Avertissement préalable

Il est rappelé aux étudiants qu'il est indispensable de préparer les séminaires afin d'en retirer le maximum de bénéfice.

Ils sont invités à lire les textes avant les séances, à tenter d'en comprendre le sens, et à préparer les questions et les exercices.

Le texte reproduit ci-après vise à permettre une correction du travail effectué au préalable. Il ne couvre que les exercices de terminologie juridique anglaise ("Match these words with their definitions or synonyms" + "Translate into French"). Les autres questions auront été vues lors des séminaires.

L'intérêt des étudiants est de ne pas considérer ce corrigé comme se substituant au travail à faire.

A titre de rappel, l'examen de droit comparé teste la connaissance de la terminologie juridique anglaise.

1. "affidavit" = g. written statement given under oath : eg. " There is no doubt whatever as to the facts in this case, and, in truth, Dorothy Marie Laing has made an affidavit in which she has stated quite frankly the position between herself and the testator ".

2. "vest in" = f. confer formally on a person an immediate fixed right : eg. " The essence of the concept [ of trust] is the separation of legal and beneficial ownership, the property being legally vested in one or more trustees but in equity held for and belonging to others ".

3. "commitment" = e. an engagement that restricts freedom of action : eg. " The trustee undertook a commitment to show a high level of loyalty ".

4. "grievance" = i. complaint : eg. " Their grievance was the following... ".

5. "limitation period" = j. time limit for starting a lawsuit : eg. " a limitation period of three years shall apply to proceedings for the recovery of damages (...). The limitation period shall begin to run from the day on which the plaintiff became aware, or should reasonably have become aware, of the damage, the defect and the identity of the producer ".

6. "plaintiff" = h. person bringing a civil action : eg. " A judge in this type of case must answer numerous questions before deciding upon the respective merits of the plaintiff and the defendant"; "The limitation period shall begin to run from the day on which the plaintiff became aware, or should reasonably have become aware, of the damage, the defect and the identity of the producer ".

7. "trust" = d. property held by one party for the benefit of another : eg. " Unknown in Belgium or in France, a trust is a mechanism by which two types of ownership are separated and given to different persons ".

8. "sue" = b. take to court (civil proceedings) : eg. " Subsequently, the person's belongings are stolen and the person sues the hotel for the loss ".

9. "void" = c. having no legal force : eg. " heirs to the settlor claimed that the trust created in 1926 was void under French law "; " Such a condition, it is said, is void, and, the condition failing, there is a gift for life ".

10. "statute" = a. a written law : eg. " French lawyers attach less importance than we do to the precise words used, either in the Codes or other statutes, or in wills, contracts or conveyances ".

Translate into French (1st Seminar)

1. Where there is doubt about the meaning of a term contained in the contract, the interpretation most favourable to the consumer shall prevail.

"En cas de doute sur le sens d'une clause, l'interprétation la plus favorable au consommateur prévaut".

2. The Convention does not apply to issues relating to the validity of wills or of other acts by virtue of which assets are transferred to the trustee..

" La convention ne s’applique pas à des questions préliminaires relatives à la validité des testaments ou d’autres actes juridiques par lesquels des biens sont transférés au trustee ".

3. A trust shall be governed by the law chosen by the settlor.

"Le trust est régi par la loi choisie par le constituant".

4. The judge held that the affidavit drawn up by the notary public was void. The plaintiff's grievance could not be taken for granted.

"Le juge considéra que l'attestation rédigée par le notaire était nulle. Le grief du demandeur avait des fondements solides".

5. The Court shall ensure that in the interpretation and application of this Treaty the law is observed.

"La Cour assure le respect du droit dans l'interprétation et l'application du présent traité".

6. The term "trust" refers to the legal relationships created - inter vivos or on death - by a person, the settlor, when assets have been placed under he control of a trustee for the benefit of a beneficiary.

" Le terme ‘trust’ vise les relations juridiques créées par une personne, le constituant - par acte entre vifs ou à cause de mort - lorsque des biens ont été placés sous le contrôle d’un trustee dans l’intérêt d’un bénéficiaire ".

7. Ms. Laing is not entitled either to the interest which he attempts to give her in the house in question or to the weekly payment provided by the latter part of the will.

" Madame Laing n’est pas habilitée à recevoir l’intérêt qu’il essaie de lui donner dans la maison en question, pas plus qu’elle n’est habilitée à recevoir la rente hébdomadaire prévue dans la dernière partie du testament ".

8. The Convention shall enter into force on July 1, 1998.

" La Convention entre en vigueur le 1er juillet 1998 ".

