ВЕРХОВНЫЙ СУД РОССИЙСКОЙ ФЕДЕРАЦИИ

ВЫСШИЙ АРБИТРАЖНЫЙ СУД РОССИЙСКОЙ ФЕДЕРАЦИИ

ФЕДЕРАЛЬНОЕ ГОСУДАРСТВЕННОЕ БЮДЖЕТНОЕ

ОБРАЗОВАТЕЛЬНОЕ УЧРЕЖДЕНИЕ

ВЫСШЕГО ПРОФЕССИОНАЛЬНОГО ОБРАЗОВАНИЯ

«РОССИЙСКАЯ АКАДЕМИЯ ПРАВОСУДИЯ»

ПРИВОЛСКИЙ ФИЛИАЛ

Кафедра языкознания и иностранных языков

ИНОСТРАННЫЙ ЯЗЫК

В СФЕРЕ ЮРИСПРУДЕНЦИИ

УЧЕБНО-МЕТОДИЧЕСКОЕ ПОСОБИЕ ПО АНГЛИЙСКОМУ ЯЗЫКУ

для студентов заочной формы обучения по направлению подготовки

030900 «Юриспруденция» (квалификация (степень) «бакалавр»)

Нижний Новгород, 2013

ВЕРХОВНЫЙ СУД РОССИЙСКОЙ ФЕДЕРАЦИИ

ВЫСШИЙ АРБИТРАЖНЫЙ СУД РОССИЙСКОЙ ФЕДЕРАЦИИ

ФЕДЕРАЛЬНОЕ ГОСУДАРСТВЕННОЕ БЮДЖЕТНОЕ

ОБРАЗОВАТЕЛЬНОЕ УЧРЕЖДЕНИЕ

ВЫСШЕГО ПРОФЕССИОНАЛЬНОГО ОБРАЗОВАНИЯ

«РОССИЙСКАЯ АКАДЕМИЯ ПРАВОСУДИЯ»

ПРИВОЛСКИЙ ФИЛИАЛ

Кафедра языкознания и иностранных языков

ИНОСТРАННЫЙ ЯЗЫК

В СФЕРЕ ЮРИСПРУДЕНЦИИ

УЧЕБНО-МЕТОДИЧЕСКОЕ ПОСОБИЕ ПО АНГЛИЙСКОМУ ЯЗЫКУ

для студентов заочной формы обучения по направлению подготовки

030900 «Юриспруденция» (квалификация (степень) «бакалавр»)

Нижний Новгород, 2013

ББК 81.2 Англ

Автор-составитель: С.Г. Ватлецов, к.ф.н., доцент, доцент кафедры языкознания и иностранных языков ФГБОУВПО ПФ «РАП».

Рецензент: Храмова Ю.Н., к.пед.н., доцент, доцент кафедры культуры предпринимательства Нижегородского государственного университета им. Н.И. Лобачевского.

Учебно-методическое пособие по дисциплине «Иностранный язык в сфере юриспруденции» (английский язык) для студентов заочного отделения, обучающихся по специальности «Юриспруденция». – Н. Новгород, 2013. – 27 с.

© ФГБОУВПО ПФ «РАП», 2013.

© Ватлецов С.Г., 2013.

Оглавление

Courts of England and Wales........................................................................................4

The US Court System..................................................................................................13

Questions.....................................................................................................................16

Контрольные задания................................................................................................18

Список используемой литературы...........................................................................26

COURTS OF ENGLAND AND WALES

Her Majesty's Courts of Justice of England and Wales are the civil and criminal courts responsible for the administration of justice in England and Wales; they apply English law, the law of England and Wales, and are established under Acts of the Parliament of the Unated Kingdom.

The United Kingdom does not have a single unified legal system – England and Wales have one system, Scotland another, and Nothern Ireland a third. There are exceptions to this rule; for example in immigration law, the Asyllum and Immigration Tribun's jurisdiction covers the whole of the United Kingdom, while in employment law there is a single system of Employment Tribunals for England, Wales, and Scotland (but not Northern Ireland). Additionally, the Military Court Service has jurisdiction over all members of the armed forces of the United Kingdom in relation to offences against military law.

