I. Learn the words to read and translate the text.

TEXT LAW

I. Learn the words to read and translate the text.

 

1. law [lo:] – закон; правило; принцип; законодательство; право
2. citizen [΄sitizən] - 1) гражданин; гражданка (законный житель какого-л. государства); городской житель
3. to obey [o΄bei] - подчиняться, слушаться, повиноваться (to obey the law / rules — подчиняться закону, правилам)
4. Common Law - общее право (традиционное некодифицированное право Великобритании); неписаный закон, обязательность которого основывается на всеобщем признании; прецедентное право; англосаксонское право
5. Roman Law - римское право
6. Civil Law - гражданское право
7. Canon Law - каноническое, церковное право
8. Martial Law - военное право, военное положение
9. custom - обычай, традиция (в масштабах одного народа, культуры)
10. judge – судья
11. jurisprudence - законоведение, право, правоведение, юриспруденция
12. codify [΄kəudifai] - кодифицировать; приводить законы в систему
13. to deal with - рассматривать, заниматься (напр. проблемой), иметь дело с
14. affair [ə΄fεə] – дело
15. crime [kraim] - преступление; злодеяние, нарушение, правонарушение
16. statute law [΄stættςu:t] - право, выраженное в законах; законы, статутное право, "писаный закон"
17. to establish – устанавливать
18. to maintain - а) поддерживать, сохранять

 

Law is the whole system of rules that citizens of a country or place must obey.

There are different types of law. They are Common Law, Roman Law (Civil Law), Canon Law, and Martial Law.

 

Common Law(in England) has developed from old customs and from past decisions made by judges, not created by Parliament.

 

Roman Law is Civil Law.

Roman Law is another term for Civil Law.

Roman Law is the system of jurisprudence of ancient Rome. The law was codified and formed the basis of many modern legal systems.

Civil Lawis any system of law based on the Roman system to distinguish from the Common Law, Canon Law, and International Law.

Civil Law (Roman Law ) deals with the affairs of private citizens rather than with crime.

Roman Law (Civil Law) can be called Statute Law. Statute Law isthe whole group of written laws.

 

Canon Law is the laws of Christian Church.

 

Martial Lawis the law established and maintained by the military in the absence of civil law. The army controls an area instead of the police.

 

 

II. Read the text once again and decide if the sentences are true (T) or false (F).

1. Law is the rules that citizens must obey.
2. There is a unique type of law.
3. Common Law is a written law.
4. Roman Law and Civil Law are different types of law.
5. Roman Law is a modern legal system.
6. Civil Law is codified.
7. Canon Law is Martial Law.

 

III. Match each word or phrase in column A with a meaning in column B.

A B

1. law	a) the body of law based on judicial decisions and custom
2. rule	b) an authoritative regulation or direction
3. citizen	c) the system of jurisprudence of ancient Rome, codified, and forms the basis of many modern legal systems
4. obey	d) to carry out instructions or orders
5. Common Law	e) an inhabitant of a city or town
6. Roman Law	f) the rule of law established and maintained by the military in the absence of civil law
7. Canon Law	g) the science or philosophy of law
8. Martial Law	h) any system of law based on the Roman system
9. jurisprudence	i) the law governing the affairs of a Christian Church
10. Civil Law	j) a rule or set of rules

 

The Russian Sestem of Law

1. Constitutional Law - конституционное право, государственное право
2. Administrative Law - административное право
3. Criminal Law - уголовное право
4. International Law - международное право
5. Financial Law – финансовое право
6. Employment Law – трудовое законодательство
7. leading - ведущий, главный
8. principal - главный, основной, ведущий
9. source - источник, ключ
10. state system - государственная система
11. state power – государственная власть
12. legal [΄li:gəl] - правовой, юридический; законный; легальный
13. legal status - правовой статус; правовое положение, правовой режим
14. legal form - юридическая форма
15. executive [ig΄zekjutiv] - исполнительный, принадлежащий к структурам исполнительной власти
16. activity - деятельность; мероприятие
17. define – определять
18. criminal responsibility - уголовная ответственность
19. individual type of crime – правонарушение, совершенное физическим лицом
20. punishment – наказание
21. apply to - использовать, применять
22. criminal - преступный; криминальный, уголовный; злоумышленник, правонарушитель, преступник
23. criminal code - уголовный кодекс
24. budget [΄badзit] - бюджет; финансовая смета
25. taxation [tæk΄seiζin] - обложение налогом; налогообложение; взимание налога
26. state credit - государственный кредит

The system of law in Russia consists of different categories of law.

