Law is the set of enforced rules under which a society is governed. Law is
one of the most basic social institutions—and one of the most necessary. No
society could exist if all people did just as they pleased, without regard for
the rights of others. Nor could a society exist if its members did not
recognize that they also have certain obligations toward one another. The law
thus establishes the rules that define a person's rights and obligations. The
law also sets penalties for people who violate these rules, and it states how
government shall enforce the rules and penalties. However, the laws enforced by
government can be changed. In fact, laws frequently are changed to reflect
changes in a society's needs and attitudes.
In most societies, various government bodies, especially police agencies and courts, see that the laws are obeyed. Because a person can be penalized for disobeying the law, most people agree that laws should be just. Justice is a moral standard that applies to all human conduct, The laws enforced by government have usually had a strong moral element, and so justice has generally been one of the law's guiding principles. But governments can, and sometimes do, enforce laws that many people believe to be unjust. If this belief becomes widespread, people may lose respect for the law and may even disobey it. But in democratic societies, the law itself provides ways to amend or abolish unjust laws.
In most societies, various government bodies, especially police agencies and courts, see that the laws are obeyed. Because a person can be penalized for disobeying the law, most people agree that laws should be just. Justice is a moral standard that applies to all human conduct, The laws enforced by government have usually had a strong moral element, and so justice has generally been one of the law's guiding principles. But governments can, and sometimes do, enforce laws that many people believe to be unjust. If this belief becomes widespread, people may lose respect for the law and may even disobey it. But in democratic societies, the law itself provides ways to amend or abolish unjust laws.
This article discusses the main branches
of law, the world's major legal systems, and the methods that democracies use
to change laws.
Branches of law
Law can be divided into two main branches: (1) private law and (2) public law. Private law deals with the rights and obligations people have in their relations with one another. Public law concerns the rights and obligations people have as members of society and as citizens. Both private law and public law can be subdivided into several branches. However, the various branches of public and private law are closely related, and in many cases they overlap.
Branches of law
Law can be divided into two main branches: (1) private law and (2) public law. Private law deals with the rights and obligations people have in their relations with one another. Public law concerns the rights and obligations people have as members of society and as citizens. Both private law and public law can be subdivided into several branches. However, the various branches of public and private law are closely related, and in many cases they overlap.
Private law determines a person's legal
rights and obligations in many kinds of activities that involve other people.
Such activities include everything from borrowing or lending money to buying a
home or signing a job contract.
The great majority of lawyers and judges
spend most of their time dealing with private law matters.-Lawyers handle most
of these matters out of court. But numerous situations arise in which a judge
or jury must decide if a person's private-law rights have been violated.
Private law can be divided into six major
branches according to the kinds of legal rights and obligations involved.
These branches are (1) contract and commercial law, (2) tort, (3) property law,
(4) inheritance law, (5) family law, and (6) company law. The dividing line
between the various branches is not always clear, however. For example, many
cases of property law also involve contract law.
Contract and
commercial law deals with the rights and
obligations of people who make contracts. A contract is an agreement between
two or more persons that can be enforced by law. A wide variety of business
activities depend on the use of contracts. A business firm makes contracts
both with other firms, such as suppliers and transporters, and with private
persons, such as customers and employees.
Tort. A tort is a wrong or injury that a person suffers because of someone
else's action. The action may cause bodily harm; damage a person's property,
business, or reputation; or make unauthorized use of a person's property. The
victim may sue the person or persons responsible. The law of tort deals with
the rights and obligations of the persons involved in such cases. Many torts
are unintentional, such as causing damage in traffic accidents. But if a tort
is deliberate and involves serious harm, it may be treated as a crime.
Property law governs the ownership and use of property. Property may be real, such as land and buildings, or personal, such as a car and clothing.
The law ensures a person's right to own property. However, the owner must use
the property lawfully. People also have the right to sell or lease their property
and to buy or rent the property of others. Property law determines the rights
and obligations involved in such dealings.
Inheritance law, or succession law,
concerns the transfer of property upon the death of the owner. Nearly every
country has basic inheritance laws, which list the relatives or other persons
who have first rights of inheritance. But in most Western nations, people may will their property to persons other
than those specified by law. In such cases, inheritance law also sets the rules
for the making of wills.
