Linguaggio giuridico inglese! English for lawyear

CORTE DEI MEDICI LEGALI. CORONERS’ COURT

Coroners sit to clarify the reasons of death in situations where people have

died in suspicious circumstances.

WHAT IS AN APPEAL?

An appeal is the transfer of a case from a lower to a higher court for a new

hearing, to reverse the decision made by the lower court.

LE CORTI DI SERVIZIO DI SUA MAESTA’. HER MAJESTY’S COURTS

SERVICE

Her Majesty’s Courts Service is an executive agency of the Ministry of Justice

and is responsible for the administration of the civil, family and criminal courts

in England and Wales.

DIRITTO PENALE. CRIMINAL LAW

In the United Kingdom there is a distinction between criminal and civil law.

Criminal law deals with crime and its consequences. A crime is an act in

violation of public law that is subject to punishment, such as imprisonment or

fine. It concerns the legal relationship between individuals and the State.

Criminal law elements are two: actus reus and mens rea. Both are latin terms.

The first one is a guilty act and is the physical element of committing a crime.

The second is a guilty mind and is the mental element of the crime. Crimes

are classified as: summary and indictable offences. The firsts are minor

crimes, such as theft; the seconds are serious crimes, such as murder.

DIFESE DI DIRITTO PENALE. CRIMINAL LAW DEFENCES

In the criminal law there are seven (7) general defences, which mitigate the

defendant’s sentence. The first four are: insanity, automatism, mistake and

self defence.

PROCEDURA PENALE. CRIMINAL PROCEDURE

In criminal procedure, the judge is an impartial arbiter, who bases his decision

on the evidence provided by the parties to a case during the course of a trial.

In criminal cases the burden of proof lies upon the prosecutor to persuade the

judge or jury that the accused is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. The

accused is arrested, prosecuted and declared guilty or innocent and the result

is a conviction or an acquittal. Unlike the continental approach to a crime

case, the English system has a more formal care for the liberty of the

individual, who is considered to be innocent until he is proved guilty. This

means that, in a trial, the accusers must prove that the accused is guilty,

while in continental system the accused who must prove himself innocent.

DIRITTO CIVILE. CIVIL LAW

Civil law regards: rights, duties and obligations of individual members of the

community between themselves. It is a legal system inspired by Old Roman

law, in particularly by the Corpus Iuris Civilis issued by Justinian. The laws

are written into a collection and are codified. Civil law is also known as

European Continental Law.

PROCEDURA CIVILE. CIVIL PROCEDURE

The English system of justice based on civil law is inquisitorial. Civil

procedure consists of the rules by which courts conduct civil trials. Civil trials

concern the judicial resolution of claims by one individual or group against

another.

RECLAMI CIVILI. CIVIL CLAIMS

A claim is a legal action to get the respect of rights protected by law against

another party or to get money or property. The legal document which contents

a claim is called a Statement of Claim. It can be any communication notifying

the addressee of any faulty execution which resulted in damages, often

expressed in amount of money that the party should pay or reimburse.

DOMANDA DI RISARCIMENTO. CLAIMING COMPENSATION

Civil claims arise when an individual or corporation believe that their rights

have been violated. So, when a problem arises for injury or loss, many

solicitors help the aggrieved parties to make a claim for compensation.

ANDARE IN TRIBUNALE. AVVIO DI UN CASO GIUDIZIARIO. GOING TO

COURT. STARTING A COURT CASE

Issuing a claim in a court can be very expensive. People must pay for the

solicitor’s activity and other expenses. If they lose the case, they may also

pay the costs of the person or organization they have claimed against. When

other side is agree to refund money, the case is resolved; instead, when is

disagree to pay debt, this involve starting a court case. In the United Kingdom

the person starting the claim is called “claimant”. Until 1999 this person was

called “plaintiff”. However, in the USA the claimant is still called plaintiff. In

England and USA, the other part is called “defendant”, who is liable or not

liable. A claimant starts a claim for a lot of reasons, such as: personal injury,

faulty goods etc.

LA PROFESSIONE LEGALE. THE LEGAL PROFESSION. BARRISTERS

AND SOLICITORS

In England and Wales there are two types of lawyers: barristers and solicitors,

who exercise legal profession. Barristers are litigation specialists and work in

criminal law. They represent litigants as their advocates before the courts and

are responsible for presenting arguments to the judge or jury. Normally, a

barrister will not speak to the client directly, but to the client’s solicitor. The

barristers are collectively known as the Bar. Solicitors are lawyers that give

legal advice to clients on contentious and non-contentious matters. They work

in civil law and have more direct contact with the clients. The Law Society is

the professional association of solicitors. It has a Council elected by them, in

which at the head there is the President, who is elected each year and he

may change. In England and Wales not only are the legal professions

separate, but there is no common training for lawyers. In fact, the Barrister

doesn’t go to university, but goes in a Inn. There are four Inns: Lincoln’s Inn –

Gray’s Inn – Inner Temple – Middle Temple. Then the barrister does a public

exam and later does pupillage, in fact he called pupil. The Solicitor, instead,

goes to university and does a public exam and then does articles.

