Английский язык. Профессиональная лексика для юриста. Учебное пособие

General courts in the Republic include the Supreme Court of the Republic of Belarus, Minsk city (town) and military courts. Economic courts include the Supreme Economic Court of the Republic, economic courts of oblasts and other courts with an equal status, economic courts in towns and districts.

In cases stipulated by the legislation of the Republic of Belarus, specialized courts may be formed within the system of general and economic courts, such as juvenile, family, administrative, land, tax or other courts.

The Supreme Court of the Republic of Belarus is the highesttier court inside of Belarus and acts as the final “court of review.” Its general tasks include the oversight of lower-tier courts and can render justice in areas of general civil and criminal law. Unlike the United States Supreme Court, constitutional issues are not sent to the Belarusian Supreme Court, but are sent to a separate court called the Constitutional Court. The judges to the Supreme Court are appointed by the President.

The Constitutional Court of Belarus is one of the top-tier courts in the Eastern European countries. Created in 1994, the Court is run under guidelines that were issued in 1997. The purpose of the Court is to render justice in areas where the constitution has come into question, such as a local law contradicting the constitution. There are 12 judges that sit on the bench, with all having degrees in legal studies, as required by Belarusian law. Six of the judges are appointed by the President while the other six are appointed by the Council of the Republic. Regardless of the manner of appointment, the judges sit on the bench for a term of 11 years.

Constitutional control is carried out by the Constitutional Court. Legal acts or their separate provisions which are considered unconstitutional lose force in the pyramid of order determined by the law.

The Economic Court of Belarus is one of three top-tier court systems in the Republic of Belarus. The main jurisdiction of the court is dealing with economic, enterprise and monetary disputes between the national government and local governments or citizens. Cases dealing with state secrets are also heard in the court, which is based in the national capital of Minsk.

The main law-enforcement institute in Belarus is the State Prosecutorʼs Office. It executes the control of legality and the control of conformity to the law of the judicial decisions on civil, criminal and other cases.

The State Control Committee carries out the control of execution of the state›s budget, the use of state’s property, the execution

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Unit VI

CIVIL AND CRIMINAL PROCEDURE

Subject of study:

A.Steps in Civil Procedure

B.Criminal Procedure

C.Trial by Jury in Britain

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TEXT A. Steps in Civil Procedure

Read and translate the text. Do the exercises given below.

The term “procedure” covers all the steps necessary to turn a legal right into a satisfied judgement, it does not merely refer to the trial itself. The proceedings prior to trial take much time and often result in a settlement being reached before any trial takes place. Proceedings after trial may also take time, for example appeals procedure and the enforcement of the judgement.

Civil procedure consists of four basic steps:

(1) pleadings, (2) discovery, (3) trial and judgement, (4) conclusion of litigation.

Pleadings. The general term “pleadings” refers to the series of written claims and defences that establish what is in controversy or at issue, on what grounds the action is being involved. As the first step in a civil lawsuit, the plaintiff’s solicitor files a complaint. The complaint states the specific injury suffered by the plaintiff, the acts of the defendant alleged to have caused that injury, and the remedy being sought. The defendant must be given a positive notice that the complaint has been filed and that a response to the complaint must be made. This notice is called a summons. Once the action has been initiated by filing and serving a complaint and a summons, it cannot be terminated unless specified legal steps are taken. Also, once the notice is received, the defendant must make some response to the summons and complaint within specified time in order to avoid a default judgement.

The next step in a civil action is the preparation of an answer, in which the defendant responds to the factual allegations in the

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complaint. The answer must state any affirmative defences, that the defendant intends to use against the plaintiff’s claims or the defendant will not usually be allowed to assert them during the trial. Court rules in many jurisdictions permit the answer to contain a counterclaim against the plaintiff. The counterclaim doesn’t reply to the allegation but states the cause of the action that the defendant has against the plaintiff. The defendant may also make a cross-claim or cross-complaint against another defendant. The cross-complaint may be filed and served as a document separate from the answer, or it may be combined with the answer into one document.