Family law determines the legal rights and obligations of husbands and wives and
of parents and children. It covers such matters as marriage, divorce, adoption,
and child support.
Company law governs the formation and operation o business corporations or
companies. It deals mainly with the powers and obligations of management and
the rights of shareholders. Company law is often classes together with contract
and commercial law as business law.
Public law involves government directly. It defines a person's rights and
obligations in relation to government. Public law also describes the various
divisions of government and their powers.
Public law can be divided into four
branches: (1) criminal law, (21 constitutional law, (3) administrative law,
and (4) international law. In many cases, the branches of public law, like
those of private law, overlap. For example, a violation of administrative law
may also be a violation of criminal law.
Criminal law deals with crimes—that is, actions considered harmful to society. Crimes
range in seriousness from disorderly conduct to murder. Criminal law defines
these offences and sets the rules for the arrest, the possible trial, and the
punishment of offenders. Law that is not criminal law is defined as civil
law, although this also has another meaning, discussed later. Some
crimes are also torts and the victim may sue for damages under civil law.
In the majority of countries, the central
government makes most of the criminal laws. In some countries, such as
Australia and the United States, each state, as well as the federal government,
has its own set of criminal laws. However, the criminal laws of each state
must protect the rights and freedoms guaranteed by federal constitutional law.
Constitutional law. A constitution is a set of rules and principles that define the powers
of a government and the rights of the people. The principles outlined in a
constitution form the basis of constitutional law. The law also includes
official rulings on how a constitution's principles are to be interpreted and
carried out.
Most nations have a written constitution.
A major exception is Great Britain. The British constitution is unwritten. It
consists of all the documents and traditions that have contributed to Britain's
form of government. In most democracies, the national constitution takes first
place over all other laws.
Conflicts between a constitution and other
laws are settled by constitutional law. In many countries, the courts have the
power of judicial review, under which they may overturn any laws
judged to be unconstitutional.
Administrative law centres on the operations of government departments. Administrative
law is one of the most complicated branches of law.
Governments set up many administrative
departments to do the work of government They deal with such
matters as education, public health, and taxation. Other departments administer
social welfare provisions, such as pensions and social security. In most cases,
the departments are established in the executive branch of government under
powers granted by the legislature. Administrative law consists chiefly of (1)
the legal powers granted to administrative departments by the legislature and
(2) the rules that the departments make to carry out their powers.
Administrative law also includes court rulings in cases between the departments
and private citizens.
International law deals with the relationships among nations
both in war and in peace. It concerns trade, communications, boundary disputes,
methods of warfare, the uses of the ocean, and many other matters.
Laws to regulate international relations
have been devel
oped over the centuries by customs and
treaties. But international law, unlike other branches of law, is difficult to
enforce.
Systems of law
Every independent country has its own
legal system. The systems vary according to each country's social traditions
and form of government. But most systems can be classed as either (1) a
common-law system or (2) a civil-law system. Australia, Ireland, New Zealand,
Great Britain (except Scotland), the United States, and other English-speaking
countries have a common-law system. Most other countries have a civil-law
system. Many countries combine features of both systems.
Common-law systems are based largely on case law —that is, on court decisions. The
common-law system began in England many hundreds of years ago. The English
called their system the common law because it applied throughout
the land.
English common law developed from the
rules and principles that judges traditionally followed in deciding court
cases. Judges based their decisions on legal precedents— that is,
on earlier court rulings in similar cases. But judges could expand precedents
to make them suit particular cases. They could also overrule (reject)
any precedents that they considered to be in error or outdated. In this way,
judges changed many laws over the years. The common law thus came to be law
made by judges.
However, some common-law principles proved
too precious to change. For example, a long line of hard- won precedents
defended the rights and liberties of citizens against the unjust use of government
power. England—and the other common-law countries—have kept these principles
almost unchanged. Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United States, and other
countries that were colonized by England based their legal systems on the
common law.
