I. Law: a necessary evil?

BASICS OF LAW

ОСНОВЫ ПРАВА

МИНСК

CONTENTS

Part I

UNIT 1. What is law?

UNIT 2. Sources of modern law

UNIT 3. Civil and public law

UNIT 4. Judicial institutions

UNIT 5. Lawyers at work

UNIT 6. Criminal law

UNIT 7. Torts

UNIT 8. Enforcing the law

UNIT 1

WHAT IS LAW?

LIST OF WORDS

law	to implement common sense / justice
dispute (n, v)	to create a just society
to settle	to challenge a decision
lawyer	to declare a verdict
legal	to negotiate terms
legal action	to seek legal means of settlement
legal system	to evade/avoid justice / taxes
legislation	to enforce a law
legislature	deliberation
judiciary	to retain power
lawful	prosecution
obligation	authority
court	to face prosecution
valid	tribunal
descriptive	executive
consistent	penalty
prescriptive	to obey the law
to impose a fine	to sentence
to break a law	finding (n)
punishment	a criminal case
to commit a crime	a civil case
justice	unanimous decision
loss	peer
to inherit	deliberation
to cross examine

Ex. 1. The following words can be used with the prefixes dis-, un-, in-, il-, im- to form their opposites. Write them down using the correct prefix.

formal, reasonably, lawful, legal, fair, valid, dependence, justice, agreement, consistent, written, make, important, ability

Ex. 2. Match the word from A with its best association from B. In some cases more than one variant are possible. Find their Russian equivalents and learn them. Use the phrases in your own sentences.

A	B
1. law	a) laws of economics
2. ways	b) crimes
3. legal	c) the rules
4. consistent	d) of settling disputes
5. break	e) a decision
6. accept	f) courts
7. commit	g) power
8. create	h) any punishment
9. implement	i) traditions
10. inherit	j) common sense
11. challenge	k) means
12. retain	l) a just society
	m) justice

Ex. 3. Find an odd word in each group and explain your choice:

1. nobble — cheat — bribe — kidnap

2. lawful — jurisprudence — legitimate — legal

3. corruption — bribery — graft — prize

4. defiance — challenge — disobedience — assault

5. bidding — deal — order — command

6. verdict — decision — judgement — law

7. guarantee — fasten — secure — transfer

Ex. 4. Mind the difference between the words LAWFUL and LEGAL.

LAWFUL — acting within the law; keeping the law; permitted by law; legitimate (adj)

LEGAL — pertaining to law; required by law

Divide the words which can be used with LAWFUL and LEGAL into two columns and use them in sentences of your own. Translate the word combinations into Russian:

1. practice, 2. person, 3. profession, 4. costs, 5. money, 6. trade, 7. decision, 8. advice, 9. authority, 10. obligation, 11. acts, 12. age, 13. ethics, 14. owner, 15. history, 16. wife, 17. procedure, 18. department.

LAWFUL	LEGAL

Ex.5. Some words form ‘partnerships’. For example, we talk about income tax not revenue tax. Both forms are grammatically correct, but only the first is normally used. Match the verbs on the left with the nouns on the right to make as many partnerships as you can. Remember that some verbs will go with more than one noun. Translate the phrases into Russian and learn them.

Verbs	Nouns
1. break	a) a case
2. commit	b) a market
3. cross examine	c) a fee
4. charge	d) an interest
5. declare	e) a law
6. enter	f) a crime
7. evade	g) a verdict
8. hear	h) terms
9. negotiate	i) a witness
10. return	j) taxes

Complete the sentences using the partnerships you have formed. You may have to make some changes to fit the grammar of the sentences.

1. You must know that you are ______ when you park on the pavement.

2. The merger will only go ahead if the two companies can ______ they are both happy with.

3. After two hours deliberation the jury ______ of not guilty.

4. We are going to ______ with a revolutionary new product next month.

5. A good accountant can save you money by finding ways to ______.

6. We have ______ for the prosecution, which depends on an unreliable identification.

7. When she was ______ he contradicted his earlier testimony.

8. I am innocent; I did not ______ you accuse me of.

9. During the recent debate on this matter Mr Alien failed to ______: he is a director of the company bidding for the contract.

10. Most solicitors do not ______ for the first consultation.

Ex.6. Match the words with their definitions and learn them:

law, morality, court, penalty, agreement, crime, just, property, to cross examine, valid, citizen, justice

1. A person who is a member of a particular country and who has rights because of being born there or because of being given rights.

2. A personal or social set of standards for good or bad behaviour and character, or the quality of being right, honest or acceptable.

3. Based on truth or reason; able to be accepted; having legal force.

4. A building where trials and other legal cases happen, or the people present in such a room, esp. the officials and those deciding whether someone is guilty.

5. Something or a number of things owned by someone, esp. buildings and land.

6. A rule, usually made by a government, that is used to order the way in which a society behaves, or the whole system of such rules.

7. The putting of the law into action; or a judge.

8. A punishment for doing something that is against a law; or a type of punishment, often involving paying money, that is given to you if you break an agreement or do not follow rules.

