Тема10.
Civil courts.
The most important civilcourts are the county courts, which deal with minor cases, and theHigh Court, before which more serious matters are brought.
Most appeals go to theCourt of Appeal (Civil Division) in London.
The Civil Division canprovide legal remedy against judgements of the High Court and thecounty courts.
More than 500 countycourts are grouped into over 50 circuits with at least one judge foreach such circuit.
The judges called'circuit judges' since the Court Act of 1971 are appointed by theCrown on the advice of the Lord Chancellor.
They must be barristerswith at least seven years of experience.
The High Court ofJustice is above the county courts.
It has severaldivisions.
The Chancery Divisionconsists of the Lord Chancellor and ten judges, and deals withquestions of company law, bankruptcy, trusts, the administration ofthe estates of people who have died, tax and some other mattersaffecting finance and property.
The Family Divisiondeals with divorce and questions arising out of willswell as questions affecting children(adoption, or guardianship, for example).
There are about 30judges in the Chancery and Family Divisions of the High Court ofJustice, who deal only with civil cases, almost all in London.
The Queen's BenchDivision consists of the Lord Chief Justiceand about fifty other judges.
They divide their timebetween civil work in London, the Central Criminal Court (or “OldBailey"), also in London, and visits to the provincial CrownCourts.
The High Court judgesstill wear robes and big wigs in court.
They are appointed bythe Queen on the recommendation of the Lord Chancellor, and retireat age 75.
The Queen's BenchDivision with the widest jurisdiction is both the main civil courtfor disputes involving more than 5,000 pounds, and the main criminalcourt.
It also deals with suitsfor libel.
The Division also takesappeals from lower courts, mostly the Magistrates' Courts.
The Queen's BenchDivision includes a Commercial Court that specializes in largecommercial disputes, and an Admiralty Court for shipping cases.
These three divisionswere unified into one High Court in a major judicial reform in 1875,but they are still in many respects separate.
High Court judges trycivil cases alone, except for a few cases like defamationfalse imprisonment or fraud.
Тема12.
Courts of Appeal.
The intermediateappellate tribunal is the Court of Appeal.
TheMaster of the Rollsand fourteen LordsJustices constitutethis court.
TheLord Chief Justice, who presides over the Queen's Bench Division ofthe High Court, normally sits when criminal appeals are tried.
Theappointments are for life, subject to mandatory retirement at age75.
TheCourt of Appeal has two divisions - Civil and Criminal.
TheCivil Division hears appeals from the High Court as well as fromcounty courts and a few more specializedcourts.
The Criminal Division ofthe Court of Appeal is competent to deal with appeals againstdecisions of the first instance made by the Crown Court.
Criminal appeals areusually heard by three judges.
The Lord Chief Justicefrequently presides in the Criminal Division.
Inthe Civil Division senior Lord Justice ( or the Master of the Rolls)normally presides over the other two Lords Justices.
The decisions are basedon documents supplemented by the arguments of barristers.
Appealsagainst decisions of the Court of Appeal can be lodged with theHouse of Lords.
The House of Lords, inaddition to being a part of the legislature, is the highest court inthe land.
The judges of the Houseof Lords are Lords of Appeal in Ordinary.
They are ten in number.
The president of theHouse of Lords as a court is the Lord Chancellor.
So, he is the highestjudge in the kingdom.
Theother Law Lords are judges from English courts or from Scottish orNorthern Irish judiciary.
Five Lords of Appeal inOrdinary normally deal with any particular case.
They sit in a small roomin Westminster Palace. The Lords express their opinion on the caseand vote at hand.
Aperson accused of an offence is sure of a fair and open trial, andenjoys good protection against thepossibility of an unfair decision.
Justice, both civil andcriminal, operates with reasonable speed, and the excellent systemof free legal aid and advice to people with low income is of greatbenefit.
Magistrates' Courts
Magistrates'Courts are the people'scourts, formerlyknown as police courts, the lowest tier in the criminal justicesystem.
There are around 28,000lay magistrates sitting in the 700 or so courts in England and Wales(the system is different in Scotland and Northern Ireland). They dealwith more than two millioncases a year, and perform a variety of other functions as well.
Their main job is todeliver 'summaryjustice'to peoplecharged with less serious crimes (grave offences are dealt with atthe Crown Court).
8 Crown Courts
CrownCourts have existed only since 1972.
When there is a jury, thejudge's role is limited to deciding matters of law and summing-up tothe jury. The jury decides whether the defendant is guilty or notguilty.
There are 94 Crown Courtcentres in England and Wales, many of them consisting of severalcourtrooms.
The most famous CrownCourt in England, and perhaps, the most famous court in the world, isthe Old Bailey. Officiallythe Central CriminalCourt, it stands on the site of Newgateprison, and was completed in 1907.
The Crown Court acts alsoas the appeal court against both convictions and sentences bymagistrates. When the appeal is against conviction, the Crown Courtjudge re-hears all the evidence that witnesses have already given inthe lower court, but there is no jury. For allappeals the judge sits with two, three or four lay magistrates.
