Английский язык. Профессиональная лексика для юриста. Учебное пособие

Exercise 3. Render the following text into English using the topical vocabulary of the unit.

Британская семья

Каковы бы ни были взгляды на семейную жизнь, счастливые, стабильные семьи и поддержка семейных ценностей определенно являются символом общественного благополучия. По утверждению социологов, брачный союз по-прежнему в моде, хотя понятия идеальной семьи и так называемых Викторианских ценностей являются пережитком прошлого. Тем не менее, бытует распространенное мнение о том, что институт семьи в Британии находится в состоянии кризиса. Более того, некоторые политики склонны возлагать вину за многочисленные общественные беды на упадок семейной жизни.

Как правило, семья определяется как группа людей, связанных узами кровного родства либо юридически и живущих вместе с какой-либо общей целью, к примеру, предоставление крова и пищи, а также воспитание детей. В 2000-х гг. семейная жизнь в Британии значительно изменилась. Общественно приемлемыми стали нетрадиционные браки и образ жизни, семьи с одним кормильцем, дети получают большую свободу. Со сравнительно недавнего времени женщины в Британии стали заниматься оплачиваемой работой и составляют 44% рабочей силы. В то же время, несмотря на то, что растет число женщин, ставших основными кормильцами в своих семьях, зачастую их работа низкооплачиваема и непостоянна.

TEXT B. Marriage and its Types

Read and translate the text. Get ready to discuss its main points.

Husband and wife are now regarded in law as separate persons, although (here is still a concept of consortium which assumes a certain element of joint enterprise in the marriage partnership (eg. the wife still usually takes the husband’s surname, there is a matrimonial home). Marriage creates financial rights and responsibilities a mutual obligation of maintenance of the other spouse and children.

Despite the fact that neither marriage nor heterosexual cohabitation now alone defines the family, it is still usually important to establish whether there is a marriage or other partnering relationship.

71

The government is at present still explicitly supporting the institution of marriage as the best environment in which to bring up children. Nevertheless, confusing messages are coming out from this source, which also espouses the principle that children’s interests should be paramount and identifies this as the “first principle” of modern family law. More recently, cohabitation has developed as a strong alternative to traditional marriage, yet unlike other common law jurisdiction (France has introduced a status of civil partnership in its PACS Taw-under which cohabitants can enter into a formal agreement as an alternative to marriage, and for a long time previously has recognized cohabitation in the institution of concubinage which could be registered at the Town Hall) cohabitation is little recognized as a status in law in the UK. It is important to understand the difference of status, depending on whether a marriage is “valid”, “void” or “voidable”:

1.A “valid” marriage is one which complies with the relevant law and practice in all respects: the parties will be husband and wife, it can be ended only by divorce or death and on death the survivor will be a widow or widower.

2.A “void” marriage is one which has some incurable defect, so that it could never be valid, whatever the parties wished. This type of defective marriage requires the parties who wish to maintain the relationship to start again from scratch, with a new effective ceremony, this time complying with the law and practice of any jurisdiction which has a matrimonial regime, and if in the meantime one of the parties dies, it will be too late to achieve the status of marriage, as the deceased will have died single and the surviving party is a single person.

3.A “voidable” marriage is one which is valid for all purposes until ‘avoided’, a process which can only be effected by the parties to the marriage who may affirm it instead if they wish (and no other person may attack its status). Such a marriage will usually be ended if the parties wish by an ‘annulment’ on a nullity decree, but might subsist until death, after which it is

too late for a nullity decree.

Marriage is, therefore, a definable status which requires to be established by proof of the marriage in due form before the court can entertain a suit for divorce in order to dissolve it and in the ease of apparently void marriages where a declaration of nullity is sought, whether there is actually a marriage to annul or not will depend on whether die marriage is in fact void or merely voidable. In the former, while a declaration may be sought for any

72

necessary purpose, in truth the marriage may be treated as void from the start and the declaration is only evidence of that fact; in the ease of the latter, a decree is actually required to annul the union, which will otherwise be treated as valid until any decree of nullity is obtained.