They are Constitutional Law, Administrative Law, Criminal Law, International Law, Financial Law, Civil Law, Employment Law, and others.

Constitutional Law is a leading category of the whole system of law. Its principal source is the country's Constitution. It deals with social structure, the state system, organization of state power and the legal status of citizens.

Administrative Law is closely connected with constitutional law but it deals with the legal forms of concrete executive and administrative activity of a government and ministries.

Criminal Law defines the general principles of criminal responsibility, individual types of crimes and punishment applied to criminals. Criminal law takes the form of a criminal code.

International Law regulates relations between governments and also between private citizens of one country and those of another.

Financial Law regulates the budget, taxation, state credit and other spheres of financial activity.

Civil Law is connected with relations in the economic sphere of life, with relations involving property, its distribution and exchange. The right in property is the central institution of civil law.

Employment Law includes the legislation on the employment of industrial and office workers. It regulates matters arising from employment relations.

 

 

1. Scan the text in order to match these words and phrases with their definitions below.

 

civil law, criminal law, administrative law, law, financial law, the rules of employment law, constitutional law.

 

a) ……... is a system of rules established by the state.

b) ……... is a leading category of the whole system of law.

c) ……... deals with the legal forms of concrete executive and administrative activity of government and ministries.

d) ….….. regulates the budget, taxation, state credit, …..

e) ……... is connected with relations involving property...

f) …….. include the legislation on the labour of industrial and office workers...

g) ……. defines the general principles of criminal responsibility...

 

2. Read the text in detail to find the answers to the 10 "What"-questions below.

 

1. What is law?

2. What is the main aim of law?

3. What categories of law does the system of law in Russia consist of?

4. What is the principle source of constitutional law?

5. What category of law is closely connected with constitutional law?

6. What is the central institution of civil law?

7. What does criminal law define?

8. What form does criminal law take?

9. What is civil law connected with?

10. What rules does employment law include?

 

3. Word study. Find adjectives in the text related to these nouns:

 

constitution legislation

crime economy

finance industry

4. Find nouns in the text related to these verbs:

to relate to found

to organize to distribute

to institute

5. Match these words & phrases with their Russian equivalents.

 

a) to establish a system	1 рабочие (служащие)
b) acategory (of law)	2 принимать вид кодекса
c) the principle source of law	3 применять наказание
d) to deal with	4 основной источник права
e) the right in property	5 отрасль(права)
f) rule of law	6 право на имущество
g) industrial (office) workers	7 иметь дело с, заниматься
h) to arise from	8 основная(специальная) часть
i) individual types of crimes	9 устанавливать систему
j) to apply punishment	10 возникать из
k) to take the form of a code	11 индивидуальные виды преступлений
1) a general (special) part	12 норма права

 

JUDICIAL SYSTEM

 

A B

1. judicial system	a) a public official with authority to hear cases in a court of law and pronounce judgment upon them
2. court	b) verdict
3. judge	c) put an end to
4. decision	d) legal system
5. abolish	e) an authority having power to adjudicate in civil, criminal, military, or ecclesiastical matters

IV. Answer the questions.

1. What is the judicial system connected with?

2. What kind of institutions are there in all legal systems?

3. What is the role of each court?

4. When can a person appeal to a higher court?

5. May all the courts sit as courts of the first instance?

 

 

 

Judicial Institutions

 

Courts in Russia

Courts in UK

 

