III. Agree or disagree with the statements:

1. The European Court of Human Rights was set up in Paris in 1945.

2. The European Convention for the Human Rights Protection was established in 1950.

3. The European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights protects many essential rights of the individual.

4. The European Court of Human Rights is composed of twenty-one judges.

5. All judges always sit on a case.

6. Usually cases are heard by a panel.

7. The hearings are oral.

8. No more than seven judges try a case.

9. All states have the right to bring a case before the court.

10. Ukraine is a member of Convention.

IV. Answer the questions:

1. Who established the European Court of Human Rights?

2. When and where was the Court Founded?

3. When and where was the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights made?

4. What states have the right to bring the case before the court?

5. How many judges is the European Court of Human Rights composed by?

V. Match the first part of the sentence (1-5) with the second one (a-e).

1	The European Court of Human Rights is composed	a	mainly with civil and political rights.
2	The European Court of Human Rights was established by the European Convention	b	of twenty-one judges, one for each member state.
3	The Convention is concerned	c	to an adequate standard of living.
4	The Declaration included the right	d	but usually cases are heard by a panel of no more than seven.
5	Occasionally all judges hear a case,	e	for the Protection of Human rights.

3. Make up a plan of the text.

Unit 10

Justice in ukraine

Legal system in ukraine

I. Read and memorize the following words:

Procedure, proceeding, peculiarity, bind, complexity, significance, fair, embrace, circumstance, preliminary.

II. Read and translate the text.

The sphere in which the law operates proves to be quite extensive. It embraces all the spheres of our life and work, determines the legal status of every citizen. That's why it is very important to know all peculiarities of the judicial system of the country.

Ninety-seven per cent of all criminal cases and 99 per cent of all civil cases are examined in the principal link of Ukrainian judicial system – the local courts. The most serious offences are examined by the courts of regions. The Supreme Court of Ukraine only examines cases of particular complexity or of special public significance, and does so either upon its own decision, or upon the initiative of the Procurator of Ukraine. The general structure of the judicial system is stipulated in Article 124 of the Constitution of Ukraine, according to which the justice is administered by the Constitutional Court of Ukraine and by courts of general jurisdiction. The courts of general jurisdiction administer justice in the form of civil, commercial, administrative and criminal legislation. The Constitutional Court of Ukraine is a special judicial body of constitutional control.

According to the Law of Ukraine “On Court System”, which came into effect in July, 2002, the system of courts of general jurisdiction includes:

• local courts;

• courts of appeal, the Appellate Court of Ukraine;

• the Cassation Court of Ukraine;

• highest specialized courts;

• the Supreme Court of Ukraine.

The highest judicial body of general jurisdiction is the Supreme Court of Ukraine. The highest bodies of the system of specialized courts are the corresponding highest specialized courts.

The legality of the court's activities is controlled by the Procurator's Office which has the right of protest in a higher court. However, the procurator himself has no right to cancel a verdict.

The Procurator's Office exercises general supervision over the observance of laws on the part of executive organs, officials and individual citizens.

The Procurator-General of Ukraine is appointed by Verkhovna Rada (the Ukrainian Parliament).

The legislation of Ukraine makes it binding on the court, the procurator and investigator to ensure all-round, complete and fair examination of all the circumstances of the case. In most criminal cases the court hearing is preceded by the complicated work of collecting and investigating evidence. According to Ukrainian procedural law this stage is called preliminary investigation. The conclusions arrived at by the investigator and procurators regarding the guilt of a person have preliminary character. The court alone decides on penalty to be applied to the person guilty of a crime.

In cases provided for by the law, the court alone has the right to decide which of the parties has violated the law. The Judges hand down decisions only in keeping with their internal conviction, with the law and in conformity with the circumstances of the case. No person can regard guilty or subjected to legal punishment until sentence has been passed by a court of law. All citizens of Ukraine are equal before the law.