English_for_Lawyers_2011

Unit 2. States, Statutes and Constitutions. Section 1. Constitutional Law in the UK and USA

rights include: writ of habeas corpus, no bill of attainder, no duties or taxes on transporting goods from one state to another (Article I, Section 9); jury trials (Article III, Section 1); freedom of religion, speech, press (which includes all media),assembly and petition (First Amendment); state militia to bear arms (Second Amendment); no quartering of troops in homes (Third Amendment); no unreasonable search and seizure (Fourth Amendment);major ("capital and infamous") crimes require indictment, no double jeopardy (more than one prosecution) for the same crime, no self-incrimination, right to due process, right to just compensation for property taken by eminent domain (Fifth Amendment); in criminal law, right to a speedy trial, to confront witnesses against one, and to counsel (Sixth Amendment); trial by jury (Seventh Amendment); right to bail, no excessive fines, and no cruel and unusual punishments (Eighth Amendment); unenumerated rights are reserved to the people (Ninth Amendment); equal protection of the laws (14th Amendment); no racial bars to voting (15th Amendment); no sex bar to voting (19th Amendment); and no poll tax (24th Amendment). Constitutional interpretation has expanded and added nuances to these rights.

5. Join the word pieces:

Make up word combinations to illustrate the usage of these words.

6. Translate into English:

Білль про права 1689 року був одним із досягнень англійського народу у протистоянні до Стюартів та парламенту. Він обмежував монархію і наділяв парламент владою у вирішенні багатьох питань. Англійський Білль про права містив у собі багато ідей стосовно права та держави, які пізніше знайшли відображення в американській Декларації про незалежність. Білль про права декларував такі традиційні права англійців, як право на суд присяжних, заборона жорстоких покарань, право звертатися з петиціями до владних органів та деякі інші.

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PART II. Constitutional and Administrative Law

7.Translate the text into English:

У1787 році Джеймсу Мейсону було 36 років. Він навчався у Принстоні (Princeton), а пізніше був обраний представником у Континентальний конгрес. Томас Джеферсон вислав йому з Парижа більше двохсот книг з історії керівництва державою. Після того як Мейсон ретельно вивчив їх, він виклав свої висновки в роботі «Недоліки політичної системи Сполучених Штатів» («Vices of the Political System of the United States»). Мейсон вважав, що державне керування буде ефективним лише в тому випадку, коли урядовці будуть змушені враховувати інтереси різних соціальних груп.

Джеймс Мейсон був пізніше обраний президентом та займав посаду голови держави з 1809 до 1817 року.

8.Pay attention to the sentence containing «neither…nor» structure. Remember that it is used with the affirmative verb for emphatic effect of combining two negatives. The idiom «neither here nor there» has the meaning «not important/relevant»

Translate the following sentences into Ukrainian:

a.Neither threats nor arguments had any effect on him.

b.They said that the room was comfortable and bright but it was neither comfortable nor bright.

c.He neither wrote nor phoned.

d.The fact that she is the president’s daughter is neither here nor there. She will be punished as anybody else.

9.Some adjectives are used with certain prepositions (you can find the example in the text: «different from»)

Check yourself supplying the missing prepositions after the adjectives:

a.He is angry…me.

b.They feel obliged…you.

c.He is sorry…her.

d.They went ahead contrary…my advice.

e.She is busy…the baby at the moment.

f.I am faithful…my principles.

g.You will be late…classes again.

h.Are you aware…cost of this?

i.This service is free…charge.

j.He is not afraid…taking risks.

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Unit 2. States, Statutes and Constitutions. Section 1. Constitutional Law in the UK and USA

IV. SPEAKING

1. Suggest your ideas on the following statements:

–It has been said that «America is the only true democracy in the western world». Do you agree?

–Are you interested in politics? Should lawyers be politically active?

–What are the main differences in the Constitutions of the UK, the USA and our country?

–What kinds of monarchy can you name? What are the pluses and minuses of living in the country ruled by king or queen?

–If you were to appoint the members of the Cabinet of Ministers what criteria would you rely on and whose recommendations would you listen to?

NB! For rendering your ideas, you can use inserted components like the one given in the text («consequently»). Among others «logical connectors» are: to begin with, firstly, secondly, notwithstanding, therefore, concluding the abovementioned, summarizing this passage, etc.

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PART II. Constitutional and Administrative Law

Unit 2. States, Statutes

and Constitutions

Section 2. Types and Functions

of Constitutions

I. LEAD-IN

What is the role of the constitution in establishing

–state and legal structure;

–human rights;

–legal procedures?

Read the text referring to the italicized terms:

TEXT 2

CONSTITUTIONAL LAW: TYPES AND FUNCTIONS OF

CONSTITUTIONS

Constitutions are the framework for government and may limit or define the authority and procedure of political bodies to execute new laws and regulations. Not all nation states have codified constitutions though all law-governed states have law of land consisting of various imperative and consensual rules. They may include common law, conventions, statutory law and international rules.

Codified constitutions are considered rulemaking fundamentals, or rules about making rules to exercise power. They govern the relationships among the judiciary, the legislature and the executive bodies. One of the key tasks of constitutions within this context is to indicate hierarchies of power. For example, in a unitary state the constitution will vest ultimate authority in the central administration and legislature, and judiciary, though there is often a delegation of authority to local or municipal bodies. When a constitution establishes a federal state it will identify several levels government coexisting with exclusive or shared areas of jurisdiction over lawmaking, application and enforcement.

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Unit 2. States, Statutes and Constitutions. Section 2. Types and Functions of Constitutions

Human rights or liberties for citizens form a crucial part of a country’s constitution and govern the rights of the individual against the state. Most jurisdictions, like the United States, Ukraine and France, have a single codified constitution. A recent example is the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, which was intended to be included in the Treaty establishing a Constitution of Europe.

