Types of English Civil Law

English Civil Law Two most important subcategories: Law of Contract Law of Torts

Law of Contract Contract law concerns all aspects of the making, keeping, and breaking of promises and agreements Contract law governs different types of agreements without regard for who made them or what their subject matter is

Contract v. Agreement A promise is a commitment to do or not to do something in the future An agreement is an exchange of promises Contract v. Agreement – a contract is a legally enforceable agreement

Contract - definition Contract is a legally binding agreement between two or more parties which the court will enforce

Subcategories of the law of contract Shipping contracts Hire purchase contracts Sale of goods

Law of torts Tort – a civil wrong; a wrong committed by one citizen against another not serious enough to amount to the breaking of the criminal law No criminal liability, just civil liability Less serious wrongs not punished by the state

The major difference between the law of contract and the law of tort is that with respect to the law of tort, the law has fixed what kind of behaviour is wrongful (tortious behaviour) With respect to the law of contract, the contractual agreement between the parties lays down what will be seen as wrongful behaviour

Compensation of damages The claimant (formerly plaintiff) may recover damages for their injury (physical or mental) and loss Special damages: losses that can be precisely quantified in monetary terms General damages – losses that cannot be exactly defined in monetary terms (the actual pain suffered, expected future losses) Where the claimant’s general or special damages are negligible, the court may award nominal damages

Categories of the law of torts Intentional torts: when the person causing the harm meant to do so Negligence: carelessness Strict liability: the actor is responsible even though he did not mean to harm the victim and exercised care in trying to avoid the harm

Types of torts Negligence Nuisance Trespass Defamation (libel and slander)

Negligence A failure to apply reasonable care in order to avoid foreseeable injuries to others The duty to avoid being negligent is defined in terms of ordinary care Ordinary care generally means the degree of care that would be used by a reasonable person under the same or similar circumstances Professional and personal negligence

Nuisance An unreasonable interference with another person’s use or enjoyment of property The injured party may sue for an injunction or damages, or both Interference must be continuous Public nuisance (affects many people or the whole community) Private nuisance (interferes with the individual’s enjoyment or use of property) Mixed nuisance – both public and private

Trespass An unlawful entry to another person’s property Any unauthorized intrusion or invasion of private premises or the land of another Continuous trespass – continued presence on the land of another (injunction)

Defamation Oral (slander) or written (libel) injury of somebody’s reputation An intentional false communication that injures another person’s good name The claimant must prove that the defamatory statement was made with malice (knowing it was false or with a reckless disregard as to whether it was true or false)

Vocabulary Hire purchase contract – ugovor o kupnji na otplatu Tort – delikt Negligence – nemar Nuisance – smetnja Trespass – ometanje posjeda Defamation – kleveta Claimant – tužitelj u građanskoj parnici Injunction – sudski nalog, sudska zabrana Damages - odšteta

Translate into English: Kleveta je kada netko namjerno ili nemarno daje lažne izjave o vama u javnosti, a te izjave štete vašem ugledu u zajednici. Postoje dvije vrste klevete. Pisana kleveta uključuje štampane, napisane ili snimljene izjave. Do usmene klevete dolazi ako je klevetnička izjava izgovorena. Kleveta je delikt zato što šteti nečijem ugledu ili položaju u zajednici. Na primjer, ako vas netko javno nazove lažljivcem ili vas optuži da ste počinili kazneno djelo, tada možete tužiti tu osobu zbog klevete. No takva izjava mora biti lažna. Izjava može biti kleveta ako lažno ukazuje na to da ste krivi za zločin, nepoštenje ili nečasno ponašanje. Uvrede općenito nisu klevete.

The tort of defamation happens when someone deliberately or negligently makes a false statement about you in public, which lowers or injures your reputation in the community. There are two types of defamation. "Libel" includes printed, written, or recorded statements. "Slander" happens when the defamatory statement is spoken. Defamation is a tort because someone's reputation/good name and position in the community are injured. For example, if someone calls you a liar in public or accuses you of committing a crime, then you may be able to sue that person for defamation. The statement, however, must be false. A statement may be defamatory if it falsely suggests that you are guilty of any crime, dishonesty, or dishonourable conduct. Insults are not defamatory in general.

Translate into English: Delikti su prekršaji koje pravo priznaje kao temelje za sudski spor. Ti prekršaji rezultiraju ozljedom ili štetom koja tvori temelj za zahtjev oštećene stranke. Oštećena osoba može tužiti i zatražiti sudsku zabranu da bi spriječila nastavak štetnog ponašanja ili novčanu odštetu. Vrste odštete koje oštećena stranka može dobiti su: gubitak mogućnosti ostvarivanja zarade, duševne boli i razumni medicinski troškovi. To uključuje sadašnje gubitke i očekivane gubitke u budućnosti.