The Court of Appeal, the High Court, the Crown Court, the magistrates' courts, and the county courts are administered by Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service, an executive agency of the Ministry of Justice.

Supreme Court of the United Kingdom is the highest appeal court in almost all cases in England and Wales. Prior to the Constitutional Reform Act 2005 this role was held by the House of Lords. The Supreme Court is also the highest court of appeal for devolution matters, a role previously held by the Privy Council.

Judicial Committee of the Privy Council is the highest court of appeal for a small number of Commonwelth countries, colonies and the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. There are a number of smaller statutory jurisdictions, such as appeals from ecclesiastical and professional bodies. The judges who sit on the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council are also the members of the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal.

The Senior Courts of England and Wales were originally created by the Judicature Acts as the "Supreme Court of Judicature". It was renamed the "Supreme Court of England and Wales" in 1981, and again to the "Senior Courts of England and Wales" by the Constitution Reform Act 2005 (to distinguish it from the new Supreme Court of the United Kingdom). It consists of the following courts: Courts of Appeal (formally Her Majesty's Court of Appeal in England), High Court of Justice (High Court, formally Her Majesty's High Court of Justice in England), Crown Court.

Court of Appeal The Court of Appeal deals only with appeals from other courts or tribunals. The Court of Appeal consists of two divisions: the Civil Division hears appeals from the High Court and County Court and certain superior tribunals, while the Criminal Division may only hear appaeals from the Crown Court connected with a trial on indictment (i.e. for a serious offence). Its decisions are binding on all courts, including itself, apart from the Supreme Court.

The High Court of Justice functions both as a civil court of first instance and a criminal and civil appellate court for cases from the subordinate courts. It consists of three divisions: the Queen's Bench, the Chancery and the Family divisions. The divisions of the High Court are not separate courts, but have somewhat separate procedures and practices adapted to their purposes. Although particular kinds of cases will be assigned to each division depending on their subject matter, each division may exercise the jurisdiction of the High Court. However, beginning proceedings in the wrong division may result in a costs penalty.

The Crown Court is a criminal court of both original and appellate jurisdiction which in addition handles a limited amount of civil business both at first instance and on appeal. It was established by the Courts Act 1971. It replaced the Assizes whereby High Court judges would periodically travel around the country hearing cases, and Quarter Sesions which were periodic county courts. The Old Bailey is the unofficial name of London's most famous Criminal Court, which is now part of the Crown Court. Its official name is the "Central Criminal Court". The Crown Court also hears appeals from Magistrates’ Courts.

The Crown Court is the only court in England and Wales that has the jurisdiction to try cases on indictment and when exercising such a role it is a superior court in that its judgments cannot be reviewed by the Administrative Court of the Queen’s Bench Division of the High Court. The Crown Court is an inferior court in respect of the other work it undertakes, viz. inter alia, appeals from the magistrates’ courts and other tribunals.

Subordinate courts

Magistrates' courts are presided over by a bench of lay magistrates (aka justices of the peace), or a legally-trained district judge (formerly known as a stipendiary magistrate), sitting in each local justice area. There are no juries. They hear minor criminal cases, as well as certain licensing appeals. Youth courts are run on similar lines to Adult magistrates' courts but deal with offenders aged between the ages of 10 and 17 inclusive. Youth courts are presided over by a specially trained subset of experienced adult magistrates or a district judge. Youth magistrates have a wider catalogue of disposals available to them for dealing with young offenders and often hear more serious cases against youths (which for adults would normally be dealt with by the Crown Court). In addition some Magistrates' Courts are also a Family Proceedings Court and hear Family law cases including care cases and they have the power to make adoption orders. Family Proceedings Courts are not open to the public. The Family Proceedings Court Rules 1991 apply to cases in the Family Proceedings Court. Youth courts are not open to the public for observation, only the parties involved in a case being admitted.

