Legal English_Lesson_11UniTaranto

Revision Reading 4 (Unit 9) 

How to read a decision of the Supreme Court

• cer•ti•o•ra•ri  n. [Law.]

Law a writ issuing from a superior court calling up the record of a proceeding in an inferior court for review. Also called writ of certiorari.

Etymology:  15th Century: from legal Latin: to be informed

• Microsoft CORP. v. AT&T CORP 
• to file an infringement suit
• to charge Microsoft with liability for 
• to be liable under s.271(f)
• to be entitled to 
• damages for breaches of its patent
• to be liable for sth
• the  court's hearing
• exception to the general rule
• the reasoning behind
• under what circumstances 

How cases are referenced:

• in Common Law: by name "Dononghue vs Stevenson"
• in Civil Law: by number "Decision n. 2014-446 QPC  du 20 Janvier 2015"

Unit 10 - Reading 1 Comparative Law pp 106-107 ex 1-3

List of legal systems

• Civil Law

• Common Law

• Religious Law (Muslim Law, Hindu Law, Jewish Law)

• Chinese Law

• Socialist Law

Some video lessons on the difference between common law and civil law

• Common law vs civil law_1
• Common law vs civil law_2
• Common law vs civil law_3
• Legal Systems - Adversarial Vs. Inquisitorial

Reading 2 pp107-108 ex 4-6

Self Study
Reading 3 Asset protection pp 112-113 ex 25-28

Text analysis: Discourse markers for text cohesion pag 112 ex 28

Legal English_Lesson_9UniTaranto

 International Law

Videos: 

• Introduction to International Law
• Source of International Law

Reading 1: International Law pp 94-96 ex 2-5
Reading 2 ex 7-9

newsworthy reports: 

• what's the point of having an International Law
• the need for successful lawyers to study international law
• Can International law meet the challenges of today's lawless conflicts 
• international law requires marriage equality

Prepositions:

1. Parties to a treaty
2. ....the treaty is in force
3. ....a signatory to a convention
4. Under the Convention on the Rights of the Child
5. ...are entitled to special protection
6. International laws apply to the citizens
7. ...regulations are binding on Partner States

Intergovernmental organizations

No significant differences:
Conventions – Vienna Convention 

• agreemments
• charters
• framework conventions deal with very broad areas

United Nations 

• UNited Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
• United Nation Charter
• The Universal Declaration of Human Rights
• The World Health Organization
• The World Intellectual Property Organization

Listening 9.1

Text analysis audio transcript 9.1 pag 136

Collocations - phrasal verbs - idiomatic expressions - collocations

•  to have a considerable impact on (sth/so)
• to have a considerable impact in (place)
• to be seen in the context of
• a growing concern
• to rely on
• to accuse someone over/of sth
• to go up to
• to call in
• to have right to ..
• the right of someone to ....
• to take actions against ..
• social dumping
• wage dumping
• collective bargaining
• fair working conditions
• regardless of ...

Self study

List of legal systems 
• Civil Law 
• Common Law 
• Religious Law (Muslim Law, Hindu Law, Jewish Law) 
• Chinese Law 
• Socialist Law

Reading 3 pp 100 ex 17-20

Language focus: page 105 ex 1-3

Legal English_Lesson_8UniTaranto

Reading 1 Litigation and Arbitration pp 84-84 ex 2,3

Focus on language: How do you say that … in Italian?

• Disputing parties
• Litigation
• Settlement
• Hearing
• Pleading: formal statement served by each party to a lawsuit to one another, and containing their respective positions (allegations, claims, defences, denies)
• Out –of-court settlement
• Binding decision
• Legal fees
• To settle a dispute
• To reach a settlement
• To enforce/deliver judgment
• To save money on
• To threaten to sue
• To face court proceedings/litigation costs
• To deny accusations
• To pursue a claim
• In connection with

Examples of disputes:• Dispute over people's behaviour may involve conflict between neighbours over anti-social behaviour (loud parties or verbal abuse)
• Business disputes can involve different interpretation of the terms of a contract, or questions over whether a contract has been breached, and what remedies/damages are appropriate.
• Planning disputes include situations where, for example, a property owner plans to construct a new building, or improve an existing building. (ie planning permissions)
• Environmental disputes include disputes over resources and questions over who has the right to exploit those resources, and at what cost to the environment. 

