Legal System

• Objective Law: Refers to a valid legal system as a whole
• Subjective Law: Allows a legal entity to enforce compliance with a certain form by means of state-organs
• Legal system: Entire set of rules governing ONE country (or one territor)
• Legal Tradition: answers the question if different legal systems can be grouped because they share a similar story
• Jurisdiction: authority given to a court to decide a case
• Applicable law: is the specific substantive law that will govern a conflict
• Customary Law: Repeated, voluntary factual conduct over a period of time, founded on the conviction of legal obligation
• Stautory Law: Emerge from an adequate procedure which meet the Austrian constitutional requirements and are announced in a mandatory way
• Case Law: Principles and rules set fourth in juidical findings
• Delegated legislation: Made by an administrative body under authority conferred by statue
• The difference between regulations and directives is that directives need to be transformed into national law while regulations are directly applicable
• Civil law: The area of law that affects relationships between individuals.
• Criminal Law: Body of rules that defines conduct that is prohibited by the state
• Public Law: Law governing the relationship between individuals and the state
• Substantive Law: Describes the norms that regulate actual matters
• Formal law: Refers to either norms that result from the compliance with specific legislativ procedure or a set of rules regulating the execution of norm.
• Objective Law: refers to the valid legal system as a whole
• Subjective law: allows a legal entity to enforce compliance with certain norm by means of state-organ.
• A person is incapable of contracting 1, If he is not yet 7 years old

  2, He is in a state of pathological mental disturbance, which prevents the free exercise of will, unless the state by its nature is a temporary one.
• The actual fact situation needs to be proven and the results achieved by following the means of proof than compared to the model fact situation. Once the requirements of model fact situation are met, the legal consequence will set in.
• Requirements for a successful claim in Civil Law litigation

  • Validity
  • Provability
  • Enforcability
• Provability

  The actual fact situation and burden of proof must match
• Enforcability

  There can be no bankruptcy or jurisdiction issues given
• Validity: Model fact situation and actual fact situation must match
• Dispositive

  Modifiable by private agreements
• Imperative (Mandatory)


  No subject to modification by individuals insofar as they refer to the protection of social interests
• Relatively Imperative


  Contrary provisions only in favour of the protected party, but minimum standards are met
• Legal tradition

  Norms (rules) of a legal system that answer a disputed point
• Legal system

  A set of norms (rules) that answer a disputed point
• Legal traditions can vary depending on the field of law one looks at
• Understanding what legal tradition a legal system belongs to can give an idea of contract clauses that are generally permitted or prohibited
• Understanding what legal tradition a legal system belongs to can give an idea of what sources the legal system will acknowledge
• Separation of Powers

  • Legislator: Parliament responsible for making laws
  • Judiciary: Courts responsible for interpreting laws and ensuring their constitutionality
  • Executive: Government responsible for implementing and enforcing laws
• Model Law

  Is a standardized legal framework created as a template for adoption by different jurisdictions to promote consistency across regions. Suggestions, not law
• Model clause

  Pre-written provision used in contracts to address specific legal matters. Can be inserted in a contract
• Norm


  legal provision, rule
• Contractual capacity 


  Right to become a party to a contract
• Civil law, Sources of proof

  1, Documents

  2, Witnesses

  3, Experts

  4, Parties

  5, Inspection
• Jurisdiction

  Authority given to court to decide the case