CountyCourts
Just as the Magistrates'Courts deal with the vast majority of criminal.cases, county courts take on most of thesmallercivil cases. In general, they deal with breach of contract or tortcases involvingup to 5,000 pounds. They also have jurisdiction over most matrimonialmatters. They can grant divorces and make a range of orders relatingto money, property and children. There are county courts all overEngland and Wales, around 270 altogether. The judges have the rankof circuit judge, the same level as those whosit in the Crown Court.
The High Court
The 81 High Court judgesare distributed between the three divisions, which have their home inLondon's Royal Courts of Justice, an eccentric Victorian Gothicbuilding on the Strand, with outposts in some 25 largeprovincial townsand cities.
The biggest of thedivisions, with the widest jurisdiction, is the Queen's Bench (King'sBench). Its most important function is as the main civil court fordisputes involving more than 5,000 pounds. Claims for money owing,and actions for damages arising from motor and work accidents are theHigh Court's main folder. It also deals with suits for libel. Thedivision also includes a Commercial Court, which specialises in largecommercial disputes, and an Admiralty Court for shipping cases.
The Family Division dealswith divorce; disputes between warring spouses involving children,property or money; adoption, wardship, and other questions affectingchildren.
The Chancery Divisiondealswith tax, interpretation of wills, companies, settlements, trusts,and various other issues affecting finance and property.
The Court Of Appeal
The Court of Appealis the main repository of dissatisfaction with the decisions of lowercourts. Above it is the House of Lords.
There are two divisionsof the appeal court: the head of the Criminal Division is no lessthan the Lord Chief Justice, the country'stop judge. The CivilDivision is led by the Master of the Rolls. It is yet another oddityof the system that these, the two most senior judges, do not sit inthe most senior court, the House of Lords.
The Civil Division hearsappeals from the High Court as well as from county courts and a fewmore specialised courts.
The House Of Lords
The House of Lords is thefinal arbiter not only of allEnglish law, but also of Scottish civil, though not criminal, law.The Law Lords do not deliver judgements like all other judges, theymake speeches. They do not come to a decision, they take a vote on amotion that the appeal be dismissed or allowed.
Some Other Courts
The JudicialCommittee of the PrivyCouncil.
Its jurisdiction is nowconfined to hearing appeals from the remaining colonies, and fromthose former Britishterritories which have chosen to retain it as their final appealcourt. The judges of the Privy Council are predominantly the sameLaw Lords that normally sit in the House of Lords, with the addition,every now and again, of eminent judges from Commonwealth countries,
The EmploymentAppealTribunal was set up following thegreat increase in recent years ofdisputes arising from employment, especially involving unfairdismissal or discrimination. The court hears appeals from industrialtribunals. Every case is heard by a HighCourt judge and two lay members chosen for their knowledge andexperience of industrial relations: trade union officials, forinstance, and representatives of employers' organizations.
The RestrictivePractices Court which is of the level ofthe High Court, has various powers to stop or control restrictive ormonopolisticpractices in the supply of goods and services - for example,agreements between ostensibly competitive companies to charge aminimum price for their products, against the interests of theconsumer.
Coroners' Courts.Coroners, who must be qualified lawyers or doctors, have a duty tohold public inquests into any violent, unnatural or suspicious death,or in the case of a person dying suddenly without any obvious cause,or in prison or in police custody. Coroners' inquests are not trials,but witnessesare called, and there is often a jury who decide on the manner ofdeath - suicide, unlawful killing, misadventure or accident - or(where they are not sure) return an open verdict.
Tribunals.Outside the normal hierarchy of the courts, flourishes a parallelstructure of administrative and judicial bodies lumped togetherunder the genera!description of tribunals. Some of them have been in existence for acentury or more, but they have proliferated especially in the lastthirty years, since the creation of the welfare state. The sixty orso tribunals cover a wide range of subjects, from tax to mentalhealth, from forestry to patents. Some of the most important andwidely used are the industrial tribunals,where workers can claim compensation for unfair dismissal; thesupplementary benefit appeals tribunal; rent tribunal; and theimmigration appeals tribunal.
The tribunals differ intheir membership and rules of procedure, but theyall conduct themselves according to the principles of justice used bythe courts.
Two Foreign Courts
Twocourts outside Britain's boundaries have recently come to play a bigpart in her affairs.The two deal with completely differentissues, and belong to different regional institutions,
The European Court(more properly, the Court of Justice of the European Community,called the European Union - EU- since 1993) sits in Luxembourg. It is the court of the EU, andtherefore Britain, as its member, is under its jurisdiction onmatters affecting the EU.
The European Courtof Human Rights sits in Strasbourg(France) and operates under the umbrella of the Council of Europe.
Тема9.
Criminal courts.
Magistrates'Courts.Every person charged,with an offence is summonedto appear before a local Magistrates' Court, which may impose a fineup to a general limit of 2,000 pounds or six months' imprisonment.
With 98 per cent ofcases the magistrates on the bench decide on guilty or innocence,and if necessary, what penalty to impose.