County courts. County courts are statutory courts with a purely civil jurisdiction, sitting in 92 different towns and cities across England and Wales. They are presided over by either a district or circuit judge and, except in a small minority of cases such as civil actions against the police, the judge sits alone as trier of fact and law without assistance from a jury. County courts have divorce jurisdiction and undertake private family cases, care proceedings and adoptions.

County courts are local courts in the sense that each one has an area over which certain kinds of jurisdiction—such as actions concerning land or cases concerning children who reside in the area—are exercised. For example, proceedings for possession of land must be started in the county court in whose district the property lies. However, in general any county court in England and Wales may hear any action and claims are frequently transferred from court to court.

Tribunals. The Court Service administers the tribunals that fall under the direct responsibility of the Lord Chancellor. Tribunals can be considered the lowest rung of the court hierarchy in England and Wales.

Special courts and tribunals. In addition, there are many other specialist courts. These are often described as "Tribunals" rather than courts, but the difference in name is not of any great consequence. For example an Employment Tribunal is an inferior court of record for the purposes of the law of contempt of court. In many cases there is a statutory right of appeal from a tribunal to a particular court or specially constituted appellate tribunal. In the absence of a specific appeals court, the only remedy from a decision of a Tribunal may be a judicial review to the High Court, which will often be more limited in scope than an appeal.

Examples of specialist courts are: Employment Tribunals (formerly Industrial Tribunals) with appeal to the Employment Appeal Tribunal.

• the Employment Appeal Tribunal, which is a superior court of record, and therefore not subject to judicial review, appeals go to the Court of Appeal,

• Leasehold Valuation Tribunals, with appeal to the Lands Tribunal,

• the Lands Tribunal (England, Wales and Northern Ireland),

• the First Tribunal and the Upper Tribunal established under the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007.

Coroners' courts. The post of coroner is ancient, dating from the 11th century, and coroners still sit today to determine the cause of death in situations where people have died in potentially suspicious circumstances, abroad, or in the care of central authority. They also have jurisdiction over treasure trove.

Ecclesiastical courts. The Church of England is an established church (i.e. it is the official state church) and formerly had exclusive or non-exclusive subject matter jurisdiction over marriage and divorce cases, testamentary matters, defamation, and several other areas. Since the 19th century, the jurisdiction of the ecclesiastical courts has narrowed principally to matters of church property and errant clergy. Each Diocese has a 'Chancellor' (either a barrister or solicitor) who acts as a judge in the consistory court of the diocese. The Bishop no longer has the right to preside personally, as he formerly did. Appeals lie to the Arches Court (in Canterbury) and the Chancery Court (in York), and from them to the Court of Ecclisiastical Causes Reserved (CECR). From the CECR appeals lie to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council.

Other courts

• Military Courts of the United Kingdom (including the Summary Appeal Court, Service Civilian Court, Court Martial and Court Martial Appeal Court),

• Patents County Court (deals with simpler intellectual property cases than the High Court Patents Court),

• Restrictive Practices Court (deals with some competition matters),

• Election court (ad-hoc courts hearing petitions against election results),

• Court of Chivalry (ancient and rarely-convened court dealing with heraldry),

• Courts leet (manorial courts - now mostly ceremonial).

Criminal cases

There are two kinds of criminal trial: 'summary' and 'on indictment'. For an adult, summary trials take place in a magistrates' court, while trials on indictment take place in the Crown Court. Despite the possibility of two venues for trial, almost all criminal cases, however serious, commence in the Magistrates’ Courts. It is possible to start a trial for an indictible by a voluntary bill of indictment, and go directly to the Crown Court, but that would be unusual.

A criminal case that starts in the Magistrates' Court may begin either by the defendant being charged and then being brought forcibly before Magistrates, or by summons to the defendant to appear on a certain day before the Magistrates. A summons is usually confined to very minor offences. The hearing (of the charge or summons) before the Magistrates is known as a "first appearance".

