giovedì 27 novembre 2008

Certificazione TOLES

Pensi che sia interessante se la tua facoltà di giurisprudenza diventasse centro esami TOLES per la certificazione delle competenze linguistiche nell’inglese legale?


Mercoledì 10 dicembre ore 9:00

aula 1


Simulazione Esame TOLES


Competenze Reading e Writing


Verifica le tue competenze di base nell’inglese legale e partecipa alla simulazione esame TOLES (Test of Legal English Skills)

Invito rivolto a studenti e docenti della facoltà di Giurisprudenza di Taranto

Il test avrà il seguente format:

1. ore 9:00 somministrazione esame (durata 60 minuti)
2. ore 10:10 correzione
3. ore 10:40 feedback

Chi vuole partecipare può:
· rivolgersi in segreteria per l’iscrizione
· inviare via email la propria adesione direttamente alla prof. M. Lombardi all’indirizzo soluzioniformative@gmail.com



N.B Questa simulazione risulta tuttavia valida come ulteriore esercitazione per chi deve sostenere l’esame di lingua inglese appelli a.a. 2008-2009


La docente ringrazia per la partecipazione
Prof.ssa Maria Lombardi

mercoledì 26 novembre 2008

Homework Lesson 16

Qui trovi un’ampia panoramica di contratti di compravendita e nello specifico trasferimento di proprietà immobiliari

http://www.vakilno1.com/froms_html/sale.html

Scegli un contratto, preferibilmente atto di compravendita , e analizza il linguaggio utilizzato traducendo soprattutto frasi idiomatiche e/o intere clausole contrattuali contenute nell’atto.

Lesson 16

27/11 Lesson 16

From ILE course book

Discuss Reading 4 pp. Case review “Quiet enjoyment clause” How important it is to balance one party’s obligation (here, to repair and clean the building) against another party’s right (here, to quiet enjoyment)

p. 143 Listening 2: Buying a house in Spain ex 24-26

Sul sito del Consiglio nazionale del Notariato consiglio di leggere le informazioni riguardanti l’acquisto di una casa in Italia
- The role of the civil law notary
- Vendor's rights and obbligations
- Purchaser's rights and obligations


pp. 146-147 Language Focus

From Grammar book pp 284-285 Suffissi e Prefissi

Atto di compravendita

Ben vengano tutti i contributi, sarebbe opportuno tuttavia concentrare il lavoro sull'argomento della lezione 15.

Trattasi di "real property" piuttosto che di "sale of goods".

Proviamo a cercare presso studi notarili dei casi che riguardano atti di compravendita di beni immobili avvenuti con traduzione in lingua inglese.

Vi riporto al link indicato un caso concreto di atto di compravendita
http://www.soluzioniformative.eu/images/ingleselegale/atto%20compravendita.doc

Nella traduzione in lingua inglese si potrebbe ancora intervenire soprattutto negli aspetti lessicali.

domenica 23 novembre 2008

Homework Lesson 15

Homework Lesson 15

Cerca dei casi concreti di “contratto di compravendita” in inglese , analizzando gli elementi essenziali del contratto
Pubblica il lavoro - tasto "commenti"

Dal testo ILE
p. 142 Reading 4 “Case review: a dspute between landlords and tenants” ex. 21-22
Language Focus pp. 146-147

Lesson 15

24/11 Lesson 15

From Course book ILE
pp. 134-135 words in context

Concetto di proprietà nella Common Law


pp.135-136 Contrasting ideas : use of “whereas/while”


Compare: buying a house in UK vs buying a house in Italy


Proprietà leasehold e freehold: vantaggi e svantaggi

Vivere in una proprietà “leasehold


Caratteri del diritto di servitù : temporary and permanent easements

Pag.136 Reading & comprehension (audio tran script pag. 272)

