Unit 2
About Law?
Picture source: http://southpoint.info/LawCollege/Default.aspx
Your personal
understanding of law?
Who is
Why is it
involved/
needed?
affected by it?
LAW
Where?
In which
context?
The word and its meaning:
a) LAW in the general sense
(science, nature, art...)
b) LAW in the strict legal sense
DEFINITION (from legal textbooks):
“Rules of conduct imposed by a state upon its
members and enforced by the courts.”
Different sciences can use the word “law” in
different meaning: anthroplogy, sociology, history...
What does LAW mean?
LAW
(a/the/Ø)
BRANCH OF LEGAL SYSTEM
LAWS OF A KNOWLEDGE THE POLICE
COUNTRY SUBJECT THE COURTS
(RULES) PROFESSION JUDGES
Definitions of LAW
From Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary:
1. SYSTEM OF RULES
(U - uncountable) (also the law) the whole system of rules
that everyone in a country or society must obey
2. ONE RULE
(C - countable)a rule that deals with a particular crime, agreement etc.
3. SUBJECT/PROFESSION
(U) the study of law as a subject at university; the profession of being a
lawyer
4. POLICE
(U) (the law) used to refer to the police and the legal system
5. OF ORGANIZATION/ACTIVITY
(c) one of the rules which controls an organization or activity
Word formation
LAW, n.
- law-making (legislation)
- to pass law
- to abide by the law
- to break law
- law-breaking / lawbreaker
- law enforcement
- lawful (acting within the law) / lawfully
- lawless (behaviour)
- lawlessness (to fight lawlessness in large cities)
- lawyer
- lawsuit
Functions of law
Read the text, p. 11 and complete the
notes.
1. to lay ___________________________________
2. to establish ______________________________
3. to facilitate ______________________________
4. to protect ________________________________
5. to protect individual _______________________
What is the purpose of law?
Read the text, p. 12 and complete the
statement.
The purpose of law is:
1.to establish and maintain_____________________________________
2.to manage _________________________________________________
3.to settle ___________________________________________________
4.to adopt ___________________________________________________
Discuss in pairs:
Do law and morality coincide?
Work with your neighbour and write 2 – 4
sentences to explain your opinion.
Read the text in your book, p. 12
Law and justice
Read the text, p. 12 and write a short
comment, explaining the problems related
to the interaction between justice and law.
PRAVO i PRAVDA?
Law and the State
Read the text, p. 12 and answer the following
questions:
1.How can a state be defined?
2.Which are the key elements for the establishment
of a state?
3. Can a state exist without a law?
4.Can law exist without a state?
5.What are special features of law in the UK?
Expressions from the Unit 2
- rules of conduct / behaviour
- to impose rules / norms / laws
- a system of norms /a legal system
- to regulate human behaviour
- in conformity with (laws / regulations, etc.)
- to establish social order
- neglect or infraction of a norm / law
- breach of rules
- to apply rules /laws → application
- to enforce by coercion
- resolution of a conflict
- to resolve / to settle a dispute
Vocabulary exercises.
Do the vocabulary exercises:
1. page 13
2. page 14
Put the following words in the right
order to get a definition of law:
Law is a by which
a written or unwritten
country is and the
activities of
governed people
and rule
organisations
are controlled.
The KEY: definition
Law is a written or
unwritten rule by which
a country is governed
and the activities of
people and organisations
are controlled.
Explaining what a law says…
Sentence examples:
1. The patent law specifies that the subject
matter must be “useful”.
2. The law provides that a witness must be
present.
These verbs can also be used to express what a law
says:
The law states / sets forth / determines / lays
down / prescribes that…
Fill in the gaps in the following sentences.
fight lawlessness conformity
applied
law proposed lawless
1. The government has ____________ a new _______ to
regulate the sale of goods on Sundays.
2. The magistrates criticised the ___________ behaviour of
the football crowd.
3. The government is trying to _______ ____________ in
large cities.
4. Coercion will be _________ to bring about ___________
with the law.
The KEY: Fill in the gaps in the following sentences.
fight lawlessness conformity
applied
law proposed lawless
1. The government has proposed a new law to regulate
the sale of goods on Sundays.
2. The magistrates criticised the lawless behaviour of the
football crowd.
3. The government is trying to fight lawlessness in large
cities.
4. Coercion will be applied to bring about conformity with
the law.
Part Two: Law and Morality
Read the summary of the case that Hart
and Fuller had a debate about.
Sum up the facts of the case.
Describe the points of view of the two legal
philosophers:
1. H. L. A. Hart – Oxfort
2. L. Fuller – Harvard Law School
Fuller’s Tale of King Rex, p. 16
Describe the eight principles the
„inner morality of law” consists of:
Principles Description
Generality
Promulgation
Non-retroactivity
Clarity
Non-contradiction
Possibility of
compliance
Constancy
Congruence between
declared rules and their
official administration
