ENGLISH-IN-LAW. Textbook

4.Which country is the Hague situated in? (Austria, Germany, Netherlands)

5.Which is the largest continent? (Africa, South America, Asia)

6.Where is Canada? (Asia, North America, South America)

7.Which is the largest country in the world? (United States, China, Russian Federation)

d)Provide proper articles for geographical names of three countries in the Middle East, Latin America, Eastern Europe, the Far East, and Africa.

TASK 9 Put one question to each paragraph of the text.

TASK 10 Determine whether the following statements are true or false:

1.After the fall of the Roman Empire in the West the Christian Church became a major lawmaking and law enforcement body.

2.Canon law regulated human behaviour only with respect to religious matters.

3.The Inquisition was created to suppress heresy.

4.The Inquisition is known for its humane methods.

5.In England 1000 judges appointed by the Church moved from one place to another to administer laws.

5.Common law influenced legal systems of most European countries.

6.Under the code of Napoleon all citizens were recognized as equal, and all class privileges were done away with.

7.The influence of the Napoleonic code increased at the start of the 20th century.

TASK 11 a) Retell the text:

Secondary rules

Just because society is governed by rules, does not mean that it has a legal system.

111

Some small-scale primitive societies have rules based only on informal custom.

The customs will be well known by everyone, when disputes do occur they will be resolved by group discussion and conciliation.

Changing the rules occurs as the pace of change demands. More developed societies will require more complex rules

to deal with the economic, social and political complexities that inevitably follow. The simple societies have a cohesion bonded by the simple rules this is lost as societies become more complex.

Hart describes these three types of rule as:

•Recognition. To avoid uncertainty, the complex societies develop rules of conduct, which are recognised, particularly by the officials.

•Change. These rules will lay down who can change the rules.

•Adjudication. Rules of adjudication, defining the procedures to resolve dispute will be developed. This may lead to a court system.

He calls these rules secondary rules to distinguish them from the primary rules.

He says that this ‘union of primary and secondary rules is at the centre of a legal system.’

Some jurists believe the real test of whether a legal system exists is simply the institution of a court.

b)Agree or disagree:

•Just because society is governed by rules, does not mean that it has a legal system.

•The real test of whether a legal system exists is simply the institution of a court.

•All known rules and laws fall into Hart’s three categories.

TASK 12 Comment on the following quotation:

“Equal rights for all, special privileges for none.” (Thomas Jefferson, 1743—1826, the 3rd President of the USA, the author of the Declaration of Independence)

112

Text 11

ENGLISH COMMON LAW

English common law evolved from necessity, rooted in the centralized administration of William, conqueror at Hastings. A single event, the 1066 Norman Conquest, was the progenitor of this tradition, its foundation a unique, “unwritten” constitution andtherecorded,butorallyrendereddecisionsofanextraordinarily gifted and respected judiciary. The harmony of a homogeneous society, tested by internal stresses but free of foreign invasion for nearly a millennium, aided an orderly development of legal institutions. Focusing on the resolution of specific, current issues, English law developed insulated from the continental reception of Roman law, and the later emphasis on codification. As Pollock has said, English laws “grew in rugged exclusiveness, disdaining fellowship with the more polished learning of the civilians.”

Comprehension of the rule of law in England today, and its litmusroleinothercommonlawsystems,callsforanunderstanding of the cardinal incidents in English history which were generative of the slow but cardinal incidents of institutions which comprise the common law tradition.

TERMS AND NOTIONS:

Judiciary – 1. the judicial branch of government. 2. a) a system of courts of law for the administration of justice; b) the judges of these courts.

Codification – the collection and systematic arrangement, usually by subject, of the laws of a state or country, or the statutory

114

provisions, rules, and regulations that govern a specific area or subject of law or practice.

Roman law – the legal system of ancient Rome that is now the basis of modern civil law.

William the Conqueror – the duke of Normandy, a province of France, and the leader of the Norman Conquest of England. He defeated the English forces under King Harold at the Battle of Hastings in 1066 and became the first Norman king of England.

Frederick Pollock 1845–1937 – an English jurist, born in London. He was educated at Eton and Cambridge and was admitted to the bar in 1871. Pollock was professor of jurisprudence at Oxford. He devoted himself to legal study and writing.

1.Simeon went forth to ………. the Viceroy with full confidence in his own powers to succeed.

2.For anyone who runs a large company, a computer is an absolute ………….... .

3.It was thought that Osborne might be the ……………. of a glorious line of baronets.

4.The first phase of the war was a tremendous rush of the Germans upon Paris and an …………….. of East Prussia by the Russians.

5.This journey was of the highest importance for his………………

6.Egoism has its root in the …………….. necessity by which each individual persists to be what he is.

7.It was a ………………… community, its members holding remarkably similar values.

8.She was not brilliant, nor witty, nor wise over much, nor

………………….. handsome.

9.He served in Petersburg on special commissions in the department of …………….. affairs.

115

10.We had parted angrily on the last occasion; and there was an air of …………….. about her, which she took no pains to conceal.

11.You have evidently not heard of the latest ……………….. in our police system.

12.At first he began his mornings with a ………………….. that he would not dine there.