An easement is the right to do something or the right to prevent something over the real property of another. At common law, an easement came to be treated as a property right in itself and is still treated as a kind of property by most jurisdictions. In some jurisdictions, another term for easement is equitable servitude, although easements do not have their origin in equity.
The right is often described as the right to use the land of another for a special purpose. Unlike a lease, an easement does not give the holder a right of "possession" of the property, only a right of use. It is distinguished from a licence that only gives one a personal privilege to do something on the land of another.

pp. 137-138 Reading 2 “A law firm’s practice areas” ex. 11-14

pp. 139-141 Reading 3 “Understanding a lease or tenancy agreement” ex 15-20

giovedì 20 novembre 2008

Homework Lesson 14

Homework Lesson 14

From ILE text book:

pp. 134-136 Introduction to property law ex. 1-4
pp. 137-138 Practice areas ex. 11-13

Language notes:

I termini "freehold" e “leasehold” sono entrambi termini di matrice feudale.

Il primo possiamo renderlo con “proprietà fondiaria assoluta/libera” Chi acquista una “freehold” proprietà diventa “freeholder” e acquisisce il massimo dei poteri possibili su quell’immobile e senza alcun limite di tempo;

Rientrano in questo istituto:

Fee simple = diritto assoluto sulla proprietà
fee tail = Il beneficiario ha un diritto limitato in quanto non può vendere il bene ma solo tramandarlo ai suoi eredi
life estate = il bene è di proprietà del beneficiario solo per la durata della sua vita


Leasehold, pur traducendosi con proprietà in affitto, si riferisce alla locazione del suolo. Il termine fa riferimento ad un rapporto giuridico in base al quale un soggetto detto lessor conferisce al lessee un diritto esclusivo di proprietà sull’immobile per un periodo di tempo determinato, di solito per una consideration detta ground rent .
Deve essere sottolineato che il lease si differenzia profondamente dalla locazione così come intesa nei sistemi civilistici, soprattutto per il fatto che il titolare del lease è titolare di un diritto di natura reale sull’immobile, dove invece il locatario dei sistemi di civil law può vantare soltanto un diritto di credito nei confronti del locatore. Quando si acquista una proprietà con leasehold bisogna prestare attenzione alle covenants, ossia le obbligazioni alle quali il lessee è tenuto ad osservare, la cui presenza rappresenta una delle particolarità più difficile da accettare per chi è abituato al sistema civilistico.

Statute of frauds
The statute of frauds refers to the requirement that certain kinds of contracts be made in writing and signed.
Traditionally, the statute of frauds requires a writing signed by the party against whom enforcement is sought in the following circumstances:
Contracts in consideration of marriage.
Contracts which cannot be performed within one year.
Contracts for the transfer of an interest in land.
Contracts by the executor of a will to pay a debt of the estate with their own money.
Contracts for the sale of goods above a certain value.
Contracts in which one party becomes a surety (acts as guarantor) for another party's debt or other obligation.
Law students often remember these circumstances by the mnemonic "MYLEGS" (marriage, year, land, executor, goods, surety).
It is important to note that in the United States, each State; in Canada, each province; and in Australia each State has its own variation on the statute of frauds, which may differ significantly from the traditional list.
The term statute of frauds comes from an English statutory law (29 Car. II c. 3) passed in 1677 and more properly called the Statute of Frauds and Perjuries. [1] Many common law jurisdictions have such a statute (i.e., statutory law) or provision in a statute, while a number of civil law jurisdictions have similar requirements in their civil codes

Lesson 14

20/11 Lesson 14
From ILE Course book:

pp. 122-123 Terms and conditions of sale. ex. 6-7

key terms:
Standard terms and conditions of sale
Retention of title
Delivery
Prices and payments
Warranties
Claims and credit
Indemnification of vendor
Changes or cancellation


Language notes
Peril of loss : risk of loss refer tot situation in whih goods are damages or lost during transportation or through use