Withmore serious cases the magistrates can decide onlyto send them for trial ina Crown Court, where the decision on guilt or innocence will be madeby a jury of twelve citizens chosen by chance, and if necessary, thepenalty will be decided by the presiding judge, helped by twoJustices of the Peace (JPs).
Aperson accused before a Magistrates' Court may demand to be sent fortrial before aCrown Court, even if the case is not serious.
AMagistrates' Court normally consists of three JPs.
TheJPs are ordinary but worthy citizenshave been appointed to their positions by the Lord Chancellor on theadvice of local appointing committees.
JPs receive no paymentfor their work.
Inthe courts the JPs are advised on points of law by their clerks, whoare professional lawyers; otherwise they decide each case accordingto their sense what is fair and reasonable.
CrownCourts.When a criminal case is not dealt with finally in a Magistrates'Court, it goes for trial in a Crown Court.
Thecourtis presided over by a judge, but the decision on guilt or innocenceis made by a jury of twelve citizens.
Thejudge's functions are, first, to see that the trial is properlyconducted; second, to give guidance to the jury before asking itfor its verdict andfinally, if the jury finds the accused guilty, to decide upon thepenalty and pronounce a sentence.
Forthis last decision the judge is helped by two JPs who have beensitting beside him throughout the proceedings.
Judgesare either practicingor former barristers who all are qualified, professional andexperienced lawyers and are paid for their work.
Twelvelocal citizens serve asmembers of the jury.
A person accused cannotbe found to be guilty except by the verdict of at least ten of thetwelve members of the jury.
Normallythe jury do agree, though sometimes only after some hours ofdiscussion.
Ifthe jury finds the accused guilty, then it is for the judge topronounce a sentence.
Theaccused may appeal to the Court of Appeal against conviction orsentence.
TheCourt of Appeal does not hear witnesses other than in exceptionalcircumstances.
The Crown Courts actalso as the appeal courts against both conviction and sentences bymagistrates.
Whenthe appeal is against conviction, a judge re-hears all the evidencethat witnesses have already given in the lower court, but there isno jury.
Тема4.
GB– geography.
Great Britain issituated on the British Isles.
They lie to the west ofthe continent of Europe.
The larger of the twobig islands is known as Great Britain.
The smaller island isIreland, with Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic.
Theisland of Great Britain together with the neighboringminor islands and the northeastern part of Ireland constitute theUnited Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
The country is usuallycalled Great Britain (or England).
The total area of GreatBritain is 244,000 square kilometres.
The west coast of thecountry is washed by the waters of the Atlantic Ocean and the IrishSea, the east coast is washed by the North Sea.
Great Britain isseparated from France by the English Channel which is 32 km. wide inits narrowest part, and 180 km.
In its widest part.
The seas surroundingGreat Britain are not very deep.
The surface of Englandand Ireland is flat, but the surface of Scotland and Wales ismountainous.
InWales, there are the Cambrian Mountains, the highest peak of whichis Snowdon.
It is 3,560 feet high(nearly 1,000 metres).
InScotland, the main chain of mountains is called the Grampians, itshighest peak is Ben Nevis (4,400 feet high).
Themountainous northern part of Scotland is called the Highlands.
The rivers of GreatBritain are short.
The Thames, the Severnand the Clyde are the most important.
The Thames on whichLondon, the capital of Great Britain is situated, flows into theNorth Sea and is very deep.
Thereare many beautiful lakes in Great Britain, the largest part of themis in the Lake District in northwestern England.
MyFamily
Familyis the most precious thing for me,becausethis is where I find love & understanding, & support.
Our family is quite large by modern standards.
It consists of four people - my parents, my younger sister &me.
Myparents are quite young, about 35, & my sister is four yearsyounger then me.
Myfather is a civil navigator.
Hespends most of his time at work, so the time when he is home in theevening is something special for my sister & me.
Mymother is a teacher, & she has more time to spare than my father.
Weshare our problems & secrets with them, & they often givevery good advice.
There’s often a lot to do about the house, but we are always willing tohelp with the chores, & everything is done quickly &efficiently.
Mostof all I like our late dinners or early suppers, when we all gatherround the table, & the light of the kitchen lamp creates arelaxed & cosy atmosphere.
Wetalk,& joke,& have fun, because we areall friends.
Sundaysare also very nice.
Ifthe weather is fine, we go skiing in the forest in winter, or toour ‘dacha’ in summer.
Infact, it’s just a small cottage on a small plot of land, butwe like it a lot, & like to work in the garden, planting,digging, gathering strawberries & tomatoes.
But,if I were asked aboutourfamily hobby,I wouldname reading.
Readingis a perfect combination of business & pleasure, of intellectualwork & entertainment.
That’sabout all. I’m lucky to have such a loving & friendlyfamily, & when I have a family of my own, I will try to make itwork on the same lines.
Me& My plans for the future.
Finishingschool is the beginning of the independent life for millions ofschools leavers.
Manyroads are opened before us:vocational & technical school, institutes & universities.
But,it’s notaneasy thing to choose a profession out of more than 2,000 existing inthe world.
Somepupils follow the advice of their parents or friends, others can’tdecide even after leaving the school.
Asfor me I made my choice long ago.
Ispecialize in the humanities.