Offences are of three categories: indictable only, summary and either way. Indictable only offences such as murder and rape must be tried on indictment in the Crown Court. On first appearance, the Magistrates must immediately refer the defendant to the Crown Court for trial, their only role being to decide whether to remand the defendant on bail or in custody.

Summary offences, such as most motoring offences, are much less serious and most must be tried in the Magistrates' Court, although a few may be sent for trial to the Crown Court along with other offences that may be tried there (for example assault). The vast majority of offences are also concluded in a magistrates' court (over 90% of cases).

Either way offences are intermediate offences such as theft and, with the exception of low value criminal damage, may be tried either summarily (by magistrates) or by judge and jury in the Crown Court. If the magistrates consider that an either way offence is too serious for them to deal with, they may "decline jurisdiction" which means that the defendant will have to appear in the Crown Court. Conversely even if the magistrates accept jurisdiction, an adult defendant has a right to compel a jury trial. Defendants under 18 years of age do not have this right and will be tried in the youth court (similar to a magistrates' court) unless the case is homicide or else is particularly serious.

A magistrates' court is made up in two ways. Either a group (known as a 'bench') of 'lay magistrates', or a district judge, will hear the case. A lay bench must consist of at least three magistrates. Alternatively a case may be heard by a district judge (formerly known as a stipendiary magistrate), who will be a qualified lawyer and will sit singly, but has the same powers as a lay bench. District judges usually sit in the more busy courts in cities or hear complex cases (e.g. extradition). Magistrates have limited sentencing powers.

In the Crown Court, the case is tried before a Recorder (part-time judge), Circuit Judge or a High Court judge, and a jury. The seniority of the judge depends on the seriousness and complexity of the case. The jury is involved only if the defendant enters a plea of "not guilty".

Appeals

From the magistrates' courts, an appeal can be taken to the Crown Court on matters of fact and law or, on matters of law alone, to the Administrative Court of Queen's Bench Division of the High Court, which is called an appeal "by way of case stated". The Magistrates' Court is also an inferior court and is therefore subject to judicial review.

The Crown Court is more complicated. When it is hearing a trial on indictment (a jury trial) it is treated as a superior court, which means that its decisions may not be judicially reviewed and appeal lies only to the Criminal Division of the Court of Appeal.

In other circumstances (for example when acting as an appeal court from a Magistrates' Court) the Crown Court is an inferior court, which means that it is subject to judicial review. When acting as an inferior court, appeals by way of case stated on matters of law may be made to the Administrative Court.

Appeals from the High Court, in criminal matters, lie only to the Supreme Court. Appeals from the Court of Appeal (Criminal Division) may also only be taken to the Supreme Court.

Appeals to the Supreme Court are unusual in that the court from which appeal is being made (either the High Court or the Court of Appeal) must certify that there is a point of law of general public importance. This additional control mechanism is not present with civil appeals and means that far fewer criminal appeals are heard by the Supreme Court.

Civil cases

Under the Civil Procedure Rules 1998, civil claims under £5,000 are dealt with in the County Court under the 'Small Claims Track'. This is generally known to the lay public as the 'Small Claims Court' but does not exist as a separate court. Claims between £5,000 and £25,000 that are capable of being tried within one day are allocated to the 'Fast Track' and claims over £25,000 to the 'Multi Track'. These 'tracks' are labels for the use of the court system – the actual cases will be heard in a county court or the High Court depending on their value.

For personal injury, defamation cases and some landlord and tenant disputes the thresholds for each track have different values.

THE U.S. COURT SYSTEM

The U.S. Supreme Court. The Supreme Court of the United States was created by Sec. 1 Article III of the Constitution. Its jurisdiction is set out by statute in Title 28 of the U.S. Code. The organization of the Court is also spelled out by legislation. The Court itself develops the rules governing the presentation of cases. One of the most important powers of the Supreme Court is judicial review. While the Supreme Court is a separate branch of government, outside factors do exert some influence on the Court.

