Basics of law. Основы права

Л.В.Бедрицкая, Л.И.Василевская, Г.Г.Карлова, Е.П.Колбаско, Г.И.Сидоренко

UNIT 12

Contracts

LIST OF WORDS

breach of contract	specific performance
contractor	binding
breach of trust	to enforce
action in tort	enforceable
judgment	subject matter of the contract
valuable consideration	to sue
offer and acceptance	duress
offeror/offeree	an express contract
counter offer	an implied contract
original	validity of the contract
to claim damages	inducement
to award damages	a party to a contract
remoteness	a third party
remedy	assignment of rights
injunction	assignee
court of Equity	to be legally bound
legal capacity	a prenuptial agreement/prenup

Ex. 1. Look through the following list of words, make phrases and give their Russian equivalents. Use dictionary if necessary.

a)	of beneficence	b)	certain
	form		absolute
	of guarantee		cash
	of insurance		contract
contract	of purchase/sale		continuing	contract
	size		draft
	of work and labour		gaming
	under seal		joint
			period
			verbal
			void

c)	avoid
	celebrate/award
	close/effect
	initial	contract
	perform
	rescind
	break/infringe

Ex.2. Which word in each group is the odd one out? You may need to consult a dictionary to distinguish the differences in meaning.

1. agreement	franchise	covenant	contract
2. should	in the event	if	whereas
3. consent	authorization	injunction	permission
4. withdraw	breach	cancel	rescind
5. deleted	taken out	unwarranted	removed
6. contention	proposition	proposal	suggestion
7. valid	efficacious	enforceable	in effect
8. rely	repudiate	refuse	reject
9. reluctant	curious	hesitant	unwilling
10. mitigate	lessen	relieve	intensify

Ex. 3. Look through the list of words with the prefix non- having a negative meaning, find their Russian equivalents. Use dictionary if necessary.

nonacceptance,

nonadmission,

nonadvantageous,

nonagreement,

nonassemble,

nonbreakable,

nonbusiness,

noncertified,

noncompensating,

noncompetency,

noncomplying,

nonconfidential,

noncostitutional,

noncontradictory,

noncontrovercial,

noncriminal,

nondamageable,

nondependence,

nonequal,

noninjurious,

nonperformance,

nonpermissible,

nonprescriptive,

nonpunishable,

nontypical

Ex. 4. Complete the sentences using an appropriate form of the words in bold.

1. contract

a) It's one of the ______ terms that you work only for this company.

b) They are ______ bound to finish this work.

c) They might try to take legal action against you if you break the terms of the ______.

d) The ______ has told me the office will be ready by next month.

2. accept

a) I ______ full responsibility for the failure of the plan.

b) Clearly we need to come to an agreement that is ______ to both parties.

c) This idea rapidly gained ______.

d) I’m sorry but this proposal is totally ______ to us.

3. offer

a) They are asking one hundred and eight thousand for the place, so I put in an ______ of one hundred and seventy.

b) We are now ______ you the chance to buy the complete set of pans at half price.

c) It’s an organization that ______ free legal advice to people on low incomes.

4. trust

a) Under the terms of the ______ he receives interest on the money, but he cannot get at the money itself.

b) You shouldn't be so ______ — people take unfair advantage of you.

c) He can't be ______ with much responsibility yet — he's still very inexperienced.

5. negotiate

a) The salary is ______ so how much do you think I should ask for?

b) He is one of the best ______ I’ve ever met.

c) Unfortunately, ______ with the union have broken down.

6. restrict

a) They have imposed ______ on the sales of certain electronic goods.

b) Such ______ trade practices are not in the public interest.

c) I’m afraid access to this information is ______.

Ex. 5. Match the words with their definitions.

contract, transaction, contractor, judgement, promise, compel, sue, damages, remedy, injunction

1. Money which is paid to someone by a person or organization who has been responsible for causing them some injury or loss.

2. A legal decision; order or sentence given by a judge or a law court.

3. An official order given by a court of law, usually to stop someone from doing something.

4. A legal document that states and explains a formal agreement between people or groups, or the agreement itself.

5. To force someone to do something.

6. A piece of business, deal.

7. To take legal action against a person or organization, esp. by making a legal claim for money because of some harm that they have caused you.

8. A way of solving a problem or instructing someone to make a payment for harm or damage they have caused, using a decision made in a court of law.

9. An agreement to do or not to do something.

10. One of the parties to a contract.

Ex. 6. To show that you understand the words in Ex. 5, choose the best word to complete the following sentences.

1. He was so furious about the accusations in the letter that he threatened to ______.

2. She is seeking an ______ banning the newspaper from publishing the photographs.

3. The new circumstances ______ed a change in policy.

4. We have pursued and exhausted all possible ______ for this injustice.

5. I'll try to get back in time but I’m not making any ______.

6. Each ______ at the foreign exchange counter seems to take forever.

7. The police have been ordered to pay substantial ______ to the families of the two dead boys.

8. The law regarding contracts in general is to be found in ______ made by courts.

9. Under English law a ______ cannot enforce an agreement against another party if the agreement was to commit a crime.

10. Whatever happens don’t sign any ______ before you have examined its conditions in detail.

Ex. 7. Supply an appropriate preposition.

1. There are many kinds ___ unwritten agreements ___ people which the law ___ most countries describes as contracts.

2. There are many everyday transactions which most people never think ___ as contracts.

3. The problem ___ unwritten contracts is that it may be very difficult to show evidence ___ the agreement you made.

4. Contracts made ___ the benefit of a third party may be enforceable ___ the third party.

5. The law regarding contracts ___ general is to be found ___ judgements made ______ courts.

6. The parties must agree to contract ______ certain terms — that is, they must know what they are agreeing ______.

7. ___ a contractual dispute, certain defences ___ the formation ___ a contract may permit a party to escape his/her obligations ___ the contract.

8. Legal systems have rules ___ interpreting contracts ___ which one or more contractors made a mistake.

9. A court will award damages only ___ loss closely connected ___ the defendant's breach.

10. A plaintiff may also ask the court to award an injunction ___ the defendant.

Ex. 8. Match the words and word expressions from A and B and give their Russian equivalents.

A	B
1. ex gratia	a) guilty mind
2. ex parte	b) no one can give what he has not got
3. ex post facto	c) the law of peoples
4. fiduciary	d) in the matter of
5. in re	f) the law of the case
6. in rem	g) done as a matter of favour
7. intra vires	h) by a subsequent fact
8. juris et de jure	i) against the thing
9. jus tertii	j) within the powers
10. jus gentum	k) right of the third party
11. lex causae	l) of law and from the law
12. mens rea	m) trust
13. nemo dat quod non habet	n) on the part of one side only

Read the texts. Make notes of its main points. Be ready to discuss them. Do some practice after reading to check your knowledge.

TEXT 1