SocialSciences & English have always been my favorites, but my chiefinterest is law.
Mydream has always been to become a lawyer.
Mychoice of this occupation didn’t come as a sudden flash.
Asa child, I listened to my aunt & uncle discussing professionalmatters.
Littleby little, I got interested in the subject & began thinking oflaw as my prospective occupation.
Forme, choosing a career is not only a matter of future prestige &wealth.
Inmy opinion, a job should be interesting & socially important.
Thatis the reason why I have chosen the profession of a lawyer, whichgives plenty of opportunities to help people in trouble.
Inaddition I should say, whatever profession I choose to follow, thegreatest pleasure will surely come from feeling that I am useful tomy country.
MyWorking Day.
Aperson’s schedule depends on his or her type of activity, &is organised accordingly.
Itis rather flexible, & can be change any time, if necessary.
Iwill try to give you a snapshot of a typical day in my life as aschool student.
Theshrill ringing of an alarm-clock wakes me up at half past six.
Ido not jump out of bed, but daydream for about 5 minutes more.
ThenI do jump out, & keep jumping, pushing up, sitting up, &generally warming up for about 20 minutes.
Thena quick shower, & a very light breakfast - I just can’tmake myself eat much in the morning.
So,it’s a soft-boiled egg, a toast, & a cup of tea or coffee.
Thenoff to school.
It’sthe usual routine of classes & breaks, a longer break at 11 a.m. for lunch, & school is over at 1 or 2 p. m., depending on thenumber of classes.
SometimesI stay at school till 3 p. m. for some optional class or somethingextra-curriculum.
ThenI’m home, & it’s dinner, if I may call it so.
Myfolks are both at work, so left to my own devices I have what Imanage to find in the fridge.
ThenI fool around for an hour or so browsing in some magazine or a book,or listening to some quiet music.
Afterthat I’m ready for the most important part of my day, my workactually.
Istudy, I dig up information, I solve tasks, find answers to question- do my homework.
By8 p. m. I feel tired.
Fortunately,by that time folks have arrived, & we eat.
Thatis the only proper meal of the day for me, & the only time totalk with my parents.
Thenan hour or more of study, some TV, & by 12 p. m. I’m inbed.
SometimesI have to stay up late, if I have some difficult task to solve.
Sothis is it, in a nutshell.
Notvery eventful, but it’s a working day, isn’t it?
Тема15.
THE WORK OF THE COURT
In the district courtscases are heard by the judge alone or by the collegial.
The judge alone has theright to hear and decide the majority of civil cases and only suchcriminal cases punishment for which doesn't exceed 2 years ofimprisonment and if the defendant does not object to such a trial.
The collegial consistsof one judge and two people's assessors.
They have equal rightsin deciding a case.
Decisions are taken by amajority vote.
People's assessors areelected at the meetings of working people at the places of theirwork or residence by show of hands for a term of 5 years.
The President of theRussian Federation appoints all judges.
They are appointed forlife, but if a judge misuses his authority and does not perform hisduties properly, or if his conduct is unworthy of a judge, he may bedischarged.
Any citizen of Russiawho has reached the age of 25, graduated from a law higher school,whose length of legal service is not less than 5 years and who haspassed the qualification exam may be appointed judge of a districtcourt.
According to theConstitution judges are independent and subject only to the law.
They must be neutral andimpartial.
All judges enjoy theprinciple of inviolability.
People's assessors arecitizens of different professions.
In deciding cases theyare guided by their sense of justice and life experience.
Their work as people'sassessors is not paid.
Theyare reserved the right tokeeping the permanent place of work andgetting their wages there.
In deciding a casejudges in the courts of the first instance must examine all the caseevidence, interrogate the defendants, victims and witnesses, hearthe experts' findings, examine all physical evidence and makepublic all records and other papers.
The sentence of thejudge must be lawful, grounded and just.
Тема7.
Judicial system.
Thestructure ofthecourt system inBritain is many-layered and almost incomprehensible.
Thereis no comprehensive law regulating the organizationand competence of the courts.
Thecourt system in Scotland and also in Northern Ireland differssomewhat from that of Englandand Wales.
Thereis no written constitution, hence no constitutional court in GreatBritain.
Parliamentis sovereign.
So,the courts cannot question the authority of the constitutionalvalidity of the statutes; they can only interpret them.
Thecourts in Great Britain are divided into two large groups:criminal courts and civilcourts.
Besides,there are many special tribunals, for example, industrial tribunalsdealing with labordisputes and industrial injurycompensation.
Criminalcourts areMagistrates'Courts andCrown Courts.
Magistrates' Courts arethe courts of first instance.
Cases involving minoroffences begin and end there.
Cases involving moreserious offences normally start in Magistrates' Courts before beingreferred to higher courts - Crown Courts - for trial.
Crown Courts haveexisted only since 1972.
Theytry serious cases such as murder, rape, arson, armed robbery, fraud,and so on.
Civilcourts includecounty courts as the courts of first instance, and the High Court asa higher court.
TheHigh Court ofJustice consists ofthree separate subdivisions: the Queen'sBench Division, theChancery Divisionand the FamilyDivision.
