Sources in Common Law

Each country’s legal system has its own sources of law, with greater weight placed on some sources than others. In developing an infrastructure project, it is important to identify which sources of law apply in the host country and their weighting. The following are the most common sources:

· Constitution

· Statute

· Treaties

· Judicial Decisions

· Other Sources

Code

In Civil Law systems these rules are usually embodied in “Codes”. All but a very few countries have written constitution where these fundamental rules can be easily identified (although their interpretation may be less straightforward). The remaining few have unwritten constitution established by long-standing tradition. A Constitution overrides any other source of law and it is usually highly difficult to amend. There may be a separate judicial court which considers constitutional issues, namely whether any law, regulation or administrative act inconsistent with Constitution and therefore void.

Judicial Decisions

In some countries, judicial decisions are authoritative and develop into a source of law known as “case law”. Case law may extend the application of legislation and is deemed to form part of the law.

In other jurisdiction (mainly civil law jurisdiction) judicial decisions are formally only deemed to interpret the existing law and are not a binding source of law, although in practice they are often treated as authoritative.

Administrative Law

It covers a wide and varied area of practice, encompassing many different types of governmental legal procedures and regulations, and is not easily defined. Much of government and its public programs operate largely through various agencies on different levels: federal, state, county, and city. These agencies are also known as boards, commissions, departments, and divisions. They generally have their own specific rules and regulations, which are not usually found in the statutes, with stringent procedures individuals must follow to obtain assistance from the agency and to file claims, grievances and appeals. Legal rulings by Administrative Law Judges (ALJ’s) have governing authority the same as most precedent law. Administrative law attorneys can offer assistance when maneuvering through these complicated proceedings.The Administrative Procedure Act is the governing law for federal administrative agencies. Most states also have their own governing law for their state administrative agencies. These laws allow for the creation of the rules and regulations, as well as the procedures necessary for those unhappy with the agencies or their decisions to seek remedies via appeal or complaint. They are carried out with the same authority as the more well-known statutory laws, and so, as with other areas of law, the skills of an experienced administrative law attorney are often required. [4]

Learn the new words

Task 2. Read the text again and find the words which are used to express the following: