Legal System Flashcards
Act
specific piece of legislation, passed by a legislative body such as Parliament
ADR
Alternative Dispute Resolution: mediation, arbitration and conciliation
ABS
Alternative Business Structure: business that provides legal and non-legal services
Arbitration
a third party (the arbitrator) delivers a binding opinion
Attorney-at-law
legal professional in the US that has been admitted to the Bar in a state
Attorney General
UK: legal advisor to the Crown
US: head of legal affairs in a state or federal government
Bar
collective name for barristers/attorneys in independent practice
Barrister
UK: legal professional with a right of audience before all courts. Is often a specialist in an area of law
Beneficiary
one who benefits from a trust and who has an equitable interest in the trust property
Bill
act of parliament before it is approved
Binding
a binding decision must be followed, for instance precedents set by higher courts
Brief
UK: written instructions from a solicitor to a barrister regarding a case.
US: written statement setting out legal contentions of a party in litigation
Canon law
law of the church, also called ecclesiastical law
Case law
decisions made by judges applying legal principles from legislation and binding precedent
Certiorari
an order that transfers a case from an appeal court to the US Supreme Court
Challenge
jury members can be challenged and thus excluded from the jury
Chambers
accommodation for a group of independent barristers that only share staff and services
Civil law
- private law
2. legal system
Clerk
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.
Coded systems
systems that have law codified in a systematic formal code
Common law
- case law (as opposed to statute law)
2. legal system
Competence
a court has competence to hear a case if it has jurisdiction over the person/property at issue
Conciliation
a third party offers a non-binding opinion
Concur
judge agrees with the majority decision
Congress
federal legislative body of the US. Consists of Senate and the House of Representatives
Conveyancing
drawing up documents to transfer the ownership of property, in general, the law and procedure regarding purchase and sale of property
Coroner’s Court
a court that investigates violent, unnatural or sudden deaths
Counsel
name for a barrister/attorney when representing a party in court
County Court
UK: court that hears civil cases
US: a court in some states that has limited jurisdiction on some criminal and some civil cases
Court of Appeal
appellate court
Court of first instance
a court in which proceedings are initiated
Court of Justice
European Court of Justice
Crown Court
UK court that primarily hears serious criminal cases
Custom
unwritten law that is legally valid if a practice has existed since forever
Discretionary
where a remedy is not available by right but depends on the consideration of the court
Dissent
judge disagrees with the majority opinion. A dissenting judgment is an obiter dicta.
Distinguish
if a case is distinguished, a judge finds a precedent non-binding because the key facts/material facts differ from the previous case
District court
trial courts in the US federal court system
Doctrine of binding precedent
Stare decisis, the precedent in a previous case must be followed
Doctrine of parliamentary sovereignty
all legislative power in the UK is vested in Parliament or is derived from its authority
Draft
preliminary version of a legal document
Employment Tribunal
tribunal in the UK that hears employment cases
Equitable title
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.
Equity
developed as a separate legal system, courts now fused and all courts may apply principles of equity
Federal courts
these courts hear cases about federal law or the Constitution, or citizens from different states
Forum shopping
parties select the court that would be most convenient for their case
High court
a superior court in the UK
House of Lords
now replaced by the Supreme Court in the UK
Inferior
an inferior court is a lower court
Judicial review
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
Jurisdiction
the legal power to hear and decide a case
jurisprudence
the knowledge and philosophy of law. US: also used in the sense of case law
juror
jury member
jury
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
jury vetting
when members of the public are selected to be a juror. US: voir dire
legal certainty
laws are applied consistently and predictably
Legal Disciplinary Practices
LDP. Business by both lawyers and non-lawyers
legal executive
paralegal that may not practice independently but does a big part of a solicitor’s work
legal remedy
remedies provided by the law to redress the harm that one party suffered because of an other party
legislation
written laws passed by a legislative body
litigation
to bring an action
magistrate
an inferior judicial officer. in the UK they are often lay people
Magistrates’ Court
UK inferior court for criminal cases
material
material or key facts are important facts in a case
mediation
a mediator helps parties in a conflict to reach an agreement
notary
US: a person that administers oaths and witnesses the signing of documents
Obiter dicta
parts of a decision that do not form part of the ratio decidendi
overrule
a court states that a precedent is no longer binding
persuasive
if the authority is persuasive rather than binding, a judge doesn’t have to follow it but has to take it into account
pre-emption
when one system of law takes precedence over another (US: federal pre-empts state law, UK: EU law pre-empts UK law)
probate
the administration of estates, such as a will, and making sure the legal documents are valid
ratio decidendi
the reasons for the decision. This is the part of the decision that forms the precedent. US: also called a holding
reverse
when a higher court reaches the opposite decision to that of the lower court
revoke
to cancel or annul
right of audience
the right to appear and conduct proceedings before court
Senior Courts
UK: Court of Appeal, High Court and Crown Court together
settlor
also called trustor or donor. This is a person who sets up a trust and settles his property on someone
solicitor
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.
State courts
courts in the individual states of the US
statute
a form of written law, such as an Act, passed by a legislative body
statutory instrument
subordinate legislation, usually made by a minister
superior
courts of higher jurisdiction that can set precedents
Supreme Court
highest court in the UK and US
Trust
property that is held by one party (the trustee) for the benefit of another party (the beneficiary).
Trustee
person who holds the legal title of property that benefits another person
US Bankruptcy Court
only the federal courts may hear bankruptcy cases
US Court of Federal Claims
a federal court hearing claims against the US
US Court of International Trade
specialised in international trade
US Tax Court
specialised in tax cases
