Lecturer: Dr. sc. Marijana Javornik Čubrić Classes: Tuesday 8:30 – 10:00 Office hours: Tuesday 11:30 – 12:30,

Gundulićeva 10, Room No. 6 Contact: marijana.javornik@pravo.hr

Pavić, Smerdel, Vićan English for Lawyers, Narodne novine, Zagreb, 2012

Units 1-10

M. Gačić: Englesko-hrvatski rječnik prava, Naklada Ljevak, 2004 or 2010

Black’s Law Dictionary

What Is Meant by Law? Sources and Varieties of English Law Statute Law in Britain The British Judiciary The Doctrine of Precedent The Legal Profession in Britain Legal Aid Civil and criminal courts

Oct. 7 Introduction to ELP Oct. 14 What Is Meant by Law? Oct. 21 Sources and Varieties of English Law Oct. 28 Statute Law in Britain Nov. 18 The British Judiciary Nov. 25 The Doctrine of Precedent Dec. 2 The Legal Profession in England Dec. 9 Legal Aid Dec. 16 A Day in a Civil Court Dec. 23 A Day in a Criminal Court Jan. 13 Revision Jan. 20 End-of-term examination Jan. 27 Final revision and signatures

Available at: www.pravo.hr/sj/nastavni-materijali

Folder: Engleski jezik pravne struke I

Strongly recommended Required for taking the end-of-term

examination

Written part – grammar, legal terms, gap filling, basic definitions

Oral part – presenting a topic using relevant vocabulary

EFL – English as a Foreign Language ESP – English for Specific Purposes (f. e.

Business English) EAP – English for Academic Purposes ELP – English for Legal Purposes EPA – English for Public Administration

A separate activity within English Language Teaching (ELT)

ESP must be taught by studying a content-based subject – knowledge of the language becomes the means of learning content (CLIL)

ESP is designed to meet specific needs of the learner

Related in content (themes and topics) to particular disciplines or occupations

Centred on language appropriate to those activities in syntax, lexis, discourse and so on

In contrast with ‘General English’

Needs analysis Course design Materials selection Teaching and learning Evaluation

Grammar Vocabulary (technical, semi-technical) Discourse analysis

1. Polysemy2. Phrases/collocations3. Foreign and archaic words4. Doubles and triplets5. Technical vocabulary

Words that have several meanings; one meaning in ordinary English and another meaning as a legal term

The importance of the context (everyday language v. language for legal purposes)

Examples: common, act, consideration, tender, redemption etc.

Collocations are expressions which consist of two or more words which frequently appear together.

Collocations may involve adjectives and nouns (e.g. ‘a derisory offer’ or ‘a binding contract’), verbs and nouns (‘to fulfil obligations’), adverbs and nouns (‘legally valid’ or ‘wholly fraudulent’).

Some examples: detrimental effect – štetno djelovanje discharge the jury – raspustiti porotu rescind a contract – raskinuti ugovor sham marriage – lažni brak valid reason – utemeljeni razlog voidable contract – pobojan ugovor wrongful death – smrt treće osobe

Words of Scandinavian, Latin and French origin

Archaic terms

In the 11th and 12th century, Latin was the language of legal document in England

In this period common law system was created, and consequently many common law terms were originally formed in Latin.

As an example, here is a list of some Latin words and phrases that are still most common in legal English: ab initio, affidavit, amicus curiae, bona fide, ex parte, habeas corpus, in personam, inter alia, mens rea, obiter dicta, stare decisis, subpoena, sui generis…

These examples only show how extensive the list could be; it has been estimated that at least some 3,000 Latin maxims are currently used in legal English.

The Norman Conquest in 1066 was one of the most important events in English history that also proved to be one of the most important events in the development of the English language in general, and particularly the language of the law.

After the Conquest, the new king William brought to England numerous noble families from Normandy. Linguistic situation in the country became complex, as common folk spoke English, the newcomers spoke French, and the written language was, as in the rest of Europe, primarily Latin.