U.S. Supreme Court Justices. There are nine justices; a Chief Justice of the United States and eight associate justices, who are appointed by the president with the advice and consent of the Senate. Justices serve during good behavior (usually until death, retirement or resignation.)

Judicial Review consists of: the power of the courts to declare laws invalid if they violate the Constitution; the supremacy of federal laws or treaties when they differ from state and local laws; the role of the Court as the final authority on the meaning of the Constitution.

Influences on the Court. There exist both legal and political influences on the Supreme Court justices and their decisions. Among the legal influences on Supreme Court decisions are:

-The Constraints of the Facts: Courts cannot make a ruling unless they have an actual case brought before it. The facts of a case are the relevant circumstances of a legal dispute or offense. The Supreme Court must respond to the facts of a dispute.

-The Constraints of the Law: Among the legal constraints in deciding cases, the Supreme Court must determine which laws are relevant. These include; interpretation of the Constitution, interpretation of statutes, and interpretation of precedent.

Among the political influences on Supreme Court Decisions are:

"Outside Influences" such as the force of public opinion, pressure from interest groups, and the leverage of public officials;

"Inside Influences" Such as justices' personal beliefs, political attitudes, and the relationship between justices.

How Cases Make Their Way to the U.S. Supreme Court. Each year, about 4,500 cases are requested for review by the Supreme Court. Less than 200 cases are actually decided by the Court each year. There are three ways for a case to make its way to the US Supreme Court.

1) There are cases in which the US Supreme Court has original jurisdiction (heard there first). Cases in which a state is a party and cases dealing with diplomatic personnel, like ambassadors, are the two examples.

2) Those cases appealed from lower federal courts can be heard at the Supreme Court. Some laws obligate (or force) the Supreme Court to hear them. But most come up for review on the writ of certiorari, a discretionary writ that the court grants or refuses at its own discretion. The writ is granted if four of the justices want it to be heard.

3) The US Supreme Court reviews appeals from state supreme courts that present substantial "federal questions," usually where a constitutional right has been denied in the state courts.

In both civil and criminal law, the Supreme Court is the final court of appeal.

State Courts

Each state has a court system that exist independently from the federal courts. State court systems have trial courts at the bottom level and appellate courts at the top. Over 95% of the nation's legal cases are decided in state courts (or local courts, which are agents of the states).

Some states have two appellate levels, and others have only a single appellate court. States vary in the way they organize and name their courts, but they usually give some lower courts specialized titles and jurisdictions. Family courts settle such issues as divorce and child-custody disputes, and probate courts handle the settlement of the estates of deceased persons. Below these specialized trial courts are less formal trial courts, such as magistrate courts and justice of the peace courts. These handle a variety of minor cases, such as traffic offenses, and usually do not use a jury.

Cases that originate in state courts can be appealed to a federal court if a federal issue is involved and usually only after all avenues of appeal in the state courts have been tried. In 1990 there were over 88 million cases heard at the state trial courts throughout the U.S. One hundred and sixty seven thousand cases were appealed at the next level, while sixty two thousand made it to the state courts of last resort.

Federal Courts of Appeal. When cases are appealed from district courts, they go to a federal court of appeals. Courts of appeals do not use juries or witnesses. No new evidence is submitted in an appealed case; appellate courts base their decisions on a review of lower-court records. In 1990, the 158 judges handled about 41,000 cases.

There are 12 general appeals courts. All but one of them (which serves only the District of Columbia) serve an area consisting of three to nine states (called a circuit.) There is also the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, which specializes in appeals of decisions in cases involving patents, contract claims against the federal government, federal employment cases and international trade.

Between four and twenty six judges sit on each court of appeals, and each case is usually heard by a panel of three judges. Courts of appeals offer the best hope of reversal for many appellants, since the Supreme Court hears so few cases. Fewer than 1 percent of the cases heard by federal appeals courts are later reviewed by the Supreme Court.