Appealsagainst decisions of the High Court and the Crown Court may be takento the Court of Appealwith its Criminal and Civil divisions.
TheCrown Court, the High Court of Justice and the Courtof Appealform the Supreme Court of Judicature.
The highest court in thecountry is the House of Lords.
It is the biggest courtof appeal in civil matters for the whole of the United Kingdom andthe final court of appeal in criminal cases.
The President of thehouse of Lords as a court is the Lord Chancellor.
Тема5.
London
London is situated uponboth banks of the River Thames.
It is the chief port ofthe country and the most important commercial, manufacturing andcultural center.
There is little heavyindustry in London, but there is a wide range of light industry inGreater London.
The most characteristicparts of London are: the City, the West End, the East End, andWestminster.
The Cityis the oldest part of London.
It is the financialcenter of the UK with many banks, offices, and StockExchange.
he City, the 'squaremile', as it is often called, stretches along the north bank of theThames from Temple Barto the Tower of London.
The City has its ownpolice force and courts of law, and during the working day upwardof half a million people earn their livingthere in the commercial heart of the capital.
Among the institutionsin the City are the Mansion House, the Bankof England, theMonument to commemorate the Great Fire ofLondon, the Royal Exchange,and the Guildhallwhere the Lord Mayor and his Sheriffsare elected.
The West Endis the most fashionable part of London.
It is the area of thelargest department stores, hotels, cinemas, theatres, concert halls,museums, the best art galleries, historical palaces (includingBuckingham Palace, the Queen's London residence), and famous parks,such as Hvde Parkwith its Speaker's Corner,and Kensington Gardens.The main shopping streets are Piccadilly, Regent Street and OxfordStreet.
The East Endof London is unattractive in appearance, but very important to thecountry's commerce.
It is situated to theeast of the City.
Here, today we can seekilometers and kilometers of docks of the Port of London, and thegreat industrial areas that depend upon shipping.
London's docklands - so recently an isolated urban wasteland - is well on the way tobeing transformed into the most exciting new international watercity of the 21stcentury.
Westminsteris the political center.
The best known streetshere are Whitehall with important government offices, and DowningStreet with the London residence of Prime Minister and the placewhere the Cabinet meets.
And here, on theembankment of the Thames, you can see Houses of Parliament.
When Parliament issitting, the fact is confirmed by the UnionJack flying on the VictoriaTower during the day, and at night by thelight in the clock tower of Big Ben.
The imposingclock tower of Big Ben stands as a symbol of London above thenight-time traffic in Whitehall.
Although the worldfamous clock is known as Big Ben, this name is a misnomer.
Тема13.
OtherCourts
Other courts are dividedinto:
The JudicialCommittee of the Privy Council.
Its jurisdiction is nowconfined to hearing appeals from the remaining colonies, and fromthose former British territories which have chosen to retain it astheir final appeal court.
The judges of the PrivyCouncil are predominantly the same Law Lords that normally sit inthe House of Lords, with the addition, every now and again, ofeminent judges from Commonwealth countries,
The EmploymentAppeal Tribunal
It was set up followingthegreatincrease in recent years of disputes arising from employment,especially involving unfair dismissal or discrimination.
The court hears appealsfrom industrial tribunals.
Every case is heard by aHigh Court judge and two lay members chosen for their knowledge andexperience of industrial relations: trade union officials, forinstance, and representatives of employers' organizations.
The RestrictivePractices Court
Which is of the level ofthe High Court, has various powers to stop or control restrictive ormonopolistic practices in the supply of goods and services - forexample, agreements between ostensibly competitive companies tocharge a minimum price for their products, against the interests ofthe consumer.
Coroners' Courts.
Coroners, who must bequalified lawyers or doctors, have a duty to hold public inquestsinto any violent, unnatural or suspicious death, or in the case of aperson dying suddenly without any obvious cause, or in prison or inpolice custody.
Coroners' inquests arenot trials, but witnesses are called, and there is often a jury whodecide on the manner of death - suicide, unlawful killing,misadventure or accident - or (where they are not sure) return anopen verdict.
Tribunals.
Outside the normalhierarchy of the courts, flourishes a parallel structure ofadministrative and judicial bodies lumped togetherunder the genera! description oftribunals.
Some of them have beenin existence for a century or more, but they have proliferatedespecially in the last thirty years, since the creation of thewelfare state.
Some of the mostimportant and widely used are the industrial tribunals, whereworkers can claim compensation for unfair dismissal; thesupplementary benefit appeals tribunal; rent tribunal; and theimmigration appeals tribunal.
TwoForeign Courts
Two courts outsideBritain's boundaries have recently come to play a big part in heraffairs.
The two deal withcompletely different issues, and belong to different regionalinstitutions,
The European Court
(more properly, theCourt of Justice of the European Community, called the EuropeanUnion - EU - since 1993) sits in Luxembourg.
It is the court of theEU, and therefore Britain, as its member, is under its jurisdictionon matters affecting the EU.
The European Courtof Human Rights
It sits in Strasbourg(France) and operates under the umbrella of the Council of Europe.
Тема15.
Political system ofGB.
The UK is aparliamentary monarchy.
Parliament is thesupreme legislative body of the British state.
The British Parliamentis one of the oldest Parliaments in the world.
It has existed since1265.
It consists of twochambers known as the House of Commons and the House of Lords, andthe Queen as its head.
The duration ofParliament is five years.
The life of Parliamentis divided into sessions.
The main functions ofParliament are: 1) to make laws regulating the life of thecommunity; 2) to approve Government spending and the means by whichit raises the money required; 3) to control the executive activityof the Government; 4) to provide a forum for criticism of theGovernment, and to extract information about the activities andintentions of the Government and the institutions under its control.
The House of Commons ismade up of 650 elected members, and it is presided over by theSpeaker.
The House of Lords is anon-elected hereditarysecond chamber of Parliament.
The House of Lords iscomposed of lords spiritualand lords temporal.
The lords spiritual arethe two leaders of the Church of and twenty-four bishops.
The lords temporal arepeers of royaldescent.
The chairman of theHouse of Lords is the Lord Chancellor.
The House of Lords hasformally the power only to reviseand amend billspassed through the House of Commons.
The GovernmentExecutive power in the UK belongs to theGovernment, which consists of the Cabinet and other ministers of theGovernment.
It includesabout a hundred politiciansunder the Prime Minister, appointed totheir offices, as ministers, by the Queen on his advice.
It is aconstitutional convention that the PrimeMinister should be the head of the party with the largest number ofseats in the House of Commons.
A modern government isarranged in about fifteen departments.
Queen Elizabeth II isthe fourth sovereign of the House of Windsor.
She is a Head of State.
She have signed all newbills and it becomes an Act of Parliament.
Тема2.
STUDYWORK
My studyis noteasy so Ihave to learn many different subjects which are important for futureoccupation: Criminal Law,Criminal Procedure, Civil Law, LaborLaw, International Law, Criminology and others.
Specialsubjects are not the only subjects of the curriculum.
Ilearn some humane, theoretical, optional and additional subjects,such as History of Russia, Philosophy, Theory of State and Law,History of State and Law, Logics, Foreign Languages and others.
I’m taketests and exams on each subject included into the curriculum.
As the academic year isdivided into two semesters, terminal tests and exams are held inJanuary and in June.
Andthen when all the tests and exams are passed successfully, Iwill have vacation.
Atthe end of the whole course of studies Iwill takedegree examinations, finals, as they are often called.
The timetable oflectures, tutorials and seminars is regulated by a study schedule.
It provides me withlecture halls and tutorial rooms on time.
I have to attendseminars and not miss lectures.
One of the mainprinciples of the Russian educational system is to unite theory andpractice.
So, during the course ofstudies I’ll have practical training at law enforcementorgans.
Much attention is paidto the studying of Foreign Languages: English, German or French.
I had classes in Englishthree times a week, the attendance of which was obligatory.
As English isheavy-reading subjects, I had to work at them hard and devote muchtime to them.
Тема11.
TheHigh Court
The High Court is ahotch-potch.
It is a compositedescription embracing three separate kinds of courts - calleddivisions - each with separate functions (though they occasionallyoverlap).
The81 High Court judges are distributed between the three divisions,which have their home in London's Royal Courts of Justice, aneccentric Victorian Gothic building on the Strand, with outposts insome 25 large provincial towns and cities.
Thebiggest of the divisions, with the widest jurisdiction, is theQueen's Bench (King's Bench).
Its most importantfunction is as the main civil court for disputes involving more than5,000 pounds.
Claims for money owing,and actions for damages arising from motor and work accidents arethe High Court's main folder.
Italso deals with suits, for libel.
Thedivision also includes a Commercial Court, which specializesin large commercial disputes, and an Admiralty Court for shippingcases.
The court can also quashdecisions of Magistrates' Courts where they exceed their powers orthere are irregularities in the proceedings.
It also takes appealsfrom lower courts, but only on issues raising points of law.
The court does not hearwitnesses or deal with cases which raise only factual points.
The Family Divisiondeals with divorce; disputes between warring spouses involvingchildren, property or money; adoption, wardship, and other questionsaffecting children.
The Chancery Divisiondeals with tax, interpretation of wills, companies, settlements,trusts, and various other issues affecting finance and property.
Тема16.
THEWORK OF A PROSECUTOR'S OFFICE
TheProsecutor's Office was established in our country in May 1922.
Itis a system of bodies exercising general supervision over the strictand uniform observance of laws by all the ministries, organizations,officials and also by citizens.
Itsmain function is to see that all laws are correctly and uniformlyapplied throughout the country.
Itstasks are also strengthening legality and law and order as well asprotecting personal rights and freedom of citizens, rights andinterests of organizations, etc.
The law on Prosecutor'sOffice of the Russian Federation was enacted on January 2, 2000.
Under this law theProsecutor's Office is headed by the Prosecutor-General who appointsprosecutors of oblasts, cities, towns, and districts.
The lower publicprosecutors are subordinated to the higher ones.
