Cours L1 droit, anglais

ANGLAIS

Introduction to international legal English

• In national context, legal English deals with how the law is expressed, the language of the law. Law sets norms in national context. Codified manner.

Legal term depends of the states, region.

EX : Scots law in Scotland. USA; Canada; New Zealand.

The definition of the legal English : international dimension.  

In national context legal English deal with the laws of the countries.                                                            In the international context, is the language used by legal experts when dealing with one another and also with the general public.

Legal English is also the language of international law when it is worded in English.

Distinction between natives’ speakers of English and no natives’ speakers of English. Currently research tries to find how we can have natives and no natives communicate. In international context, English is used by no natives to communicate. So legal English is the medium threw which to communicate. Concretely there are many contexts in which legal experts operate and in which non experts deal with legal English.

Contexts :

• The university 
• National bodies, ministries and agencies
• International and supranational organization (working with doc not always translated)
• Companies 
• Legal profession have to deal with UK citizen, and people from other countries
• NGOs (non-governmental organizations) : have to deal with legal English

• We will deal with it in national, international and global level
• The course will deal with legal terminology and culture.

Keeping us exposed to English.

University : options, opportunities to improve legal English. From the second year to the fourth year : English will deal with the legal system from UK and USA.                                    Language center = F238.

Chapter 1 : law studies :

Law studies, worked conditions, laws studies varies (depending on) with the country, the university and even within the same university : depending on the college (the 1st year at university)

• bachelor’s degree in law
•  master’s degree,
• PhD,
• The LLB in UK and LIM in US (professional tract)
• JD (Juris doctorate) : after 8 years of studies at university.

Selective in the UK : so they have a test called the LNAT : to select the students who want to take “law” at the university. It’s used to make more transparent the admission criteria; the test is quit complicated.

Chapter 2 : legal professions :

Its helping to describe his context of use.

The professions (profession libérale) :

• Lawyer : (avocat) but, different countries have different uses and those different words are attorney, barrister, solicitor, advocate, notary.

In the black’s legal dictionary, a lawyer is a person learned in the law, as an attorney, a counselor, a solicitor, a person licensed to practice law.

Lawyers, in foreign legal systems, may perform tasks carried out in France not just by “avocat”.

EX : in the UK, lawyer include barristers and solicitors, and it’s also include clerks and even judges and also authors of legislation.

In the US, lawyer is a synonym of attorney. However, the word lawyer is never use for paralegals (clerks in the UK).

In Australia, both terms solicitor and barrister exist and lawyer means the both, like in the UK.

• Barristers and solicitors :

• Barristers specialize in pleading, they represents litigants (people or organizations going to court). They have not access to clients.
• Solicitors have access to clients.

In practice the distinction between barristers and solicitors is blurred. The keep the system because they are pros and cons to maintaining such distinction.

• The pros : it’s consider that is better to have two legal advises instead of just one. And shows that clients are properly defended. Each of them is independent, they work independently. They are more specialized, which allows for trials to be more professionally-run
• Cons : they may be too specialized and you may have a solicitor or a barrister specialized in only one category. In addition, the more legal advisers, the higher the costs for the litigants

• Attorney (notaire) : conducts legal business on behalf of someone. He represents clients in court.

 In the US the word attorney stands for qualified lawyer. In South Africa, we also have the world attorney that means “solicitor”.

All depends of the national tradition.

Attorney-at-law is a term that we can find in the US.

The commonly provide counselling, daft documents (wills = testament; trusts administer property on behalf of someone and contracts).

Attorney-general : in common law, they are the equivalent of “Garde des Sceaux” in France.

• Corporate-attorney : company lawyer. (juristes d’entreprise) : their role is to make sure that transactions conducted by the company are legal.

Contract law, tax law, accounting, intellectual property rights, the laws appropriated to the business of the company.

• Judges : they make decisions regarding the application of the law. Internationally, the term may include notaries. They conduct trials impartially, they hear the witnesses, they examine evidence, they issue a ruling.

The French legal system is said to be inquisitorial : which mean that a judge or a group of judges lead the investigation. The parties’ positions are represented by lawyers.

Common law systems are not inquisitorial, they are adversarial and this means that a judge or a group of judges lead the case. The truth is supposed during the audience.

They interpret the law and their power very much depends on the jurisdiction of the country. What they have in common is that they wear black or red robes and sit on platforms called the bench.

In France judicial officers are recruited at Masters’ degree level, after a competitive examination = National School of the Judiciary (l’école nationale de la magisrature)

• Prosecutors : in France we have three type of prosecutor

• The public prosecutor or Chief prosecutor (procureur de la république) : decides to conduct or to lead a preliminary inquiry and asks, if it’s necessary, an examining judge to carry out a more formal investigation. The case is then presented at trial to either the Bench or to a jury.
• The general prosecutor 
• The financial prosecutor : a typically French institution.

In France, prosecutor suggest sentencing guidelines

Mardi 06 octobre

• Bailiffs are sworn officers; they legally see to the execution of court orders. They make sure that executions are made.

Courts orders are :

• Fines
• Prison sentences
• May also be legal witnesses 

They are responsible for servicing legal process (huissier)

Repossessions (the confiscation of goods) and evictions in accordance with court judgements, sometimes forcefully.

The may authentify documents, they collect debts, issue court summons (assignation  à comparaitre).

• Notaries : the most country-neutral word : use every-where.

They hold a public office, but they operate in private practice. In France they have a state monopoly.

They are paid on a fee-for-basis.

Notarize, perform notarization, they make prenuptial agreements. They deal also with commercial and residential conveyancing, probate, registration, contract drafting, business engagement, transactions etc.

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