Lawyer: The lawyer advises the client on how to order the client`s affairs, how or whether to proceed with a proposed course of action, or how to proceed with respect to ongoing or potential litigation or settlements. Often this is when the lawyer prepares (or asks someone) an inter-office law brief that reviews the client`s legal situation and helps the lawyer advise the client. The historical law school believes that today`s societies should base their legal decisions on the examples of the past. Precedents would be more important than moral arguments. There are many sources of law in the United States today. The most important are (1) constitutions – both at the state and federal levels, (2) government laws and regulations, and (3) court decisions. In addition, the heads of the executive (the president and individual governors) can issue executive decrees that have legal effect. Civil law systems rely less on precedents than on codes that explicitly provide rules for many specific disputes. If a judge has to go beyond the letter of a code to resolve a dispute, his or her decision will not become binding or even relevant in subsequent decisions involving other parties. At the local level, counties and municipal corporations or municipalities may be empowered under a state constitution to issue or issue ordinances. Examples of ordinances include local building codes, zoning laws and misdemeanors, or violations such as skateboarding or jaywalking. Many of the most unusual laws that make headlines from time to time are local ordinances. For example, in Logan County, Colorado, it is illegal to kiss a sleeping woman; In Indianapolis, Indiana, and Eureka, Nebraska, it`s a crime to kiss if you have a mustache.
But according to reports, some states still have strange laws here and there. Kentucky law states that every person in the state must take a bath at least once a year, and it is illegal not to do so. All these people can own property and hold it for their own property (house, clothing, etc.) or as a business or investment (office buildings, factories, stocks, savings accounts). Only socialist systems have attempted to prevent this second function of property by forbidding individuals to own “the means of production.” The property in question may be tangible and is often referred to as immovable and movable (or, at common law, immovable and personal). Ownership can also be intangible, such as debts, copyrights and patents. If owners have full legal capacity, they can generally manage their property as they wish, subject to public policy rules (e.g. zoning by-laws). They can manage their assets during their lifetime or their will, although many systems ensure that a portion of the deceased`s assets go to close relatives. Positivism has its limits and its criticisms. New Testament readers may recall that King Herod, fearing the birth of a Messiah, issued a decree that all male children under a certain age were to be killed. Because it was the order of a sovereign, the decree was executed (or, in legalese, the decree was “executed”).
Suppose a group seizes power in a certain place and orders that women cannot go to school and can only receive medical treatment from women, even though their condition is life-threatening and women doctors are rare. Let us also suppose that this commandment is carried out simply because it is the law and is carried out with all its might. The people who live there will undoubtedly question the wisdom, justice or goodness of such a law, but it is nevertheless a law and is generally enforced. To avoid the effects of the law, a citizen would have to flee the country completely. During the Taliban regime in Afghanistan, where this example comes from, many fled. Legal systems vary considerably in their objectives and in the way they deal with civil and criminal cases. Common law systems use juries, have a judge and respect precedents. Civil law systems adjudicate cases without a jury, often appoint three judges, and often issue shorter opinions without reference to cases that have already been decided. There are hundreds of legal systems in the world. At the global level, international law is of great importance, whether through the practice of sovereign States or through agreement between them in the form of treaties and other agreements. Some transnational entities, such as the European Union, have created their own legal structures.
At the national level, the United Nations has more than 180 sovereign States. Many of them are federal and their components may have their own additional laws. This chapter has introduced you to some of the fundamental schools of legal thought, such as natural law, positive law, legal realism, and critical legal studies. He also gave you brief training in common law, including contracts, torts and criminal law. The differences between civil and criminal cases, content and procedure, as well as different sources of law were also examined. Each source has a different level of authority, starting with constitutions that are primary and strike down all lower court laws that do not conform to their principles and regulations. The fundamental differences between the common law and the civil legal system (continental or European) are also discussed. The common law tradition is unique in England, the United States and the former colonies of the British Empire.
Although there are differences between common law systems (e.g. most countries do not allow their judiciary to declare legislative acts unconstitutional; Some countries use juries less frequently), all recognize the use of precedents in court cases, and none rely on the comprehensive legal codes that prevail in civil justice systems. Related to the CLS school, but different, is the ecofeminist school of legal thought. This school emphasizes – and would change – men`s long-standing dominance over women and the rest of the natural world. Ecofeminists would say that the same social mentality that leads to the exploitation of women is the root of male exploitation and the deterioration of the natural environment.