ADR: Alternative Dispute Resolution:

• negotiation: participation is voluntary and there is no third party who facilitates the resolution process or imposes a resolution
• arbitration:participation is typically voluntary, and there is a third party who, as a private judge, imposes a resolution. Arbitrations often occur because parties to contracts agree that any future dispute concerning the agreement will be resolved by arbitration.
• mediation:there is a third party, a mediator, who facilitates the resolution process (and may even suggest a resolution, typically known as a "mediator's proposal"), but does not impose a resolution on the parties

Article: Alternative dispute resolution in Italy 

European Commission: ADR in Italy 

Reading 2 letter of invitation pp 85-86 ex 7 - ref to ELSA (European Law Students' association 

Grammar Practice:

• Present Continuous
• Will vs Going to 

Reading 3 Avoiding litigation page 88 ex 14-16
Reading 4 Cost of litigation page 89 ex 18-21

Reading 5 Letter before action pp 89-91 ex 22-28

adverb-adjective

• strictly private and confidential
• fully entitled
• shortly forthcoming

adverb-verb

• strenuously denies
• recently informed

adjective-noun

• confidential information
• previous criticism
• a positive asset
• a substantial increase
• constructive dismissal (licenziamento senza giusta causa)
• excellent prospects
• exemplary damages
• alternative means
• satisfactory proposals

Self Study

Listening 1 Question and answer session

pag 87 ex 10-12 peanut kernel case

Listening 2 Lawyer-client interview pp 91-91 ex 29-32
Language Focus page 93

Legal English_Lesson_7UniTaranto

Unit 7: Real property law
pp. 72-73 ex 1-3 Instruments and people in real property law

• lease= (contratto di locazione) o meglio diritto di godere di un immobile per un certo tempo.
• licence = licenza d'uso
• deed = atto (notarile)
• tenant
• landlord
• heir
• grantor = concessore
• grantee = beneficiario
• licencee
• Language use: Forming adjectives with negative prefixes pag. 74 ex 5,6
  Reading 2: Real Property investment law ex 7, 9
  Key terms 2: Buying real property ex 16
  
  Language notes:
  I termini "freehold" e “leasehold” sono entrambi termini di matrice feudale, che rappresentano due sistemi tipici per possedere una proprietà in UK .
  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 nell'istituto di freehold:
  • 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; la proprietà ha un vincolo inalienabile
  • life estate = il bene è di proprietà del beneficiario solo per la durata della sua vita 
  • Estate pur (pour) autre vie = simile al life estate ma il bene è di proprietà del beneficiario per la durata della vita di una terza persona. For example, if Bob is given use of the family house for as long as his mother lives, he has possession of the house pur autre vie
  
  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(locatore) conferisce al lessee (locatario) 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.
  
  
• Dal Il sole 24 ore "A Londra la proprietà è del re"
• From the Telegraph "How much of the UK does the Queen own?"

Act of conveyance: (atto di cessione) transfer of title in land from one person to another

Goods and chattels: beni ed effetti
title interest: diritto nel titolo, interest in the real property
Lease/let/rent vb. They are used interchangeably – More common:
To lease/let property to somebody and rent property from somebody
Lease= n. the agreement
Rent= n. the money to be paid
inheritable = passed on to heirs

References
Buy to let investment 
Real Estate in Italypros & cons of leasehold


Statute of frauds
The statute of frauds del 1677 fu la prima legge nel sistema inglese a prevedere la forma scritta ad probationem, ossia la possibilità di far valere in giudizio un contratto che è e rimane valido di per sé. Successivamente il Law of Property Act 1925 ritenne obbligatoria la forma scritta ad probationem solo per i contratti aventi per oggetto la proprietà o altri diritti reali su beni terrieri e il Law Reform (Enforcement of Contracts) Act 1954 stabilì che detta forma fosse da ritenersi necessaria per i contratti di garanzia.[read more..]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 (garanzia 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. 

Self Study

• Key terms: pp 77-79 ex 16-23  
• Preparare un glossario specifico per "real property law" ex: escrow (account/agreement) = deposito in garanzia
• Listening 2  page 78 ex 19-23

Legal English_Lesson_6UniTaranto

Commercial law covers a very wide body of law which includes: 

• contract law, 
• company law, 
• tax law,
• intellectual property law.

Reading 1_commercial law  pp. 60-61 - ex 2-4 

Language Use: Adverb  functions pp 62-63 ex 7-8

Bodies of Law that govern Trade and Commerce

• Istituto Commerciale Commercio Estero (ICE)

• Chamber of Commerce in Italy

• Uniform Commercial Code (UCC)

• World Trade Organization (WTO) + video (WTO)

Listening 1: Profile of  a commercial lawyer page 62 ex 5-6

Text Analysis: Letter of application for an internship pp 63-64 ex 11-13

Reading 2- 3 - 4 -

From Legalese to plain English

Reading_3 Role of Commercial agents

• commercial agency agreement
• to give agents greater protection
• under EU law
• good and services
• provision of services/a service
• on behalf of/in the name of 
• flat rate
• paid on commissions
• indipendent intermediaries 
• authority to negotiate
• provide a convenient structure
• the principal can benefi from 
• on commissions basis " no cure, no pay" basis
• to build sales volume
• temptation to circumvent 
• come to an end
• significant new customer base
• to take advantage of the goodwill 