Case law is still important in common-law
countries. However, the lawmaking role of legislatures in these countries has
increased greatly during the 1900's. The changes have dealt with such matters
as employee management relations, workers' wages and hours, and environmental
protection. Nevertheless, common-law countries have kept the basic feature of
the English legal system, which is the power of judges to make laws. In
addition, constitutional law in these countries continues the common-law
tradition of defending the people's rights and liberties.
Civil-law systems are based mainly on statutes (legislative acts). The
majority of civil-law countries have assembled their statutes into one or more
carefully organized collections called codes.
Most modern law codes can be traced back to the famous code commissioned by the
Roman emperor Justinian 1 in the A.D. 500's. Justinian's code updated and
summarized the whole of Roman law. It was called the Corpus Juris Civilis, meaning Body of Civil Law. For this reason, legal systems that are
based on the Roman system of statute and code law are known as civil-law systems. This use of the term
civil law should not be
confused with its use as an alternative term for criminal law.
In civil-law countries, such as France,
Germany, and Mexico, the statutes, not the courts, provide the final answer to
any question of law. judges may refer to precedents in making their decisions.
But they must base every decision on a particular statute and not on precedent
alone.
Other systems. Many countries have
patterned their legal system after both civil law and common law. For example,
Japan and most Latin-American nations have assembled all their private law into
a code. But public law in these countries has been greatly influenced by
common-law principles, especially those that guarantee the rights and liberties
of the people.
In China, where a billion people still
live under Communist rule, the Ministry of Justice and the court system
administer public, economic, and criminal laws. A procedure exists for
handling private law cases, but no private law has been adopted by the state.
Laws must conform to the Communist policies of China's leaders.
How laws are changed
Social conditions are continually
changing, and so the law must also change or it will become outdated. Every
nation changes its laws in the manner that its political system prescribes. In
a dictatorship, only the top government leaders are able to change the law.
Democracies, however, have developed four main methods of changing the law:
(1) by court decision, (2) by legislation, (3) by administrative action, and
(4) by direct action of the people.
By court decision. Judges in common-law countries change laws by expanding or overruling
precedents. However, a precedent can normally be overruled only by a higher
court. If a government does not like the way a court has interpreted the law,
it must change the law by legislation.
By legislation. Legislatures may change
laws as well as make them. A legislature can change a statute by amending it;
by repealing (cancelling) it;
or by passing a new law on the same subject. In most countries with a written
constitution, some form of legislative action is required to amend the
constitution.
By administrative action. Government departments may be authorized to make, amend, repeal, or
replace regulations. This is known as delegated
legislation. They may also be authorized to interpret an old
regulation to meet changing conditions.
By direct action of the people. Some national and many local governments give the people direct power to
change the law by referendum
and by initiative. In a
referendum, a law or a proposed law is submitted to the voters for their
approval or rejection. In an initiative, a group of citizens proposes a law,
which is then approved or rejected by the legislature or by referendum. Many
countries have repealed their constitution one or more times and replaced it
with a new one. In most such cases, the new constitution cannot take effect
until it has been approved by referendum.
The development of law
Civilized societies are so complex that
they could not exist without a well-developed system of law. Scholars therefore
conclude that people began to formulate laws in prehistoric times, before the
first civilizations arose. Prehistoric people had no system of writing, and so
they left no record of their laws. The earliest laws were customary laws—that is, laws that
became established by custom and were handed down orally from one generation
to the next.
The first civilizations and first systems
of writing appeared between about 3500 and 3000 B.C. The invention of writing
enabled people to assemble law codes. The development of written codes made the
law a matter of public knowledge and so helped advance the rule of law in
society. The first law codes were produced by ancient civilizations in the
Middle East
Early developments in the East. The first known law codes appeared in the ancient Middle Eastern land of
Babylonia. A Babylonian king named Ur-Nammu assembled the earliest known code
about 2100 B.C Other Babylonian rulers produced codes during the following
centuries. A king named Hammurabi drew up the most complete and best known of
these codes during the 1700's B.C. Hammurabi's code, like the earlier ones, consisted
mainly of a long list of rules to settle specific types of cases. The code laid
down the law for such matters as the unfaithfulness of a wife, the theft of a
farm animal, and the faulty work of a housebuilder. Many of the punishments
were harsh by today's standards. For example, a son found guilty of striking
his father had his hand cut off.
