II. Complete the open dialogue and learn it by heart

H.	…
K.	The matter is that the American court system is complex. It functions as part of the federal system of government and is responsible for applying laws to settle disputes between parties.
H.	…
K.	As far as I remember a dual Court system operates in the United States.
H.	…
K.	As a matter of fact the federal government and each of the 50 state governments have separate court systems.
H.	…
K.	I'm of the same opinion. The federal court system includes district courts established by Congress, federal courts of appeals, and the Supreme Court. The systems established by the states include circuit courts of appeals, and state supreme courts.
H.	…
K.	I don't think so. Courts possess jurisdiction, the legal right and power to interpret and apply laws and make binding decisions.
H.	…
K.	To make a long story short the vast majority of cases are resolved in the state courts.
H.	…
K.	In my opinion the federal courts are organized in three tiers, like a pyramid.
H.	…
K.	The highest court of the land is the U.S. Supreme Court, it is composed of nine justices appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate.
H.	…
K.	As far as I know justices are appointed to the Supreme Court for life.
H.	…
K.	The Court's major function is to hear cases appealed from the U.S. courts of appeals or state supreme courts.
H.	…
K.	The Supreme Court decides which cases to hear; roughly four percent of all appeals are heard each year.

UNIT 19

OUTLINE OF THE LAW OF PERSONS

BEFORE YOU READ

Answer these questions

1. What is a legal person? How many types of legal persons do you know? What are they?

2. Do human beings have full legal capacity? Are they potentially subject to any rule of law? What do the actual rules to which a person is subject depend on?

READING TASKS

A. Understanding main points

Read the text below about the law of persons and answer these questions, beginning your answers with the fol­lowing phrases: as a rule …; to tell the truth …; as far as I know …; the matter is that …; as far as I remember …; as far as I am concerned …; frankly/strictly speak­ing …; to make a long story short …

1. What is a corporation? What is the difference between a corporation and an unincorporated association?

2. What are the most significant types of corporation and unincorporated association?

3. What is a status? How many statuses may one person have? Give examples.

4. What is the legal view of marriage? Under what requirements will the marriage be a valid one?

5. What are the main consequences of marriage? May one spouse be prosecuted for stealing from the other?

6. Who is competent and compellable as witnesses? Are there any exceptions to this general rule? What are they?

7. Must all witnesses give evidence on oath? What is the oath in civil proceedings?

8. What are the basic rules which relate to the testimony of witnesses? Are there any exceptions to this rule? What are they?

9. What does real evidence refer to? What are the main types of real evidence?

10. What facts may a witness testify to? Whose function is it to draw conclusions from the proven facts?

B. Understanding details

Mark these statements T (true) or F (false) according to the information in the text. Give your reason using the fol­lowing phrases: as a matter of fact ...; I don't think so …; I'm of the same opinion …; in my opinion …; on the contrary …; strictly speaking ...; to my mind ...

1. The most significant types of corporation and unincorporated association are unlimited companies.

2. Human beings generally have full legal capacity, and consequently are potentially subject to any rule of law.

3. The legal view of marriage is that it is a voluntary union for life of one man and one woman to the exclusion of all others.

4. The main consequence of marriage is that the husband has a duty to maintain his wife even if they divorce.

5. All persons excluding children and mentally disordered persons are both competent and compellable as witnesses.

6. The Sovereign, ambassadors and various grades of diplomatic staff are not compellable.

7. The basic rule which relates to the testimony of witnesses is that evidence should be given orally and in open court.

8. There is no need for a person, who wishes to rely on the document as a means of proving a fact, prove what the document in question contains.

9. A witness may testify to facts which he has directly per­ceived and he may also state his opinion on how those facts should be interpreted.

10. The general rule is that a person can give evidence of what he heard or saw, as well as of what he heard another person say.

THE LAW OF PERSONS

A legal person is a being that is regarded by the law as having rights and duties. There are two basic types of legal persons – natural persons and corporations. A corporation is an artificial person which is recognized in law as a separate legal entity once the formalities for its creation have been complied with. A corporation must be distinguished from an unincorporated association, which does not have a legal identity separate from that of its members. The most significant types of corporation and unincorporated association are limited companies and partnerships respectively.