Mortgage vs charge

A charge is similar to a mortgage: both are security for the payment of a debt.
A charge is security for the payment of a debt or other obligation that does not pass ‘property’ or any right to possession to the person to whom the charge is given
A mortgage is security for the payment of a debt or other obligation that passes ‘property’ but no right to possession to the person to whom the mortgage is given
A charge must be registered with Companies House to be effective

http://www.companieshouse.gov.uk/about/gbhtml/gba8.shtml


Mortgage by demise vs mortgage by charge
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mortgage#Mortgage_by_legal_charge

pp.127- 129 Reading Retention of title clause created a trust, not a charge ex 20, 22, 23, 24

Language notes:
Book debts are money owed to a company by its customers
Secured creditors are creditors who have a charge over the assets of a debtor
Proceeds sale = A transaction in which funds received from selling a security are immediately reinvested in another security.

Extra practice: prepositions in legal English

mercoledì 19 novembre 2008

True or False???

Ricordate l'articolo che abbiamo letto dal testo ILE pag. 108

alla domanda 3 ex.8 TRUE or FALSE

- "Once passed, EU directives apply immediately to Member States”
A molti è venuto spontaneo dichiarare che la risposta corretta doveva essere FALSE poichè nel testo si legge “Once passed, the directives would place a deadline on transposition into the national laws of the member states” interpretando la frase come "le direttive, una volta approvate, devono essere recepite nelle leggi nazionali entro una certa data" dunque di conseguenza non sono vincolanti direttamente sugli stati membri.
Sembrerebbe invece che questa domanda può essere considerata true, vera se consideriamo le ragioni avanzate da alcuni linguisti e avvocati.

Ho ritenuto interessante per la discussione già avviata in classe riportarvi quanto ha dichiarato Jeremy Day, linguista e autore del testo ILE per docenti

The text says "Once passed, the directives would place a deadline on transposition ...", so in that sense, national governments are legally committed to transpose the directives. In other words, they apply immediately because they impose this obligation on governments as soon as they're passed. But in another sense, they don't apply to the citizens of the member countries until they have been transposed. This second sense is the one used in the SB, and the one you are talking about in your email .


Lo stesso quesito è stato poi affrontato dall'avv. Alan Jones il quale ci ha offerto un'esaustiva illustrazione della procedura seguita dalle direttive.


I refer to the comments of Jeremy and Maria on the question of the applicability of a European Directive.

Jeremy is correct in saying that a Directive has an immediate effect on each European government to introduce local legislation (if necessary) to apply the Directive in a way compatible with the principles of the Directive as well as compatibility with the local legal system.
For example in order to be compatible with local systems, proceedings may have to be brought in a certain way, in a particular form, within deadlines and subject to particular local remedies etc. Usually, each Directive will contain a time limit within which each government must comply.
A Directive is not of itself enforceable between individuals or organisations within a state. However, if an individual suffers a loss as a consequence of a state government failing to introduce the relevant local legislation to comply with a Directive, then in accordance with the Francovitch Principle the individual may commence proceedings against the state for the states failure to comply with the Directive.
The Francovitch Principle arises from a decision of the European Court in 1991 (case reference [1991] ECR1-5357) when a group of Italian workers were made redundant and failed to obtain compensation in accordance with a 1980 Directive (80/987/EEC), which gave protection to workers arising from the insolvency of their employers .
Because the Italian government had been in breach of its obligations to effect a transposition of the Directive into Italian law, the European Court held that the workers were entitled to bring proceedings against their government.