From about 1000 to 400 B.C, the Hebrew
people of the Middle East assembled their religious and social laws into a
code. The code reflected the teachings of Moses, a great Hebrew leader of the
1200's B.C, and so it is often called the Mosaic Code or the Law
of Moses. The Mosaic Code stressed moral principles. It became a key part
of the first books of the Hebrew Bible and later of the Christian Bible.
According to the Bible, the part of the code known as the Ten Commandments
was given to Moses by God. The commandments therefore have had enormous
influence on the moral content of the law in Western civilization.
By about 500 B.C, the civilizations of
India and China had also produced codes of law. The codes in both countries
stressed the moral obligations of the law. However, except for the religious
laws of the Hebrew people, the legal traditions of Eastern civilizations have
had little direct influence on today's major systems of law. Many Eastern
peoples, even those influenced by Western traditions, still stress the moral
obligations of the law. Accused persons have little opportunity to defend
themselves. Concern for the rights of an accused person—and for the rights of
all citizens—developed mainly in Western civilization. But this development occurred
slowly over many hundreds of years. Most scholars regard the ancient Greeks as
the founders of both Western law and Western civilization.
The influence of ancient Greece. Unlike earlier civilizations, the civilization of ancient Greece made
the law a clearly human institution. Before the Greeks, most people believed
that only gods and goddesses had the power to make laws. The gods and goddesses
gave the laws to certain chosen leaders. These leaders passed them on to the
people. Like earlier peoples, the ancient Greeks believed that gods and
goddesses required human beings to obey the law. But the Greeks also believed
that human beings have the power to make laws—and to change them as the need
arises. The Greek city-state of Athens became the chief centre of this development.
A politician named Draco drew up Athens'
first law code in 621 B.C. It became famous mainly for its harsh penalties for
lawbreakers. In the 590's B.C., the ruling
council of Athens authorized a
high-ranking official named Solon to reform the city's legal and political system.
Solon repealed most of Draco's stern laws and drew up a much fairer code in
their place. Solon also made the Athenian assembly more representative and
increased its lawmaking powers. In time, elected assemblies of citizens gained
more and more legislative power in Athens. The Greeks thus began another key development
of Western civilization—the founding of democratic government. However, as many
as a third of the people of Athens were slaves. The Athenians, like other
ancient peoples, denied slaves the legal rights of citizens.
The Greeks believed strongly in the
importance of law. They considered respect for the law to be the mark of the
good citizen. The great Athenian philosopher and teacher Socrates became the
supreme example of this belief. The court sentenced Socrates to death in 399
B.C. for teaching Athenian youths to disrespect the law. Socrates knew that he
was innocent. But he accepted his sentence to show his respect for the law.
Ancient Roman law. Ancient law reached its peak under the Romans. Roman law included all
the main branches of public and private law that exist today. In fact, the
scientific classification of the law began with the Romans. The Romans designed
their laws not only to govern the people of Rome but also to build and hold
together a vast empire. By the early A.D. 100's, the Roman Empire included much
of Europe and the Middle East and most of northern Africa.
Early Roman times. The first known Roman law code, called the Laws of the Twelve Tables,
was written about 450 B.C It set down the chief customary laws of the Roman
people in a form that was easy to remember. For hundreds of years, Roman boys
had to memorize the code as part of their schoolwork.
The principles expressed in the Twelve
Tables long remained the basis of Roman law. But the Romans gradually amended
these principles to meet changing social conditions. After 367 B.C., a high
public official called a praetor made the chief amendments. Each
year, the praetor issued an edict (public order) that made any
necessary changes. After 27 B.C, the Roman emperor could make or change laws
as he wished. Eventually, the whole body of Roman law became extremely complex.
The task of interpreting this great mass of laws fell to a group of highly
skilled lawyers called juris prudentes, a Latin term for experts
in law. Since that time, the science of law has been known as jurisprudence.
