Сидоркина Е.В. Английский язык для юристов. Ч. 1

The members of the House of Commons are elected by voters of 650 constituencies. They are known as MPs, or Members of Parliament. The Prime Minister is an MP, usually the leader of a political party with a majority in the House of Commons.

The executive power is exercised by the Prime Minister and his Cabinet. The Prime Minister is appointed by the Queen. He chooses a team of ministers; twenty of the ministers are in the Cabinet. The Cabinet includes the ministers in charge of major government departments and ministries. The most important political departments are: the Treasury, the Home Office, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and others.

Departments and ministries are run by civil servants, who are permanent officials. Even if the government changes after the election, the same civil servants are employed.

The second largest party becomes the official opposition with its own leader and the Shadow Cabinet. The two leading parties in Great Britain are the Conservative Party (the Tories) and the Labour Party (the Whigs).

The judiciary branch of the government determines common law and is independent both of the legislative and the executive branches. The Lord Chancellor is the head of the judiciary in England and Wales. There is no written constitution in Great Britain, only precedents and traditions.

Vocabulary notes:

1.hereditary –

2.resort –

3.dissolution –

4.the legislative power –

5.the House of Lords –

6.the House of Commons –

7.temporal –

8.spiritual –

9.Archbishops –

10.senior –

11.peer –

12.voter –

13.constituency –

14.the executive power –

15.to appoint –

16.the Treasury –

17.the Home Office –

18.the Foreign and Commonwealth Office –

19.to be in charge of –

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20.civil servant –

21.permanent –

22.the Shadow Cabinet –

23.the judiciary branch –

24.Common Law –

25.the Lord Chancellor –

VOCABULARY WORK

3. Find in the text the English equivalents for the following Russian wordcombinations given below:

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

11.

12.

4. Make some word-combinations from the following words:

1.official

2.permanent, elected, government, appointed

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

1+2

1.leader

2.opposition, temporal, minority, spiritual

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

1+2

1. monarchy

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2. absolute, constitutional, hereditary, parliamentary

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

1+2

1.law

2.common, labour, civil, criminal

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

1+2

5. Find synonyms for the following words:

6. Look through the text and find law terms which mean the following:

1.The title of the head of the Church of England.

2.A form of ruling in which the supreme power belongs to a single person.

3.To apply for a review of a particular issue to a higher tribunal.

4.The main law of the state.

5.A person with the right to sit in the House of Lords.

6.A group of leaders of the Parliamentary Opposition.

7.The branch of the UK government vested with the judicial power.

8.An action or an official decision which can be used to give legal support to later actions or decisions.

7. Complete the sentences using the proper words or phrases in the box and then translate them:

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1)The United Kingdom is divided into 650 parliamentary ___________.

2)While the Conservatives were in power, the Labour formed an official

___________.

3)___________consists of twenty ministers.

4)The leader of the government is ___________.

5)_________ is the most important law-making body.

6)The British monarchy is not absolute

but_____________.

7)The highest judicial body in the UK is ___________.

8)The Prime Minister is appointed by _________.

9)The opposition party, which is not in power, forms ____________.

8. Read and translate the text. Then agree or disagree with the statement:

- The main political parties in the UK are the Conservative party, the Labour party and the Tories.

POLITICAL PARTIES

A political party is an organization of individuals and factions attempting to

gain control of the government by winning the elections. Political parties should be distinguished from pressure groups. ЩШХТЭТМКХ ЩКЫЭв аТХХ СКЯО ЩШХicies to cover all

general areas of public life, whereas a pressure group will seek to influence one specific policy area, for example environmental issues. British elections take place between political parties, not individuals. Therefore, people who want to be elected to the Parliament need to be nominated by one of the main political parties.

The British parliamentary democracy has traditionally been dominated by a two-party system, with two main parties forming the government and the official opposition. Over the years these have been the Whigs and the Tories, i.e. the Liberals and the Conservatives and, since the development of the Labour Party at the beginning of the 20th century, the Labour and the Conservatives. The terms «Tory» and «Whig» were originally insults: a «whiggamor» was a cattle driver, and a «tory» was an Irish term for an outlaw. A number of other parties have also won seats in the Parliament.

Nowadays there are three major national political parties in the United Kingdom. They are the Conservative Party (the right wing), the Labour Party (the left wing) and the Liberal Democrats (the centre).

The Labour Party seeks to achieve a dynamic economy serving public interest; an open democracy, in which government holds to account by the people; a healthy environment.

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TСО ЦОЦЛОЫЬ ШП ЭСО CШЧЬОЫЯКЭТЯО PКЫЭв ПТРСЭ ПШЫ ТЧНТЯТНЮКХ’Ь ЫТРСЭЬ КЧН ХТЛОr- ties. They believe in free enterprise and the importance of capitalist economy. The Liberal Democrats stand for the right of individuals to have control over their own lives. They believe that the state should have some control over the economy, but that there should be individual ownership.

