NOTES TO THE TEXT

The Commonwealth – a voluntary organization of autonomous states which had been imperial possessions of Britain. Its head is the reigning British monarch. It was formally established by the Statute of Westminster (1931) and meets frequently to discuss matters of mutual interest and concern. While most states, on independence, chose to become members of the Commonwealth, three have left (Irish Republic, 1949; Pakistan, 1972; Fiji, 1987).

By fits and starts - repeatedly starting and stopping.

LANGUAGE PRACTICE AND COMPREHENSION CHECK:

TASK I a) Use GLOSSARY or a law dictionary to define the following words:

ACTIVE VOCABULARY

executive a, n

authority, n

subject, a, n, v

summon, v

summons, n

legislature, n

legislation, n

legislative, a

legislate, v

void, a

convention, n

legalise, v

binding, a

succeed, v

body, n

successive, a

veto, n,v

succession, n

principal, a, n

principle, n

election, n

b) Use the words legislation, subjects, executive, void, subjects, succession, legislator, legislation, binding, veto, election, void, legislation, principal, summoned, legislatures, legislate, principles, subject, legislative, subjects, elections, to legislate, executive in the following sentences;

c) Translate the sentences:

1. The … branch of government is responsible for effecting and enforcing laws.

2. Legally, therefore, the House of Commons could 'concur with the king and the peers in defeating the … ends for which it is elected and appointed.

3. The predominant view was that abuses of power should be cured by fresh …: they 'believed in the supremacy of Parliament, provided it was truly representative and properly elected'.

4. Tudor Parliaments also dealt with other matters of fundamental constitutional importance, including the … to the throne.

5. The clergy agreed that all future ecclesiastical … would be subject to royal …, and that all existing canons would be reviewed, and … to repeal, by royal authority.

6. The judges of the realm by the fundamental law of England have power to determine which Acts of Parliament are … and which are ….

7. Previously, parliamentary and popular sovereignty had rarely been considered rivals, because of the ancient fictions that Parliament represented all …, and was incapable of acting against their interests.

8. Common lawyers sometimes spoke of statutes contrary to natural law being “…”.

9. Parliament enacted … appropriating the lands of the monasteries. The Statute of Uses (1536) and the Statute of Wills (1540), 'transferring to the King the lands of the lesser monasteries brought about a fundamental change to the law of real property.

10. At a meeting of leading clergy and lawyers in October 1530, a majority advised Henry VIII that Parliament could not authorize the Archbishop of Canterbury to grant Henry's divorce in the face of papal opposition. Later, doubts were raised in Parliament itself as to its competence … with respect to spiritual matters.

11. Although Montague depicts the statute as a piece of conveyancing, rather than as genuine …, on another occasion, he clearly thought of Parliament as a … with respect to rights in land.

12. But decisions about the common good are just what modern … are supposed to make; they, too, are expected to be governed by fundamental, abstract … of political morality that are not judicially enforceable.

13. Were statutes made by the King alone, with the assent of his …, or by the King, Lords, and Commons exercising a shared … power?

14. The Church possessed a divinely ordained power to … in ecclesiastical matters.

15. Parliament derived its authority from the community as a whole, as well as from the King who … it.

16. An Australian judge said in 1862 that the United Kingdom Parliament had 'unlimited' and 'despotic' powers over its ….

17. Dicey argued that in extraordinary situations of internal disorder or war, legal rights must sometimes be violated to protect the public interest from irreparable harm. The … might have to break the law 'for the sake of legality itself', and then seek an Act of Indemnity from Parliament.

18. The electors delegated their share of the sovereign power, other than their power of …, to their representatives 'absolutely and unconditionally.

TASK II a)Find all verbs in passive forms in the text and translate those sentences.

b) Put verbs in brackets in proper passive forms and translate the sentences:

1. The doctrine of parliamentary sovereignty … long (regard) as the most fundamental element of the British Constitution.

2. This doctrine … now (criticise) on historical and philosophical grounds and critics claim that it is a relatively recent invention of academic lawyers that superseded an earlier tradition in which Parliament's authority … (limit) to common law.

3. It … sometimes (argue) that even if the doctrine … well (establish), it remains subject to judicial law-making, precisely because it is a common law rule, established by judicial decisions.

4. But recently the doctrine … (challenge), by judges and academic lawyers in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, and Australia.

5. But no attempt … (make) to defend the doctrine against the proposal that it should … (overturn) by the formal adoption of a judicially enforceable Bill of Rights.

