English for Future Lawyers. Учебное пособие для студентов СПО, обучающихся по специальности 40.02.01 – «Право и организация социального обеспечения»

UNIT 4

ELECTIONS IN GREAT BRITAIN

Read the words.

Democracy, women, representative, parliamentary, although, disqualify, imprisonment, clergy, purpose, result, request

Read the text.

Britain is a democracy. Men and women over 18 have a vote. They have the right to elect a representative to Parliament. Voting is not compulsory.

The simple majority system of voting is used in parliamentary elections in Britain. This means that the candidate with the largest number of votes in each constituency is elected, although he or she may not necessarily have received more than half the votes cast.

A candidate is elected if he or she has the majority of votes over the next candidate. British citizens may stand and be elected as MPs (members of Parliament) if they are aged 21 or over and are not subject to any disqualification.

Those disqualified include bankrupts, people sentenced to more than one year's imprisonment, clergy of the Church of England, Church of Scotland, Church of Ireland and Roman Catholic Church, peers, members of the regular armed forces or the police service and some others.

For electoral purposes Britain is divided into constituencies; citizens in all the various British constituencies vote for their local MP.

The British government is elected for 5 years and it is the Prime Minister who chooses the date of the next General Elections. When the date is announced the Prime Minister usually asks the Queen to dissolve Parliament. So, the election campaign is launched all over the country and it usually lasts about three weeks.

Voting takes place on Polling Day. When the results are known and it becomes clear what party has the majority of seats in the House of Commons, its leader forms a government by Her Majesty's request.

Vocabulary notes vote – право голоса; to elect – выбирать;

compulsory – обязательный;

majority system – мажоритарная система; constituency – избирательный округ;

to stand – стать кандидатом;

to sentence – приговаривать к ...;

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General Election – Всеобщие выборы; to announce – объявлять;

to launch an election campaign – начать избирательную кампанию.

II. Match the words as they occur together in the text.

III. Find the English equivalents in the text.

IV. Answer the questions.

1.When can the British vote?

2.What is simple majority system?

3.Who can be elected as MPs?

4.Who is disqualified?

5.For how long is the British Government elected?

6.What happens when the date of General Elections is announced?

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7.What is the Polling Day?

8.Who forms the Government?

V. Put the sentences in the logical order. Use the information to speak about elections in Great Britain.

1.For electoral purposes Britain is divided into constituencies.

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

3.It is the Prime Minister who chooses to the date of elections.

4.The majority system of voting is used in parliamentary elections in Britain.

5.Men and women over 18 years old have the right to vote.

6.Voting takes place on Polling Day.

7.When the date of the election is known, the Prime Minister asks the Queen to dissolve Parliament.

8.The British Government is elected for five years.

9.The election campaign is launched.

SOME, ANY, NO, MUCH, MANY, LITTLE, FEW

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b) Write the sentences with anybody / anyone / anything.

1.There is nothing in the bag. There isn’t anything in the bag.

2.I’ve got nothing to read. I haven’t got ………………… .

3.There is nobody in the bathroom. ……………………… .

4.We’ve got nothing to eat. ……………………………… .

5.There was no one in the room. ………………………… .

6.She heard nothing. ……………………………………… .

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VII. Complete the sentences with nobody / no one / nothing / anybody / anyone / anything.

1.I went out of the house. Nobody saw me.

2.Jack has bad memory. He can’t remember anything.

3.Be quiet! Don’t say ......... .

VIII. Complete the sentences with somebody / something / somewhere / nobody / nothing / nowhere / anybody / anything / anywhere.

1.It’s dark. I can’t see anything.

2.Tom lives somewhere near London.

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UNIT 5

THE COURT SYSTEM OF ENGLAND AND WALES

Read the words.

Type, serious, bankruptcy, refer, legal, system, offender, investigate, unnatural, administrative tribunal, dispute

Read the text.

The most common type of law court in England and Wales is the magistrates' court. There are 700 magistrates' courts and about 30,000 magistrates.