9. The financial year shall run from 1 January to 31 December.

" L'exercice financier s'étend du 1er janvier au 31 décembre ".

10. The Trustees shall not be bound to act personally. (...) The Trustees may delegate the exercise of any or all powers and discretions vested in the Trustees under this trust.

" Les trustees ne sont pas obligés d’agir personnellement. (...) Les trustees peuvent déléguer l’exercice de certains ou de tous les pouvoirs et discrétions qui leur ont été conférés sous ce trust ".

1. "stay" (verb) = h. stop momentarily : eg. " Faced with these conflicting interests, the Italian Corte Suprema stayed the proceedings ".

2. "remedy" = g. a method available at law for obtaining redress for an infringement of rights : eg. " The plaintiffs sought redress for the damages suffered as a result of the car accident ".

3. "pending" = e. not yet decided : eg. " As these proceedings are, in so far as the parties to the main action are concerned, in the nature of a step in the action pending before the Corte Suprema di Cassazione, the decision on costs is a matter for that court ".

4. "implementation" = i. fulfilment of a Community obligation : eg. " Once directives are adopted, comparative law techniques are further used to ensure proper implementation and enforcement of Community law ".

5. "whereas" = j. considering that ... : eg. " Whereas liability without fault on the part of the producer is the sole means of adequately solving the problem, peculiar to our age of increasing technicality, of a fair apportionment of the risks inherent in modern technological production " (cfr. 2nd recital of consideration of the Product Liability Directive reproduced in the "Recueil de textes", pp. 29 ff.).

6. "ascertain" (verb) = a. check, verify : eg. " When in doubt, national courts or tribunals may ascertain from the ECJ its views on the meaning and status of Community law ".

7. "binding" = d. compulsory : eg. " A directive shall be binding as to the result to be achieved, upon each Member State to which it is addressed, but shall leave to the national authorities the choice of form and methods " (cfr. Article 189 CE).

8. "contention" = b. controversy, dispute, argument : eg. " Two contentions were advanced by the plaintiffs ".

9. "liability" = f. responsibility : eg. " Indeed, Article 215(2) of the Treaty of Rome which governs the extracontractual liability of the Community for wrongful acts, explicitly directs the Court to decide disputes : "in accordance with the general principles common to the laws of the Member States ".

10."settle" (verb) = c. conclude a dispute : eg. : " ...its scope is not yet settled ".

1. The duty of national courts is to ensure effective application of Community law.

"Le devoir des juridictions nationales est de s'assurer de l'application effective du droit communautaire".

2. No provisions of national law may be invoked to override the limitation of States on their sovereign rights.

"Aucune disposition de droit interne ne peut être invoquée aux fins de contourner la limitation des États à leurs droits souverains".

3. Member States shall communicate to the Commission the texts of the main provisions of national law which they subsequently adopt in the fields governed by this Directive.

"Les États membres veillent à communiquer à la Commission le texte des dispositions essentielles de droit interne qu'ils adoptent dans le domaine régi par la présente directive".

4. The injured person shall be required to prove the damage, the defect and the causal relationship between defect and damage.

"La victime est obligée de prouver le dommage, le défaut et le lien de causalité entre le défaut et le dommage".

5. Whereas protection of the consumer requires that all producers involved in the production process should be made liable...

"Considérant que la protection du consommateur exige que la responsabilité de tous les participants au processus de production soit engagée ...".

6. The Association lodged a complaint against the Commission contending that it infringed the Treaty of Rome, pursuant to Article 173 EC.

"L'association introduisit une action à l'encontre de la Commission soutenant qu'elle avait enfreint le traité de Rome, par application de l'article 173 CE".

7. Two important issues were presented by the plaintiffs : the judges decided to stay proceedings before continuing further.

"Deux problèmes (de droit) importants furent soumis par les demandeurs : les juges prirent la décision de surseoir à statuer avant de poursuivre".

8. If the European Court of Justice (hereafter "ECJ") finds that a Member State has failed to fulfil an obligation under the Treaty, the State shall be required to take the necessary measures to comply with the judgment of the Court of Justice.

"Si la Cour de justice européenne (ci-après 'CJE') reconnaît qu'un État membre a manqué à une de ses obligations qui lui incombent en vertu du présent traité, cet État est tenu de prendre les mesures que comporte l'exécution de l'arrêt de la Cour de justice".

9. Article 21 of the Product Liability Directive laid down an obligation that the Commission fulfilled in 1995.

"L'article 21 de la directive relative à la responsabilité du fait des produits établit une obligation que la Commission réalisa en 1995".

