Lesson 4. What is Law?
People live in contact with other people; they work and cooperate with each other. This explains the need for laws. Laws protect people from “bad” actions of others. Some individuals become irritable, some angry and selfish, some aggressive and even violent. Their actions harm other people's lives and their property. Sometimes law protects us and limits our rights. Rules are the basic things of our everyday life. Some of them are obvious. We must not kill or rob. But people break the rules. For this reason there is a system of punishment. And we have police, court and prison.
Laws have several other aims. It set rules for our life. We use different rules in different spheres. The simplest example is sport. Every sport has its own set of rules. Without rules we have no football, tennis or cricket. Even the simplest sport such as running a race has rules. Otherwise anyone set off at different times and in different directions and stop at different places! If you break the rules in any sport, you will get penalty.
Or think about yourself. You form with your friends a club and at first you choose a leader and make up some rules. Perhaps you adopt something from any other society or you have your own ideas.
Finally, law establishes the system of government. The basic rule of every state is its constitution. It describes the structure of the government and lays down the rights and obligations of the citizens.
Vocabulary:
law – закон, юриспруденция
irritable – раздражительный
selfish - эгоистичный
to harm - приносить вред
property – собственность
punishment – наказание
to establish – устанавливать
to lay down – формулировать (нору закона, основы правил)
Answer the questions:
Are laws for ordinary people or for lawyers?
Do you always observe the law?
Do you think laws change in the course of time?
Exercises
Exercise 1. Give Russian equivalents:
constitutional law; administrative law; Roman law; civil law; criminal (penal) law; tax law; employment (labour) law; commercial (mercantile, business) law; banking law; financial law;
proceedings; civil proceedings; criminal (penal) proceedings; administrative proceedings;
legal; legacy; certified; human rules;
Exercise 2. Give English equivalents:
десятки студентов; сотни автомобилей; тридцать два судебных дела; тысячи книг; две тысячи восемьсот тридцать один доллар; тридцать шесть тысяч рублей; суд первой инстанции; тридцать вторая аудитория; страница четыреста семьдесят восьмая; в две тысячи четырнадцатом году; телефон юрисконсульта 756 43 28; миллионы телезрителей.
Exercise 3. Is it true or False? Prove your point of view.
The driver and passenger in a car must wear seat-belts.
Not all of us have certain freedoms and rights.
There are different types of laws.
Exercise 4. Translate.
District courts consider both civil and criminal cases.
This young lawyer speaks English very well.
My friend has a lot of books on civil law.
I translate two articles on criminal law.
I am going to the country tomorrow.
The train is starting in five minutes.
These students are studying law at the University.
Exercise 5. Put the proper verb form and translate. All new words with their meanings write into your vocabulary.
1. Criminals ____ (not to obey) laws.
2. The investigator _____ (to search) the crime scene according to the rules.
3. Tomorrow she _____ (to get) secret information about new technology.
4. The judge ____ (to sentence) people.
5. He often _____(to buy) the latest edition of today’s paper and reads about the most terrible crimes.
6. The investigator _____ (to analyze) footprints, fingerprints, impressions, traces and other physical evidence.
7. Next year Johnson’s legal fees ____ ( to amount) to over $ 2.5 million.
Exercise 6*. Преобразуйте предложения из действительного в страдательный залог. Переведите предложения .
The police identifies the criminal .
He associates this defendant with the crime.
The policeman arrests the suspect.
Tomorrow the investigating officers will prove the guilt of the suspect.
The professor will examine students on Civil law next Friday.
Exercise 7. What do you think about the prohibition of smoking near the university building?