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Файл:Практический английский язык для юристов = Practical English for Law Students. В 2 частях. Ч. 2. Учебное пособие
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courts. It generally focuses on cases that are of the greatest public and constitutional significance. The UK Supreme Court does not have the power
to ‘strike down’ legislation
1
passed by the UK Parliament. The Supreme
Court is not a separate entity. It comprises the Court of Appeal, Crown
Court or High Court of Justice2, Magistrates’ Courts or County Court, and
only exists as a combination of the three (see Fig. 1.3).
Fig. 1.2. The court system in England and Wales
42
Fig. 1.3. The Supreme Court
The Court of Appeal.
The Court of Appeal is below the Supreme Court in the hierarchy. It
is bound by the decisions of the Supreme Court. The Court of Appeal consists of the Civil Division which hears appeals from the High Court and
from the County Courts and the Criminal Division which hears appeals
from the Crown Court. The Court of Appeal has appellate jurisdiction only
and is composed of Lord Justices of Appeal together with a number of ex
officio3 members.
High Court of Justice.
The court below the Court of Appeal is the High Court of Justice. It
is bound to follow the decisions of the Supreme Court and the Court of
Appeal. The High Court of Justice deals at first instance with all high value and high importance civil disputes (non-criminal cases, i.e. those in which
large sums of money or other important issues are at stake4). There are
three Divisions of the High Court (see Fig. 1.4).
The Queen’s Bench Division presided over by the Lord Chief Justice deals with actions for damages arising from torts, breaches of contract
and libel5. The Court also hears disputes arising from trade and commerce
(the Commercial Court) as well as from shipping disputes (the Admiralty
43
Court). Both the Commercial Court and the Admiralty Court have been
created as part of the Queen’s Bench Division of the High Court of Justice.
The Administrative Court in the Queen’s Bench Division deals with a variety of judicial review matters.
Fig. 1.4. The High Court of Justice
The Family Division headed by the President deals with matrimonial6 and family matters, including issues relating to children, wardship7 and
adoption applications, divorce. It also deals with non-contentious probate8,
which means cases concerned with wills where there is no dispute.
The Chancery Division presided over by the Vice-Chancellor has
jurisdiction over a wide range of issues, including land matters, trusts, company, partnership, bankruptcy matters, as well as intellectual property
disputes.
The Crown Court.
The Crown Court deals with all those criminal cases which the Magistrates are not empowered to deal with. Practically all its work is concerned
with cases committed for trial or sentence by the Magistrates or with appeals from their decisions.
44
The County Courts.
The County Courts came into existence in 1846 as a result of an Act
of Parliament. They are intended to provide a means of recovering small
debts and to give, in a limited range of cases, similar remedies to those obtained in the High Court. The County Court hears complex first instance
civil cases, such as contract disputes, compensation claims, consumer complaints about faulty goods or services, and bankruptcy cases, applications
relating to adoption of children, divorce and other family matters.
The Magistrates’ Courts.
The Magistrates’ Court is the lower court in the UK. The Magistrates'
Courts deal with minor family matters, some forms of civil debt as well as
minor criminal offences like theft, assault, causing actual bodily harm, and
obtaining property by deception. The magistrates have limited sentencing
powers9. If the offence deserves a more severe sentence, the magistrates
can commit the offender for sentencing at the Crown Court10.
Notes to the text.
1) ‘strike down’ legislation — отменить действие закона
2) High Court of Justice — Высокий суд правосудия
3) ex officio — в силу занимаемой должности
4) to be at stake — быть поставленным на карту, находиться под
угрозой
5) libel — клевета
6) matrimonial — матримониальный, брачный
7) wardship — опека, попечительство
8) non-contentious probate — бесконфликтное рассмотрение
завещания
9) The magistrates have limited sentencing powers — Мировые судьи
имеют ограниченные полномочия по вынесению приговоров
10) …, the magistrates can commit the offender for sentencing at the
Crown Court — …, мировые судьи могут направить преступника в Суд
короны для окончательного решения по делу и вынесения приговора
19. Read Text 1A in detail and choose the best option to complete
the sentences.
45
1. The head of the judiciary branch of power in Britain is ______.
a. governor of the Law of England;
b. a monarch;
c. Vice-Chancellor.