Although it is frequently claimed that the Norman Conquest caused French to become the language of the law in England, the first law was actually promulgated in French in 1275.

Soon after that French became the language of the legislature and judiciary.

This situation continued for almost three centuries.

Numerous verbs connected with the judicial procedure are also of French origin: sue, plead, accuse, indict, arraign, depose, blame, arrest, seize, pledge, warrant, assail, assign, judge, condemn, convict, award, distrain, imprison, banish, acquit, pardon, as well as many criminal offences: felony, trespass, assault, arson, larceny, fraud, libel, slander, perjury and adultery.

A significant number of terms connected with the government and administration also stem from this period and are of French origin: government, govern, administration, crown, empire, reign, royal, authority, sovereign, majesty, court, council, parliament, assembly, statute, treaty, alliance, repeal, tax and so on.

French as the dominant language of the law caused huge problems for common English people who had any contact with the law. An uneducated person who had a case before the court could not understand what was being said, since all court proceedings were conducted in French.

The Parliament of the United Kingdom tried to regulate the language of the law on three occasions. The first attempt was the famous Statute of Pleadings from 1362.

The Statute of Pleadings demanded that all court proceedings should be conducted in English, and official documents should be recorded in Latin (because French was largely unknown in the country)

It was written in French. However, lawyers continued to use French

in the court as the language of the elite, so even though statutes were passed in English, Freench remained the dominant language of the courts until the 17th century.

Finally, in 1731 Parliament passed The Courts of Justice Act which required that all court proceedings and statutes had to be only in English, and not in Latin or French

Acquis communitaire Rendez-vous clause

Aforementioned – set out above Hereafter – after this Hereby – in this way Herein – in this (document) Notwithstanding – despite Thereafter – after that Thereby – in that way Therein – in that (document) Therewith – with that

To have and to hold – to own Any and all – all Last will and testament Null and void Full and complete Ready, willing and able

Legal terms – examples Tort Alternative dispute resolution Remedies Trafficking Money laundering

Contract v. agreement Probation v. parole Evidence v. proof Common law v. case law Barrister, solicitor, lawyer, attorney,

counsel, litigator - odvjetnik

Long and complex sentences The passive Impersonal style – avoiding personal

pronouns Legal “shall” – imposing an obligation or

duty on someone Technical vocabulary Archaic and foreign words Repetition of words

The main premise: legal documents ought to be plainer and more comprehensible to the average person

The movement began in the 1970s, but people have objected to the obscurity of legal language for many centuries

The first plain English law: The Statute of Pleading enacted in 1362 (“all pleas be pleaded, defended, answered, debated and judged in the English tongue”)

Readers understand documents better Readers prefer plain language Readers locate information faster Documents are easier to update It is easier to train people Documents are more cost-effective

Some of the most important changes in the legal language in England were introduced in 1999 with the implementation of the new rules of civil procedure that abolished some outdated legal terms for modern equivalents, such as:

Anton Piller order - search order ex parte – without notice In camera – in private Plaintiff – claimant Subpoena – witness summons Writ – claim form

Rewrite the following passage:“ The statement for professional services that you

will find enclosed herewith is, in all likelihood, somewhat in excess of your expectations. In the circumstances, I believe it is incumbent upon me to avail myself of this opportunity to provide you with an explanation of the causes therefor. It is my considered judgment that three factors are responsible for this development.”

(Source: R. Wydick, Plain English for Lawyers, p. 57)

The bill I am sending you with this letter is probably higher than you expected, and I would like to explain three reasons why.

How do lawyers say “Merry Christmas”?

Please accept without obligation, express or implied, these best wishes for an environmentally safe, socially responsible, low-stress, non-addictive and gender-neutral celebration of the winter solstice holiday as practised within the most enjoyable traditions of the religious persuasion of your choice (but with respect for the religious or secular persuasions and/or traditions of others, or for their choice not to practise religious or secular traditions at all).