Text 1. The system of Courts in Belarus

VOCABULARY PRACTICE

1. Study the active vocabulary from the text:

jurisdiction –юрисдикция

judicial – судебный

legal – юридический, правовой,

supervise – осуществлять надзор, supervision (n)

court – суд

verdict – приговор

appeal -апелляция

case – дело

criminal – уголовное

civil – гражданское

conformity to – соответствие

 

2. Match the Russian and the English equivalents:

1. судебная власть 2. Конституционный суд 3. Суды Общей Юрисдикции 4. Верховный суд 5. апелляционный суд 6. областной суд 7. районный суд 8. гражданские дела 9. уголовные дела

a. Courts of General jurisdiction b. Supreme Court c. Constitutional Court d. judicial power e. Appellate court f. criminal cases g. civil cases h. Regional Court i. District Court

3. Match the English and the Russian equivalents:

1. Ministry of Justice 2. State Prosecutor Office 3. General Prosecutor 4. legal acts 5. law-enforcement 6. retirement age 7. military service 8. judicial decisions

a. судебные решения b. военная служба c. правовые акты d. Министерство Юстиции e. Генеральный прокурор f. Прокуратура g. пенсионный возраст h. наблюдение за исполнением законов

READING PRACTICE

Translate the text, pay special attention to the active vocabulary:

Under the Constitution of the Republic of Belarus judicial power is an independent power branch, which controls how the laws of the Belarusian state are carried out. The judicial power belongs to the system of courts, which contains:

Ø the Constitutional Court and

Ø the Courts of General Jurisdiction.

The Constitutional Court of the Republic of Belarus was established in 1994. Its main powers are to control:

· the conformity of the legal acts, decrees of the President and the activity of the law-enforcement bodies of the state to the Constitution;

· the conformity of the foreign documents, affecting the interests of Belarus, to the principles of the International Law.

The Constitutional Court is formed of 12 judges - specialists qualified to degree level in the field of law. Sixjudges are appointed by the President and six are elected by the Council of the National Assembly. The term of office for the Constitutional Court judges is 11 years. The retirement age of the members of the Constitutional Court is 70 years.

The General Jurisdiction Courts deal with:

· criminal cases;

· civil cases (in disputes on family, labor, housing, land, legal protection of intellectual property and other relations); and

· economic cases.

The Courts of General Jurisdiction are represented by three levels:

– the Supreme Court of the Republic of Belarus;

– Regional Courts and Minsk Town Court;

– District and Town Courts.

If a person or organization does not agree with the court verdict they have the right to appeal to higher courts.

The Supreme Court of the Republic of Belarus is the highest appellate court of the Republic of Belarus. It supervises the judicial activity of all Courts of General Jurisdiction.

Six Regional Courts and Minsk Town Court hear appeals from minor courts. Their decisions may be appealed to the Supreme Court.

District Courts and Town Courts are minor courts. The decisions of minor courts are appealed first to the Regional Courts and then to the Supreme Court.

The judges of all three levels of the General Jurisdiction Courts are nominated by the President on the recommendation of the higher-rank state bodies. The first term of office of the minor court judges is 5 years. All other judges are appointed for life.

Since 2014, Economic Courts have been included into the system of the General Jurisdiction Courts.

The State Prosecutor Office is the main law-enforcement institution in Belarus.

The General Public Prosecutor supervises conformity of the judicial decisions to the laws of the Republic of Belarus.

 

COMPREHENSION PRACTICE

1. Agree or disagree:

1. There are six judges in the Constitutional Court.

2. The Constitutional Court judges must be over 70 years old.

3. The Supreme Court is the highest court of appeal in the Republic of Belarus.

4. The Supreme Court deals only with criminal cases.

5. The President nominates the Supreme Court judges for 5 year term.

6. Appeals from district courts go directly to the Supreme Court.

 

2. Answer the questions:

1. What state bodies represent judicial power in Belarus?

2. What is the structure of the system of courts of the country?

3. What is the highest appellate court of the Republic of Belarus?

4. When was the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Belarus established?

5. What is the term of office for Constitutional Court judges?

6. What levels are the General Jurisdiction Сourts represented by?

7. Who nominates all judges of the Supreme Court, District and Regional Courts?

8. What is the term of office of all the Supreme Court and Regional Courts judges?

9. When were Economic Courts included into the General Jurisdiction Courts?

10. What is the main law-enforcement institution in Belarus?

11. What is the main function of the General Public Prosecutor?

3. Give the English equivalents:

judicial power, cуд, судья, судебное дело, the courtverdict, правовой, законодательный, law-enforcement institution, Конституционный суд, Суды Общей Юрисдикции, Верховный суд, Областной суд, Районный суд, Минский городской суд, appeals, апелляционный суд, conformity of the judicial decisions to the laws, осуществлять надзор, the term of office, гражданские дела, уголовные дела, Генеральный Прокурор, the State Prosecutor Office.

4. Use the chart below and complete the sentences to make a short review of the topic:

1. Under the Constitution of the Republic of Belarus judicial power is…

2. The judicial power in Belarus is given to…

3. The system of courts consists of…

4. The Constitutional Court is formed of…

5. The main powers of the Constitutional Court are …

6. The General Jurisdiction Courts deal with…

7. The General Jurisdiction Courts include …

8. The Supreme Court is …

9. The Supreme Court, as the highest appellate court of the Republic, supervises …

10. The decisions of the Regional Courts may be appealed to…

11. The decisions of the District Courts are appealed to…

12. The State Prosecutor Office is …

13. The General Public Prosecutor supervises...

THE JUDICIAL POWER is given:_ _________

 

à to THE SYSTEM OF COURTS

whichconsists of:

which include:

SPEECH PRACTICE