Some countries, like the United Kingdom, have no entrenched document setting out the fundamental rights – in this jurisdiction the constitution is composed of statute, case law and convention. Inspired by a famous philosopher John Locke, the fundamental constitutional principle is that the individual can do anything but that is forbidden by law, while state may do nothing but that is which authorized by law.

The function of codified constitution is also to describe the procedure by which parliaments may legislate. For instance, special majorities may be required to alter the constitution. In two-chamber legislatures there may be a process laid out for second or third readings of bills before a new law can be passed.

II.DEVELOPMENT

1.Answer the following questions:

1.Do all state nations have codified constitutions?

2.In what way does a constitution defend human rights?

3.What is jurisdiction of the UK composed of?

4.What is one of the fundamental constitutional principles?

5.How can you describe the role of the constitution in establishing central-local relations of authorized bodies in a unitary state?

2.Sum up the text in five sentences paying special attention to pointing out the main functions of the constitution.

3.Give five more words with the same suffixes for each of the following groups of words:

Enforcement Government

…

Shared Law-governed

…

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PART II. Constitutional and Administrative Law

Fundamental

Constitutional …. Imperative Legislative

…

Illustrate the usage with the examples of your own.

4. Render the following text in English:

Конституція – це головний закон держави, який визначає її суспільний устрій, порядок та принципи утворення представницьких органів влади, виборчу ситему, основні права та обов’язки громадян. Конституція – це основа чинного законодавста.

Конституція – це сукупність актів та конституційних звичаїв, які проголошують права та свободи людини і громадянина, визначають форму керування та територіального устрою, основи організацїї центральних та місцевих органів влади.

Конституція є головним джерелом права в державі. Конституції поділяють за формою на кодифіковані, некодифіковані та конституції змішаного типу; за засобом внесення змін — на гнучкі та жорсткі; за терміном дії — на постійні та тимчасові.

6.Join the English expressions containing the term «authority» with their Ukrainian equivalents:

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Unit 2. States, Statutes and Constitutions. Section 2. Types and Functions of Constitutions

7. Translate into Ukrainian:

Key task, statutory law, special majorities, crucial part, forbidden by law, authorized by law, setting out the rights, imperative and consensual rule.

Use these word combinations in sentences of your own.

III.WRITING

1.Study the following saying by Friedrich Hayek (British political

economist)

Liberty not only means that the individual has both the opportunity and the burden of choice; it also means that he must bear the consequences of his actions…Liberty and responsibility ate inseparable.

Prepare a written comment on the meaning of the word «liberty» in the passage.

IV. PRACTICE AND EXPERIENCE

1.Mark the name of the countries with «federal state» or «unitary state»:

Australia

Canada

Turkey

Poland

Great Britain

Ukraine

Russia

the USA

Belgium

China

Brazil

Lithuania

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PART II. Constitutional and Administrative Law

2.Prepare a report on the constitutions of the countries with federal/unitary system of government.

V. OVER TO YOU

1.Read the summary and choose one of the points for discussing

in detail.

A constitution performs the following functions:

a.it establishes institutions of government,

b.it defines the powers of the institutions of government,

c.it prescribes the circumstances in which a power can be exercised

d.it specifies procedures to exercise the power legally and effectively.

2. The suggested topic for further discussion:

How does the existence of the constitution confirm the words of Abraham Lincoln: «No man is good enough to govern another man without that other’s consent»?

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Unit 3. Administrative Law. Section 1. The Nature of Administrative Law

Unit 3. Administrative Law

Section 1. The Nature of Administrative Law

I.WARMING UP

1.Answer the following questions:

1)What sphere of law does administrative law belong to?

2)What is the main task of administrative law?

3)What administrative bodies can you think of?

2.Match the following English words and expressions with their Ukrainian equivalents:

3. Divide the following words into two groups:

1)those in which the letter g is pronounced as [g],

2)those in which the letter g is pronounced as [dз].

Agencies, government, regulatory, agenda, general, legal, encouraging, legislative, immigration, adjudicate.

Read the text paying special attention to the most important definitions.

TEXT 1

ADMINISTRATIVE LAW

Administrative law is the body of law that governs the activities of administrative agencies of government. Government agency action can

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PART II. Constitutional and Administrative Law

include rulemaking, adjudication, or the enforcement of a specific regulatory agenda.

Rulemaking is an agency process for formulating, amending, or repealing a rule. A rule in turn is the whole or a part of an agency statement of general or particular applicability and future effect designed to implement, interpret, or prescribe law or policy.

Adjudication is an agency process for the formulation of an order. An order in turn is the whole or part of a final disposition of an agency in a matter other than rule making but including licensing.

Administrative law is considered a branch of public law. As a body of law, administrative law deals with the decision-making of administrative units of government (e.g., tribunals, boards or commissions) that are part of a national regulatory scheme in such areas as police law, international trade, manufacturing, the environment, taxation, broadcasting, immigration and transport.

Administrative law expanded greatly during the twentieth century, as legislative bodies world-wide created more government agencies to regulate the increasingly complex social, economic and political spheres of human interaction.

While administrative decision-making bodies are often controlled by larger governmental units, their decisions could be reviewed by a court of general jurisdiction under some principle of judicial review based upon due process (United States) or fundamental justice (Canada).

Judicial review of administrative decision, it must be noted, is different from an appeal. When sitting in review of a decision, the Court will only look at the method in which the decision was arrived at, whereas in appeal the correctness of the decision itself will be under question. This difference is vital in appreciating administrative law in common law countries.

II.COMPREHENSION

1.A. Give the definitions for the following terms and expressions

or explain in other words.

1)administrative law;

2)rulemaking;

3)a rule;

4)adjudication;

5)an order.

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