Ch5 Legal Responsibilities and Liabilities Flashcards
Rule of conduct or procedure established by custom, agreement, or authority
Law
Body of rules and principles governing the affairs of a community and enforced by a political/judicial authority
Legal System
Branch of gov’t that creates laws
Legislative
Branch of gov’t that implements, administers and enforces laws
Executive
Branch of gov’t that interprets the laws
Judicial
Body of law that is based on tradition, custom, usage, and decisions of the judicial courts within a particular country, society or culture
Common Law (Case Law)
Laws created by government agencies and used to enforce and implement statutory laws
Administrative Law
Deals with actual issues by establishing principles, defining duties and obligations, and creating and defining the limitations of rights within a society
Substantive Law
Defines the judiciary rules or mechanisms used to enforce substantive laws
Procedural Law
Pertains to laws enacted by legislative bodies of government
Statutory Law
Protects society as a whole from wrongful actions
Criminal Law (Penal Law)
Defines relationships between individuals or groups and helps to resolve disputes between parties
Civil Law (Non-criminal Law)
A legal obligation or responsibility
Liability
Party who initiates a lawsuit before a court
Plaintiff
Any person or institution against whom and action is brought in a criminal or civil court of law; person being sued or accused
Defendant
Civil wrong or breach of duty to another person as defined by law
Tort
Effective or primary cause of loss or damage or an unbroken chain of events between the occurrence and the resulting damage
Proximate Cause
Failure to exercise the same care that a reasonable, prudent and careful person would under the same or similar circumstances
Negligence
Commission of an unlawful act; committed by a public official
Malfeasance
Improper performance of a legal or lawful act
Misfeasance
Failure to act when under an obligation to do so; refusal to do that which is a legal duty
Nonfeasance
Level of care a reasonable person would use under similar circumstances; standard of behavior upon which the theory of negligence is based
Standard of Care
Doctrine that the federal, state, or local government is immune to lawsuit unless it gives its consent
Sovereign Immunity
Situation that occurs when one person is held responsible for the actions or inaction of another individual; also applies to the liability incurred by an organization for the actions or inaction of an employee
Vicarious Liability