8. Работа в парах. Обсудите с коллегой ответы на вопросы к тексту. Выскажите свою точку зрения в аудитории.

1. What offences did Matt and Luther commit?

2. What branches of law are involved in the story?

9. Прочитайте и переведите текст.

TEXT

CLASSIFICATION OF LAW

Every country has its own historically developing system of norms, legal institutions and branches of law, which regulates different types of social relations. In order to understand different aspects of a system of law it is necessary to look at various classifications of law. Numerous classifications that vary from country to country usually reflect the peculiarities of different systems of law. Nevertheless there are the most common divisions singled out by contemporary jurists. Thus law is frequently classified into public and private and substantive and procedural.

The distinction is often made between public and private law. Public law deals with matters that affect society as a whole. It includes areas of the law that are known as criminal, constitutional and administrative law. These are the laws that deal with the relationship between the individual and the state, or among jurisdictions. For example, if someone breaks a criminal law, it is regarded as a wrong against society as a whole, and the state takes steps to prosecute the offender.

Private law, on the other hand, deals with the relationships between individuals in society and is used primarily to settle private disputes. Private law deals with such matters as contracts, property ownership, the rights and obligations of family members, and damage to one's person or property caused by others. When one individual sues another over some private dispute, this is a matter for private law. Private suits are also called "civil" suits.

The next classification which is widely used is subdivision of law into substantive and procedural. There are many laws and legal rules found in statutes, cases decided by courts (legal precedents) and other sources that are applied by courts in order to decide lawsuits. These rules and principles of law are classified as substantive law. On the other hand, the legal procedures that provide how lawsuit is begun, how the trial is conducted, how appeals are filed, and how a judgment is enforced are called procedural law. In other words, substantive law is the part of the law that defines rights, and procedural law establishes the procedures which enforce and protect these rights. For example, two parties entered into a contract, but then one of the parties breached this contract. The rules of bringing the breaching party into court and the conduct of the trial are rather mechanical and constitute procedural law. Whether the agreement was enforceable and whether the other party is entitled to damages are matters of substance and will be determined on the basis of the substantive law of contract.

The jurists of all countries admit that it is necessary to differentiate between international law and national law. The latter is also called domestic law or municipal law. Domestic law is the law which is applicable within the boundaries of one state. International law is the body of legal rules that regulate relations between sovereign states. It is a special system which is not a part of the national law of the state. There are some important differences between international law and domestic law. Domestic laws are passed by legislative bodies, most of which have popular political support. International laws, on the other hand, are created by agreements between governments of different states. As a result, they don’t have the support from individual citizens. Enforcement of international laws is also different. Many international agreements or treaties are not binding; even when nations agree to be bound, it is unclear how obligations to be enforced. Countries differ greatly with regard to the importance attached to international obligations. Some states consider international obligations superior to their domestic laws, but in most cases international obligation are considered as a part of national law.