More serious criminal cases then go to the Crown Court, which has 90 branches in different towns and cities. Civil cases (for example, divorce or bankruptcy cases) are dealt with in County courts.

Appeals are heard by higher courts. For example, appeals from magistrates’ courts are heard in the Crown Court. The highest court of appeal in England and Wales is the House of Lords. (Scotland has its own High Court in Edinburgh, which hears all appeals from Scottish courts.) Certain cases maybe referred to the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg.

The legal system also includes juvenile courts (which deal with offenders under seventeen) and coroners' courts (which investigate violent, sudden or unnatural deaths). There are administrative tribunals which makequick, cheap and fair decisions with much less formality. Tribunals deal with disputes between individuals and disputes between individuals and government departments (for example, over taxation).

Vocabulary notes

magistrates' court – мировой суд; Crown Court – Суд Короны; case – судебное дело;

County court – суд графства;

court of appeal – апелляционный суд;

European Court of Justice – Европейский суд;

Juvenile court – суд по делам несовершеннолетних; violent – насильственный;

coroners' court – суд, рассматривающий дела о насильственной смерти; to make a decision – принимать решение;

fair – справедливый; taxation – налогообложение.

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III. Mark the sentences true (T) or false (F). Correct the false ones.

1.Juvenile court is the most common type of law court in England and Wales.

2.There are seven hundred magistrates.

3.Civil cases go to County courts.

4.Criminal cases go to magistrates’ courts.

5.Higher courts deal with appeals.

6.The House of Lords is the highest court of appeals.

7.Coroners’ courts deal with offenders under 17.

8.Tribunals investigate violent deaths.

IV. Find the English equivalents in the text.

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V. Give 2 – 3 examples of offences or crimes and name the courts where they should be dealt with. Give your reasons.

VI. Use the chart to speak about the court system in England and Wales.

European Court of Justice

↑

The Highest Court of Appeals

↑

Crown Court County Courts Juvenile Courts Coroners’ Courts

↑

Magistrates’ courts

TO... OR -ING

I. Put the verb in the right form, to... or -ing.

1.I enjoy dancing (dance).

2.What do you want to do (do) tonight?

3.Goodbye! I hope ......... (see) you again soon.

4.I learnt ......... (swim) when I was five years old.

5.Have you finished ......... (clean) the kitchen?

6.I'm tired. I want ......... (go) to bed.

7.Do you enjoy ......... (visit) other countries?

8.The weather was nice, so I suggested ......... (go) for a walk by the river.

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UNIT 6

LEGAL PROFESSIONS IN GREAT BRITAIN

There are about 66,000 practising solicitors and over 8,000 practising barristers in England and Wales. Solicitors and barristers work together on cases but the solicitor is the first point of contact with the law for a client in the UK. The solicitor listens carefully to the client and then explains the legal position and gives advice. Barristers will only see the client in the company of a solicitor who prepares all the documents relevant to the case which will be examined by the barrister.

The barrister is a specialist in advocacy and he has the right of audience. There are only a few solicitors who are allowed to present cases inthe higher courts. Barristers are self-employed in the independent Bar. Solicitors normally get salaries but sometimes they can get extra money in the profits if they are successful. In addition to the barristers practising in England and Wales, there are 2,000 barristers working as in-house lawyers.

Judges in England and Wales have been barristers for not less than 10 years. Since judges are appointed, they can't work as barristers.

Solicitors do a variety of work – property, private law, banking, finance, employment law and environmental law.

Vocabulary notes

a barrister – адвокат, выступающий в суде; a solicitor – поверенный;

a judge – судья; advocacy – адвокатура;

to examine the case – изучить дело; litigation – тяжба, гражданское дело; to rely on – полагаться на;

self-employed – зд. имеющий частную практику; the right of audience – право выступать в суде; Bar – коллегия адвокатов;

in house lawyer – юрист, постоянно работающий в компании.

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