I hope this is helpful
Alan Jones

lunedì 17 novembre 2008

Lesson 13 Homework

Homework Lesson 13

From ILE text book: pp. 120-121

Types of warranties:
  • express warranty
  • warranty of fitness
  • implied warranty
  • warranty of title
  • disclaimer of warranty
  • breach of warranty
  • warranty of merchantability

pp. 122-123 Terms and conditions of sale. Ex. 6-7
invito a confrontare i testi riguardanti "termini e condizioni di vendita" versione italiano-inglese adottati dalle società sotto elencate.
http://www.marni.com/legal/legal_general_terms.asp?tskay=B84CE7A2

http://www.firaindustriale.com/Env_admin/Admin_Catalogue/Upload/Documenti/6_41.pdf

http://www.ggbearings.com/pdf/terms/TCS_Italy.pdf

pp.127- 129 Reading Retention of title clause =riserva di proprietà

Su questo aspetto l'avv. A. De Capoa ha pubblicato (ed. IPSOA) un testo dal titolo " The Purchase-Sale contracts with retention of title clause" dove affronta un interessante confronto di questa clausola in 40 paesi.

Lesson 13

17/11 Lesson 13

From ILE text book:

Check homework

Discuss language from reading 2-4
Language focus pp. 118-119 ex. 1-5

Vocabulary revision
Collocation:
To hear a case (an appeal, an argument, a complaint, a claim, a witness)
To waive rights (a rule, a benefit, immunity, fees, a notice period)
To plead a case (ignorance, insanity, guilty or not guilty)
To apply a law (a rule, a precedent, a procedure, a method)
To appeal a case (an award, a decision, a ruling, a conviction, an acquittal, a penalty)
To challenge a case (an award, a decision, an allegation, the legitimacy of sth)

pp. 120-121 Introduction to sale of goods legislation ex. 2, 3

Language notes to reading 1
Movable property or tangible chattels = anything with a physical appearance
Chattel = n C spesso al pl (= belonging, form o obsol) goods which can be moved, (in contrast to real property) bene mobile;
chattel mortgage = ipoteca mobiliare;
chattel mortgage bonds = obbligazioni garantite da ipoteca mobiliare;
chattels personal = beni mobili, beni personali;
chattels real = beni immobili

Reclaim the goods = recuperare i beni/chiedere la restituzione dei beni
Secure payment = garantire il pagamento
Set forth = esprimere, esporre
Disclaimers of warranties = clausola di esclusione della responsabilità

Warranty = C/U garanzia;
warranty deed atto di garanzia;
warranty of fitness garanzia di idoneità;
to be under warranty essere in garanzia, essere coperto da garanzia;
our warranty does not cover labour costs la nostra garanzia non include i costi di manodopera;
Warranty = U (form) giustificazione, autorità, diritto;
Warranty = C/U promessa (contenuta in un contratto); U [+for] fondamento, base, giustificazione.

If something fosters (promuove) the development of international trade, it supports and promotes it.

To purchase means the same as “to buy!, but tends to be used in business contexts. In business, purchasing is the process of finding suppliers, placing orders and arranging delivery.

Procurement (approvvigionamento) typically refers to obtaining supplies for an army or an organisation. Often it is not necessary to pay for goods at the time of buying: many shops offer “buy now, pay later” deals.

If a business deals in a particular item, it regularly buys and sells that item, without actually producing anything. For example, a shop might deal in antiques.
Offering something for sale refers to a specific item, and naturally takes place before selling.

To vend has several meanings : it could refer to selling ( e.g. soft drinks) in a vending machine, or by a street vendor ( e.g. selling hamburgers from a cart): But in legal contexts, it can simply mean selling, typically involving a vendor selling a house or piece of land.

To peddle means to sell small items by travelling from place to place (propagare/mettere in giro), or to sell illegal drugs (spacciare).

A consumer is the final user of a product, who may not be the same person as the buyer.

A purchaser is typically buying for his / her company. The traditional distinction between a customer, who buys goods, and a client, who buys a service, is often blurred.
The buyer is the most neutral of these terms, but generally avoided in preference for one of the more specific terms.
A merchant is a person or company that buys or sells in large quantities. In legal and financial English, a merchant buys goods at wholesale prices and sells them at retail prices. The everyday term for this is a retailer (commerciante), which typically refers to a shop or other outlet selling goods to members of the public.
A wholesaler (grossista) does not sell to the public, but to other businesses .
A supplier is usually a company that sells goods or services to another company on a regular basis. A vendor can be either a seller of a property ( in legal English ) or a person who sells small items on the street.
A trader buys and sells goods, without necessarily producing anything.