For many years, Romans and non-Romans
within the empire were governed under different sets of laws. Roman citizens
were governed under the jus civile (civil law). The Romans
developed a special set of laws, called the jus gentium (law of
the nations), to rule the peoples they conquered. They based these laws on
principles of justice that they believed applied to all people. Such principles
are known as natural law.
However, neither the jus civile nor the
jus gentium granted any legal rights to slaves. Under Roman law, only Roman
citizens could own property, make contracts and wills, and sue for damages.
Slaves were not citizens, and so they had none of these rights. As the Romans
developed the idea of natural law, however, they recognized that slaves had
human rights that should be respected. Roman law thus began to require that
slaves be treated fairly and decently.
Late Roman times. The belief in natural law also led to the
idea that non-Romans within the empire should have the same rights as citizens.
In A.D. 212, the Romans granted Roman citizenship to most of the peoples they
had conquered, except slaves. The jus civile then became the law of the entire
empire.
However, the principles of natural law set
down in the jus gentium remained part of Roman law. These principles were
important to future generations because they led to the belief in equal rights
for all citizens. But hundreds of years passed before people fully developed
the principles of equality that were outlined by the Romans. Once the
principles had been developed, they contributed to the building of democratic
governments in Australia, France, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, the United
States, and many other countries.
Beginning with Julius Caesar, a long line
of Roman rulers had tried to organize all the empire's laws into an orderly
code. Emperor Justinian I finally completed this task. Justinian's code, the
famous Corpus Juris Civilis (Body of Civil Law), went into effect in 533
and 534. It covered the whole field of law so completely and so skilfully that
it later became the model for the first modern law codes. Even today, the
codes of most civil-law countries are based on Roman law.
The Middle Ages. In 395, the Roman Empire split into two parts—the West Roman Empire and
the East Roman, or Byzantine, Empire. The West Roman Empire, which had its
capital in Rome, fell to invading Germanic tribes in the late 400's. The
empire's fall marked the start of the 1,000-year period known as the Middle
Ages. The East Roman Empire, which had its capital in Constantinople (now
Instanbul), escaped the invasions. In 527, Justinian I became the ruler of the
eastern empire, and his great code of Roman law was mainly enforced there. In
Western Europe, most of the legal and cultural institutions developed by the
Romans gradually died out.
However, Roman law survived in the West as
the basis for canon law— the legal system developed by the Roman
Catholic Church. Most Europeans during the Middle Ages were Catholics, and so
canon law had a powerful influence on their lives.
The Germanic tribes that overthrew the
West Roman Empire had their own law codes, which they introduced into the
regions they conquered. But these codes were undeveloped compared with Roman
law. They consisted chiefly of long lists of fines for specific offences, such
as stealing a neighbour's ox or dog.
By the 800s, Europeans had developed a
political and military system known as feudalism. Under
feudalism, people owed allegiance to individual lords rather than to a central
government. A lord enforced the law in his territory and granted protection to
the people who served in his armies and who lived and worked on his land. The
legal system of the Middle Ages was largely based on this relationship between
lords and the people who depended on them.
In particular, feudal law spelled out the
duties that people owed to their lord. But a lord could not demand more than
the law allowed. The people thus had a right to refuse any demands by their
lord that went beyond
the limits of the law. Europeans later
used this principle to resist monarchs who claimed too much power. The
principle thus played an important role in the struggle for democracy in
Europe.
Feudal law remained the basic law in
western Europe until about 1300. By then, western Europeans had begun to
establish improved legal systems. However, this development differed greatly
between the countries of mainland Europe and the British Isles.
Developments in mainland Europe. The economy of western Europe began to
grow rapidly during the 1000's. As commerce and industry increased, they created
a need for a set of laws that was more complex and varied than feudal law.
Scholars believed that ancient Roman law could meet this need. Beginning about
1100, the University of Bologna in northern Italy trained law students from
many parts of Europe in the principles of the Corpus Juris Civilis. Interest in
the code soon spread to other European universities. Roman law thus gradually
began to replace feudal law throughout mainland Europe.
Developments in Britain. England already had a strong, unified
legal system by the 1200's, when Roman law was beginning to spread across Europe.
England's legal system had grown out of
the country's courts. English courts had long based their decisions on the
customs of the English people. But customs varied from district to district. As
a result, similar cases were often judged differently in different districts.
In the early 1100's, however, strong English kings began to set up a nationwide
system of royal courts. In this way, the courts soon established a body of common
taw— that is, law which applied equally anywhere in England. Judges
could change the law but any change applied in all common-law courts.
As English common law developed, it
established many precedents that limited the powers of government and protected
the rights of the people. These precedents made all the people, including the
monarch, subject to the law.
Alongside the common law, there also
developed in England a separate system of justice, known as Equity. In
the Middle Ages, people who could not obtain a remedy at common law turned to
the lord chancellor for assistance. The lord chancellor, and later his
assistants in the Court of Chancery, based their decisions on the principles of
equity (moral justice). In time, these principles became fixed
rules. The rules of equity are still separate from the rules of common law.
See Equity.
The English legal system is the basis of
United Kingdom law, except for Scotland. Scottish law is based on a
combination of Roman law and feudal custom. When Ireland became a republic it
continued to use a system similar to the English system. See United Kingdom,
Legal systems of the.
The first modern law codes. Roman law had been adopted throughout most of Europe by the end of the
1500's. But only England had a monarchy strong enough to establish a unified legal
system. In other countries, law codes were drawn up and enforced mainly by
local governments. These local codes differed greatly from one part of a
country to another. Beginning in the 1500's, many European monarchs set out to
form strong central governments. To help achieve this goal, they began to
assemble the assorted local codes of their countries into national codes—a
development called the codification movement.
The codification movement reached its peak
under the French ruler Napoleon Bonaparte. In 1800, Napoleon appointed a
committee of legal scholars to turn the whole of French private law into a
compact, well- reasoned code. The new code, called the Code Civil or Code
Napoleon, was a skilful blend of Roman law,
French customs, and democratic philosophy.
It went into effect in 1804 and has remained France's basic code of private law
ever since. It has also been a model for the private-law codes of most
civil-law countries. Thus, Roman law, as contained in the Code Napoleon, still
influences people's lives.
English law in the colonies. When English
settlers colonized countries, for example, the United States, Australia and
parts of Africa, they continued to use English law. Many leaders in the
colonies were lawyers who had been trained in the common law. These men were
especially dedicated to the common-law principles that put the rights of the
people above the will of a monarch. Therefore, when a country became
independent the common law was a driving force behind the writing of the new
country's constitution.
However, newly independent countries
adopted the basic ideas, but not the whole body of English common law. Many
parts of the common law were impractical for new, rapidly expanding nations.
English property law was particularly unsuited in the United States, for instance.
Land was scarce in England, and so the law heavily restricted the transfer of
land from one owner to another. But much of the land in the United States was
unsettled and the nation was constantly expanding its frontiers. To ensure the
nation's growth, people had to be free to buy and sell land. American property
law therefore began to stress the rights and obligations involved in land
transfers. The English laws that restricted such transfers were discarded.
The legal systems of Australia, Canada
(apart from Quebec), India, Malaysia, New Zealand, and the United States (apart
from Louisiana), as well as many African and Caribbean nations, are all based
on the English system, but have developed in different ways according to the
needs and customs of each country. See Australia, Legal system of.
Related articles. See the Government
section of the various country articles. See also the following articles:
Other related articles
Maritime law
Martial law
Parliamentary procedure
Public opinion
Outline
Inquest
Judgment
Jury
Mandamus
Minor
Law enforcement
(See the following articles Court; Crime; and Police.)
History
Code Napoleon
Draco
Feudalism
Hammurabi
Inns of Court
Justinian Code
Lycurgus
Moses
Plato
Solon
Ten Commandments
Trial by combat
Laws of the Twelve Tables
Constitutional Law
Bill of rights
Citizenship
Civil rights
Constitution
Magna Carta
Petition of Right
Administrative law
See the following articles and their lists
of Related articles: Local government; Taxation.
International law
See International law and its list of Related
articles.