10. The first ground on which the plaintiffs based their contentions was that the Commission acted ultra vires. Hence, the decision was void.

"Le premier moyen sur lequel les demandeurs appuyèrent leurs prétentions fut que la Commission avait agi au-delà de ses pouvoirs d'attribution. Par conséquent, la décision était nulle".

1. "direction"= b. instruction : eg. " 'The judgments may consist of nothing but findings of fact in cases in which the law is not in dispute, they may take the form of a summing up of the evidence with a direction to a jury on the law’ ".

2. "easement" = c. a person makes limited use of another person’s real propert : eg. " But that turned on the old law about easements and prescriptions, and so forth ".

3. "award" = e. a decision by judge or an arbitrator : eg. " I am content that there should be an award of £400 to cover any past or future damage ".

4. "concur" (verb) = j. agree with : eg. " 'My Lords, in that opinion, I must say, I entirely concur'"; "'My Lords, I concur with my noble and learned friend in thinking that the rule of law was correctly stated by Blackburn J. in delivering the opinion of the Exchequer Chamber’ ".

5. "grant" = g. confer, bestow : eg. " The plaintiff granted the defendant a second chance which he refused ".

6. "conclusive" = a. that cannot be disputed : eg. " 'English courts loyally accept as conclusive the pronouncements of the European Court of Justice on European Community law’ ".

7. "bind" (verb) = d. compel, oblige : eg. " Moreover, with the exception of the House of Lords, appellate courts are bound by their own previous decisions " (p. 179); " ...But we are bound by the decision in Sturges v. Bridgman and it is not for this court as I see it to alter a rule which has stood for so long ... ".

8. "persuasive authority" = f. a court may, but need not apply this type of decision because it has ... : eg. "Known as obiter dicta (i.e. 'the words by the way'), these peripheral statements have persuasive authority only".

9. "ruling" = i. official decision : eg. " An English superior court (e.g. the House of Lords) delivers a ruling which concerns Community law "

10. "remedy" = h. redress, relief : eg. " 'and all such remedies and procedures from time to time provided for under the Treaties’ ".

1. These simple principles, if they are really well founded, really dispose of the case.

"Ces principes simples, s'ils sont vraiment bien fondés, règlent définitivement l'affaire".

2. Before the trial court, it was held that the plaintiff established no cause of action. The appellate court was of a contrary opinion.

"Devant la juridiction de première instance, il a été soutenu que le demandeur n'avait pas établi d'intérêt à agir. La juridiction d'appel était d'avis contraire".

3. A bridge was built over the river through the agency of experienced engineers and contractors.

"Un pont a été construit sur le fleuve par l'entremise d'ingénieurs et d'entrepreneurs expérimentés".

4. Notwithstanding the appellate court's decision, the defendant brought his case before the House of Lords.

"Nonobstant la décision de la cour d'appel, le défendeur se pourvut devant la Chambre des Lords".

5. The enactment of a domestic act of Parliament was required for English law to be affected by membership in the European Community.

"La promulgation d'une loi nationale par le Parlement fut nécessaire pour que le droit anglais ait à se conformer aux règles de droit communautaire".

6. Today, European remedies and procedures are recognized and available in England. They will always be enforced and followed accordingly.

"Aujourd'hui, les voies de droit et les procédures européennes sont reconnues et ouvertes en Angleterre. Elles y seront toujours dûment respectées et appliquées".

7. The European Court of Justice handed down its opinion pursuant to Article 228 EC. It ruled against accession by the European Community to the European Convention on Human Rights.

"La Cour de justice européenne rendit son avis par application de l'article 228 CE. Elle se prononça contre l'adhésion de la Communauté européenne à la Convention européenne des droits de l'homme".

8. The procedure laid down by Article 177 EC could go awry. Hence the possibility of a conflict between the provisions of EC law and the English rules of precedent.

"La procédure établie à l'article 177 CE pourrait aller de travers. D'où la possibilité d'un conflit entre les dispositions du droit européen et les règles de précédent anglaises".

9. European Community law takes precedence over laws passed at Westminster. British courts are expected to uphold EC law accordingly.

"Le droit européen prime sur les lois votées à Westminster. Par voie de conséquence, les juridictions britanniques sont censées faire prévaloir le droit européen".

10. Lord Denning dissented as to the statement that the defendants were guilty of nuisance notwithstanding that the plaintiffs were aware of the defendants' well-established activity at the time they bought their house.

