ of law are therefore the sources to which the courts turn in order to determine what it is.

Laws are traditionally divided into two main categories according to the solemnity of the form in which they are made. They may either be written or unwritten. These traditional terms are misleading, because the expression ‘written’ law signifies any law that is formally enacted, whether reduced to writing or not, and the expression ‘unwritten’ signifies all unenacted law.

On the Continent the volume of written law tends to preponderate over the volume of unwritten. But in England unwritten law is predominant, for more of the law derives from judicial precedents than from legislative enactments.

Parliament has not adopted the system of wholesale codification which prevails in many continental countries.

Two principal and two subsidiary sources of English law must be mentioned. These principal sources are Legislation, and Judicial Precedent; the subsidiary sources are customs and Books of Authority.

Legislation is enacted law. In England the ultimate legislator is Parliament.

Parliament has no rival within the legislative sphere – and it means that there is no legal limit to the power of Parliament.

In the legislative sphere Parliament is legally ‘sovereign’ and master, but this does not mean that the courts have no influence upon the development of enacted law; in order to be applied, every enactment has to be interpreted and the courts are the recognized interpreters of the law.

In all countries, at all times, the decisions of courts are treated with respect, and they tend to be regarded as ‘precedents’ which subsequent courts will follow when they are called upon to determine issues of a similar kind.

This reliance upon precedent has been both the hallmark and the strength of the common law. Its rules have been evolved inductively from decisions involving similar facts, so that they are firmly grounded upon the actualities of litigation and the reality of human conduct. And new cases lead onwards to reach forward to new rules.

Customs are social habits, patterns of behaviour. Customs should be considered as one of the principal sources of law for much law was originally based upon it.

Some customary rules are observed in their own right and they command almost as much obedience as rules of law proper; they only differ from rules of law in that their observance is not enforced by the organs of the state.

In England there are certain ‘books of authority’, written by authors of outstanding eminence, which may not only be cited as independent sources in themselves for the law of their times but which also carry a weight of authority almost equal to that of precedents.

Many textbooks are now in practice constantly cited in the courts, though only the best of them are likely to command attention.

The reason is that in comparatively recent years a large increase in the popularity of the study of English law has done much to improve the quality of legal writing and to increase the volume of legal literature.

 

Task 1. Give the Ukrainian equivalents of the following words & expressions.

rules, to improve, to increase the popularity, human conduct, to treat with respect, principal, misleading terms, independent sources, to adopt the law, to involve, social habits, to preponderate, precedent, subsequent courts, legal, obedience, the ultimate legislator, hallmark.

 

Task 2. Give the English equivalents of the following words & expressions.

ставитися з повагою, головний, правила, людська поведінка, незалежні джерела, помилкові терміни, збільшити популярність, вдосконалювати, прийняти закон, включати в себе.

 

Task 3. Match the following word-expressions & their definitions.

1. written law	a. all unenacted law
2. unwritten law	b. the process of making or defending a claim in a court of law
3. judicial precedent	c. any law that is formally enacted
4. “Books of Authority”	d. social habits, patterns of behavior
5. customs	e. the decisions of courts
6. litigation	f. legal literature written by authors of outstanding eminence

Task 4. Translate the words into English & complete the following sentences with the appropriate term.

джерела, категорії, звичаї, авторитетні видання, обсяг, законодавство

 

1. … is enacted law.

2. … are social habits, patterns of behavior.

3. On the Continent the … of written law tends to preponderate over the … of unwritten.

4. Two principal and two subsidiary … of English law must be mentioned.

5. Laws are traditionally divided into two main … according to the solemnity of the form in which they are made.

6. Many … are now in practice constantly cited in the courts.

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