Exercises

1. Tick off the true sentences.

1. Usually courts don't decide civil cases.

2. In England a defendant can be forced to pay a fine.

3. Civil actions can never be started by individuals.

4. Criminal and civil procedures are considered different in all the сountries.

5. The plaintiff can claim for compensation in Court.

2. Choose the correct alternative in each case to complete the sentence.

1. The English Magistrates' Courts deal with.

a) civil and criminal cases;

b) most serious crimes;

c) civil cases only

2. The victim of a road accident can get compensation if

a) the driver, who injured him, was drunk;

b) the driver, who injured him, pleads himself guilty;

c) he (the victim) proves his case in a civil action

3. The phrase "The people vs. Smith" means

a) a civil case against a person;

b) a civil or a criminal case against a person;

c) a criminal case against a person

4. The Japanese Family Court deals with

a) divorce proceedings;

b) civil and criminal cases;

c) crimes committed by children under 17.

3. Choose the right verb to complete the sentence.

1. The law forbids/permits/approves any criminal activity.

2. Criminal cases equal to/ differ from/imply civil cases.

3. The victim of a road accident must prove/negotiate/disguise his case in court.

4. Courts must ignore/decide/differentiate criminal and civil cases.

5. An English criminal court can allow/force/offer a defendant to pay fine as a punishment.

4. Give the Russian equivalents to the following words and phrases.

• to violate the law

• to be found guilty of arson

• to make a rather clear distinction, between

• to pay a fine as punishment

• victims of the road accident

• one's claim for compensation

• "The People vs. Mr. Smith"

• the main argument

• civil court

• a rapist

• court procedure

• be injured in a road accident

• to force to pay a fine

5. Read the text again and find antonyms for the following words.

to observe similarity to do good

to permit benefit to disapprove

criminal

6. Fill in the gaps with words and expressions from the text.

1. He was seriously ___________ in a __________.

2. ______________ is a person who brings an action of law.

3. Every citizen in a democratic country may ________________ the protection of the law.

4. It's __________ to drive at high speed.

____________ was ___________ by the Court to pay a _________.

Are you going to start ______________ against the company?

He was constantly ___________ by that nightmare.

He claimed $5000 ___________ from his employers for the loss of his health at work.

_____ a private ______ to bring a prosecution against other citizens.

I will _________ to you that the witness is quite unreliable.

7. a) Crime is a problem in most countries, especially in the large cities. Here is a list of some criminals and the crimes they commit, but it is incomplete. Fill in the missing parts. Use a dictionary if necessary.

Criminal	Crime	The criminal…
Thief	robbery/theft	stole some jewellery
Murderer		killed the policeman
	hijacking	hijacked a plane
Drug dealer Drug pusher	drug dealing	dealt in pushing cocaine
	kidnapping
Rapist
Mugger		mugged an old lady
Car thief		stole BMW
	trespass	trespassed on/upon Mr. Brown’s (private) property
	robbery
Terrorist		committed an act of terrorism (e.g. bombing, murder, kidnapping)

b) Which is the worst kind of crime in your opinion? Why? Discuss in a group.

8. Change the verbs to the Past Simple or the Past Continuous. Then retell the story.

THE UNLUCKY BURGLAR

One evening Alf (watch) the television and (eat) his supper when the door suddenly (open) and a burglar (come) in. He (wear) a mask and (carry) a sack. Before doing anything else he (tie) Alf to the chair. Then he (go) upstairs to look for money. Although he (not find) any money he (find) lot of jewellery, which he (put) into his sack. In his rush to get downstairs he (not see) the dog which (lie) at the bottom of the stairs and he (fall) over it, loosing his glasses. While the burglar (look for) them, Alf (try) to free himself. Finally Alf (manage) to escape and he (phone) the police. As soon as the burglar (find) his glasses he (run) out of the house. However, unfortunately for him, the police (wait) for him at the end of the garden.

Law: basic terms

9. The following terms introduce you to the law and basic legal terminology. Below are the definitions. Find the definition for each term.

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

1. a body that is appointed to make a judgement or inquiry tribunal

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, or 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 _______________

Lawyer is a wide term which refers to all professionals working in the legal profession; it does not refer to a specific job.

Law: basic concepts

10. Complete the following text about basic legal concepts using the following words and phrases. Use each term once.

authority court govern judges

law enforcement agency lawyers legal action legal eystems legislation rule the judiciary tribunal

Why do we have laws and legal systems? At one level, laws can be seen as a type of_______________which is meant to______________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_______________, is used to govern a society and to control the behaviour of its members. In modern societies, a body with ______________, such as a______________or the legislature, makes the law; and a_______________, such as the police, makes sure it is observed. In addition to enforcement, a body of expert______________is needed to apply the law. This is the role of_______________, the body of______________in a particular country. Of course, legal systems vary between countries, as well as the basis for bringing a case before a court or_______________. One thing, however, seems to be true all over the world - starting a_______________is both expensive and time-consuming.

Nouns in English can be divided into countable and uncountable. Countable nouns have a singular and a plural form; uncountable nouns have only one form. Law is a countable noun; legislation is an uncountable noun.

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