文档介绍：4. Translate the following paragraphs:
mon Law and the Civil Law
普通法与大陆法
The term “common law” refers to the system of law developed in England and transferred to most of the English-speaking world.
“普通法”这一用语,指的是产生于英国并传播到讲英语的国家的那种法律体系。
It is distinguished from the civil-law system used in Continental Europe and in the nations settled by European peoples .
它与大陆法系不同——后者适用于欧洲大陆和有欧洲民族定居的国家。
One or the other of the systems is the basis of law in most of the Western world.
在西方世界的大部分地区,其法律不是以普通法为基础,就是以大陆法为基础。
The civil-law system can be traced back to Roman law, which extended to the limits of the Empire.
大陆法系可追溯到罗马法,它曾在罗马帝国的疆域内普遍使用。
With the disintegration of Rome, its law lost its universality.
罗马帝国分崩离析,罗马法也随之失去其普遍性。
Wherever it was applied, it received admixtures of local customs and differed in content in the various parts of Europe.
当时,罗马法不论适用于何地,都受到当地风俗习惯的影响;因此,欧洲各地的罗马法,其内容各不相同。
Civil law received its modern impetus from the early 19th century French codes of law created by French jurists under the direct leadership of Napoleon Bonaparte.
19世纪初,法国法学家在拿破仑·波拿巴的直接领导之下制定了法国的各法典,大陆法由此获得了现代的影响力。
The basic distinction between the two systems lies in the sources of law upon which they rely.
这两种法系的根本区别在于它们所依靠的法的渊源不同。
mon law system uses prior decided cases(先前的判例)as very high sources of authority.
普通法系以先前的判例作为重要的权力渊源。
The doctrine of stare decisis (let the decision stand,遵循先例) in one of its forms is the essence of mon law system.
以该法系中的一种形式出现的服从先例的原则,就是普通法系的精华。
That doctrine states that courts should adhere to the law as set forth in prior cases decided by the highest court of a given jurisdiction as long as the principle derived from those cases is logically essential to their decision, is reasonable, and is appropriate to the contemporary circumstances.
该原则主张,法院应该遵守在本法域最高一级法院判决的先例中所定下的法律。但是所遵从的源于先例的原则在逻辑上既要合情合理,是判决案件必不可少的条件,又要适合当代的情况。
Different courts apply to this policy with varying degrees of strictness; English courts, for instance, are inclined to be more rig