Vocabulary notes:

1.to gain –

2.elections –

3.to distinguish –

7.insult –

8.outlaw –

9.to achieve –

10.to hold to account –

11.free enterprise –

12.individual ownership –

VOCABULARY WORK

9. Find in the text the English equivalents for the following Russian wordcombinations given below:

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10. Find synonyms for the following words:

11. Complete the sentences using the proper words or phrases in the box and then translate them:

1.For ________ purposes Britain is divided into constituencies.

2.Men and women over 18 years have the _______to elect a representative to Parliament.

3.When the date of the election is known, the Prime Minister asks the Queen to __________ Parliament.

4.When one of the parties wins, its _______ is invited by the Queen to form a government.

5.In most countries, except ___________, there are several different political

parties.

6.A socialist party is often described as ___________.

7.A conservative party on the other hand, is usually said to be ________.

8.The party with a majority of_______ forms the government.

9.A political party is a group of people who seek to influence or form the

__________ according to their views and principles.

10.Political parties should be distinguished from ___________.

11.A pressure group will seek to __________ one specific policy area.

12.British elections take place between political parties, not __________.

COMPREHENSION

13. Say if the following statements are true or false. Comment on the true statements and correct the false ones:

1.The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is an absolute monarchy.

2.The legislative power in the country belongs to the British Parliament.

3.The official residence of the British sovereign is Westminster Palace.

4.The British Parliament consists of two chambers: the House of Lords and the House of Representatives.

5.The House of Commons consists of the Lords Temporal and Spiritual.

6.The majority of ministers are members of the House of Lords.

7.The executive power is exercised by the Prime Minister and his Cabinet.

8.Departments and ministries are run by the permanent officials.

9.The opposition party, which is not in power, forms a Shadow Government.

10.The highest judicial body in the UK is the House of Lords.

11.The judiciary determines common law and interprets Acts of Parliament.

12.British elections take place between political parties and individuals.

13.The UK has a two-party system.

14.Try to find out the incorrect sentence in each case:

1.The British parliament is ______________. a) the most important law-making body.

b) divided into two chambers. c) often called Westminster. d) the official head of the state.

2.Department and ministries are ___________.

a)headed by the Speaker.

b)run by civil servants.

c)run by the permanent officials.

d)headed by the Prime Minister.

3.The Labour Party guarantees_____________.

a)a dynamic economy.

b)equal rights and liberties.

c)an open democracy.

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d) a healthy environment.

4. The members of the Conservative Party fight for_________.

a)ТЧНТЯТНЮКХ’Ь ЫТРСЭЬ КЧН ХТЛОЫЭТОЬ.

b)healthy environment.

c)free enterprise.

d)individual ownership.

15. Choose the best alternative in each case to complete the sentence:

1.The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a

__________.

a) monarchy

b) presidential republic c) Commonwealth

d) constitutional monarchy e) hereditary monarchy

2.The legislative power in the country is exercised by the______________.

a)government

b)Parliament

c)House of Lords

d)Prime Minister and his cabinet

e)Shadow Cabinet

3.There are _________in the House of Lords. a) ten temporal Lords

b) nineteen spiritual Lords c) twenty - four bishops d) twelve senior Lords

e) several Archbishops.

4.The UK is divided into 650 _____________. a) parliamentary districts

b) constitutional counties

c) parliamentary constituencies d) governmental departments e) local councils

5.The Prime Minister is the leader of the political party with a majority in the

___________.

a) government b) House of lords c) Cabinet

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d)House of Commons

e)Parliament

6.The two leading parties in Great Britain are the ______________. a) Conservative Party and the Labour Party

b) Conservative Party and the Tories c) Labour Party and the Liberals

d) Liberals and the Democrats

e) Democrats and the Conservative Party

7.The __________ is the head of the judiciary in England and Wales. a) Prime Minister

b) Monarch

c) House of Lords d) Lord Chancellor e) Court of Appeal

16. Finish the following sentences:

1.The Monarch has the title of____________.

2.The legislative power in the country is exercised by _____________.

3.The British Parliament is ____________.

4.The House of Lords consists _______________.

5.The House of Commons consists ___________.

6.The executive power is exercised by_________.

7.The Prime Minister is ______________.

8.Departments and ministries are run by___________.

9.The two leading parties in Great Britain are___________.

10.The judiciary branch of the government determines________________.

DISCUSSION

17. Answer the following questions:

1.What does the term «constitutional monarchy» mean?

2.Which of these people are elected: a peer, a civil servant, a minister, an MP, the Prime Minister?

3.What is the difference between life and hereditary peers?

4.What is the difference between Lords Temporal and Lords Spiritual?

5.Who are civil servants?

6.Which areas of the government do these people deal with: the Lord Chancellor, the Home Secretary, Lord High Treasurer?

7.What is the equivalent of MPs in our country?

8.What is the official opposition?

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9. What are the main political parties in the UK? What is difference between

them?

10.What are the origins of the main political parties in Great Britain?

11.What political priorities do the main political parties in Britain have?

12.If you were a British voter, which party do you think you would vote for

and why?

18.Combine the whole information of the previous lessons and make a topic about the UK Political system.

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