9. A decision or arrangement, often formal and written, between two or more groups of people.

10. Fair, morally correct.

11. An action which is against the law, or, more generally, bad or unacceptable behaviour.

12. To examine a witness by a party other than the one who called him to testify.

Ex.7. Match the legal terms with their definitions. Learn them.

authority, court, govern, judge, law enforcement agency, legal action, legal system, legislation, rule, the judiciary, tribunal

1. A body appointed to make a judgement or inquiry.

2. A country’s body of judges.

3. An act or acts passed by a law-making body.

4. Behaviour recognized by a community as binding or enforceable by authority.

5. Legal proceedings.

6. An official body that has authority to try criminals, resolve disputes, make other legal decisions.

7. An organization responsible for enforcing the law, especially the police.

8. A senior official in a court of law.

9. The body or system of rules recognized by a community that are enforceable by established process.

10. The control resulting from following a community’s system of rules;

11. Members of the legal profession.

12. To rule a society and control the behaviour of its members.

Check your knowledge of the above legal terms by completing the following text with them. Make some necessary changes, but use each term once.

Why do we have laws and ¹⁾ ______? At one level, law can be seen as a type of ²⁾ ______ which is meant to ³⁾ ______ behaviour between people. We can find these rules in nearly all social organizations, such as families and sports clubs.

Law, the body of official rules and regulations, generally found in constitutions and ⁴⁾ ______, is used to govern a society and to control the behaviour of its members. In modern societies, a body with ⁵⁾ ______, such as a ⁶⁾ ______ or the legislature, makes the law, and a ⁷⁾ ______, such as the police, makes sure it is observed.

In addition to enforcement, a body of expert ⁸⁾ ______ is needed to apply the law. This is the role of ⁹⁾ ______, the body of ¹⁰⁾ ______ in a particular country. Of course, legal systems vary between countries, as well as the basis for bringing a case before a court or ¹¹⁾ ______. One thing, however, seems to be true all over the world — starting a ¹²⁾ ______ is both expensive and time consuming.

Ex. 8. Insert prepositions where necessary:

1. He was elected ______ a unanimous vote.

2. The old man was determined to secure his property ______ his daughter.

3. The jury gave a verdict ______ acquittal.

4. He was tried ______ his peers.

5. How can I secure myself ______ the consequences?

6. I set him and his threats ______ defiance.

7. ______ long deliberation the jury gave their verdict.

8. They finally got married ______ defiance of the public opinion.

9. It turned out that the paper was ______ legal force.

10. The judge rose from his chair ______ great deliberation and left the room.

Ex. 9. Fill in the missing words in the following passage from the list provided below. Translate the sentences into Russian.

independent, legislature, United States, conform, executive, judicial, three, different, prescriptive, executive, judiciary, administrative, legislature, descriptive, legislative, different, executive

There are ¹⁾ ______ main functions of government. These are the ²⁾ ______, the ³⁾ ______ and the ⁴⁾ ______. The theory of separation of powers states that these functions should be carried out by ⁵⁾ ______ bodies. The British constitution does not ⁶⁾ ______ to this theory. The same people are members of the ⁷⁾ ______ and the ⁸⁾ ______ and there are some ⁹⁾ ______ functions which are carried out by the courts. The distinction is clearer in the constitution of the ¹⁰⁾ ______ where the executive, legislative and judicial roles are performed by ¹¹⁾ ______ bodies. The theory is ¹²⁾ ______ rather than ¹³⁾ ______ of the liberal system of government, an essential feature of which is that the ¹⁴⁾ ______ should be ¹⁵⁾ ______ of the ¹⁶⁾ ______ and the ¹⁷⁾ ______.

Read the texts. Make notes of their main points. Be ready to discuss them.

TEXT 1

I. Law: a necessary evil?

In the opinion of many people, the law is a necessary evil that should be used only when everyday, informal ways of setting disputes break down. When we buy train ticket a lawyer may tell us it represents contract with legal obligations, but to most of us it is just a ticket that gets us on the train. If our neighbor plays loud music late at night, we probably try to discuss the matter with him rather than consulting the police, lawyers or the courts. Only when we are injured in a train accident, or when a neighbor refuses to behave reasonably, do we start thinking about the legal implications of everyday activities.

Even so, some transactions in modern society are complex that few of us would risk making them without first seeking legal advice; for example, buying or selling a house, setting up a business, or deciding whom to give our property to when we die. In some societies, such as the USA, precise written contracts, lawyers and courts of law have become a part of daily life, whereas in others, such as Japan, lawyers are few and people tend to rely on informal ways of solving disagreements. It is interesting that two industrialized societies should be so different in this respect.

On the whole it seems that people all over the world are becoming more and more accustomed to using legal means to regulate their relations with each other. Multinational companies employ expensive experts to ensure that their contracts are valid wherever they do business. Non-industrialized tribes in South America use lawyers in order to try stop governments from destroying the rainforests in which they live. In the former Soviet republics where law was long regarded as merely a function of political power, ordinary citizens nowadays challenge the decisions of their governments in courts of law. And at a time when workers, refugees, commodities and environmental pollution are traveling around the world faster than ever before, there are increasing attempts to internationalize legal standards. When it helps ordinary people to reach just agreements across social, economic and international barriers, law seems to be regarded as a good thing. However, when it involves time and money and highlights people’s inability to cooperate informally, law seems to be an evil — but necessary one that everyone should have a basic knowledge of.

Дата добавления: 2015-11-14