15 Judiciary in Great Britain

There are two courts of trial and two courts of appeal for criminal proceedings in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The courts of trial are the Magistrates' Court and the Crown Courts, and the courts of appeal are the Court of Appeal and the House of Lords.

The Magistrates' Court. The most common type of law court in England and Wales is the Magistrates' Court. The Magistrates' Court is the lower court of trial. It deals with summary offences. More serious criminal cases (indictable offences) then go to the Crown Court. The most severe punishment is life imprisonment: there has been no death penalty in Britain since 1965. Civil cases are dealt with in County courts. Magistrates' Courts have limited powers of penalty but they may commit a convicted offender to the Crown Approximately 95% of all prosecutions are dealt with in the Magistrates' Courts.

Juvenile Courts are composed of specially trained magistrates. They try most charges against children and young persons under the age of 1 8 years.

The Crown Court. The Crown Court is the senior court of trial for criminal offences. The courts are established at various centres throughout the country. The Crown Court may also hear appeals against conviction and sentence for some offences dealt with at the Magistrates' Court.

The Court of Appeal. The Court of Appeal hears appeals from criminal cases heard in the Crown Courts.

The House of Lords. The House of Lords is the most senior and final court of appeal.

Civil Proceedings. Civil proceedings consist of litigation about property, family matters and actions to obtain financial redress for damage to property and personal injury. The courts of trial for such litigation are the County Court and the High Court of Justice. County Courts are local courts and are presided over by a single Judge. The High Court of Justice is situated in London. Some cases before the High Court of Justice may be heard before a jury.

4 Constitution

The Verkhovna Rada (Ukrainian parliament) adopted the Constitution of Ukraine in force June 28, 1996

 According to this country’s Basic Law, Ukraine is a sovereign, independent, democratic, and social state with a rule of law. Although such features as ‘sovereign’ and ‘independent’ are, in fact, closely similar, in this case the European constitutional tradition and principal thesis of fighters for Ukrainian statehood are concurrent. By the ‘democratic’ feature the principle of the government by the people is emphasized being defined concretely by Article 5 stating that “the people are the bearers of sovereignty and the only source of power in Ukraine” exercising it “directly and through bodies of state power and bodies of local self-government.’ By the attribute ‘social the responsibility of the State to provide for the social protection of the population is stipulated, while the ‘rule of law’ implies that in Ukraine legality is to reign as the general measure of  freedom, equality and  justice.

Principle is the definition of the form of government by Article 6: “State power in Ukraine is exercised on the principles of its division into legislative, executive and judicial power.” The Constitution defines by Article 75 the Verkhovna Rada as the sole organ of legislative power in Ukraine, with the highest executive body being the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine (Article 113). The Constitutional Court of Ukraine and courts of general jurisdiction exercise judicial proceedings in Ukraine (Articles 124 and 125). Article 102 defines the  status of the President of Ukraine: “The President of Ukraine is the Head of State and acts in its name.”

The Constitution of Ukraine currently in force was assessed on the whole positively by the most authoritative in the sphere of constitutional legislation “Democracy through the Law” Commission of the Council of Europe”, more known as “the Venetian Commission”.