The Prosecutor's Officeconsists of a number of departments: for supervision over lawfulnessof court decisions in civil, criminal and arbitration cases,and especially in cases of juvenile delinquents: over legalityin the sphere of economy and entrepreneurial activity.
Any citizen can complainto the Prosecutor's Office against violation of his/her rights.
The Prosecutor's Officeprotects the inviolability of a person.
Apublic prosecutor in our country is an official who has powers toexercise the highest supervision over the strict and uniformobservance of laws. In performing their duties public prosecutorsmust be free and independent of any local bodies.
Allpublic prosecutors are appointed for a term of five years.
Apublic prosecutor can be a person not younger than 25 years old, whohas the higher legal education and possesses necessary moral andprofessional qualities.
The Prosecutor's Officeinstitutes criminal proceedings.
Investigatorsascertain the circumstances under which crimes were-committed,collect evidence against the perpetrators of crimes and theiraccomplices.
The public prosecutorbrings a charge before the court in the name of the state.
At the trial his task isto assist the court to pass a just sentence.
Afterthe trial the public prosecutor checks the sentences and judgementshanded down by, the court as to their legality.
Hehas the right to enter any appeal if in his opinion the sentence orjudgement is erroneous.
Thepublic prosecutor has also the right to appeal against all unlawfuldecisions and actions of state organs and officials.
Тема17.
THE WORK OF ANADVOCATE
The institution of legaldefense was created in our country in 1864.
Theyare to protect the rights and lawful interests of citizens andorganizations, to maintain justice, toobserve and strengthen legality.
The principal task ofthe Bar is to grant legal assistance to citizens andorganizations.
The Bar is aself-governing organization, which brings together the advocates.
It is independent ofbodies of investigation, prosecutor's offices, the courts andbodies of authority and management.
Constitutional right toa defense is guaranteed to everyone in Russia.
Our constitution states:"The defendant in a criminal action shall be guaranteed theright to legal aid. No one may be adjudged guilty of a crime andsubjected to punishment as a criminal except by the sentence of acourt in conformity with the law”.
After the accusationalways follows a defense.
The role of a defensecounsel in criminal proceedings is of special importance.
Hisduties are defined as follows: The defense counsel is obliged tomake use of alt the ways and means of defense indicated in the lawfor the purpose of bringing to light the circumstances exoneratingthe accused or mitigating hisresponsibility, and to render all the necessary legal aid tothe accused.
Sothe duty of the advocate is to help toexonerate the accused.
If an advocate is ableto make a careful and skilful analysis of evidence he canrefute the arguments of the prosecution and establish the innocenceof the accused.
But the advocate is notobliged to prove the defendant's innocence.
Serious disputes oftenarise between the prosecution and the defense where all argumentsand circumstances of the case are brought out in an effort to cometo a just judgement.
The advocate also playsan especially important role in passing sentences.
In the court procedurethe advocate helps to establish the truth.
He files petitions toexamine the evidence, calls new witnesses, introduces documentsand certificates, states and defends his opinion.
If he introducesarguments that mitigate the guilt of the defendant he helps thecourt pass the correct judgement.
If in advocate's opiniona sentence handed down by the court is heavy he has the right toappeal the sentence in a higher court.
A significant partof the advocate's time is spent in drawing up appeals.
He gets moralsatisfaction when his appeal is redressed.
The advocate who isconvinced of the innocence of his client must fight to the end forthe truth.
Тема3.
THE URALS STATE LAWACADEMY
TheLaw Academy is one of the biggest leading higher educationalinstitutions in our country. Its foundation goes back to April 1931.
Itwas formed on the basis of the Irkutsk State University as a lawfaculty.
LaterIt was reorganized into the Siberian Institute of Soviet Law.
In1934 the Institute moved into Sverdlovsk, got the name of theSverdlovsk Institute of Law and bore this name till 1992.
Nowit is called the Urals State Law Academy.
Till1976 there was only one faculty at the Sverdlovsk Law Institute -the Law faculty.
In1976 the following three faculties were set up at the full-timedepartment: the Judge and Prosecutor Training Faculty, theInvestigator and Criminalist Training Faculty and the Faculty ofLegal Service in the National Economy System.
Later,two of them were united into the Law Faculty.
Andthe Faculty of Legal Service was given a new name - the Business LawFaculty. Besides, a Customs Department was formed.
Atpresent, the Academy has five institutes at the day department: theInstitute of the Prosecutor's Office, the Institute of Justice, theInstitute of Business and Law, the Institute of the Bar and theInstitute of External Economic Relations.
Moreover,within the Academy there is also the Institute of Management and Lawand the Faculty of the Secondary Professional Education.
Besidesthe full-time department there is also a part-time department and acorrespondence department.
TheAcademy is' housed in three study buildings with libraries andreading halls where the students are able to get ready for theirclasses.
Thereare also snack bars and dining halls where the students can have asnack or dinner during breaks or after classes.
TheAcademy possesses a high intellectual potential: over 50 Doctors ofSciences, more than 150 Candidates of Sciences, many experiencedlecturers work at the Academy.
Theteaching staff is over 300 people.