1. Justice of the Peace = Magistrate - судья, мировой судья
2. Crown Court - Суд короны (уголовное отделение Высокого суда правосудия)
3. High Court (of Justice) - Высокий суд (правосудия) (входит в состав Верховного суда в Великобритании)
4. Court of Appeal - апелляционный суд
5. lay justice - мировая юстиция
6. sheriff - шериф Административно-судебное должностное лицо округа [county ], начальник окружного полицейского управления, выборное лицо, срок полномочий 2-4 года
7. High Court of Justiciary - Суд юстициария, Высший уголовный суд (в Шотландии)
8. justiciary [ʤʌs′tiʃəri] 1) судейский чиновник; 2) уголовный суд
9. Court of Session - Сессионный суд (верховный гражданский суд Шотландии = высший гражданский суд Шотландии)
10. European Court of Justice ECJ - Европейский суд (рассматривает дела о нарушении законов Европейского сообщества)
11. petition - петиция; прошение, ходатайство
12. European Court of Human Rights (the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg) Европейский международный суд по правам человека (находится в г. Страсбург, Франция)
13. juvenile court - суд по делам несовершеннолетних
14. administrative tribunal - орган административной юстиции; административный трибунал (ООН)

 

The lowest court in England and Wales is the Magistrates' Court.

The Magistrates' Court judges minor cases and passes more serious cases to higher courts. In the Magistrates' Court there three magistrates called 'Justices of the Peace’. They are specially trained members of the public.

The more serious cases are heard in the Crown Court by a judgeand a jury. Minor civil cases such as divorce and bankruptcy are dealt with in County courts.

More serious civil cases are heard in the High Court of Justice.

Appeals against decisions from the Crown Court or the High Court go to the Court of Appeal. When a question of law is in doubt the case is passed to the House of Lords. The House of Lords is the highest court of appeal in England and Wales.

In Scotland criminal cases are heard in district courts by members of the public called lay justices. More serious cases go to regional sheriff courts and are heard by the sheriff and a jury. Appeals go to the High Court of Justiciary in Edinburgh. Civil cases begin in the sheriff court and may go on appeal to the Court of Session.

Certain cases may be referred to the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg. Some individuals have made the British Government change its practices in a number of areas as a result of petitions to the European Court of Human Rights.

The legal system also includes juvenile courts. They deal with offenders under seventeen. There are coroners' courts. They investigate violent, sudden or unnatural deaths. There are administrative tribunals which make quick, cheap and fair decisions with much less formality. Tribunals deal with professional standards, disputes between individuals, and disputes between individuals and government departments (for example, over taxation).

 

 

Courts in USA

 

SOLICITORS

Solicitors deal with all the day-today work of preparing legal documents for buying and selling houses, making wills, etc. They also work on court cases for their clients, prepare cases for barristers to present in the higher courts, and may represent their client in a Magistrates' court.

BARRISTERS

Barristers defend or prosecute in the higher courts. Although solicitors and barristers work together on cases, barristers specialize in representing clients in court and the training and career structures for the two types of lawyer are quite separate. In court, barristers wear wigs and gowns in keeping with the extreme formality of the proceedings. The highest level of barristers have the title QC (Queen's Counsel).

JUDGES

There are a few hundred judges, trained as barristers, who preside in more serious cases. There is no separate training for judges.

 

Judges in Great Britain

In Britain, the vast majority of judges are unpaid. They are called "Magistrates", or "Justices of the Peace" (JPs). They are ordinary citizens who are selected not because they have any legal training but because they have "sound common sense" and understand their fellow human beings. They give up time voluntarily.

A small proportion of judges are not Magistrates. They are called "High Court Judges" and they deal with the most serious crimes, such as those for which the criminal might be sent to prison for more than a year. High Court Judges, unlike Magistrates, are paid salaries by the State and have considerable legal training.

Magistrates are selected by special committees in every town and district. Nobody, not even the Magistrates themselves, knows who is on the special committee in their area. The committee tries to draw Magistrates from as wide a variety of professions and social classes as possible.

JURY

A jury consist of twelve people ("jurors"), who are ordinary people chosen atjandom from the Electoral Register (the list of people who can vote in elections). The jury listen to the evidence given in court in certain criminal cases and decide whether the defendant is guilty or innocent. If the person is found guilty, the punishment is passed by the presiding judge. Juries are rarely used in civil cases.

MAGISTRATES

Magistrates (Justices of the Peace or JPs) judge cases in the lower courts. They are usually unpaid and have no formal legal qualifications, but they are respectable people who are given some training.

CORONERS

Coroners have medical or legal training (or both), and inquire into violent or unnatural deaths.

CLERKS OF THE COURT

Clerks look after administrative and legal matters in the courtroom.

 

 

What is a crime?

