法律文章英语

LessonOne:LegalSystem法律制度Background背景自从哥伦布(ChristopherColumbus)于1492年航行至美洲之后，大批欧洲人便开始拥向这片新大陆。不过，人们通常把第一批英国定居者(thefirstEnglishsettlers)于1607年到达弗吉尼亚(Virginia)的詹姆斯顿(Jamestown)视为美国法律制度历史的起点。美国法制史可以大体上分为两个时期，即英属殖民地时期(thePeriodoftheEnglishColonies)和美利坚合众国时期(thePeriodoftheUnitedStates)。虽然美国的法律制度是在英国法律传统的基础上形成和发展起来的，但是在近四百年的历史进程中，美国的法律制度也形成了一些不同于英国法律制度的特点，如公诉制度(publicprosecution)等。美国属于普通法系(CommonLawLegalSystem)国家，其法律制度有两个基本特点：其一是以分散制(decentralization)为原则；其二是以判例法(caselaw)为主体。美国除联邦政府外，还有州政府、县政府、市政府、镇政府等等，而且这些政府都是相互独立的，各自在其管辖范围内享有一定的立法权和执法权。因此，有人说美国是一个有许多政府的国家(acountryofmanygovernments)；而美国的法律体系则是一个零散的无系统(fragmentalnosystem)。诚然，美国现在也有很多成文法(writtenlaw)或制定法(statutorylaw)，但是其法律制度仍是以判例法为主体的。换言之，遵从前例(staredecisis)仍然是美国司法活动中最重要的原则之一。以上两点对于理解美国的法律制度具有重要意义。Text课文PartOneTheUnitedStatesisatonceaverynewnationandaveryoldnation.Itisanewnationcomparedwithmanyothercountries,anditisnew,too,inthesensethatitisconstantlybeingrenewedbytheadditionofnewelementsofpopulationandofnewStates.Butinothersensesitisold.Itistheoldestofthenewnations--thefirstonetobemadeoutofanOldWorldcolony.Ithastheoldestwrittenconstitution,theoldestcontinuousfederalsystem,andtheoldestpracticeofselfgovernmentofanynation.OneofthemostinterestingfeaturesofAmericasyouthisthatthewholeofitshistorybelongsintheperiodsincetheinventionoftheprintingpress.Thewholeofitshistoryis,therefore,recorded:indeed,itissafetosaythatnoothermajornationhassocomprehensivearecordofitshistoryashastheUnitedStates,foreventssuchasthosethatarelostinthelegendarypastofItalyorFranceorEnglandarepartoftheprintedrecordoftheUnitedStates.AndtheAmericanrecordisnotonlycomprehensive;itisimmense.ItembracesnotonlytherecordofthecolonialeraandoftheNationsince1776,butofthepresentfiftyStatesaswell,andtheintricatenetworkofrelationshipsbetweenStatesandNation.Thus,totakeaveryelementaryexample,thereportsoftheUnitedStatesSupremeCourtfillsome350volumes,andthereportsofsomeStatesarealmostequallyvoluminous:thereaderwhowantstotracethehistoryoflawinAmericaisconfrontedwithover5,000stoutvolumesoflegalcases.Noonedocument,nohandfulofdocuments,canproperlybesaidtorevealthecharacterofapeopleoroftheirgovernment.Butwhenhundredsandthousandsofdocumentsstrikeaconsistentnote,overmorethanahundredyears,wehavearighttosaythatisthekeynote.Whenhundredsandthousandsofdocumentsaddressthemselvesinthesameways,tothesameoverarchingproblems,wehavearighttoreadfromthemcertainconclusionswhichwecancallnationalcharacteristics.PartTwoTheAmericanlegalsystem,liketheEnglish,ismethodologicallymainlyacaselawsystem.Mostfieldsofprivatelawstillconsistprimarilyofcaselawandtheextensiveandsteadilygrowingstatutorylawcontinuestobesubjecttobindinginterpretationthroughcaselaw.KnowledgeofthecaselawmethodaswellasofthetechniqueofworkingwithcaselawthereforeisofcentralimportanceforanunderstandingofAmericanlawandlegalmethodology.TheCommonLawishistoricallythecommongenerallaw--withsupremacyoverlocallaw--whichwasdecreedbytheitinerantjudgesoftheEnglishroyalcourt.Theenforcementofaclaimpresupposedtheexistenceofaspecialformofaction,awrit,withtheresultthattheoriginalcommonlawrepresentedasystemofactionssimilartothatofclassicalRomanlaw.Ifawritexisted(in1227)aclaimcouldbeenforced;therewasnorecourseforaclaimwithoutawrit,theclaimdidnotexist.ThissystembecameinflexiblewhentheProvisionsofOxford(1258)prohibitedthecreationofnewwrits,exceptfortheflexibilitywhichthewrituponthecaseallowedandwhichlaterledtothedevelopmentofcontractandtortlaw.Thenarrowlimitsoftheformsofactionandthelimitedrecoursetheyprovidedledtothedevelopmentofequitylawandequitycaselaw.Equity,initsgeneralmeaningofdoingequity,decidingexaequoetbono,wasfirstgrantedbytheKing,andlaterbyhisChancelloraskeeperoftheKing'sconscience,toaffordreliefinhardshipcases.Inthefifteenthcentury,however,equitylawandequitycaselawdevelopedintoanindependentlegalsystemandjudiciary(CourtofChancery)whichcompetedwiththeordinarycommonlawcourts.Itsrulesandmaximsbecamefixedand,toadegree,inflexibleasinanylegalsystem.Specialcharacteristicsofequitylawinclude:reliefintheformofspecificperformance(incontrasttothecommonlawawardofcompensatorydamages),theinjunction(atemporaryorfinalordertodoornottodoaspecificact),thedevelopmentofsocalledmaximsofequitylawwhichpermeatedtheentirelegalsystemandinmanycasesexplaintheoriginofmodernlegalconcepts.However,equitablereliefregularlywilllieonlywhenthecommonlawreliefisinadequate.Forinstance,specificperformanceforthepurchaseofrealpropertywillbegrantedbecausecommonlawdamagesaredeemedtobeinadequatesincetheycannotcompensatethebuyerinviewoftheuniquenessattributedtorealproperty.Asthecommonlaw,equitylawbecamepartofAmericanlaweitherthroughjudicialacceptanceorthroughexpressstatutoryprovision.Today,bothlegalsystemshavebeenmergedinmanyAmericanjurisdictions(beginningwithNewYorkin1848),withtheresultthatthereisonlyoneformofcivilsuitinthesejurisdictionsaswellasinfederalpractice.OnlyfewStatescontinuetomaintainaseparatechancerycourt.Nevertheless,thereferencetothehistoricaldevelopmentisimportantbecause,ontheonehand,itexplainstheoriginandsignificanceofmanycont