6. It … (say) that Parliament is able to enact or repeal any law whatsoever, and that the courts have no authority to judge statutes invalid for violating either moral or legal principles of any kind.

7. When Parliament's authority … (describe) as 'absolute', it … (treat) as a supreme court from which there was no appeal, rather than as a sovereign legislature in anything like the modern sense of the term.

8. Sir Stephen Sedley has suggested that the doctrine of parliamentary sovereignty … (replace) by “a new and still emerging constitutional paradigm”, consisting of 'a bi-polar sovereignty of the Crown in Parliament and the Crown in the courts

9. Judges can change the common law, but because it is subordinate to statute law, their decisions are always liable (overturn) by Parliament.

10. Parliament … (entitle) to override much of the common law, but not its most fundamental principles, because they are the ultimate source of its own authority.

11. The argument that the doctrine of parliamentary sovereignty is a matter of common law, dependent on judicial recognition and is … (find) in judicial decisions … frequently (affirm) by judges since 1871, but it … rarely (mention) in judgments before then.

12. Two mistakes … sometimes (make) when parliamentary sovereignty … (think) to rest on judicial acceptance alone, rather than a consensus among senior legal officials in general.

13. It … sometimes (argue) that Parliament's legal authority to alter a truly fundamental constitutional principle, or to enact a very unjust law, … not yet … directly (test) in the courts.

14. The Human Rights Act 1998 … (criticize) for providing a weak protection of human rights.

15. Dicey defines 'law' as 'any rule which … (enforce) by the courts'.

16. The principle then of Parliamentary sovereignty may, looked at from its positive side, … thus (describe): Any Act of Parliament, or any part of an Act of Parliament, which makes a new law, or repeals or modifies an existing law, … (obey) by the courts.

17. A legislature is sovereign provided that its law-making authority … (not limit) in any substantive respect, even if it … (bind) to exercise its authority according to requirements of a purely procedural or formal kind.

TASK III Explain or translate the following phrases:

1. British parliamentary practice;

2. To meet informed and public criticism by an Opposition;

3. The State opening of Parliament

4. Before the expiry of the legal term;

5. To legalise past illegalities;

6. In two/three successive sessions;

7. The delaying powers of the Lords.

TASK IV Use the words from Active Vocabulary to complete the following sentences:

1. There are plans to … against computer-related crimes,

2. Two … sessions of Parliament adopted new laws on terrorism.

3. The … is an institution that has power to make or change laws.

4. The Prince of Wales is to … the Sovereign when he or she dies.

5. The part of the government responsible for making sure that new laws are done is called the ….

6. The knights were first … by King Richard I.

7. They all were served ….

8. When a contract has no legal effect it is called null and ….

9. The decisions of the House of Lords are … on lower courts.

10. The president … a new tax increase on gasoline.

TASK V Translate the following sentences paying attention to the meanings of the word "authority/authorities":

1. Jurisdiction has been defined as the authority of the court to hear and determine cases.

2. Certain legal writers hold that there is no world authority with power to enforce the rules of laws, and that, as public international law is incompatible with national sovereignty, the essential characteristics of law are absent.

3. Administrative law determines the legal rights of a private citizen whose house a local authority intends to acquire compulsorily.

4. There are over 300.000 reported decisions which lawyers have to study in order to ascertain what the law is, and to unearth and cite some of them as what is called " authority" in the cases they have to conduct.

5. Police officers are not allowed, in the absence of written authority, to search a person before arrest.

6. Education for those in custody in England and Wales is provided by local education authorities.

7. The validity of an Act of Parliament that has been duly passed legally promulgated and published by the proper authority cannot be disputed in the law courts.

8. The House of Lords also exercises judicial authority over claims of peerage.

9. Members are usually appointed by the minister concerned with the subject, but other authorities (for instance, the Crown and the Lord Chancellor) have the power of appointment.

10. The police were acting on the authority of the City Council.

TASK VI Give English equivalents of the word " body " in the following sentences:

1. The Council is a governing body of the town.

2. Government is a public body.

3. There is now a substantial body of opinion that opposes this law.

4. The House of Commons is a legislative body.

5. The murderer buried the dead body in the garden.

6. The main body of the document must be studied thoroughly.

7. A corporate body has legal personality.

TASK VII a) Read the text and discuss advantages and disadvantages of secondary legislation; b) What body scrutinises secondary legislation in your country?

Дата добавления: 2015-11-14