A commodity (prodotto o merce d'uso comune come energia, riso, pasta) is an article of trade or commerce . It is typically an agricultural product or mining product, traded in commodities markets.

Merchandise and wares = merce, mercanzia

Note that wares and goods are always plural in British English, merchandise is uncountable and chattel is countable.

domenica 16 novembre 2008

Case bonanza nelle professioni forensi

Dopo il caso "bonanza" nel settore legale del diritto del lavoro con l'adozione di nuove direttive europee per mettere al bando ogni forma di discriminazione sul posto di lavoro, arriva una nuova ondata di "good news" per le professioni forensi , questa volta dagli Stati Uniti, all'indomani della presidenza di Obama.

Leggi l'articolo

Un secondo articolo a supporto del primo porta il titolo "How an Obama Presidency May Benefit Lawyers"

giovedì 13 novembre 2008

Homework Lesson 12

13th November Homework Lesson 12

From ILE text book:

Reading 2 pp. 108-109 EU directives on employment ex. 8, 9
Language notes to Reading 2
To outlaw =
Domestic legislation =
On the grounds of =
To envisage = prevedere
To enshrine = vt [V+D(+in+IN)] spec passivo conservare gelosamente, custodire, racchiudere, serbare; the right to work is enshrined in the constitution il diritto al lavoro è racchiuso nella costituzione.
Parental leave=
Artificial hurdles
Hurdles = ostacolo, intralcio, difficoltà "He will face many hurdles before reaching his goal"
So much legislation in the pipeline=
Claimant =

Reading 3 pp. 111-112 A sex discrimination case, ex.16-17
Language notes to reading 3
Discriminatory culture= when discrimination is present throughout the firm. It is an environment in which certain people or groups are favoured over others.
A senior equity partner is one of the partners, in a partnership such as a law firm, who has the largest ownership interests
Aggravated damages = are special damages awarded by a court to a malicious conduct, such as attempting to humiliate a plaintiff.
to allege to claim) = asserire, dichiarare, affermare, supporre; accusare (senza prove) he alleges that I embezzled the company funds = Mi accusa di essermi appropriato dei fondi della società;
a landmark case = generally deals with an important issue and marks a stage in the development of the law in a specific area.



Reading 4 pp. 114-115 ex 26, 27, 28

Language notes to reading 4
Cross examination = is the process where each party’s witnesses questions.
Arbitration and conciliation = are both types of alternative dispute resolution.
Conciliation is less formal and is a form of mediation: it simply involves bringing the two disputing sides together to try to resolve their differences. The two sides agree a legally binding conciliation agreement.
Arbitration is more closely associated with claims such as unfair dismissal and the decision (the arbitral award, which is also legally binding) is made by an arbitrator rather than by the parties themselves. For full details, see http://www.acas.org.uk/services/disputes_individual_employer.html.

to uphold = pt e pp upheld vt [V+D] 1 (= to abandon) difendere, sostenere, appoggiare, sorreggere; to uphold the law difendere la legge, fare rispettare la legge; to uphold sb’s rights difendere i diritti di qn; to uphold a system of government appoggiare un sistema di governo; they promised to uphold the principles of the association promisero di sostenere i principi dell’associazione; (+ to reverse/to change, leg) confermare, ribadire; her sentence was upheld on appeal a sua condanna fu confermata in appello.
Reinstatement = n U (form) 1 reintegrazione, riassunzione, reinserimento. The reinstatement of sacked workers la reintegrazione di lavoratori licenziati; 2 ripristinamento, ripristino; the reinstatement of a tax il ripristino di un’imposta; 3 (assic) reintegrazione, riadeguamento.
Reinstatement vs re-engagement = the first involves re-employing an employee in their previous position, while the second means simply re-employing them, perhaps in a different position.