Exercise 1. Suggest the Russian equivalents for the following:

to regulate family relations through legislation; to start divorce proceedings; to refuse to get divorced; to transfer private property; to register one’s marriage; to give up something in favour of the other; to get no financial support; to be granted British citizenship; to calculate welfare payments; to dissolve one’s marriage; to find respondent’s behaviour unreasonable; to commit adultery; to satisfy the claims of the petitioner; to have custody of the children; to contribute much to the property; English legislation; legal intervention in family life; to look beyond legal ownership and contribution.

Exercise 2. Read the text below and decide which option (A, B, or C) best fits each gap.

Divorce

Marriage, the legally sanctioned and structured pairing of 1.__ couples, has long been an established practice in human civilization. Divorce, the 2.__of a marriage commitment (and, 3.__date, the annulment of the marriage 4.__), is as old as marriage itself and became literally 5.__into human society. Early cultures 6.__to divorce with relative ease. Roman, Greek, Germanic and Frankish law recognized couples’ right 7.__divorce, as did Islam and the Orthodox Church.

Since the 1960s, as legal divorces became easier to 8.__, soaring divorce rates have placed marriage 9.__among the most common rituals of modern society. Divorce is such a 10.__that while many couples still depend upon lawyers 11.__attending to their disputes, others now go to 12.__and execute their divorces quite amicably. Along with splitting couples, there is an 13.__of children divorcing their parents and vice versa.

In past centuries, marriage was part of survival and 14.__economic stability. But as the nuclear family 15.__the extended unit, its function has become more of emotional and physical caretaking.

73

Sociologists cite higher expectations of an 16.__and lasting relationship as the root cause for high rates of divorce 17.__couples. Since marital commitment is no longer a matter of familial 18.__, it is natural for couples to 19.__it quits.

Exercise 3. Translate the following sentences into English.

1. Семья является особым институтом общества, не предполагающим грубого вмешательства. 2. Современное законодательство многих стран может регулировать семейные отношения. 3. Когда люди собираются создать семью, они редко обращаются за помощью к юристам. 4. Что же касается бракоразводного процесса (судебного разбирательства), то в этом

74

случае совет специалиста просто необходим. 5. Согласно законодательству ряда европейских стран истец должен убедить суд в том, что брак окончательно разрушен. 6. Причинами для расторжения брака могут являться супружеская неверность, жестокость одного из супругов и т.д. 7. Одной из важнейших проблем является защита детей разведенных родителей. 8. Необходимо решить вопросы об опеке, о финансовой поддержке со стороны отца, если дети будут жить с матерью. 9. Раздел имущества — самый неприятный вопрос бракоразводного процесса. 10. Но компетентный юрист поможет разрешить и его. 11. Конечно, сумма капиталовложений в период совместного проживания очень важна, но помимо законного права собственности должны учитываться работа женщины по дому, её уход за детьми и даже эмоциональная поддержка мужа.

TEXT C. Parents and Children

Read and translate the text. Make up the summary of the text in writing.

Nobody ever said that children were easy to raise. They don’t come with guidelines or instructions, and they certainly don’t come with a “pause” button. What they do come with is a crucial set of physical and emotional needs that must be met. Failure of the parents to meet these specific needs can have wide-ranging and long-lasting negative effects. Becoming a Mom or Dad is a big obligation that will require a lot of energy and focus spanning a near 20-year period of time. As a parent you perform a crucial role within the lives of your kids in the course of a full life span, you’re particularly important within a child’s beginning development periods. Caring for children is often a round-the-clock task that requires perseverance, focus, love and 3 certain amount of parental responsibility which is incredibly important and challenging life experience.