Federal District Courts. All federal courts, except for the U.S. Supreme Court were created by Congress. There are ninety four federal district courts across the country, with at least one in every state (larger states have up to four). There are about 550 federal district-court judges who are appointed by the president with the advice of the Senate. District courts are the only courts in the federal system in which juries hear testimony in some cases, and most cases at this level are presented before a single judge. They heard about 267,000 cases in 1990. Federal district courts are bound by legal precedents established by the Supreme Court. Most federal cases end with the district court's decision.

Court of Military Appeals. The Court of Military Appeals hears appeals of military court-martial (when a person who is in the military commits a crime they can be tried and punished by the military courts.)

Court of International Trade. The Court of International Trade hears cases involving appeals of rulings of U.S. Customs offices.

Court of Claims. The Court of Claims hears cases in which the U.S. Government is sued.

QUESTIONS

1. Does the United Kingdom have a single and unified judiciary system?

2. What is the highest appeal court in England and Wales?

3. What is the highest appeal court for Commonwealth countries?

4. What are senior courts of England and Wales?

5. What does court of appeal consist of?

6. What does court of appeal deal with?

7. What does The High Court of Justice function as?

8. What does The High Court of Justice consist of?

9. What is The Crown Court’s jurisdiction?

10. What are English subordinate courts?

11. What is County Courts’ jurisdiction?

12. What are tribunals? What tribunals are there in England and Wales?

13. What is Coroner’s Courts’ jurisdiction?

14. What are ecclesiastical courts?

15. What kinds of criminal trial are there in England and Wales?

16. What is a ‘first appearance’ before magistrates?

17. What is an indictable offence?

18. What is a summary offence?

19. What is an intermediate offence?

20. What is a magistrate’s court?

21. How are magistrates’ courts made up?

22. How are appeals in England and Wales taken to?

23. What rules of claim are there in England and Wales?

24. What is The US Supreme Court’s jurisdiction?

25. What are the legal and political influences of The US Supreme Court?

26. How do cases make their way to The US Supreme Court?

27. What is a judiciary system in the states?

28. What is the system of federal courts of appeal?

КОНТРОЛЬНЫЕ ЗАДАНИЯ

КОНТРОЛЬНОЕ ЗАДАНИЕ

для студентов, имеющих общее среднее образование

(1 семестр)

1. Read the text.

LEGAL EAGLES

A lawyer is someone qualified to advise or act in legal cases.

Legal eagle is a slightly humorous expression meaning a lawyer, especially a clever one.

Courts are presided over by judges or, in lower English courts, by magistrates.

In the English system, solicitors represent people and prepare their cases before they reach court; barristers present and argue the cases in court. Solicitors do not represent people in court except magistrate’s courts.

There are a few hundred judges, trained as barristers, who preside in more serious cases. There is no separate training for judges.

Coroners have medical or legal training (or both), and inquire violent or unnatural deaths.

A jury consists of twelve people ("jurors"), who are ordinary people chosen at random from the Electoral Register (the list of people who can vote in elections). The jury listens to the evidence given in court in certain criminal cases and decides whether the defendant is guilty or innocent. If the person is found guilty, the presiding judge passes the punishment. Juries are rarely used in civil cases.

In the American system, attorneys, familiar from a thousand TV and real-life court-room dramas, represent people, prepare cases and present and argue them in court.

2. Write about what you have learnt about a) magistrates, b) solicitors, c) barristers, coroners, d) jury, e) attorneys.

3. Translate the text.

Her Majesty's Courts of Justice of England and Wales are the civil and criminal courts responsible for the administration of justice in England and Wales; they apply English law, the law of England and Wales, and are established under Acts of the Parliament of the Unated Kingdom.

The United Kingdom does not have a single unified legal system – England and Wales have one system, Scotland another, and Nothern Ireland a third. There are exceptions to this rule; for example in immigration law, the Asyllum and Immigration Tribun's jurisdiction covers the whole of the United Kingdom, while in employment law there is a single system of Employment Tribunals for England, Wales, and Scotland (but not Northern Ireland). Additionally, the Military Court Service has jurisdiction over all members of the armed forces of the United Kingdom in relation to offences against military law.