English I – worksheet # 03

What are of the branches of Law?

Among branches of law, two major fields can be distinguished: private law and public law. The
difference between these two branches lies mainly in the parties of the legal relationship in question.

Private law signifies rules that regulate the relationships between private individuals (subjects of law
who are, legally speaking, in an equal situation; for example, the legal relationship between a buyer
and a seller, where both parties have certain rights and obligations). Private law covers civil law,
commercial law, international private law as well as intellectual property (such as copyright, patent
law).
Public law, on the other hand, consists in rules where one party is the state, who participates in the
legal relationship from a position of strength – thereby effecting its power. Public law also signifies
principles that serve as a basis for the structure of the state and the relationships between the state
and the citizens. In addition to constitutional law, public law also covers administrative, financial,
criminal and procedural law as well as international law.

Constitutional law
In general, constitutional law regulates all legal relationships concerned with the state and law
(separation of powers, essential features of the state, legislation). Constitutional law regulates the
form of the public order and the administrative division of the territory; the status and role of the holder
of the highest public authority, human rights; the primary elements of the public system (such as the
parliament), their function, legal manner, structure, competence, and the bases and procedure of
their formation (for example election procedure), as well as relations with the other elements of the
public system (like the local government).
Due to its highest conclusive force, constitutional law also covers all constitutional legal provisions.
Hence, constitutional law encompasses principles regulated by the constitution that are binding to
each and every person. Constitutional rules also include all those legal provisions that regulate the
appointment or election of higher national officials. Legislative drafting and the implementation of law
are also subject to constitutional law. The number and nature of constitutional rules differ by country
and are largely dependent on the form of government of the state.

Civil law
Civil law forms the bulk of private law. Estonia's system of civil law is built on the principle of Pandects,
which divides all provisions of the civil law into five parts: general part of civil law, family law, property
law, law of succession and law of obligations. The system of Pandects itself is derived from the law
of Ancient Rome.
The general part of civil law (Act on the General Part of the Civil Code) regulates the general
principles of civil law. The general part of civil law is applicable as the general part of family and
property law, law of succession, law of obligations, and the Commercial Code. Act on the General
Part of the Civil Code regulates persons (legal and natural persons), objects, transactions,
representation, terms and due dates, enforcement and protection of civil rights.
Family law (Family Law Act) regulates all relationships concerned with family and marriage (such as
entering into a contract of marriage, the mutual obligations between spouses, obligations toward
one's children, etc.).
Law of succession (Law of Succession Act) covers all relationships that concern succession,
successors and bequeathers.
Law of obligations (Law of Obligations Act) consists in the general part and the special part and
regulates everything related to obligations that result in the liability to an act or omission on the part
of one person (debtor) to another (creditor), as well as the right of the creditor to demand that the
debtor discharge the liability. The Law of Obligations Act also regulates non-contractual relationships
(such as a public promise to pay).
Property law (Law of Property Act) regulates real rights, their content, creation and extinguishment.

Administrative law
Administrative law regulates the activity of public authorities, the procedure of their formation, their
powers, and relationships with citizens, liability for violating administrative law etc. The aim is to
ensure the protection of public interests by laying the foundations for the formation of public
administration bodies, by defining their competences and by providing legal framework for the
relationships that emerge from exercising their power. Administrative matters are to be resolved
pursuant to administrative procedure in administrative court. Complaints and protests concerning an
order, directive, prescript or legislation issued under public law by an institution, official or another
person performing public administrative functions in order to regulate an individual case are to be
resolved in administrative court. Administrative proceedings can also be commenced with regard to
the activity, failure to act or delayed action of an institution, official or another person performing
public administrative functions under public law (e.g. the failure to act by the police in a certain
situation).

Penal law
The penal law dictates which actions are to be regarded as offences and what the punishments for
these actions are; in other words, the penal law determines the range of social relationships that
stand under state protection and the violation of which results in punishment. Since 1 September
2002, a uniform penal law in the form of the Penal Code has been in effect in Estonia. The Penal
Code is divided into the general and special part.
The General Part of the Penal Code provides the general bases for the punishability of an action and
is divided into three main parts: doctrine on penal law, doctrine on criminal offence, and doctrine on
punishment. The general part consists in seven chapters. The first chapter covers the general
provisions, the second chapters deals with an offence, and chapters three to seven deal with
punishment.
The special part provides the descriptions of specific punishable offences and their punishments.
The special part defines the necessary elements of an offence (the necessary elements of an offence,
according to section 12 (1) of the Penal Code, consist in the description of a punishable offence
provided for in the special part of the Penal Code or in another Act). All criminal offences are
stipulated in the Penal Code. Misdemeanours are stipulated in the Penal Code or other Acts.

Procedural law
Procedural law determines the rules of court procedure. Procedural law ensures legal security and
precludes arbitrary acts by court. The rules of procedural law are generally quite complicated and
must be observed very carefully to protect administration of justice from arbitrary acts by court, as
well as to ensure that one of the litigating parties does not get an unfair advantage over the other
during the proceedings. A significant violation of procedural rules may for instance result in the
nullification of a court judgement.
Administrative procedural law (administrative court procedure) regulates the judicial justice in
administrative matters, which includes any proceedings before the administrative courts. The primary
purpose of the procedure in administrative courts is to protect the rights of individuals against unlawful
actions performed in the course of the exercise of executive authority. The Code of Administrative Court
Procedure lays down the competence of administrative courts and the procedure for recourse to
administrative courts and for the deciding of matters in such courts.
Criminal procedural law is related to penal law. Criminal procedural law regulates the activity of
investigative bodies, prosecuting authority and the court in legislative proceedings in criminal matters.
The aim of criminal proceedings is to guarantee that the offenders get an appropriate punishment
and no innocent person is convicted.
Civil procedural law is related to civil law and its sub-branches. Civil legal proceedings regulate the
rules of resolving civil matters, the activity of court and litigating parties that is necessary for protecting
the rights of citizens.

Reading comprehension
Activity
I. Elaborate an organizer of knowledges
II. Create semantic families of NOUNS, VERBS and ADJECTIVES

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