COSA E’ LA KENT LAW CLINIC? WHAT IS THE KENT LAW CLINIC?

The Kent Law Clinic is a clinic that offers an opportunity for law students to

practice law while still undergraduates under the supervision of qualified

lawyers.

I CONSOLI DELLA REGINA. QUEEN’S COUNSEL

Barristers and Solicitors with sufficient experience and knowledge can

become Queen’s Counsel. Their work consists to give opinions and make

advocacy.

LA MAGISTRATURA DI INGHILTERRA E GALLES. THE JUDICIARY OF

ENGLAND AND WALES

The Judiciary of the United Kingdom is not a single body, in fact England,

Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own judiciary. A judge is an

official, who presides over a court and he is chosen among barristers and

solicitors with sufficient experience. The Judiciary is composed of judges and

courts and it is separate from Parliament and Government. It also interprets

European Community law. In according to the doctrine of the separation of

powers: the legislature is Parliament, the executive is Government and the

judiciary are judges who apply the law. At the head of the Judiciary there is

Lord Chief Justice.

CHI E’ IL MAGISTRATO? WHO IS A MAGISTRATE?

A magistrate is a judicial officer. In common law system he has limited

authority to administer and enforce the law; while, in civil law system he may

be a judge of a superior court.

LA GIURIA. THE JURY

The Jury is a public duty and jurors play a vital part in the criminal justice

system. In England the Jury consists of twelve (12) jurors, while in Scotland

the jurors are fifteen (15). The Jury makes the decision (guilty or innocent),

but then the judge will give the sentence. The judge is a person who

manages the courtroom during the hearing. He orders a “direct verdict” when

there are no reasons why the jury can take another decision. The jurors are

normal people without special knowledge, who must be citizens of the United

Kingdom for a period of five (5) years. To be juror needs an age of eighteen

(18) years to seventy (70) years and the name of jurors must be on the

Register of Electors for Parliamentary. To be exonerated a juror must be: a

commander of the Forces, a leader in the sector of cult, a member of the

Parliament and European Assembly. There are people who don’t like to be

part of the jury; on the contrary, other people loves to be part of it. The jurors

take an oath (eff) and before it the defence or the prosecution can be chose

by them (the jurors). In civil cases the Jury decides if the defendant is liable or

not liable and decides the amount of damage to he paid.

IL PROCESSO SENZA UNA GIURIA. TRIAL WITHOUT A JURY

Trial without a Jury is possible in cases of suspected corruption.

SENTENZE. SENTENCING

A sentence is the final act of a trial. The sentences are issued by judges and

magistrates in name of the State and are fixed by Parliament in statutes,

known as Act of Parliament. The sentence depends on the philosophic

principle, such as: retribution, denunciation, reparation etc. The retribution is

the punishment that the offender must pay for his (or her) acts and it is in

proportion to the offence. The denunciation expresses social disapproval for a

criminal activity. Reparation is when the offender must pay a sum of money to

the victim. To decide the sentence, the court takes a number of factors, such

as: the type of offence and how serious it is and defendant’s personal

circumstances. After fixing the sentence, the court announces the sentence in

open court, addressing the defendant directly and giving reasons for the

decisions. There are four important types of sentence: discharges, fines,

community sentences and prison sentences. A discharge is a sentence, in

which the defendant is not punished and the case is over. The fine is decided

to magistrate and his amount varies with the age of the offender. Community

sentences are unpaid work done by criminals. Custodial sentences occours

when there are serious crimes. In this cases there is a prison sentence.

METODI ALTERNATIVI PER RISOLVERE UNA DISPUTA. ALTERNATIVE

DISPUTE RESOLUTION

The alternative dispute resolution consists in a variety of methods for the

resolution of legal problems. There are many form of it, such as: negotiation,

mediation, conciliation, arbitration etc. Negotiation involves two elements:

process and substance. The first one refers to how the parties negotiate, the

context of the negotiation, the relationships between the parties etc. The

second refers to what the parties negotiate over: agenda, opinions and

agreements reached at the end. The mediation consists to assist two or more

persons in reaching an agreement. The aim of mediator is simply the

resolution process. In Conciliation there is a conciliator, who meets with the

parties separately to resolve their differences. The Arbitration is a legal

technique for the resolution of problems outside the court. The arbitrator is a

private judge, who imposes a resolution and he is paid by the parties.

IL DIRITTO DEL CONTRATTO. CONTRACT LAW

A contract is a promise which is observed by law and must be: oral or written

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