Discovery. When the initial pleading stage of the litigation is concluded, the solicitors will attempt to locate all witnesses and uncover all evidence while learning as much as possible about the issues. This process is known as a discovery. Information may be obtained by means of a written set of questions in a court document, usually entitled interrogatories, that require written answers. Testimony may also be taken by asking witnesses oral questions. This discovery activity is known as a deposition or oral interrogatories. When witnesses are required to give testimony, they must receive an official notice to appear in court. This notice is called a subpoena.

After all preliminary work has been completed and the case has been set for trial, the barristers may meet informally with the judge to discuss the issues involved in the lawsuit.As the issues are discussed, information is exchanged; and sometimes evidence is produced that results in a request to dismiss the litigation without trial. Sometimes certain aspects of the case can be settled by a stipulation, or an agreement, between the barristers with the approval of the judge. Because trials are expensive in terms of time, emotions, and money, both parties may reevaluate the situation and decide to settle it out of court.

Trial and judgement. If a case cannot be settled by a mutual agreement and if there are no grounds for a dismissal or default, the case must go to trial for a decision on the merits. When either barrister feels that the case is ready for trial, the clerk of the court is notified through the filing of a memorandum setting for trial or a notice of trial. The clerk notifies the parties when and where the trial will be held. In civil cases the plaintiff’s barrister rather than a prosecutor argues the case. After the plaintiff has presented evidence, and before presentation of the defence, the defendant may move for a dismissal for failure to state a claim for which relief may be granted.

Not all civil actions are entitled to be adjudicated by a jury trial. Where there is a right to a jury, the plaintiff may waive this right. When there is no jury, the judge hears the case, applies a law, and

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issues a judgement in favour of one party or the other based on the facts and the merits of the case. When a case is heard before a jury, the jury decides in favour of one of the parties on the basis of the facts presented and sets the amount of damages. In civil cases a judgement is issued in favour of the party judged to have met its burden of proof. The party in whose favour judgement is made is the prevailing party.

Conclusion of litigation. After the court hands down a judgement, the losing party has some options: (1) to satisfy the judgement (as by paying the damages); (2) to fail to perform the satisfaction, in which case the prevailing party may have to take measures to enforce the judgement (as by attaching the losing party’s property); or (3) to appeal the judgement to a higher court. If the losing party chooses to appeal, no payment is made to the prevailing party. The barrister for the losing party must make an appeal within the time limit prescribed by the law or lose the right to it.

Vocabulary Practice

Exercise 1. Read the following. Mind the stress.

Exercise 2. Pair the words in column A with the ones from column B.

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Exercise 3. Match the English phrases with their Russian equiv-

alents.

Exercise 4. Complete the list of derivatives. Use a dictionary if necessary.

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Exercise 5. Match the following words with their definitions.

1.burden of proof a) the decision of a court or a judge

2.counterclaim b) an order to appear in court

3.defendant c) a formal written or spoken statement

Exercise 6. Match the phases of litigation (1–4) with the descriptions (a–d).

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to the other party in an attempt to reach a settlement. This party makes a demand of the other, who will then send a response. Informal discussions often follow. If the parties cannot reach an agreement, formal action may be started and a suit is filed.

Exercise 7. Complete the following text with the words and phrases from the box.

Civil and criminal law contrasted

The difference between civil and criminal law turns on the 1. __ between two different objects which the law seeks to pursue – redress or punishment. The object of the civil law is the 2. __ by compelling compensation or restitution: the 3. __ is not punished, he only suffers so much harm as it’s necessary to make good the wrong he has done. The person who has 4. __ gets a definite 5. __ from the law, or at least he avoids a 6. __. On the other hand, in the case of crimes, the main object of the law is to 7. __ the wrongdoer: to give him and others a strong inducement not to 8. __ the same or similar crimes, to reform him if possible, and perhaps to satisfy the public sense that the wrongdoing ought to meet with retribution. But this punishment is not directly or mainly beneficial to the person 9. __. In all cases of crime the law treats the 10. __ as not merely an injury to an individual, but as a matter of 11. __. An individual suffering civil injury need not 12. __ the wrongdoer, and may contract not to sue him. Where a crime has been committed, the person injured cannot prevent 13. __ being taken to secure punishment, and an agreement not to persecute is a criminal offence.

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