There are many definitions of a crime. This is because it is difficult to attach an exact definition to something which has many aspects. Motoring, murder; theft, treason, bigamy, blackmail and other offences are crimes. There is a great variety and difference in gravity of the offences.

Criminal law is classified as public law - the law regulating the relations between citizens and the state. Crimes are acts, which the state considers being wrong and which can be punished by the state. A definition of a crime must show that an offence is against the public. The offence also might affect only one person. The person who committed an offence will be punished in some manner prescribed by the State. A definition, which contains these points, is "A crime is an unlawful act or default, which is an offence against the public and renders the person guilty of the act or default liable to legal punishment". A good working definition of a crime is: "A crime is an offence against the state punishable by fine, imprisonment, or death".

There are some acts, which are crimes in one country but not in another. For example, it is a crime to drink alcohol in Saudi Arabia, but not in Egypt. It is a crime to smoke marijuana in England, but not (in prescribed places) in the Netherlands. It is a crime to have more than one wife at the same time in France, but not in Indonesia. It is a crime to have an abortion in Ireland, but not in Spain. It is a crime not to flush a public toilet after use in Singapore, but not in Malaysia.

In general there are quite a lot of agreements among states as to which acts are criminal. However, stealing, physically attacking someone or damaging the property are unlawful everywhere. But the way of dealing with people suspected of crime may be different depending on the country.

 

1 motoring offence - дорожно-транспортное происшествие

2 treason [tri:zn] - измена, предательство

3 bigamy ['bigəmi] - бигамия; двоеженство; двоемужие

to commit; practice bigamy — быть двоеженцем

4 blackmail - 1. шантаж; вымогание, вымогательство, шантажирование

to commit; practice blackmail — применять шантаж Syn: extortion 2. шантажировать; вымогать деньги

5 gravity [′græviti] - 1) серьезность, важность; тяжесть, опасность (положения и т. п.) gravity of the offence - тяжесть преступления

6 default [di'fo:lt] -1.1) невыполнение обязательств, несоблюдение правил

Syn: omission, neglect

7 flush a public toilet - смывание, промывание сильной струей воды унитаза

 

Classification of Offences

 

 

 

TEXT LAW

I. Learn the words to read and translate the text.

 

1. law [lo:] – закон; правило; принцип; законодательство; право
2. citizen [΄sitizən] - 1) гражданин; гражданка (законный житель какого-л. государства); городской житель
3. to obey [o΄bei] - подчиняться, слушаться, повиноваться (to obey the law / rules — подчиняться закону, правилам)
4. Common Law - общее право (традиционное некодифицированное право Великобритании); неписаный закон, обязательность которого основывается на всеобщем признании; прецедентное право; англосаксонское право
5. Roman Law - римское право
6. Civil Law - гражданское право
7. Canon Law - каноническое, церковное право
8. Martial Law - военное право, военное положение
9. custom - обычай, традиция (в масштабах одного народа, культуры)
10. judge – судья
11. jurisprudence - законоведение, право, правоведение, юриспруденция
12. codify [΄kəudifai] - кодифицировать; приводить законы в систему
13. to deal with - рассматривать, заниматься (напр. проблемой), иметь дело с
14. affair [ə΄fεə] – дело
15. crime [kraim] - преступление; злодеяние, нарушение, правонарушение
16. statute law [΄stættςu:t] - право, выраженное в законах; законы, статутное право, "писаный закон"
17. to establish – устанавливать
18. to maintain - а) поддерживать, сохранять

 

Law is the whole system of rules that citizens of a country or place must obey.

There are different types of law. They are Common Law, Roman Law (Civil Law), Canon Law, and Martial Law.

 

Common Law(in England) has developed from old customs and from past decisions made by judges, not created by Parliament.

 

Roman Law is Civil Law.

Roman Law is another term for Civil Law.

Roman Law is the system of jurisprudence of ancient Rome. The law was codified and formed the basis of many modern legal systems.

Civil Lawis any system of law based on the Roman system to distinguish from the Common Law, Canon Law, and International Law.

Civil Law (Roman Law ) deals with the affairs of private citizens rather than with crime.

Roman Law (Civil Law) can be called Statute Law. Statute Law isthe whole group of written laws.

 

Canon Law is the laws of Christian Church.

 

Martial Lawis the law established and maintained by the military in the absence of civil law. The army controls an area instead of the police.