"Lord Denning n’était pas d’accord quant à l’affirmation que les défendeurs étaient coupables de trouble de voisinage alors que les demandeurs connaissaient bien l’activité des défendeurs lorsqu’ils avaient acheté la maison".

4th Seminar

Unfair Contract Terms

1. "mitigate" (verb) = a. lessen, moderate : eg. "The requirement of notice was simply a palliative devised by the judges to mitigate the problem which they could not solve".

2. "unconscionable" = i. excessive, gross unfairness : eg. "If the court as a matter of law finds that the contract or any clause of the contract to have been unconscionable at the time it was made the court may refuse to enforce the contract...".

3. "pending" = h. while awaiting, until : eg. "Pending that deadline, it contended it was merely obliged to abstain from negligence in making any earlier supply"...

4. "mortgage" = j. a legal pledge of property to a creditor in order to secure the payment of a debt : eg. "Examples abound : insurance policies, leases, loans, mortgages, credit card agreements, etc.".

5. "loan" = e. give something to another for temporary use : eg. "Examples abound : insurance policies, leases, loans, mortgages, credit card agreements, etc.".

6. "lease" = f. contract which gives use of property during a specified period for a specified rent : eg. "Examples abound : insurance policies, leases, loans, mortgages, credit card agreements, etc.".

7. "enforceable" = a. which can compel obedience : eg. "a court may "step in" the contractual relationship, and hold that a contract is not valid, and hence enforceable at law, when it finds that the contract violates statutory law or the common law".

8. "hold" (verb) = d. decide : eg. "Ultimately, the Supreme Court of New Jersey held that they were not bound, and the disclaimer was found invalid"...

9. "compel" (verb) = c. force, constrain : eg. "Indeed, an unfair contract term may in itself compel a court to intervene in order to redress the situation resulting from unfairness".

10. "redress" (verb) = b. set right, remedy, rectify : eg. "Indeed, an unfair contract term may in itself compel a court to intervene in order to redress the situation resulting from unfairness".

1. The disparity of bargaining power in that instance gave the automobile makers an unconscionable advantage over the purchasers.

"La différence dans le pouvoir de négociation des parties donna aux fabricants d'automobiles un avantage énorme sur les acheteurs (dans cette affaire)".

2. The Unfair Contract Terms Act prohibits exemption clauses whereby a person excludes or restricts "his liability for death or personal injury resulting from negligence".

"La 'Unfair Contract Terms Act' interdit les clauses exonératoires de responsabilité par lesquelles une personne écarte ou limite 'sa responsabilité en cas de décès ou de lésion corporelle résultant de négligence'".

3. The plaintiffs' bargaining position was weaker than that of the defendants.

"La position de négociation des demandeurs était inférieure à celle des défendeurs".

4. It is necessary to recognize the importance of preserving the integrity of agreements and the fundamental right of parties to deal, trade, bargain, and contract.

"Il est nécessaire de reconnaître l’importance de la préservation de l’intégrité des accords et le droit fondamental des parties de négocier, d’échanger, de conclure des marchés et de contracter".

5. A contract is not valid and hence enforceable at law when it violates statutory law or the common law.

"Un contrat n'est pas valide, et donc n'est pas exécutoire, lorsqu'il viole une loi écrite ou la 'common law'".

6. The requirement of notice was a palliative devised by the judges to mitigate the problem which they could not solve.

"L'obligation de notifier constituait un palliatif créé par les juges afin de réduire le problème qu'ils ne pouvaient résoudre".

7. The harmonisation measures referred to above shall, in appropriate cases, include a safeguard clause.

"Les mesures d’harmonsation auxquelles il est fait référence ci-dessus comprennent, lorsque c’est nécessaire, une clause de sauvegarde".

8. Article 3 of the Directive provides that a contractual term must comply with the requirement of good faith.

"L'article 3 de la directive énonce qu'une clause contractuelle doit se conformer à l'exigence de bonne foi".

9. If a contractual term is contrary to the good faith requirement, it may be regarded as unfair.

"Si une clause contractuelle est contraire à l'exigence de bonne foi, on peut la considérér comme injuste".

10. In almost all States, a traditional way of frustrating the effects of unfair contract terms is the contra proferentem rule, i.e. unclear terms shall be interpreted against the party who has drafted them.

"Dans presque tous les États, un moyen traditionnel de contourner les effets de clauses contractuelles injustes se trouve dans la règle contra proferentem, en vertu de laquelle les clauses ambigües s'interprètent contre la partie qui les a rédigées".