VIII. Insert the articles if necessary.

The criminal court structure in England and Wales was created by … Courts Act of 1971 and comprises two levels of … criminal courts.

The lower court (or court of first instance) is …magistrates' court, which deals with summary —… less serious — offences: … vast majority of criminal cases, and conducts preliminary investigation into … more serious offences. These more serious offences are mostly tried by … higher court — the Crown court.

Magistrates' courts are local courts.

There are about 700 magistrates' courts in England and Wales, which are open to … public and … media. They usually consist of three to seven magistrates — known as Justices of the Peace (JPs). They are not called “judges” and do not receive promotions.

IX. Fill in the blanks with suitable prepositions.

The magistrates are part-time officials. They hear cases … a jury; receive no salary … their services (only expenses) and, being ordinary citizens, have no legal training.

Magistrates have a very important role to play … their local communities. There are some 30,000 (1999) of them throughout England and Wales. Magistrates are appointed … the Lord Chancellor from names submitted … local advisory committees and used to be middle- or upper-class people, such as the squires, doctors, retired military officers, landowners and businessmen who were prominent … their local community.

In Central London and some other big cities there are also stipendiary magistrates. These are trained lawyers who work full time and are paid salaries. They usually sit alone … the capacity … professional magistrates to hear and decide a case.

X. Role-play.

In groups of three, take the parts of the three magistrates who have heard the case of shoplifting, and try to reach a verdict of ‘guilty’ or ‘not guilty’. When you have come to a decision, compare your verdict with that of other groups.

XI. What is your own personal verdict? Give reasons.

7.1.2. Youth Courts

Read the text to fulfil the tasks.

An important additional function of the magistrates' courts is to hear cases involving young people under 18 (who are collectively called 'juveniles'). The age of criminal responsibility in England and Wales is ten, except in Scotland where it is eight.

Britain has a serious problem with young offenders. The peak age for committing crime is 15: one in four criminal offences are committed by teenager under 16.

Special juvenile courts comprise experienced magistrates and must include at least one member of either sex. Proceedings are held in private, media reports must not identify a young person concerned in the proceedings, whether a defendant, victim or witness. There is a wide range of penalties for young people who are found guilty, ranging from fines and compensations for those under 17 (where their parents or guardians may be ordered to pay) to confinement for those aged 15 and over in a young offenders' institution.

The Crime and Disorders Act 1998 has established a number of new orders to prevent offending and re-offending by young people. New orders include:

• a reparation order, which will require young offenders to make non-financial reparation to the victim(s) of their offence or to the community which they have harmed; and

• an action plan order, which will require them to comply with an individually tailored action plan intended to address their offending behaviour. These new orders, together with the final warning scheme, are being piloted in certain areas for 18 months from the end of 1998;

• a detention and training order, which will combine custody and community supervision; this was implemented in mid-1999.

The new criminal orders will be complemented by a range of other powers. These include parenting orders, which will require a parent to attend counselling and guidance sessions and to comply with specified requirements; and child safety orders, which place a child under 10 who is at risk of becoming involved in crime or his behaving in anti-social manner under the supervision of a specified, responsible officer.

Text-study

1. Learn the following words

confinement – тюремное заключение

reparation – исправление, возмещение

to comply with – подчиняться; исполнять

detention – содержание под арестом

custody – заключение, заточение

counselling – обсуждение, совещание

to harm – нанести вред

requirement – требование

to attend - посещать