3.1.3 Read the text again to answer the following questions.

1) What does criminal law deal with?

2) What does the word crime mean?

3) What is a general classification of crimes in most modern states?

4) In what way are crimes divided according to their gravity?

5) What are the two elements of a crime?

6) What does presumption of innocence mean?

7) What is called a defense? What are the most common defenses?

8) What are different kinds of punishment?

9) What are the purposes of punishment?

10) Why is criminal law one of the fastest growing areas of law?

3.2. Tort law

3.2.1 Study these words before reading the text.

tort – деликт, гражданское правонарушение

wrong = wrongdoing – нарушение законных прав, правонарушение, деликт

tortfeaser – делинквент, правонарушитель

compensation = damages – компенсация, возмещение ущерба

trespass – посягательство, нарушение чужого права владения

conversion – присвоение имущества

nuisance – помеха, неудобство, вред

negligence – халатность, неосторожность

misrepresentation – умышленный обман, введение в заблуждение

defamation – диффамация, клевета

slander – устная клевета

libel – клевета (в печати и т.п.)

burden of proof – бремя доказывания, доказательная норма

preponderance of evidence – перевес доказательств

duty of care – обязанность соблюдать осторожность

product liability – ответственность за производимую продукцию

strict product liability – обязательная (немедленная ответственность)

vicarious liability – ответственность без вины за действия другого

to seek (sought, sought) sth (damages, a divorce, etc.) – требовать чего-либо (компенсации ущерба, развода и т.п.), обращаться с иском о чем-либо

3.2.2 Read and translate the text.

Tort law applies to most relations not governed by contract or criminal law. Taken from the French word for ‘wrong’, a tort is a civil – that is, non-criminal – injury to people, their property, or their reputation for which compensation must be paid. The law of tort covers a wide area of wrongdoings. Trespass, conversion, nuisance, negligence, misrepresentation, slander and libel are all torts. The tort of nuisance is an act that causes trouble. It occurs when, for example, a neighbor creates too much noise or his rubbish causes unpleasant smells. The tort of defamation covers attacks against someone’s reputation through the written (libel) or spoken (slander) word. The tort of misrepresentation is defined as false statement of fact. Falsely assuring a customer, for example, (‘Yes, that is a brand-new transmission, not a rebuilt one’) is misrepresentation. However, mere ‘puffing’ by a salesperson (‘This is the finest car on our lot’) is not misrepresentation.

Torts may be intentional or may occur through negligence.

As their name implies, intentional torts result from the deliberate actions of another person or firm. Still, intentional torts are not crimes. For example, the tort of conversion in English law covers ‘taking, destroying or selling someone else’s property’ as does the crime of theft. But the essential difference between torts and crimes is that the former are the subject of civil law suits between private individuals, and the latter are prosecuted by the state.

Sometimes an individual takes an action in the law of tort because he or she has been the victim of the crime but has gained no benefit from the criminal prosecution. Sometimes there is no criminal prosecution because the police do not have enough evidence: the burden of proof required for a civil action (preponderance of evidence) is lower than in criminal prosecutions (beyond reasonable doubt). In other situations, they feel that the matter is more of a private dispute than one involving public law and order. For example, simply entering somebody’s land without the owner’s permission is not a crime in English law. It is, however, the tort of trespass. The police cannot take any action unless the trespasser commits certain crimes such as threatening violence or damaging property.

Ninety percent of tort suits involve charges of negligence (breach of a legal duty of care). Such suits may result from wrongful actions of companies. If a company installs a pollution-control system that does not adequately protect the community’s water supply, that company may be later sued by an individual who gets sick from drinking the water. Negligence torts may also result from individual employees’ actions. For example, a firm whose worker fails to post a sign warning about a hole in the road into which somebody falls or a sign warning about a wet floor on which a customer slips, may be sued for negligence.

One area of tort law that is particularly worrisome to businesses is product liability. Product liability makes a company responsible for injuries caused by its product. Lately, businesses have faced a number of strict liability torts, which involve harm caused by toxic waste or other hazardous substances that were legally used.

In general, anyone may sue or be sued in tort – a child, someone who is mentally sick, even someone who has died. In such cases the action will be conducted in their name by another authorized person. Under the concept of vicarious liability (liability on behalf of someone else) it may be possible to sue the employer of a person who commits a tort in the normal course of his employment. This may be useful if high damages are being sought, since the defendant can’t be forced to pay more money than he has.

The aim of damages in tort is to restore the position there would have been if the tort had not occurred.