The legal definition of Parental Responsibility is “all the rights, duties, powers, responsibilities and authority which by law a parent of a child has in relation to a child and his property”. Parental responsibility affords the legal right to take decisions about such things as your children’s education, medical matters and religion. Having parental responsibility also grants you the automatic right to apply for, or to be involved in court proceedings that affect your

75

children. This can include matters such as adoption, contact issues involving other family members, care applications by Social Services, changes to your child’s surname and appointment of a guardian in the event of the death of the other parent. Parental responsibility is not simply a philosophical concept but actually requires the parent to assume various responsibilities and duties towards the child which can be summarized as follows:

1)One of the definable aspects of parental responsibility is the obligation to support a child financially which is enforced by various statutes.

2)To provide the child a home, care and control (or have contact with the child) including disciplining him or her until he or she is 18, marries, enters the armed forces or is adopted, to which consent must be given or dispensed with.

3)To consent to the child’s marriage.

4)To consent to medical treatment, although over 16s consent themselves.

5)To protect the child from physical and moral harm, and determine the child’s religion. This means not doing anything to cause such harm to the child carelessly nor deliberately as in cruelty to children.

6)To ensure that the child receives education.

7)To consent to or veto the issue of a passport, or migration.

8)To present the child in legal proceedings.

9)To agree to the change of the child’s surname.

10)To bury or cremate a deceased child.

11)To appoint a guardian for the child.

Psychologists have succeeded in downgrading parents’ confidence in their own authority. And it hasn’t taken children long to get wind of the fact. In addition to the great modern classics on child care, there are countless articles in magazines and newspapers. With so much unsolicited advice flying about, mum and dad just don’t know what to do any more. In the end, they do nothing at all.

The psychologists have much to answer for. They should keep their mouths shut and let parents get on with the job. And if children are knocked about a little bit in the process, it may not really matter too much. At least this will help them to develop vigorous views of their own and give them something positive to react against. Perhaps there’s some truth in the idea that children who’ve had a surfeit of happiness in their childhood emerge like stodgy puddings and fail to make a success of life.

76

Points for discussion

1.Family violence is the course of various crimes.

2.Once an abuser, always an abuser.

3.Law enforcement official should not interfere in a domestic matter.

4.Are children easy to raise?

5.Parental responsibility is not a simple matter.

Revision Translation

Насилие в семье

В Беларуси нет обобщенной статистики фактов насилия в семье, однако проблема поддается объективному анализу. Вопервых, в статистической отчетности Министерства внутренних дел выделяется группа преступлений, совершенных на почве ревности, ссоры и других бытовых причин. Во-вторых, ситуацию в сфере семейных отношений изучают социологические службы. Эти источники позволяют оценить масштабы опасности, которой подвергаются женщины в стенах своего дома, установить причины этого тревожного явления.

Общепринято считать, что насилие в семьях ограничивается патологическими семьями, семьями с алкоголиками, бедными семьями. Однако исследования показывают, что насилие далеко не всегда связано с пьянством и бедностью. Весьма распространенной в семейных отношениях является психологическая форма насилия: грубость (в 48% семей), унижение друг друга (14%), а также физическое насилие – рукоприкладство (6%). Грубость во взаимоотношениях большинством мужчин и женщин воспринимается как норма семейного общения. Количество семей, где муж жестоко обращается с женой, в 3,5 раза больше, чем семей, где жена жестоко обращается с мужем. Среди тех, кто подвергается лично физическому насилию со стороны супруга, доминируют женщины (29% женщин и 3% мужчин).

Последствиями насилия в семье могут быть смерть, телесные повреждения, психические расстройства, иногда необратимые, самоубийства и т.д. Постоянное грубое обращение способно спровоцировать у женщин и ответные насильственные действия по отношению к мужьям, сожителям и т.д. Хотя такое положение сейчас меняется – женщины все чаще прибегают к насилию.

77

Unit V

JUDICIARY

Subject of study:

A.Courts in the United Kingdom

B.Federal Courts in the USA

C.State Courts in the USA

D.The Judicial System in the Republic of Belarus

79

80