| How to brief a case and prepare for class
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如何概括案例和准备课堂教学
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译者声明：本翻译仅用作学术交流与讨论，禁止以任何商业目的使用。
Sources of Law
法律的渊源
Copyright © 2002 by Joseph William Singer
Extract from PROPERTY LAW: Rules, Policies, and Practices
CITIC PUBLISHING HOUSE 2003，BEIJING，CHINA
Translated by Liu Liang
2002年版的著作权归约瑟夫·威廉·辛格所有
节选自《财产法：规则、政策与实务》
中信出版社2003年版，中国·北京
译者：刘 亮
(中国人民大学法学院民商法学博士研究生)
Legal rules are promulgated by a wide variety of government bodies in a hierarchical scheme. The major sources of law in that system include the following：
处在一个等级体系中的法律规则是由多种政府主体颁布的。在这个等级体系中，法律的主要渊源包括：
1、United States Constitution. The federal Constitution is the fundamental law of the land. It was adopted by state constitutional conventions, whose members were elected by (a small subset of) the people. Constitutional amendments are generally passed by Congress and ratified by state legislatures. The Constitution determines the structure of the federal government, including the relations among the executive, legislative and judicial branches of the federal government, and the relations between the federal government and the state governments. It also defines the powers of the federal government and limits the powers of both the federal government and the states to protect individual rights, including property rights and other rights such as freedom of speech, freedom from unreasonable searches and seizures, equal protection of the laws, and due process.
译：1、美国（联邦）宪法。联邦宪法是国家的基本法，由国家宪法会议通过。国家宪法会议的委员是仅由部分人选举产生。宪法修正案通常由国会通过，由议会批准。联邦宪法规定了联邦政府的结构，包括其执法部门、立法部门和司法部门之间的关系，以及联邦政府和州政府之间的关系。联邦宪法规定了联邦政府的权力，同时又限定了联邦政府和州政府的权力，其本旨在于保护个人权利，包括财产权和其他权利，其他权利诸如言论自由权、免受不合理搜查和逮捕的自由权、法律的平等保护权以及经过正当程序审判的权利。
2、Federal statutes. Legislation is passed by the Congress of the United States and ratified by the president, or passed over the president’s veto. Federal statutes address a wide variety of matters relating to property law; examples include the Fair Housing Act of 1968, the Civil Right Act of 1964, the Internal Revenue Code, the Sherman Antitrust Act, and the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act of 1988.
译：2、联邦成文法。（成文法）立法由美国国会通过，由总统批准，或者无视总统的否决权而获得通过。联邦成文法规定了广泛的有关财产法的事项，例如，1968年公平租赁法案、1964年民事权利法案、国内税务法、谢尔曼反托拉斯法、1988年工作者调适与再训法等。
3、Administrative Regulations. Congress may pass legislation creating administrative agencies, such as the Environmental Protection Agency, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, The Federal Trade Commission, or the Internal Revenue Service; these agencies may have the power to promulgate regulations in a particular field (environmental protection, employment discrimination, or tax law).
译：3、行政规章。国会可以通过立法产生行政机构，比如环境保护局、平等就业机会委员会、联邦贸易委员会、国内收入署等。这些行政机构在一些特定领域（环境保护、就业歧视、税法）有权颁布（行政）规章。
4、State constitutions. Each state has its own constitution defining the structure of state government and defining certain fundamental individual rights against the state. In some instances, state constitutions grant greater protection to individual rights than does the federal Constitution. For example, a search by the police that is allowed under the fourth amendment to the U.S. Constitution may be prohibited under the New Jersey constitution. Although state constitutions may not grant citizens less protection than provided by the federal Constitution, they may grant their citizens more protection by going further than the U.S. Constitution in limiting the power of state officials.
译：4、州宪法。每一个州均有自己的宪法，用于规定州政府的结构和一些不受州政府侵犯的个人基本权利。在某些情形下，州宪法要比联邦宪法更加保护个人的权利。例如，美国（联邦）宪法第四修正案允许警察对个人进行搜查，但按照新泽西州的宪法，这可能是被禁止的。尽管州宪法与联邦宪法相比可能给予公民更多的（权利）保护，但是州宪法给予公民更多的（权利）保护是通过比联邦宪法更多地限制政府官员的权力得以实现的。
5、State Statutes. State statutes are passed by state legislatures with the consent of the governor (or by a supermajority vote over the governor’s veto). Many state statutes deal with property law matters such as landlord-tenant legislation, recording acts, civil rights statutes, and regulation of family property on divorce.
译：5、州成文法。州成文法由州立法机构通过并得到州长的同意（或者通过多数决推翻州长的否决）。许多州成文法处理诸多财产法事项，诸如房屋租赁法、（音像）录制法、民事权利法、离婚家庭财产法。
6、State administrative regulations. State legislatures, like the federal Congress, may create administrative agencies that have the power to promulgate regulations in limited fields of law. The Massachusetts legislature, for example, has created a Building Code Commission endowed with the power to promulgate and enforce regulations on building construction and materials to protect the public from unsafe structures.
译：6、州行政规章。州立法机构就像联邦国会一样可以创制出一些行政机构，这些行政机构有权就法律的特定领域颁布规章。例如，马萨诸塞州立法机构就创制出建筑规范委员会，并且授予其颁布和实施有关建筑营造和建筑材料方面的行政规章的权力，以保护公众免受不安全建筑结构的侵害。
7、Common law. In the absence of any controlling statute or regulation, state courts adjudicate civil disputes by promulgating rules of law. Judicial opinions explain and justify the rules adopted by judges to adjudicate civil disputes. During the first year of law school, most courses focus on common law rules and the process of common law decision making by judges.
译：7、普通法。若缺少成文法或者行政规章的规定，州法院通过颁布法律规则裁决民事纠纷。司法建议用来解释和证明法官裁决民事纠纷所采纳的法律规则是正当的。在法学院的第一年，绝大部分课程集中在普通法的规则和法官作出普通法判决的程序。
8、City ordinance and town by-laws. State legislatures delegate to cities and towns the power to promulgate ordinances or by-laws in limited areas of law, including zoning, rent control, schools, traffic, and parking.
译：8、城市法令与城镇细则。州立法机构授予城市和城镇在法律的限定领域颁布法令和细则的权力，这些法律限定领域包括分区、租金控制、学校、交通和停车等。
备注：中国人民大学法学院民商法硕士研究生石晓倩同学对本文的初译稿进行了校对，并提出一些有益的意见和建议，在此表示感谢！另外尚需说明的是，本文的文责由译者一人承担！
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