2. The Courts of England and Wales are subordinate to ______.
a. Lord Chief Justice;
b. the Magistrates;
c. the Parliament of the UK.
3. The Court of Appeal is bound by the decisions of ______.
a. the Supreme Court;
b. the County Court;
c. the Magistrate’s Courts.
4. Appeals from the High Court are heard in ______.
a. the Crown Court;
b. the Chancery Division;
c. the Civil Division.
5. The High Court of Justice focuses only on ______.
a. civil disputes;
b. criminal matters;
c. judicial review matters.
6. In the UK courts that deal with torts and breaches of contract are
called ______.
a. the Chancery Division;
b. the Criminal Division;
c. The Queen's Bench Division.
7. The lower court in the UK is ______.
a. The County Courts;
b. The Magistrates’ Court;
c. the Crown Court.
8. Serious criminal cases falls into the jurisdiction of ______.
a. the Admiralty Court;
b. Tribunals;
c. the Crown Court.
46
9. The Courts of England and Wales are responsible for ______.
a. minor criminal offences;
b. the administration of justice;
c. the independence of the judiciary.
10. It hears appeals from decisions of ____ and County Courts and,
against convictions or sentences passed by the Crown Court.
a. the High Court;
b. the Court of Appeal;
c. the Chancery Division.
20. Read Text 1A again and decide if the statements below are
true or false. Give reasons to your opinion.
1. The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom is the final court of
appeal in the United Kingdom for all civil cases, and for criminal cases
originating in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. 2. High Court is bound
to follow the decisions of the Crown Court. 3. The courts at the top of the
judicial hierarchy have much less extensive powers and responsibilities
than those lower in the hierarchy. 4. The Supreme Court's focus is on cases
that raise points of law of general public importance. 5. Criminal Division
only hears appeals from Crown Court related to a trial of a serious crime.
6. Magistrates’ courts have unlimited power in giving sentences to defendants. 7. High Court handles appeals from the Court of Appeal. 8. The House
of Lords, Court of Appeal, High Court and magistrates’ courts exercise jurisdiction in both civil and criminal matters.
21. Answer the questions using information from Text 1A.
1. Why is judiciary branch so complicated in Great Britain? 2. Does
the United Kingdom have the unified judicial system? 3. What is the reason for having the complex English courts hierarchy? 4. How many levels
are there in the structure of the court system in England and Wales? What
are they? 5. Why was the House of Lords replaced by the Supreme Court?
6. What are the functions of the Supreme Court? 7. What courts does the
Supreme Court consist of? 8. What is the structure and functions of the
47
Court of Appeal? 9. What is the jurisdiction of the High Court of Justice?
10. What matters are considered in these divisions? 11. What is the difference between Crown and County Court? 12. What types of cases do the
Magistrate Court hear? 13. Why can offender be committed for sentencing
at the Crown Court?
Vocabulary drilling 1
22. Give Russian equivalents of the following word combinations.
Recall how they were used in Text 1A.
To be subordinate to the Parliament, dual role, to be empowered to
do sth, judicial review matters, to give remedies, to recover debts, a separate entity, independence of the judiciary, a wide range of issues, cases concerned with wills, breach of contract, appellate jurisdiction, civil disputes,
cases committed for trial or sentence, to come into existence, intellectual
property disputes, to deserve a more severe sentence, by deception, to cause
bodily harm.
23. Give English equivalents of the following word combinations.
Make your own sentences with them.
Единая судебная система, отсутствие настоящей письменной конституции, осуществление правосудия, ветвь власти, сложная иерархия,
законодательная система Англии, уголовные и гражданские дела, высший апелляционный суд, конфликт интересов, общественное и консти-
туционное значение, рассматривать апелляции, состоять из, следовать
решениям суда, под председательством вице-канцлера, работа связа-
на с делами судопроизводства, гражданские дела первой инстанции,
назначаться пожизненно, споры в отношении интеллектуальной
собственности.
24. Match the names of the courts with their definitions.
1.
High Court
a.
the highest court in Great Britain during the
reign of a queen
48
2.
County Court
b.
a branch of the Supreme Court of Judicature
that hears appeals from the High Court
in both criminal and civil matters and from
the county and crown courts
3.
