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Legal English Terminology > Legal System > Flashcards

Legal System Flashcards

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Proverbs and Idioms flashcards
1
Q

Act

A

specific piece of legislation, passed by a legislative body such as Parliament

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2
Q

ADR

A

Alternative Dispute Resolution: mediation, arbitration and conciliation

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3
Q

ABS

A

Alternative Business Structure: business that provides legal and non-legal services

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4
Q

Arbitration

A

a third party (the arbitrator) delivers a binding opinion

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5
Q

Attorney-at-law

A

legal professional in the US that has been admitted to the Bar in a state

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6
Q

Attorney General

A

UK: legal advisor to the Crown
US: head of legal affairs in a state or federal government

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7
Q

Bar

A

collective name for barristers/attorneys in independent practice

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8
Q

Barrister

A

UK: legal professional with a right of audience before all courts. Is often a specialist in an area of law

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9
Q

Beneficiary

A

one who benefits from a trust and who has an equitable interest in the trust property

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10
Q

Bill

A

act of parliament before it is approved

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11
Q

Binding

A

a binding decision must be followed, for instance precedents set by higher courts

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12
Q

Brief

A

UK: written instructions from a solicitor to a barrister regarding a case.
US: written statement setting out legal contentions of a party in litigation

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13
Q

Canon law

A

law of the church, also called ecclesiastical law

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14
Q

Case law

A

decisions made by judges applying legal principles from legislation and binding precedent

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15
Q

Certiorari

A

an order that transfers a case from an appeal court to the US Supreme Court

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16
Q

Challenge

A

jury members can be challenged and thus excluded from the jury

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17
Q

Chambers

A

accommodation for a group of independent barristers that only share staff and services

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18
Q

Civil law

A
  1. private law

2. legal system

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19
Q

Clerk

A

there are various types of clerks: for instance lay magistrates are supported by a magistrate’s clerk. A clerk in barrister’s chambers is a business manager.

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20
Q

Coded systems

A

systems that have law codified in a systematic formal code

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21
Q

Common law

A
  1. case law (as opposed to statute law)

2. legal system

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22
Q

Competence

A

a court has competence to hear a case if it has jurisdiction over the person/property at issue

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23
Q

Conciliation

A

a third party offers a non-binding opinion

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24
Q

Concur

A

judge agrees with the majority decision

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25
Q

Congress

A

federal legislative body of the US. Consists of Senate and the House of Representatives

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26
Q

Conveyancing

A

drawing up documents to transfer the ownership of property, in general, the law and procedure regarding purchase and sale of property

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27
Q

Coroner’s Court

A

a court that investigates violent, unnatural or sudden deaths

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28
Q

Counsel

A

name for a barrister/attorney when representing a party in court

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29
Q

County Court

A

UK: court that hears civil cases
US: a court in some states that has limited jurisdiction on some criminal and some civil cases

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30
Q

Court of Appeal

A

appellate court

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31
Q

Court of first instance

A

a court in which proceedings are initiated

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32
Q

Court of Justice

A

European Court of Justice

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33
Q

Crown Court

A

UK court that primarily hears serious criminal cases

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34
Q

Custom

A

unwritten law that is legally valid if a practice has existed since forever

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35
Q

Discretionary

A

where a remedy is not available by right but depends on the consideration of the court

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36
Q

Dissent

A

judge disagrees with the majority opinion. A dissenting judgment is an obiter dicta.

37
Q

Distinguish

A

if a case is distinguished, a judge finds a precedent non-binding because the key facts/material facts differ from the previous case

38
Q

District court

A

trial courts in the US federal court system

39
Q

Doctrine of binding precedent

A

Stare decisis, the precedent in a previous case must be followed

40
Q

Doctrine of parliamentary sovereignty

A

all legislative power in the UK is vested in Parliament or is derived from its authority

41
Q

Draft

A

preliminary version of a legal document

42
Q

Employment Tribunal

A

tribunal in the UK that hears employment cases

43
Q

Equitable title

A

one piece of property could be subject to two sorts of interest: 1) legal owner holds the legal title, which was protected by common law; 2) equitable owner holds the equitable title, which was protected by the courts of equity. 2 is the persion who is intended to benefit from the property, even if he/she is not the legal owner.

