Legal English - 1

Английский для юристов

Учебное пособие для студентов

юридических специальностей

Chapter I law Unit 1 Introduction to Law

Before you read

Discuss these questions.

1. Why is law necessary in communities?

2. What could you do if there were no laws?

3. What does ‘The law of the jungle’ mean? Give your own example.

4. Why do people take the law into their own hand?

5. Which laws are most often broken in Russia?

Introduction to Law

In the opinion of many people, the law is a necessary evil that should be used only when everyday informal ways of settling disputes break down. If our neighbour plays loud music late at night, we probably try to discuss the matter with him rather than consulting the police, lawyers or the courts. Only when we are injured in a train accident, or when a neighbour refuses to behave reasonably, do we start thinking about the legal implications of everyday activities.

Even so, some transactions in modern society are so complex that few of us would risk making them without first seeking legal advice; for example, buying or selling a house, setting up a business, or deciding whom to give our property to when we die. In some societies, such as the United States, precise written contracts, lawyers, and courts of law have become a part of daily life, whereas in others, such as Japan, lawyers are few and people tend to rely on informal ways of solving disagreements. It is interesting that two highly industrialized societies should be so different in this respect.

On the whole it seems that people all over the world are becoming more and more accustomed to using legal means to regulate their relations with each other. Multinational companies employ expensive experts to ensure them their contracts are valid wherever they do business. Non-industrialized tribes in South America use lawyers in order to try to stop governments from destroying the rainforests in which they live. In the former Soviet republics where law was long regarded as merely a function of political power, ordinary citizens nowadays challenge the decisions of their governments in courts of law. And at a time when workers, refugees, commodities and environmental pollution are travelling around the world faster than ever before, there are increasing attempts to internationalize legal standards. When it helps ordinary people to reach just agreements across social, economic and international barriers, law seems to be regarded as a good thing. However, when it involves time and money and highlights people`s inability to cooperate informally, law seems to be an evil – but a necessary one that everyone should have a basic knowledge of.

Vocabulary

accident n несчастный случай

behave reasonably вести себя разумно

break down v сорвать (переговоры); разорвать (отношения)

challenge the decisions оспаривать решения

commodity, n commodities n pl товар, товары

contract n договор; контракт; valid contract юридически действительный

договор; неоспоримый договор

court n суд; судья; court of law суд, действующий по нормам статутного или

общего права

discuss the matter обсудить вопрос

environmental pollution n загрязнение окружающей среды

implication n 1 условие, предпосылка; 2 вывод; значение; смысл; legal

implication юридический вывод/смысл; юридически подразумеваемое

положение

inability n отсутствие право- и/или дееспособности

injure v причинить вред; получить телесные повреждения

law n 1 право; 2 закон

lawyer n юрист; адвокат; юрисконсульт

legal means n законные средства

police n полиция; полицейские; consult the police обратиться в полицию

political power государственная власть, политическая власть

property n 1 собственность; 2 имущество

reach a just agreement достичь справедливой (законной) договорённости

(соглашения)

refugee n беженец; эмигрант

seek (sought, sought) legal advice просить юридического совета; просить о

юридической консультации

set up (a business) основывать (дело)

settle dispute урегулировать спор

solve disagreement устранять разногласия, разрешать разногласия

transaction n сделка; операция; дело

tribe n племя; род

Reading tasks

A Comprehension check.

1 Mark these statements T (true) or F (false) according to the information in the text.

a Japanese prefer written agreements to informal ones.

b There are more lawyers in the United States than in Japan.

c Contracts and courts of law are a part of ordinary people`s daily life in all

industrialized countries.

d There are increasing attempts to internationalize legal standards.

2 Give examples of the growing uses of law throughout the world.

B Answer these questions.

1. What do people think of law?

2. In what circumstances do people think of their everyday activities as legal matters?

3. Are laws for lawyers or for ordinary people?

4. What will you do if your neighbour plays loud music at night? Will you go to the court?

5. How do people solve problems in the United States and in Japan?

6. Why do multinational companies employ expensive experts in law?

7. In your opinion, is law merely a function of political power?

8. Can ordinary citizens challenge the decisions of their governments? How?

9. Why do people increase attempts to internationalize legal standards?

10. When is law regarded as a bad thing?

11. Are there any laws in Russia that you would like to change or introduce?

Language focus

Put the verb in brackets into the correct form, present simple, past simple or present perfect.

It is obvious to everyone that, in a community such as the one in which we 1) _______ (live), some kind of law is necessary. When the world was at a very primitive stage, there 2) _____ (be) no such law. But, for a very long time now, members of every community 3) _______ (make) laws for themselves in self-protection.

Every day of our lives we are restrained and guided by law. It 4) _______ (protect) us while it 5) _________ (restrict) us. Sometimes it 6) _______ (punish) us. It 7) _______(determine) the registration of our births and the distribution of our possessions at death. It tells us how fast we 8) _______ (can) drive and how long we 9) ______ (must) attend school.

Every country 10) _______ (try), therefore, to provide laws which will help its people to live safely and as comfortably as possible. This is not at all an easy thing to do, and no country 11) _______ (be) successful in producing laws which are entirely satisfactory. But we are far better off with the imperfect laws which we 12) _______ (have), than if we had none at all.