ENGLISH-IN-LAW. Textbook

4.The manager was forced to … his post after the allegations of corruption.

5.Police … the terrorists.

6.The principal of the government that all persons and bodies and the government itself are equal before and answerable to the law and no person should be punished without trial decision made by court is known as ….

TASK 2 Find all the sentences with the passive forms in the text. Arrange them according to the following scheme:

TASK 3 Fill in the gaps in the passage. Use the following verbs in passive:

to adopt, to bring before, to obey, to call, to lay down, to punish, to order

In our country there are certain rules which are there … by everyone-by you, by your parents and family, by your teachers-by everyone who is old enough to behave responsibly. As we shall see, many of these rules have grown up out of custom-the customs of town and country, which … by the judges sitting in their courts. Many more rules … … …. …. for us all by parliament. If any of us breaks these rules we may … … before a court of law. We may … by the court, or … to make amends in some way. All the rules that could result in the courts deciding to take action against us if we have broken them … laws.

TASK 4 a) Form collocations with the following verbs to describe modern governments:

to uphold, to observe, to impose, to curb, to afford, to exercise, to violate, to reach

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b) Insert the following collocations:

to uphold values, to impose sanctions, to curb the spread, to violate liberties, to reach a settlement, to exercise the right, to observe the ceasefire, to afford fees

1.They want to … the traditional family ….

2.So far the ceasefire has been … by both sides.

3.We have decided to … … on the countries that break the agreement.

4.The scientists take measures to … the spread of virus.

5.Only the bigger clubs can … the enormous fees that these players demand.

6.I intend to … my right to vote.

7.The arrest and the detention of the protesters … their …

8.After two years of negotiations the warring parties have finally

…the agreement.

c)Use collocations to speak about the latest legal news. (Surf the Internet).

TASK 5 a) Compare the meanings of the words and explain the difference between them:

to persuade 1. to make someone decide to do smth., esp. by repeatedly asking them or telling or telling them reasons why they should do it

e.g. He would not agree despite our efforts. We can’t persuade him.

2. to convince

to persuade smb. of smth.

to persuade smb. into doing smth.

e.g. Don’t let yourself be persuaded into buying things. to convince 1. to make smb. feel certain that smth. is true

2. to persuade someone to do smth.

e.g. I have been trying to convince Jean to come with me.

b) Make up a short story with the above words from your student

life.

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TASK 6 Choose the best synonym according to the text:

TASK 7 Analyze the views on the rule of law offered in the text. Begin with:

Scholars insist… (reckon, hold, adhere to, think…)

TASK 8 a) Retell the text:

Legal realism is the view that that we should understand the law as it is practised in the courts, law offices, and police stations, rather than as it is set forth in statutes or learned treatises.

For legal realists such as Oliver Wendell Holmes (1841– 1935, an American jurist who served as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1902 to 1932) who wrote ‘The Common Law’ in 1923, if the law were merely a system of rules, we would not need lawyers conducting adversarial proceedings, because judges could just apply the rules. In fact, judges have discretion with which they can decide a case in a number of ways, and factors such as the judge’s temperament, or social class, or political ideology, may determine the outcome.

b) Agree or disagree with the following:

The legal realism theory is the only correct one.

Society needs lawyers to conduct adversarial proceedings. Judges should have complete discretion.

Both judges and juries should be impartial.

TASK 9 Comment on the following:

“The rule of law is an attractive ideal.”

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GLOSSARY

adopt v. 1. to choose or take as one’s own; make one’s own by selection or assent ○to adopt a nickname 2. to take and rear (the child of other parents) as one’s own child, specifically by a formal legal act, to become the legal parent of a child who was born to other parents 3. to take or receive into any kind of new relationship ○ to adopt a person as a protégé 4. to select as a basic or required textbook or series of textbooks in a course ○We adopted a new course of “English-in-Law”. 5. to vote to accept, to accept something so that it becomes law ○to adopt a resolution

○ The proposals were adopted unanimously. ○ The House adopted the report. 6. to accept or act in accordance with (a plan, principle, etc.)

apply v. 1. to ask for something, usually in writing ○ to apply for a job ○ to apply for shares ○ to apply in writing ○ to apply in person ○ My client wishes to apply for Legal Aid. ○ He applied for judicial review or for compensation or for an adjournment. ○ to apply to the Court to ask the court to make an order ○ he applied to the Court for an injunction 2. to affect or be relevant to something or someone ○ This clause applies only to deals outside the EU. ○ The legal precedent applies to cases where the parents of the child are divorced.

authority n. 1. the power you have because of your official position. 2. an official organization or a government department that has the power to make decisions, and has particular responsibility. 3. someone who knows a lot about the subject and whose knowledge and opinions are greatly respected. 4. official permission to do something.

body n. 1. the whole of a person or animal 2. an organisation or group of people who work together ○ Parliament is an elected body. ○ The governing body of the university has to approve the plan to give the President a honorary degree. 3. a large group or amount ○ a body of evidence ○ body of opinion a group of people who have the same view

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about something ○ there is a considerable body of opinion which believes that capital punishment should be reintroduced

breach n. 1. failure to carry out the terms of an agreement ○ They alleged that a breach of international obligations had been committed. ○ in breach of failing to do something which was agreed, not acting according to ○ We are in breach of Community law. ○ The defendant is in breach of his statutory duty. 2. failure to obey the law ○The soldier was charged with a serious breach of discipline. COMMENT: Anyone can arrest a person who is committing a breach of peace; a policeman can arrest someone who is committing a breach of the peace without charging him.

bylaw, byelaw, by-law, bye-law n. 1. a rule governing an aspect of the internal running of a corporation, club or association such as number of meetings or election of officers 2. a rule or law made by a local authority or public body and not by central government ○The bylaws forbid playing ball in the public gardens. ○ According to the local bylaws, noise must be limited in the town centre. COMMENT: Bylaws must be made by bodies which have been authorized by Parliament before they can become legally effective.

canon law (ecclesiastical law) Church law, such as the Roman Catholic Code of Canon Law and, in England, the law of the Church of England. Unless subsequently becoming legislation or custom, it is not part of the laws of England but is binding on the clergy and lay people holding ecclesiastical office, e.g. churchwardens.

common law 1. the part of English law based on rules developed by the royal courts during the first three centuries after the Norman Conquest (1066) as a system applicable to the whole country, as opposed to local customs. The Normans did not attempt to make new law for the country or to impose French law on it; they were mainly concerned with establishing a strong central administration and safeguarding the royal revenues, and it was through machinery devised for these purposes that the common law developed. Royal representatives were sent on tours of the shires to check on the conduct of local affairs generally, and this involved their participating in the work of local courts. At the same time there split off from the body of advisers surrounding the king (the curia regis) the first permanent royal court — the Court of Exchequer, sitting at Westminster to hear disputes concerning the revenues. Under Henry II (reigned 1154—89), to whom the development of the common law is principally due, the royal representatives were sent out on a regular basis (their tours being known as circuits) and their functions began to be exclusively judicial. Known as justiciae errantes (wandering justices), they took over the work of the local courts. In the same period there appeared at Westminster a second permanent royal court, the Court of

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Common Pleas. These two steps mark the real origins of the common law. The judges of the Court of Common Pleas so successfully superimposed a single system on the multiplicity of local customs that, as early as the end of the 12th century, reference is found in court records to the custom of the kingdom. In this process they were joined by the judges of the Court of Exchequer, which began to exercise jurisdiction in many cases involving disputes between subjects rather than the royal revenues, and by those of a third royal court that gradually emerged — the Court of King’s Bench. The common law was subsequently supplemented by equity, but it remained separately administered by the three courts of common law until they and the Court of Chancery (all of them sitting in Westminster Hall until rehoused in the Strand in 1872) were replaced by the High Court of Justice under the Judicature Acts 1873—75. 2. Rules of law developed by the courts as opposed to those created by statute.

3.A general system of law deriving exclusively from court decisions

4.As distinguished from statutory law created by the enactment of legislatures, the common law comprises the body of those principles and rules of action, relating to the government and security of persons and property, which derive their authority solely from usages and customs of immemorial antiquity, or from the judgments and decrees of the courts recognizing, affirming, and enforcing such usages and customs; and in this sense, particularly, the ancient unwritten law of England. In general, it is a body of law that develops and derives through judicial decisions as distinguished from legislative enactments...

custom n. A practice that has been followed in a particular locality in such circumstances that it is to be accepted as part of the law of that locality. In order to be recognized as customary law it must be reasonable in nature and it must have been followed continuously, and as if it were a right, since the beginning of legal memory. Legal memory began in 1189, but proof that a practice has been followed within living memory raises a presumption that it began before that date. Custom is one of the four sources of international law. Its elaboration is a complex process involving the accumulation of state practice, i.e. (1) the decisions of those who advise the state to act in a certain manner, (2) the practices

of international organizations, (3) the decisions of international and national courts on disputed questions of international law, and

(4) the mediation of jurists who organize and evaluate the amorphous material of state activity. One essential ingredient in transforming mere practice into obligatory customary law is opinio juris.

doctrine n. 1 archaic : teaching, instruction 2 a: something that is taught b: a principle or position or the body of principles in a branch of knowledge or system of belief; dogma c: a principle of law established

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through past decisions d: a statement of fundamental government policy especially in international relations e: a military principle or set of strategies

duty n. 1. work which a person has to do ○ It is the duty of every citizen to serve on a jury if called. ○ The government has a duty to protect the citizens from criminals. 2. official work which you have to do in a job ○ to be on duty to be doing official work at a special time 3. a tax which has to be paid ○ to take the duty off alcohol ○ to put a duty on cigarettes ○ goods which are liable to duty goods on which customs or excise tax has to be paid ○ duty-paid goods goods where the duty has been paid

enact v. to make a law

enforce v. to make sure something is done or is obeyed ○ to enforce the terms of a contract ○ to enforce a debt to make sure a debt is paid

equity n. 1. That part of English law originally administered by the Lord Chancellor and later by the Court of Chancery, as distinct from that administered by the courts of common law. The common law did not recognize certain concepts (e.g. uses and trusts) and its remedies were limited in scope and flexibility, since it relied primarily on the remedy of damages. In the Middle Ages litigants were entitled to petition the king, who relied on the advice of his Chancellor, commonly an ecclesiastic (“the keeper of the king’s conscience”), to do justice in each case. By the 15th century, petitions were referred directly to the Chancellor, who dealt with cases on a flexible basis: he was more concerned with the fair result than with rigid principles of law. 2. An equitable right or claim, especially an equitable interest, or equity of redemption, or mere equity. 3. A share in a limited company. 4. Justice administered according to the fairness as contrasted with strictly formulated rules of common law. It is based on the system of rules and principles which originated in England as an alternative to the harsh rules of Common law and which were based on what was fair in a particular situation. Equity is a body of jurisprudence, or field of jurisprudence, differing in its origin, theory and methods from common law, though procedurally, in the federal court and most federal courts, equitable and legal rights and remedies are administered in the same court.

law n. 1. a written or unwritten rule by which a country is governed and the activities of people and organisations are controlled. A written law in the UK is an Act of Parliament which has received the Royal Assent, or, in the US, an Act of Congress which has been signed by the President or which has been passed by Congress over the President’s veto.

○ A law has to be passed by Parliament. ○ The government has proposed a new law to regulate the sale of goods on Sundays. 2. ○contract law, the law of contract laws relating to agreements ○ to take someone to law to sue

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someone ○ inside the law, within the law obeying the laws of a country ○ against the law, outside the law not according to the laws of a country ○

Dismissing an employee without reason is against the law. ○ The company is operating outside the law. ○ in law according to the law ○ What are the duties in law of a guardian? ○ to break the law to do something which is against the law ○He is breaking the law by selling goods on Sunday. ○You will be breaking the law if you try to take that computer out of the country without an export license. 3. a general rule 4. ○ the law the police and the courts (informal) ○The law will catch up with him in the end. ○If you don’t stop making that noise I’ll have the law on you. ○ the strong, long arm of the law ability of the police to catch criminals and deal with crime

law-abiding adj. abiding by or obedient to the law ○ law-abiding citizens

legislate v. to make a law ○ Parliament has legislated against the sale of drugs or to prevent the sale of drugs.

legislature n. 1. the part of a national or other government which makes or changes laws ○ Members of the legislature voted against the proposal. (NOTE: The other parts are the executive and the judiciary.) 2. the building where a Parliament meets ○ The protesters marched towards the State Legislature.

morality n. principles concerning right and wrong or good and bad behaviour.

offence n. a crime. The modern tendency is to refer to crimes as offences. Offences may be classified as indictable or summary and as arrestable or nonarrestable. offence against the person a criminal act which harms a person physically, e.g. murder or actual bodily harm ○ offence against property a criminal act which damages or destroys property, e.g. theft, forgery or criminal damage ○ offence against public order a criminal act which disturbs the general calm of society, e.g. riot or affray ○offence against the state an attack on the lawful government of a country, e.g. sedition or treason ○ offence triable either way an offence which can be tried before a magistrates’ court or a Crown Court

offend v. to commit a crime

petition 1. a formal written request presented to a court or other official body

positive law or natural law the permanent underlying basis of all law. The philosophers of ancient Greece, where the idea of natural law originated, considered that there was a kind of perfect justice given to man by nature and that man’s laws should conform to this as closely as possible. Theories of natural law have been an important part of jurisprudence throughout legal history. Natural law is distinguished from

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positive law, which is the body of law imposed by the state. Natural law is both anterior and superior to positive law

regulate v. 1. to adjust something so that it works well or is correct

2.to change or maintain something by law ○ prices are regulated by supply and demand prices are increased or lowered according to supply and demand.

regulation n. a rule issued by an administrative agency or a local governmental body prescribing conditions or authorizations that must be followed by the public or by public utilities; the process of controlling

by restrictions or rules.

repeal n.1. the act of saying that a law is no longer valid ○ pressing for the repeal of the Immigration Act 2. The total or partial revocation of a statute by one passed subsequently. A statute is normally repealed by express words, but if provisions of a later statute are inconsistent with those of an earlier one this will imply that Parliament intended a repeal. Repeal does not affect any transaction that has been completed under the repealed statute

repeal v. to say officially that a law no longer has legal authority

○ The Bill seeks to repeal the existing legislation. ○ Member States must repeal national legislation which conflicts with Community legislation.

COMMENT: Since the UK does not have a written constitution, all EU law has to be incorporated into UK law by acts of Parliament. Since no act of one parliament can be considered binding on another parliament, these acts can in theory be repealed by subsequent parliaments. No parliament can bind subsequent parliaments to the principle of the

supremacy of EU law.

revision n. the act of changing something ○The Lord Chancellor has proposed a revision of the divorce procedures.

right n. 1. title to or an interest in any property. 2. any other interest or privilege recognized and protected by law. 3. freedom to exercise any power conferred by law.

rule n. 1. a general order of conduct which says how things should

be done, e.g. an order governing voting procedure in Parliament or Congress ○ The debate followed the rules of procedure used in the British House of Commons. ○ to work to rule to work strictly according to the rules agreed by the company and union, and therefore to work very slowly

2.US a special decision made by the Rules Committee which states how a particular bill should be treated in the House of Representatives

3.the way in which a country is governed ○ The country has had ten years of military rule. ○ the rule of law principle of government that all persons and bodies and the government itself are equal before and answerable to the law and that no person shall be punished without trial

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