Sources and branches of Public law.

Most systems traditionally can be classified as common law systems or a Roman-law systems. Great Britain (except Scotland), most of the US, Australia and other English-speaking countries have a common-law systems. Most continental Europe and Latin America have a Roman-law system. Many countries combine features of both systems.

By the common-law tradition we mean a system of judge-made law through the decisions of judges. These decisions are called precedents. If the essential elements of a case are the same as those previous recorded cases, then the judge is bound to reach the same decision. If no precedent can be found, then the judge makes a decision and this decision will become a new precedent.

Many continental countries with Roman-law systems have codified much of their law. It means that they assembled their statutes into codes. In Roman-law countries, such as France, Germany, Mexico and others, the statutes, not the courts, provide the final answer to any question of law.

Law can be divided into two main branches: private law and 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 public and private law can be subdivided into several branches. There are six major branches of private law in England and the US.

Contract law deals with the rights and obligations of people who make contracts.

Tort law handles the rights and obligations of people involved in torts.

Property law governs the ownership and use of property.

Inheritance law concerns the transfer of property upon the death of the owner and sets the rules for making wills.

Family law determines the legal rights and obligations of husbands and wives and parents and children.

Company law governs the formation and operation of business corporations or companies.

Public law can be divided into four branches.

Criminal law defines crime and offences, and the punishment of offenders.

Constitutional law covers conflicts between the constitution and other laws.

Administrative law centers on the operation of government departments.

International law deals with the relationship among nations both in war and peace.

Property law.

Property law deals with property rights. In the legal sense, property is anything of value to which a person or business has sole right of ownership.

Property can be divided into four categories: tangible real property, tangible personal property, intangible personal property, intellectual property.

Tangible real property is land and anything attached to it, for example, a house, a factory, built-in-machines within the house or factory.

Tangible personal property is any item that can be owned, bought, sold or leased (money, cars, clothing).

Intangible personal property cannot be seen but has written documentation (insurance policies, bank accounts, stocks, debentures).

Intellectual property is created through a person’s mental skills (soft-ware, books, articles, plays, music, technology). Intellectual property is protected by patents, copyrights, trademarks.

A patent makes it illegal for others to manufacture or use the invention without permission. Ideas, scientific theories cannot be patented. Copyright is an exclusive ownership right given to the creators of work of music, art, literature, computer software and so on. It’s better to register to copyright, because it provides additional protection in the event of dispute over the creation. A trademark is the legal right to use a brand name or symbol exclusively, such as M design of McDonald’s.

Property rights are not always absolute. For example, the government may claim private land to built a public buildings or a road but it has to pay the owner a fair price.

Private property can be transferred to other people or firms through sale. Transfer of personal property is called transfer of title. However, most goods sold by businesses use a written bill of sale. Real property is sold by a written contract called deed. If the owner dies, his property passes to his heir or heiress. Many people take a will before their death. A will is a person’s declaration of how he wants his property used after his death.

Nowadays it has become very difficult to control coping. That’s why most legal systems allow a certain amount of coping without asking permission. It called fear dealing. The law provides some help for companies to keep trade secrets. It is a criminal offence to pass information about production methods, customer lists and so on.