Scanning reading

19. Scan the text “The Law System” and find out information concerning:

• Constitutional law

• Financial law

• International Private Law

Before scanning the text see the notes, given below the text.

Time limit – 15 minutes

Be sure to know that the word “scanning” means reading for detail.

The Law System

Law is a system of rules established by the state. The main aim of law is to consolidate and safeguard the social and state system and its economic foundation. The legal system of Ukraine is based on the framework of civil law and belongs to the Romano-Germanic legal tradition. The main source of legal information is codified law. Customary law and case law are not as common, though case law is often used in support of the written law, as in many other legal systems. The system of law in our country consists of different branches of law.

Constitutional Law is a leading category of the whole system of law. Its principal source is the country’s Constitution. It deals with social structure, the state system, organization of state power and the legal status of citizens.

Administrative Law is closely connected with constitutional law but it deals with the legal forms of concrete executive and administrative activity of a government and ministries.

Criminal Law defines the general principles of criminal responsibility, individual types of crimes and punishments applied to criminals. Criminal law takes the form of a Criminal Code.

Civil law is connected with relations in the economic sphere of life, with relations involving property, its distribution and exchange. The right in property is the central institution of civil law.

Family Law is an area of the law that deals with family-related issues and domestic relations including:

• the nature of marriage, civil unions, and domestic partnerships;

• issues arising throughout marriage, including spousal abuse, legitimacy, adoption, surrogacy, child abuse, and child abduction

• the termination of the relationship and ancillary matters including divorce, annulment, property settlements, alimony, and parental responsibility orders.

• Paternity fraud and testing.

Environmental Law is a complex and interlocking body of treaties, conventions, statutes, regulations, and common law that operates to regulate the interaction of humanity and the natural environment, toward the purpose of reducing the impacts of human activity. The topic may be divided into two major subjects: (1) pollution control and remediation, (2) resource conservation and management.

The rules of employment Law include the legislation on the employment of industrial and office workers and regulate matters arising from employment relations.

Corporate Law(also "company" or "corporations" law) is the study of how shareholders, directors, employees, creditors, and other stakeholders such as consumers, the community and the environment interact with one another under the internal rules of the firm.

Property law is the area of law that governs the various forms of ownership in real property (land as distinct from personal or movable possessions) and in personal property, within the common law legal system.

Intellectual Property Law (IP) is a term referring to a number of distinct types of creations of the mind for which a set of exclusive rights are recognized—and the corresponding fields of law. Under Intellectual Property Law, owners are granted certain exclusive rights to a variety of intangible assets, such as musical, literary, and artistic works; discoveries and inventions; and words, phrases, symbols, and designs. Common types of intellectual property rights include copyrights, trademarks, patents, industrial design rights and trade secrets in some jurisdictions.

Land Law is the form of law that deals with the rights to use, alienate, or exclude others from land. In many jurisdictions, these species of property are referred to as real estate or real property, as distinct from personal property. Land use agreements, including renting, are an important intersection of property and contract law. Encumbrance on the land rights of one, such as an easement, may constitute the land rights of another. Mineral rights and water rights are closely linked, and often interrelated concepts.

Tax Law is the codified system of laws that describes government levies on economic transactions, commonly called taxes.

Customs Law carries out and controls custom affairs of export, import, and transit goods, travelers.

Financial Law regulates the budget, taxation, state credits and other spheres of financial activity.

International Public Law regulates relations between governments and also between private citizens of one country and those of another.

International Private Law or conflict of laws refers to the body of rights and duties of private individuals and business entities of different sovereign states. Private international law (PIL) addresses two main questions: 1) the jurisdiction in which a case may be heard, and 2) which laws from which jurisdiction(s) apply. It is distinguished from public international law because it governs conflicts between private individuals or business entities (“foreign element”), rather than conflicts between states or other international bodies. Private international law deals with Contract law, Family law, Labor law, Inheritance law.

Notes:

establish (v)	встановлювати
responsibility (n)	відповідальність
consolidate (v)	oб’єднувати
apply to (v)	застосовувати
safeguard (v)	охороняти
source (n)	джерело
taxation (n	оподаткування
distribution (n)	розподіл