The legal system in England and Wales

The House of Lords

Criminal Courts

High Court

Magistrates’ Court

Ex. 2. Mark the statements which are true.

1. The House of Lords is the final court of appeal for civil and criminal cases in the UK.

2. A jury is always present the Crown Court hearings.

3. The County Court hears cases concerning statute law.

4. All English judges and magistrates are professional lawyers.

5. The Magistrates’ Courts hear certain categories of less important cases.

6. The Magistrates’ Courts can choose to hear cases with or without a jury.

Ex. 3. Work in pairs and discuss which courts do you think would deal with:

1. a bank robbery;

2. a divorce case;

3. a burglary committed by a fifteen-year-old;

4. a drowning;

5. a case of driving too fast.

Text c The Role of the Independent Judiciary

Task: read the text and focus on its main points.

Establishing a separate, distinct judicial branch of government responsible for upholding the constitution as the supreme law of the land is a unique American contribution to political theory.

As an alternative to violence, governments have established judicial system for the purpose of dispute resolution.

Impartiality is certainly one of the major goals of law courts. Most democratic governments try to maintain their judicial systems’ objectivity by deliberately insulating courts from external influence, either from other governmental sources such as legislative, executive or administrative authorities, or from private interests attempting to exert economic, social, ethnic, religious or regional pressure on judges.

Judicial independence has the key components: decisional independence, defined as respect for and compliance with the courts decisions, and structural independence, which means freedom from political leaders interference in the selection, promotion, and daily operations of the judicial personnel.

Independent organizations such as Amnesty International and Freedom House confirm that in modern governments a high degree of judicial independence correlates closely with political stability, respect for human rights and the vitality of the democratic institutions.

The motto of the U. S. supreme court, “Equal Justice Under Laws”, embodies the objectives of the judiciary in a democratic society. U.S. courts enjoy a level of influence and respect unequaled anywhere else or at any other time in history, they being a fine example of judicial independence.

American courts adhere to the adversary process. In both civil and criminal cases, the parties through their lawyers are solely responsible for presenting the facts to the court. In civil cases, before trial both parties’ attorneys may conduct discovery – identifying witnesses, gathering relevant information, and learning about the opposing party’s witness and evidence. At trial the lawyers call and question the witnesses. The testimony elicited in court, along with all other items admitted in to evidence by the judge, forms the trial record. Based on this adversarial “party presentation,” the trial court makes determinations of fact, applies the pertinent law, and enters judgment accordingly.

American courts handle almost 100 million legal cases each year. Legal language permeates everyday life, and the "courtroom drama" is a popular literary genre.

Ex. 1. Match the verbs with their appropriate explanations:

to be responsible for	to bring into use
to establish	to deal with
to be impartial	to interrogate
to maintain	to spread or pass through or into every part of something
to influence	to be legally or morally accountable for carrying out a duty
to exert	to agree definitely
to handle	to set up
to confirm	to prevent a decline
to question	to give equal attention to all concerned
to permeate	to have an effect on

Ex. 2. Complete the sentences:

District judicial branch of government as the supreme law of the land	. . .
. . .	one of the major goals of law courts.
Most democratic governments try	. . .
Judicial independence has the key components:	. . .
. . .	being a fine example of judicial independence.
In American legal system disputes	. . .
. . .	are defined in legal terms as “causes of action” appropriate for litigation.

Ex. 3. Here are the answers to some questions to the text. What are the questions?

1. Governments establish a judicial branch for the purpose of dispute resolution.

2. Impartiality is one of the major goals of law courts.

3. The motto of the US Supreme Court, "Equal Justice under Laws", embodies the objectives of the judiciary in a democratic society.

4. US courts enjoy a level of influence and respect unequaled at any other time in history.

5. American courts handle almost 100 million legal cases each year.

6. Legal language permeates everyday life.

Ex. 4. Explain and expand on the following:

1. Judicial branch of government.

2. Impartiality as one of the major goals of law courts.

3. Independent organizations "Amnesty International” and “Freedom House".

4. The motto of the US Supreme Court: "Equal Justice under Laws".

5. Adversarial nature of the American legal system.

Ex. 5. Render the following text into English using the topical vocabulary of the present unit: