Types of cases: Landmark cases
Transcript:
Hello! Last week we looked at landmark cases in the common law system and how they change the scenario and our perception of the law. Today we look at two other types of cases, namely Cornerstone cases and Milestone cases.
Cornerstone cases
A cornerstone (pietra angolare) is the stone that forms the base of a corner of a building or joins two walls together. It is the base on which you build the rest of the building.
Cornerstone cases refers to an important judicial decision that serves as the foundation upon which subsequent legal rulings (decisioni) are based and create a legal doctrine (principio di legge).
An example of a cornerstone case is Donoghue v. Stevenson (1932). This case established the modern concept of negligence (colpa) in the common law. It involved a woman who fell ill after consuming a ginger beer that contained a decomposed snail (lumaca). The House of Lords held that the manufacturer owed a duty of care (aveva un dovere di diligenza) to the ultimate (finale) consumer, even though there was no contractual relationship between them. This ruling laid the foundation (questa sentenza ha posto le basi) for the modern law of negligence, shaping (plasmando) the principles of duty of care, breach (violazione), and causation.
Milestone case
A milestone (pietra miliare) is a stone set up (collocata) beside (accanto) a road to mark the distance in miles (miglia) to a particular place.
A milestone case refers to a legal decision or judgment that marks a significant point of progress or development in the law.
An example of a milestone case is Ghaidan v. Godin-Mendoza (2004). This case involved a challenge (sfida) to the interpretation of the Rent Act 1977, which granted certain rights to tenants (inquilini), including succession rights for same-sex partners. The House of Lords interpreted the Rent Act 1977 in a manner consistent with the European Convention on Human Rights, ruling that same-sex partners were entitled to succeed to secure tenancies (succedere agli affitti sicuri) in the same way as married couples or heterosexual partners. The decision expanded the scope of legal recognition for same-sex relationships and affirmed the principle of equality before the law and contributed to broader (più ampi) legal and social changes aimed at achieving (volti a ottenere) non-discrimination.
Thank you very much, and see you next time for more Peter’s Pills to improve your legal English.
Read the whole Ghaidan v. Godin-Mendoza (2004) case here: “Judgments – Ghaidan (Appellant) v. Godin-Mendoza (FC) (Respondent)” (.PDF).
Legal English – Sommario delle Lezioni
Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 72 – Types of cases: Cornerstone and Milestone cases
Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 71 – Types of cases: Landmark cases
Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 70 – Specific performance
Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 69 – Wills
Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 68 – Notice
Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 67 – Bonds vs Debentures
Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 66 – Person Persons People
Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 65 – Financial Reporting Words
Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 64 – Representations and Warranties
Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 63 – Machine translations
Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 62 – Legal Timelines
Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 61 – Liens
Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 60 – Test your Legal English
Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 59 – Appurtenent vs In gross
Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 58 – Building societies and Banks
Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 57 – Valid, void and voidable contracts
Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 56 – Rescission
Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 55 – Golden expressions
Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 54 – Pre-emption right vs Right of first refusal
Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 53 – What do we mean by “agent” of a company?
Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 52 – Voting at a meeting
Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 51 – Contracts vs Deeds
Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 50 – Executive and Non-Executive Directors
Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 49 – Transfer of shares vs transmission of shares
Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 48 – They, them, their for singular nouns
Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 47 – Jointly and severally
Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 46 – Invoice words
Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 45 – Quotation
Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 44 – Gazumping and Gazundering
Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 43 – English words that the English do not understand
Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 42 – Easement vs Profit à prendre
Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 41 – er, -or and -ee names
Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 40 – The Objects Clause
Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 39 – When is Latin hot, and when is it not?
Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 38 – Default
Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 37 – Company Agent
Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 36 – Injunction (false freind)
Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 35 – Mortgage
Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 34 – Freehold, Leasehold and Commonhold estates
Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 33 – Transferor, Transferee and Transmittee
Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 32 – Tax evasion, tax mitigation and tax avoidance
Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 31 – Numbers
Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 30 – Ordinary resolutions vs special resolutions
Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 29 – AGM vs EGM
Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 28 – A going concern
Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 27 – Collocations: Violate, breach, break, disobey and infringe
Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 26 – Company meeting words
Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 25 – Mortgagor vs Mortgagee
Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 24 – Fixed charges vs Floating charges
Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 23 – Doctrine
Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 22 – Construe
Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 21 – Sign vs Execute
Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 20 – The closing statement
Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 19 – Writing Business Emails
Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 18 – Limited companies
Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 17 – Annual Accounts
Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 16 – Meetings
Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 15 – Attorney-at-law vs Attorney-in-fact
Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 14 – Here and there compounds
Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 13 – Subject Matter
Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 12 – The clear days rule
Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 11 – Shareholder, Member or Holder of shares?
Legal English: Peter’s Pills – Lesson 10 – Competition Law
Legal English: Peter’s Pills – Lesson 9 – Lasting Power of Attorney
Legal English: Peter’s Pills – Lesson 8 – Guardianship
Legal English: Peter’s Pills – Lesson 7 – Damage vs Damages
Legal English: Peter’s Pills – Lesson 6 – Legal Doublets
Legal English: Peter’s Pills – Lesson 5 – Escrow
Legal English: Peter’s Pills – Lesson 4 – Memorandum of Association vs Articles of Association
Legal English: Peter’s Pills – Lesson 3 – Sign legibly
Legal English: Peter’s Pills – Lesson 2 – Deed poll
Legal English: Peter’s Pills – Lesson 1 – Party, counterparty and counterpart
L’articolo Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 72 – Types of cases: Cornerstone and Milestone cases sembra essere il primo su Federnotizie.