Human beings generally have full legal capacity, and consequently are potentially subject to any rule of law. The actual rules to which a person is subject depend on the factual situation in which he finds himself. These factual situations which affect a person’s rights and capacities are called sta­tuses. One person may have many statuses, for example husband, father, employer. Other examples include minor, guardian, wife, and mentally disordered person.

The legal view of marriage is that it is a voluntary union for life of one man and one woman to the exclusion of all others. The union is based on contract, but since the contract alters the legal status of the parties there are special rules for its formation and dissolution, together with a number of legal consequences. In order to make a valid marriage: both parties must be at least 16 years old; the parties must not be within the prohibited degrees of relationship, for example a person cannot marry their sister or mother; the parties must be respectively male and female; neither party may be already married; certain formal requirements must be complied with. If any of the above requirements are not complied with the marriage will be void.

The main consequences of marriage are the following: the husband normally has a duty to maintain his wife; both have a right to occupy the matrimonial home; both have rights regarding succession on the death of the other; either may apply to the court for the determination of any dispute arising between them as to the title or possession of property. Since 1968 one spouse may be prosecuted for stealing from the other, although the prosecution will normally require the consent of the Director of Public Prosecutions.

All persons including children and mentally disordered persons are both competent and compellable as witnesses. There are several exceptions to this general rule, for example the Sovereign, ambassadors and various grades of diplomatic staff are not compellable; the spouse of the accused in a criminal case is competent but not compellable for the defence and is incompetent for the prosecution; the accused person is not a competent witness for the prosecution in a criminal case; and very young children may be incompetent simply because of immaturity. All witnesses must give evidence on oath. In civil proceedings the oath is: 'I swear by Almighty God that the evidence which I shall give shall be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.'

There are two basic rules which relate to the testimony of witnesses. Firstly evidence should be given orally and in open court. There are many exceptions to this rule, for example provisions enabling evidence to be taken before trial, and in some cases given by affidavit. Secondly evidence must be confined to facts which the witness personally perceived. This rule excludes opinions and hearsay evidence.

There may be documentary evidence. A person who wishes to rely on the contents of a document as a means of proving a fact must prove what the document in question contains. This is usually done by producing the original of the document, although there are several exceptional circumstances in which a copy is ad­missible. He must also prove that the document on which he relies is authentic or has been duly executed. In most cases it will not be necessary for a party to prove all the documents in his possession since many of them will be formally admitted by his opponent. When a document is not admitted it may be proved by handwriting, attestation, or presumption. Handwriting is the commonest method of proving the validity or execution of a document and may be proved by ordinary or expert witnesses. The usual method of proof is to put the document before the writer in the witness box. Attestation is the signature of a document as a witness to the signature of one of the parties to the document. Proof by attestation involves calling one of the attesting witnesses, or if none of them are available, by proof of the handwriting of one of them. The main cate­gories of documents which require attestation are wills and codicils. Presumption applies to documents more than 20 years old. Provided such documents are produced from proper cus­tody, i.e. from a place where the document would be expected to be kept, for example a bank or a solicitor's office, there is a presumption that the document is validly executed.

Real evidence refers to the inspection of physical objects, other than documents, by the court. There are three main types of real evidence: a) material objects produced for inspection by the court, for example an alleged murder weapon, or goods alleged to have been stolen. These are referred to in court as 'exhibits'. b) the physical appearance of persons. For example a person's wounds may be inspected by the court when it is necessary to assess damages for personal injury. c) a view is real evidence, i.e. an inspection outside the court of a place or object where the physical characteristics of that place or object are relevant facts.

A witness may only testify to facts which he has directly per­ceived. He may not state his opinion on how those facts should be interpreted. The reason for this rule is that it is the function of the court, not of the witnesses, to draw conclusions from the proven facts. Opinion as a means of proof must be distinguished from opinion as a fact in itself, which is not excluded. The main exception to the rule excluding proof by opinion relates to expert witnesses who may give an opinion based on impression or inference, although the court is not bound to accept the infer­ence.

Hearsay evidence is basically 'second hand' evidence of what another person said or wrote. It may be oral or written. The general rule is that a person can give evidence of what he heard or saw, however he cannot give evidence of what he heard another person say. The reason is that it would be unfair to admit a statement which was not made under oath and which cannot be tested by cross-examination.