Thestudent body of all the departments taken together numbers more than8,000 people and several tens of post-graduates.
TheAcademy is headed by Rector and Vice-Rectors (Pro-Rectors). Thestudy, methodical and research work is guided by the dean's officesand by different chairs.
The Academy trains judges, prosecutors, advocates, jurisconsults,investigators, customs officials and other lawyers.
Aftercompleting the education our graduates work at courts, prosecutor'soffices.
Militia,the Bar, notary offices, other law enforcement organs, and also atstate and government bodies of different levels and in legal serviceof the national economy system.
Тема8.
My future occupation.
One of the most popularprofessions among the young people of our country is the professionof a lawyer.
The profession of alawyer is very interesting and diverse.
The profession of alawyer is quite necessary for regulating social relations in thestate.
After my graduating fromthe Urals State Law Academy I can work at the Bar, in the organs ofthe Prosecutor's Office, in different courts, in notary offices, inlegal advice offices, in organs of tax inspection, in organs ofmilitia, as well as in different firms, companies, banks,enterprises, etc.
I can work as advocates,judges, notaries, investigators, prosecutors, jurisconsults,inspectors, customs officers, traffic officers, and other workers oflaw enforcement agencies.
Tobe a good specialist a lawyer should know many laws and his/herproper application.
Then I will perform myduties well.
Ihavebeen studying theory of state and law, civil law, civil procedure,criminal law, criminal procedure, labor law, criminalistics,criminology, and many others since 2000.
Besides, any lawyeris expected to know human psychology as throughout his/her career alawyer will meet different people: children and adults, the sick andthe healthy; the poor and the rich; educated and uneducated persons;people of different nationalities, languages and religions;victims, witnesses, suspects; first offenders and recidivists;prisoners and general public.
I will have to deal witha variety of people and situations.
That's why theprofession of a lawyer may be considered to be very difficult andnoble at the same time.
Lawyers have agreed uponsix basic elements of professionalism.
They are: ethics,competence combined with independence, professional wisdom andcontinuing learning, civility and obligations to the justicesystem.
The first element isenlargement of individual autonomy, good faith in dealings, truthseeking, full disclosure, reasonable limits on adversarial conductand adherence to public interest.
The second element ofprofessionalism is professional competence, which must includeindependence in judgment and advice.
Competence shouldalso involve an efficient allocation of resources.
There is still anotherelement of professional competence, and that is practical wisdom. Itcalls for a broad comprehension of the role of law and of the valuessociety cherishes, an understanding of human beings, and a matureperspective.
Inthe context of professionalism, civility covers not only surfacepoliteness or courteous treatment of opponents.
Civility has a muchdeeper meaning than cosmetic courtesy. We mean respect forindividual dignity and worth.
Тема14.
THEWORK OF AN INVESTIGATOR , MILITIA,AN OPERATIVE
ANDA field-criminalist
The Russian Militia wasestablished on November 10th, 1917.
Our Militia is to dealwith many problems and all of them are of great importance.
Itis effective law enforcement, educational and preventive workthat are to be in the centerof activities of militia agencies at our time.
Militia stations are incontinuous operation of crime prevention; crime investigationand crime solution, day and night patrol service, trafficsafety and problems of juvenile delinquency, organized crime andracketeering.
Oneof the main tasks of our Militia is to improve militia-publicrelations; to increase public's trustand sense of security.
Anotherproblem of our Militia now is to combat modern crime, i.e. spread ofdrugs, drug-related crimes, crimes relating to money and terrorism.
The service in theMilitia is difficult and dangerous, but it is necessary andhonorable, because all the militia officers are to protect life,work and rest of our people.
Quitea lot of people work as investigators in the organs of theMilitia or of the Prosecutor's Office.
Investigation means asearch.
That's why the duty ofan investigator is to search for the truth, for the offender,for witnesses who help to reconstruct the happening and will presentevidence of it in court.
Theinvestigator must be able to make a searching inquiry into thefacts surrounding the commission of the crime or economicoffence, i.e. what it is, where it was, who the offender was, when,why and how he was committing the crime.
The duties of theinvestigator together with the field-criminalist are to find, tocollect and to protect evidence, such as fingerprints, footprints,and other traces of the criminal act.
Everygood investigator should be intelligent, competent, patient,tactful, composed, persistent and sympathetic, but he should be firmif it is necessary.
He must also possessspecial investigative aptitudes and professional instinct.
In English an operativemay be called a "detective", a "plain-clothes man",a "sleuth", a "CID man".
The main task of anoperative is to prevent crimes and to solve them by usingspecial means, methods and forms of fighting crimes.
Thequick and accurate solution of crime depends largely on the personalefforts.
It also depends on hiseducation, his intelligence and his decision-making judgements.
He tries to functioneffectively in combating crime and to act properly underoperative conditions.
After graduating fromthe Law Academy some of our students are going to be afield-criminalists.
Itmeans that they should know Criminalistics very well because quickand accurate solution of crime will depend on their education andpractical skills that is why they exert every effort to study well.
They take pictures ofthe crime scene, make diagrams and sketches.
The most interestingwork is the work in fingerprinting.