Lawmaking
Code
Common law
House of Commons
House of Lords
Legislature
Lobbying
Parliament
Repeal
Veto
Legal procedures and terms
Affidavit
Appeal
Bail
Brief
Confession
Deposition
Equity
Evidence
Habeas corpus
Indictment
Injunction
Outlines
Branches of law
Private law
Public law
Systems of law
Common-law systems
Civil-law systems
Other systems
How laws are changed
By court decision
By legislation
By administrative action
By direct action of the people
The development of law
Law, John (1671-1729), a Scottish financier and gambler, tried to revive the
French economy by opening a bank in 1716 to issue paper money. His plans also
included land speculation and trade in the American state of Louisiana, which
became famous as the Mississippi Scheme.
Law was born in Edinburgh. In 1694, he
killed a man in a duel, and was arrested and sentenced to death. He escaped
from prison and fled to the Dutch city of Amsterdam, where he studied the
operations of the Bank of Amsterdam. He then accumulated a large fortune
through gambling.
Law opened a bank in France in 1716. The
paper money issued by the bank soon became readily acceptable. In 1717, Law
established a company which soon monopolized trade with nearly all French
possessions. In 1718, the bank became the Royal Bank.
Law's bank issued excessive quantities of
paper money. Much of it was used to speculate in stock issued by his trading
company. Speculators soon demanded gold for their paper money. The whole
project collapsed, leaving thousands of people bankrupt in the panic that
followed (see Mississippi Scheme).
Law enforcement, Arrest, Trial and Imprisonment
Law enforcement is the means by which a country or community maintains order. The
enforcement of law, both civil and criminal, by government agencies enables
society to live safely and in peace.
Civil law, which includes family and
company legislation, deals with conflicts between corporations or private
individuals. Contractual disagreements, property disputes, and personal injury
claims are usually settled in local or county courts. Larger or more
complicated cases are taken for trial before a senior judge in the high court.
Criminal law deals with activities that
are considered a danger to society. Defendants (people charged
with crimes) must be told the nature of the alleged offence. They must be given
an open trial, and be allowed to call evidence on their own behalf. Trials are
usually open to the public. However, some trials dealing with offences against
young children, or involving state secrets, are held in camera (in
private).
Arrest. The police have the power to arrest anyone whom they have reasonable
cause to feel is committing, or has recently committed, a crime. If they wish
to search a suspect's home or business premises for evidence, they must first
obtain a search warrant. Once a defendant has been arrested, he or she may be
held in custody (prison) or released on bail. The defendant must
be brought before a court on the next working day. A defendant who has been
held in custody may apply to the court to be released on bail until the next
court appointment.
Trial. In countries such as Australia, India, Ireland, and the United Kingdom,
which have the common law system of justice, most minor criminal cases are
dealt with in the local magistrates court. Magistrates may be stipendiary
(professional lawyers who hear the case on their own) or lay
(private citizens without legal training who sit as a group).
Lawless, Theodore Kenneth 117
Defendants accused of serious offences
will be tried by a judge, sitting with a jury. The defendant first appears
before a junior court to establish that there is a case to answer. This is
usually a formality. But the entire evidence may be presented in the junior
court at the defendants request. Once the junior court has established that
there is sufficient evidence to warrant a trial, the defendant is remanded in
custody or on bail, until his case can be presented before the judge. A
defendant who is not satisfied with a judge's interpretation of the law may
appeal to have the case heard again before a more senior judge, or before a
panel of judges, in a higher court.
Imprisonment. Most criminal laws specify the longest and shortest prison term to
which an offender may be sentenced. The judge decides the exact length of the
sentence, depending on what he or she feels will best serve both the offender
and society. Prison terms are meant to punish offenders, reform criminals,
remove dangerous offenders from society, and show possible future lawbreakers
the penalties for crime.
If the judge believes a prison term would
not help an offender, the individual may be sentenced to a period of probation.
A lawbreaker who is on probation remains free, but a probation officer assigned
by the court may check on the individual's activities. An offender who violates
the rules of the probation may be imprisoned.
Related articles: Arrest, Bail,
Civil law, Court, Hypnotism (Uses of hypnotism), Interpol, Jury, Indictment, Law,
Parole, Plea bargaining, Police, Prison, Sentence, Trial, Warrant.
No comments:
Post a Comment