13.The jury has to…………… its verdict.

14.They understood each other perfectly without the ……… of words, having similar tastes and feelings.

15.On the arrival of the troop, they, without previous consultation, but with a unanimous…………., moved off, and departed by the opposite side, leaving the post free to the soldiers.

TASK 2 Match the words on the left with their definitions on the right:

1)evolvement a) a position reached after consideration

2)conquer b) capable of producing or originating some-

thing

3) necessity c) a progression from a simple form to a more complex one

4)progenitor d) something indispensable

5)homogeneous e) most important, influential, or significant

10)emphasis j) to officially announce a judgment or decision

11)generative k) special importance or attention that is given

to one thing in particular

TASK 3 Insert the prepositions: in, on, of, for, on, to, with, from

1.Friendship is based on patriotism, friendship is rooted …….. the love of liberty.

116

2.Students began to focus their attention …… the variety of information.

3.His victory calls …… a celebration.

4.These birds are thought to have evolved …… reptiles.

5.He pointed out to the boy’s parents the necessity ….. sending him to a public school; that he was of an age now when the society of his fellow-boys would be of the greatest benefit to the boy.

6.In her studies Lisa worked well, that is to say hard, but she was not gifted ….. brilliant abilities, or great intellect.

7.We should place greater emphasis …….. staff development.

8.Let us hope that there will be a peaceful solution …… these problems.

TASK 4 Match the words on the left with their synonyms on the right:

117

17) comprise q) apprehension, grasp, grip, hold, knowledge, understanding

18) emphasise r) remarkably, notably, exceptionally

TASK 5 Match the words on the left with their antonyms on the right:

TASK 6 Comment on the following quotations:

1.“Necessity may well be called the mother of invention — but calamity is the test of integrity”. (Samuel Richardson, 1689— 1761, a British novelist)

2.“Necessity makes heroes of us all”. (Mason Cooley, 1927— 2002, an American aphorist, professor emeritus of English, speech and world literature)

3.“We are all gifted. That is our inheritance”. (Ethel Waters, 1896—1977, an American blues and jazz vocalist and actress)

TASK 7 Study the meanings of the following words to fill in the gaps:

a) Interior / Internal

Interior = on the inside of a building, room, vehicle, etc. Internal = involving what happens within a particular country

1.Solutions to the country’s ________ problems are still a long way away.

2.The ________ doors still need replacing.

3.Each country has the right to control its own ________

affairs.

118

4.The landlord showed the _________ of a front room on the ground floor.

b) Comprehension / Understanding / Comprehensive

Comprehension refers to the ability to understand the meaning of something, especially something that is spoken or written

Understanding = feeling sympathy for someone Comprehensive = including everything or almost everything.

1.The teachers are very kind and _____________.

2.The witness provided a __________ account of the accident.

3.As people grow older, they tend to be a bit more ____________

and easier to live with.

4.I’d like to develop my vocabulary and improve my listening

_____________.

5.There is not enough __________ between our two countries.

6.When it comes to the employees’ personal problems, the management shows a complete lack of _______________.

c) Respectful / Respectable

Respectful = having or showing respect for someone, especially someone older than you or senior to you

Respectable = displaying socially acceptable standards in appearance or behaviour

1.Surprisingly, many of these young offenders come from

___________ families.

2.The principal has warned him that unless he shows a more

___________ attitude towards his teachers, he will have to leave.

3.Some former prisoners are now ________________ citizens.

4.If you wish to make a good impression, you’ll have to look a bit more _____________.

d) Proceed / Precede

Proceed = continue

Precede = come, go, or happen before someone or something

1.The main film was ____________ by a short cartoon.

2.After a five-minute delay, the lecture __________.

3.The snowfall was ________ by a sudden drop in temperature.

119

4.According to latest reports, negotiations are ______________

smoothly.

e) Skilful / Talented

Skilful = having or showing skill gained from instruction and practice

Talented = having or showing a natural ability to do something well

1.This _________ musician gave his first public performance at the age of five.

2.Although he lacked Tyson’s knock-out punch, he was the most

_________ of the two boxers.

3.You are happy to have such _________ children.

TASK 8 Make a report on one of the prominent figures mentioned in the text.

TASK 9 a) Retell the text:

Rules and principles

The theory, called purposive adjudication, defended by Dworkin (born 1931, an American philosopher and scholar of constitutional law) in Law’s Empire’, 1986, holds that law is not, as Hart (1907–1992, an influential legal philosopher of the 20th century, Professor of Jurisprudence at Oxford University) says, merely a set of rules, but of rules as well as underlying principles, and judges should appeal to these principles – to the spirit or purpose of the law – not just narrowly to the letter of the law. This is different from appealing to a natural moral order, which is entirely subjective, principles are often objective.

Dworkin uses as an example the legal rule that the last will and testament of the deceased should be respected which is modified by the principle that no one should profit from his or her own wrong.

Dworkin proposes a scenario of a son who murders his father, he will not benefit from his father’s will because of the legal principle that he should not profit from his own wrong, despite the legal rule that he should inherit in line with the terms of his father’s will (‘Taking Rights Seriously’, 1977).

120