44
Q

Equity

A

developed as a separate legal system, courts now fused and all courts may apply principles of equity

45
Q

Federal courts

A

these courts hear cases about federal law or the Constitution, or citizens from different states

46
Q

Forum shopping

A

parties select the court that would be most convenient for their case

47
Q

High court

A

a superior court in the UK

48
Q

House of Lords

A

now replaced by the Supreme Court in the UK

49
Q

Inferior

A

an inferior court is a lower court

50
Q

Judicial review

A

an examination by judges of a higher court. They may examine 1) a decision by a lower court or 2) decisions by public authorities that affect the rights of individuals. the US Supreme Court can strike out legislation that is not constitutional

51
Q

Jurisdiction

A

the legal power to hear and decide a case

52
Q

jurisprudence

A

the knowledge and philosophy of law. US: also used in the sense of case law

53
Q

juror

A

jury member

54
Q

jury

A

UK: 12 persons that hear a case
US: petit jury = trial jury, 6-12 persons, criminal and civil
grand jury = jury that decides if there’s enough evidence in a criminal case to bring a trial

55
Q

jury vetting

A

when members of the public are selected to be a juror. US: voir dire

56
Q

legal certainty

A

laws are applied consistently and predictably

57
Q

Legal Disciplinary Practices

A

LDP. Business by both lawyers and non-lawyers

58
Q

legal executive

A

paralegal that may not practice independently but does a big part of a solicitor’s work

59
Q

legal remedy

A

remedies provided by the law to redress the harm that one party suffered because of an other party

60
Q

legislation

A

written laws passed by a legislative body

61
Q

litigation

A

to bring an action

62
Q

magistrate

A

an inferior judicial officer. in the UK they are often lay people

63
Q

Magistrates’ Court

A

UK inferior court for criminal cases

64
Q

material

A

material or key facts are important facts in a case

65
Q

mediation

A

a mediator helps parties in a conflict to reach an agreement

66
Q

notary

A

US: a person that administers oaths and witnesses the signing of documents

67
Q

Obiter dicta

A

parts of a decision that do not form part of the ratio decidendi

68
Q

overrule

A

a court states that a precedent is no longer binding

69
Q

persuasive

A

if the authority is persuasive rather than binding, a judge doesn’t have to follow it but has to take it into account

70
Q

pre-emption

A

when one system of law takes precedence over another (US: federal pre-empts state law, UK: EU law pre-empts UK law)

71
Q

probate

A

the administration of estates, such as a will, and making sure the legal documents are valid

72
Q

ratio decidendi

A

the reasons for the decision. This is the part of the decision that forms the precedent. US: also called a holding

73
Q

reverse

A

when a higher court reaches the opposite decision to that of the lower court

74
Q

revoke

A

to cancel or annul

75
Q

right of audience

A

the right to appear and conduct proceedings before court

76
Q

Senior Courts

A

UK: Court of Appeal, High Court and Crown Court together

77
Q

settlor

A

also called trustor or donor. This is a person who sets up a trust and settles his property on someone

78
Q

solicitor

A

UK legal professional. Has 4 main duties:
1) conveyancing
2) probate
3) drafting commercial contracts
4) preparation of litigation
His right of audience is limited to some lower courts.

79
Q

State courts

A

courts in the individual states of the US

80
Q

statute

A

a form of written law, such as an Act, passed by a legislative body

81
Q

statutory instrument

A

subordinate legislation, usually made by a minister

82
Q

superior

A

courts of higher jurisdiction that can set precedents

83
Q

Supreme Court

A

highest court in the UK and US

84
Q

Trust

A

property that is held by one party (the trustee) for the benefit of another party (the beneficiary).

85
Q

Trustee

A

person who holds the legal title of property that benefits another person

86
Q

US Bankruptcy Court

A

only the federal courts may hear bankruptcy cases

87
Q

US Court of Federal Claims

A

a federal court hearing claims against the US

88
Q

US Court of International Trade

A

specialised in international trade

89
Q

US Tax Court

A

specialised in tax cases

Legal English Terminology (5 decks)

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