Inquisitorial vs adversial = the first is used in civil law, it involves many questions and the aim is to reach the truth; the second is used in common law. It puts the two parties in competition with each other. It can often seem that the aim is to beat the other party by using better techniques rather than reach the truth.

Lesson 12

13/11 Lesson 12


- Check homework
- Understanding “right of first refusal”
- How to prepare a lawsuit and develoColore testop an argument (reading and acting out audio transcripts Listening 1 pag. 269 (from ILE text book)


Language notes Listening 1 pag.96

Question: Is Keats allowed to assign his rights to a third party? Yes, he is allowed to do that prior written consent from the non-assigning party (on the ground of the right of first refusal)

People involved:
Keats is the restaurant owner who wanted to sell his husband
Jones is the premises owner who deliberately withheld consent to assignment
Prospective buyer

Lease agreement (gives the lessee the right to use)
Lessor: Jones
Lessee: Keats
They have stipulated a lease agreement

Language:
- prior written consent
- reasonably
- to defer a decision
= procrastinare, rimandare, temporeggiare
- to withdrew/rescind/ cancel his offer = ritirare/annullare la sua offerta
- deliberately withheld consent = trattenere il consenso di proposito
- to allege that + clause = addurre/asserire/presumere che
Jones has allegedly breached the lease. It was alleged that the lease was breached (Jones ha presumibilmente violato I termini del contratto di affitto)
-
- To sue s.o. = fare causa a qualcuno
- To make a claim = presentare una lamentela
- To start proceedings = iniziare un'azione legale
- Fill in on it = aggiornare qualcuno su qualcosa
-


From ILE text book:
pp.106-107 Reading 1 Introduction to employment law ex. 2, 3, 4

Language notes to Reading 1
Trade unions = sindacati
Redundancy dismissal = licenziamento per esubero
Unfair dismissal = licenziamento ingiusto
Collective bargaining = trattative colletive, contrattazione collettiva
Picketing: Practice, used in labor and political disputes, of patrolling, usually with placards, to publicize a dispute or to secure support for a cause. Picketing is a constitutionally protected exercise of free expression when done in accordance with law (picchettaggio)
Lockouts = serrate
Strikes = scioperi
Render a decision = prendere una decisione
Unlawful = sleale
Holiday entitlement = ferie dovute

martedì 11 novembre 2008

Words of the day

to enforce vb tr. = applicare, far rispettare, far osservare
- the new law has been enforced (la nuova legge è stata applicata)
- banks no longer enforce this rule (le banche non applicano più questa norma)
- third party cannot enforce contractual provisions (la parte terza non ha il diritto di far valere le clausole contrattuali)

to enforce sth on someone = imporre qualcosa su qualcuno
- All the shareholders decided to enforce the the discloure of shareholdings (tutti gli azionisti hanno deciso di imporre la trasparenza delle partecipazioni azionarie)

enforceable adj. = imponibile, applicabile
- the new law is good in theory but it is not enforceable (la nuova legge in teoria è buona ma non è applicabile)
- this contract expresses an intent to create a legally enforceable right in the third part (questo contratto esprime l'intenzione di concedere legalmente un diritto applicabile a terzi )

enforceable + by = esecutivo, esecutorio
- your lease contract is not enforceable by law (il suo contratto di affitto non è esecutivo per legge)

enforcement (n.)= applicazione, esecuzione, rispetto
- they insisted on the inforcement of the terms of the contract (insistettero sul rispetto delle condizioni contrattuali)


N.B.
Cercate le voci sopra presentate nelle letture e lavori portati a termine durante le lezioni. Trascrivete il contesto in cui la parola compare e traducete la frase.

