Introduction to Law

Legal English - 1

Английский для юристов

Учебное пособие для студентов

юридических специальностей

CHAPTER I LAW

Unit 1 Introduction to Law

Before you read

Discuss these questions.

1 Why is law necessary in communities?

2 What could you do if there were no laws?

3 What does ‘The law of the jungle’ mean? Give your own example.

4 Why do people take the law into their own hand?

5 Which laws are most often broken in Russia?

Introduction to Law

In the opinion of many people, the law is a necessary evil that should be used only when everyday informal ways of settling disputes break down. If our neighbour plays loud music late at night, we probably try to discuss the matter with him rather than consulting the police, lawyers or the courts. Only when we are injured in a train accident, or when a neighbour refuses to behave reasonably, do we start thinking about the legal implications of everyday activities.

Even so, some transactions in modern society are so complex that few of us would risk making them without first seeking legal advice; for example, buying or selling a house, setting up a business, or deciding whom to give our property to when we die. In some societies, such as the United States, precise written contracts, lawyers, and courts of law have become a part of daily life, whereas in others, such as Japan, lawyers are few and people tend to rely on informal ways of solving disagreements. It is interesting that two highly industrialized societies should be so different in this respect.

On the whole it seems that people all over the world are becoming more and more accustomed to using legal means to regulate their relations with each other. Multinational companies employ expensive experts to ensure them their contracts are valid wherever they do business. Non-industrialized tribes in South America use lawyers in order to try to stop governments from destroying the rainforests in which they live. In the former Soviet republics where law was long regarded as merely a function of political power, ordinary citizens nowadays challenge the decisions of their governments in courts of law. And at a time when workers, refugees, commodities and environmental pollution are travelling around the world faster than ever before, there are increasing attempts to internationalize legal standards. When it helps ordinary people to reach just agreements across social, economic and international barriers, law seems to be regarded as a good thing. However, when it involves time and money and highlights people`s inability to cooperate informally, law seems to be an evil – but a necessary one that everyone should have a basic knowledge of.