Self study

• Reading_4 Commercial agency contract
• Language Focus page 71 

Legal English_Lesson_5UniTaranto

Introduction to Company law

• Reading 1 pp 50-51 ex 1-3

Partnerships vs Companies or Corporations

Partnership 

Limited partnership with shares= società in accomandita per azioni

Limited Partnership = società in accomandita semplice

General Partnerhip = Società in nome collettivo

Società di Capitali= Società di Capitali
Limited by Shares (plc + Ltd)
Public Company Limited by Shares (plc) = Società per azioni

Private Company Limited by Shares (Ltd) = Società a responsabilità limitata.

Setting up a company in the UK - how easy/difficult is it?

It's quite difficult to find a clear correspondence with the Italian companies especially with srl ones.

Le quote della nostra srl non sono definibili shares ma quota(s), il titolare di quote sarà definito quotaholder. In riferimento al capitale della società non potrò parlare di share capital ma di corporate capital.

The situation improves when it comes to plc (or Ltd) : Il capitale sociale è definito share capital (oppure, con terminologia americana, capital stock), i soci azionisti sono shareholders (o, sempre nella versione U.S.,stockholders) e così i principali organi sociali, quali il consiglio di amministrazione – board of directors – e l’assemblea degli azionisti – shareholders’ meeting.

- board/panel of internal auditors/statutory auditors  = sort of Collegio Sindacale  

-  managing director or C.E.O. (Chief Executive Officer) = amministratore delegato

-  incorporation process: 

• ’atto costitutivo – memorandum of association/articles of incorporation 
• lo statuto – articles of association/bylaws 
• iscrizione al registro delle imprese locale – registration

Last but not least.... 

procedure concorsuali – insolvency proceedings 

tassa societaria - corporation tax

That means, when in Italian we refer to a private limited company o  private company limited by shares (Ltd.) we have to talk about:+

- shares - quote sociali o di partecipazione
- shareholders - soci 
- share capital - capitale sociale
mentre parlare di azioni, azionisti o capitale azionario riferendosi ad una Ltd. sarebbe un errore, per i motivi sopra esposti.

On the other hand, when we in Italian want to refer to a  public company (Plc.) we have to talk about:

- shares - azioni,
- shareholders - azionisti e
- share capital - capitale azionario.

Company act 2006 è una completa codificazione della legge sulle società in Inghilterra e Galles 

• Reading_3: Breach of Companies Act 2006 pp54-55 ex 12-15

• Key terms_2: Public relations page 56 ex 20

• Text analysis: Reading a statute page 57 ex 21-23

Self Study

• Listening 1 + Listening 2  highly suggested
• Language Focus pag 59 ex 1-3
•  Listening 2  Ref section 172 Company Act 2006

• Phrasal verbs

Extra exercises_company law  page 328 ex 2; page 330 ex 2; pp 333-334 ex 1,2;page 337 ex 1; pp 339-341 ex 1, 2 Toles foundation practice page 345 ex 1, 2

EXTRA: If you like to investigate more the area of company law
A Review of Italian and UK. Company Law.  A joint study by. Consiglio Nazionale dei Dottori Commercialisti e degli Esperti Contabili.

Legal English_lesson_4_UniTaranto

Criminal Law - Introduction

The Central Criminal Court in the Uk "The old Bailey"

Reading 1 pp 39-40 ex 3-5 Match the definition with the crimes

1.      armed robbery	a  killing somebody through an act or omission
2.        arson	b  deceiving somebody out of money or property
3.      assault	c  creating a false document
4.      battery	d  using a weapon to take money or property by force or direct threat of violence
5.      bribery	e  violence or abuse against a member of the offender's own household (e.g. wife/husband and children)
6.      burglary	f  intentionally burning a building
7.      domestic violence	g  buying and selling illegal narcotics
8.      drug trafficking	h  operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol
9.      drunk driving	i  entering a building with intent to commit a crime
10.  embezzlement	j  striking a person with intent to harm
11.  extortion	k  attempting to physically attack a person.
12.  forgery	l  giving money etc. to influence a public official
13.  fraud	m  stealing from an employer
14.  homicide	n  obtaining money or property through indirect threats or intimidation

From the Gazzetta del Mezzogiorno:

Magistrate reprimanded over pharmacist who committed suicide

Prosecutors want contract ban for Romeo Gestioni

Student, 17, in French lycee shooting

Grammar: Passive constructions

Key terms_1: punishments

Reading 2 White-collar crime page 43-44 ex ex 19-21

Law in Practice
Language Use 3: giving advice
Language Focus

Self study

Listening 1 - 4 strongly suggested