lunedì 10 novembre 2008

Homework Lesson 11

Homework Lesson 11

pp. 95 Reading: Understanding contract clauses ex. 6-8

pp. 102-103 Reading Keeping informed ex. 29, 31

pp. 104-105 Language Focus ex. 1-6

Lesson 11

10/11 Lesson 11

From grammar text book: pp. 84-87; pp. 110-111 vbs followed by ing form or to infinitive

From ILE text book pag. 97:
consider + vb_ing
decide + to vb
risk + vb_ing
suggest + vb_ing
refuse + to vb
mention + vb_ing
delay +vb_ing



From ILE text book:
Revise homework and discuss how a follow up correspondence to a client is organized.

pp. 92-93 Introduction to contract assignation

Prima del "Rights of Third Parties 1999 Act", in Inghilterra non vi era contratto a favore di terzo, il privity of contract riguardava solo le parti che risultavano nel contratto.

Si potrebbe tirare fuori qualche osservazione mettendo a confronto il sopra citato atto del parlamento con l'art. 1411 del nostro Codice Civile.


.

Key terms: contracts ex. 1-3
pp. 94 Language use: nouns ending in -or and –ee
- obligor vs obliger
- delegator vs delegatee
- assignor vs assignee
-
pp. 97-98 Language use: Verb + infinitive/ -ing form

Language notes:
- withhold= trattenere, negare, rifiutare
In legal English there is however a difference between withholding and refusing. The first means ‘not giving’ something, while the second may require some affirmative act or statement. See withholding consent vs refusing consent

- If a contract purports to confer a right, it claims (or attempts) to do so but it does not necessarily confer the right.
- Construction of the contract means its interpretation by a lawyer to resolve any potential ambiguity.
- A collateral contract is a parallel contract. The parties to a contract may sign an additional contract with the third party.
- A deed poll, un atto unilaterale, is a deed made and executed by only one party. It is like a contract except that means it binds only one party. The best known example is a deed poll to change one’s name: by signing such a deed poll. Another deed poll is used to partition poll A sole owner, or several owners, of a piece of land may partition its/their land by entering a Deed poll (sometimes referred to as "carving out").
- A trust is an entity which holds somebody’s assets. Trusts are often used to avoid paying inheritance tax. The term trust relationship (rapporto di natura fiduciaria) refers to the relationship between the trustor (who gives money to the trust) and the trustee (who administrate those assets).
- de·mised prem·i·ses = leased property: a property or part of a property that is leased to a tenant

domenica 9 novembre 2008

Film review set at the Old Bailey

In più occasioni vi ho segnalato l'importanza di film nell'ambito legale (vedi lista film nella sezione studio autonomo ) per apprendere e comprendere meglio il sistema legale inglese.

Per chi ha visitato la Old Bailey nell'ultimo viaggio a Londra vi suggerisco di cercare " Witness for the Prosecution (1957) di Billy Wilder, tratto da una short story di Agatha Christie. Il film è stato girato proprio alla Central Criminal Court di Londra e illustra chiaramente quelle che sono le procedure di un processo in Inghilterra.

Sir Wilfred Robards (Charles Laughton) recovering from a heart attack takes on the defense of Leonard Vole (Tyrone Power) accused of murdering an acquaintance for her money.
His wife Christine (Marlene Dietrich) attempts to provide him with an alibi; when Sir Wilfred indicates he does not believe her and will not allow her to testify, she turns up as "the witness for the prosecution."