Queen’s Bench
Division
c.
deals with family disputes including divorce
and child custody issues
4.
Supreme Court
d.
a special court within the UK legal system
which primarily handles complex civil cases
such as disputes regarding trusts, wills,
intellectual property rights, and company law
5.
Court of Appeal
e.
functions both as a civil court of first
instance as well as a criminal and civil
appellate court for cases from
the subordinate courts
6.
Chancery Division
f.
the highest court of appeal for all cases
across the whole of the UK
7.
Family Division
g.
a local court in England and Wales, presided
over by a circuit judge
8.
Magistrates’ Court
h.
is the criminal court of first instance
in England and Wales responsible for hearing
all indictable offences, some either way
offences and appeals of the decisions
of magistrates' courts
9.
Crown Court
i.
lower court which hears matters relating
to minor civil and criminal cases
25. Translate the collocations by finding the correct match.
1.
because of the lack
a.
схожий с, похожий на
2.
be presided over
b.
касаться чего-либо
3.
be headed by sb
c.
возникать из
4.
be concerned with sth
d.
из-за отсутствия
5.
be responsible for
e.
иметь дело с чем-либо
6.
arise from
f.
быть связанным чем-то
49
7.
compose of
g.
председательствовать,
возглавлять
8.
be similar to
h.
состоять из, включать
9.
deal with sth
i.
нести ответственность за
10.
be bound by sth
k.
возглавляться кем-либо
11.
comprise of sth
l.
состоять из, составлять
26. Complete the sentences by using the collocations from the pre-
vious exercise.
1. The United States ______ of 50 different states, from Alabama
and Alaska to Vermont and Wyoming. 2. Unfortunately, these committees
have not functioned ______ lack of support. 3. The government will have
______ the financial problem in the nearest future. 4. This case appears
______ that regarding intellectual property investigated and reported in
our agency. 5. The Magistrate's courts may ______ by professional or lay
magistrates. 6. The Government continued ______ the increasing levels of
crime and violence. 7. These countries are ______ together ______ common interests — to protect from external threats. 8. Many career opportunities ______ studying modern computer languages at a higher level. 9. In
this agreement, the first party ______ all trial costs. 10. In the Russian Federation every university is headed by the Rector.
27. Complete the text by using the words from the right column.
Judicial Institutions
In all 1. ______ systems there are institutions for creating,
modifying, abolishing and applying the 2. ______. Usually
these take the form of a hierarchy of courts. The role of each
court and its capacity to make 3. ______ is strictly defined in
relation to other courts. There are two main reasons for having a variety of courts. One is that a particular court can specialize in particular kinds of legal actions — for example,
4. ______ courts and juvenile courts. The other is so that
a person who feels his 5. ______ was not fairly treated in
a 6. ______ court can 7. ______ to a higher court for reas-
decisions
hierarchy
appeal
case
law
lower
family
legal
are binding
upon
50
sessment (although the right of appeal usually depends upon the appellant
being able to show certain reasons for his dissatisfaction). The decisions of
a higher court 8. ______ lower courts. At the top of the 9. ______ is a supreme lawmaking body, but the process of taking an action from a lower
court to the highest court may be very time-consuming and costly.
Speaking 1
28. Discuss the following questions about English courts with your
groupmates during the round-table talk. Look for extra information
on the Internet to add more ideas.
1. What are the 3 distinct legal jurisdictions in the UK?
2. What is the structure of the UK judiciary?
3. What is the jurisdiction of the civil courts in the UK?
4. How does the court system work in England?
5. Is England and Wales the same jurisdiction?
6. What kind of jurisdiction do magistrates or local courts have?
7. Can Parliament overrule the Supreme Court in the UK?
8. Is the British king above the law?
29. Prepare and give a monologue on the hierarchical arrangement of the court structures in England and Wales.
Reading 2
30. Read Text 1B and define the roles of people present at the court
trial. Translate the highlighted terms.
TEXT 1 B. Criminal and Civil Cases:
What Happens in a Courtroom?
A trial is where two or more parties present evidence and information to a court of law. Trials are held in courtrooms for both civil and
criminal cases. A civil case takes place to settle claims or lawsuits as
a person or multiple people. In a civil case, there is a plaintiff and a defend-
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