Contracts in the United Kingdom and in

Romania

Nowadays, our everyday life circles around the legal system and its principles. The
modern world tend to become more systematic and thus in a great need of rules that can aid
him in reaching his goals. These aspects can be found in the legal system. That is the reason
why a better understanding of the legal system, no matter which one, can help you to better
understand the world we are living in. The legal systems have a great impact upon the
countries where they are applied. Through them we can comprehend ideologies and even
history.

The evolution of the systems shows us the evolution of an entire country, a fact that
involves people, communication and rules. More precisely, sets of rules that help a country to
thrive and to reach it modern form. Through this evolution there have been formed some basic
rules that have remained even in the modern world. Those elements have merged with the
people and country that it represents becoming as one “system” or unity.

In my paper I try to give a theoretical aspect of the two systems, the civil law system
and the common law system, their principles and basic elements. But I also want to give a
practical aspect, one that can truly show the basic differences of the two systems regarding a
certain legal matter. In my essay I am going to give excerpts from legal documents, mainly
the Age of Legal Capacity (Scotland) Act 1991, a document that will aid me in analyzing the
principles of the common law system, and Romania’s Cod Civil of September 15 2008,that
will help me in showing certain elements of the civil law system. I try to compare and to
differentiate the principles and elements of the two legal systems,

After the study, I discovered the fact that the language used in contracts most be very
precise and clear. But my astonishment was due to the reason that these contracts, although
they are legal documents and the language has to be simple, precise and understandable for
everyone, and this was not the case. At least in what the English contracts are concerned.
They are concluded in such a complicated and difficult language, that a non specialist could
not make anything out of them. Every word used in these documents reflects the evolution of
the system and the origins where it has been “borrowed” from. It is a domain where the
language is a closed circle, with no possibility to bringing it closer to the large public. In one
single contract you can fin history and grammar working together for the same purpose.

What concerns the civil law system of Romania, there is a tendency to simplify things
and to bring everything closer to the large public. The words used are common, generally
used words, known by everyone. If there is a word that might cause difficulties regarding its
meaning, this is explained so that no ambiguity can make its way into the legal documents.
This is a very important aspect in a legal system.

Choosing this subject and “examining” the legal system has been a very important
thing, that had a great impact upon life and mentality. By writing about the legal system I
found out that history and grammar can work together for the benefit of the modern world.