Da sottolineare:
- the client interview with Vole,
- Robards' interaction with Christine,
- the cross examination of the prosecution's star witness,
- the victim's housekeeper Janet MacKenzie,
- the nurse assigned to care for him (Elsa Lanchester, Laughton's wife).

venerdì 7 novembre 2008

Homework Lesson 10

Homework Lesson 10

From ILE text book
Reading pp. 86-88 ex. 26-27
- Individua voci che risultano difficili per la comprensione e pubblica il lavoro

pp. 90-91 Language Focus: tutti gli esercizi

Lesson 10

6/11 Lesson 10

Part 1
From ILE text book pp.78-79
Discuss Reading 1 + types of damages:

Risarcimento da contratto

Compensatory Damages for the purpose of making a person "whole again" (put back in the position which existed before the loss or harm). Compensatory damages can be divided into two sub-categories
(a) General Damages resulting from the act or failure to act on the part of the person at fault - the amount needed to restore the fair market value of the property to its owner (the injured party); and
(b) Special Damages not resulting from the wrongful act or failure to act itself, but from the circumstances after the loss or harm has occurred. Special damages include out-of-pocket items that can be documented, such as the need to rent replacement property (such as a car rental) or the cost of services (such as the cost to have property valued or appraised).

nominal damages A term used when a judge or jury finds in favor of one party to a lawsuit--often because a law requires them to do so--but concludes that no real harm was done and therefore awards a very small amount of money. For example, if one neighbor sues another for libel based on untrue things the second neighbor said about the first, a jury might conclude that although libel technically occurred, no serious damage was done to the first neighbor's reputation and consequentially award nominal damages of $1.00.

punitive damages Sometimes called exemplary damages, awarded over and above special and general damages to punish a losing party's willful or malicious misconduct.

Reliance damages is the measure of compensation given to a person who suffered an economic harm for acting in reliance on a party who failed to fulfill their obligation


Clausole contrattuali possono essere interpretate in modo diverso a secondo del sistema legale applicato.
http://www.speechlys.com/public/documents/Limitations%20of%20liability_1.pdf

Per un rinforzo e consolidamento del concetto di “remedies for Breach of Contracts” rimando a un’ottima presentazione illustrata da Henry R Cheeseman, autore di preziosi testi riguardanti Business Law
http://myphliputil.pearsoncmg.com/student/bp_cheeseman_blaw_5/blaw5_ch16.ppt


Reading 2: pp.80-81 Liquidated damages ex. 5-9

Reading 3: pp.83-84 Understanding contract clauses ex. 17-18

Grammar:
Frasi condizionali pp. 312-327
etra practice conditionals :
http://www.soluzioniformative.eu/images/ingleselegale/conditional.doc

lunedì 3 novembre 2008

Homework Lesson 9

Homework Lesson 9

Further information on contract formation
- Informazioni generali sul concetto di contratto http://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/index.php/contracts

- Formazione del contratto nei paesi europei. http://www.kclc.or.jp/english/sympo/EUDialogue/lando.htm.

- See also http://www.jus.uio.no/lm/eu.contract.principles.part1.1995/doc for EU’s Principles of European Contract Law

Pubblica le tue osservazioni sul lavoro visionato

From ILE text book pp 78-79 Introduction to contract remedies + key terms: Types of damages

domenica 2 novembre 2008

Lesson 9

03/11 Lesson 9

Check homework: Discuss about
- “ non-competion agreement”
- Entire agreement clause (Chiarimenti in lingua italiana in CENNI SULL’INTERPRETAZIONE DEL CONTRATTO NEI SISTEMI DI COMMON LAW di Andrea Sirotti Gaudenzi ; LE DIMENSIONI IMPLICITE DEL CONTRATTO di David Campbell et al. -



From ILE text book:
pp. 72-74 Reading 3 E contracts, ex. 23, 24, 28

Language use: adverbs
Adverb + verb
Generally apply
Previously accompanied
Recently applied
Adequately protect
Commonly used
Widely accepted

Adverb+adjective
· Substantially similar
· Purely online
· Legally binding/valid

Language Focus pp76-77

2. Compare contract clauses in English and Italian in the context of a “letter of appointment”

From Grammar book:
vbs + prepositions pp.106-107;
adjectives + prepositions pp. 274-275