English_for_Lawyers_2011

Unit 5. Punishment. Section 2. Capital Punishment

(Geheime Staatspolizei, “Secret State Police”), the SA (Sturmabteilung, “Storm Troops”), and the General Staff and High Command of the German armed forces.

The trial began on November 20, 1945. The judgment of the Internatio nal Military Tribunal was handed down on September 30-October 1, 1946. With respect to war crimes and crimes against humanity, the tribunal found overwhelming evidence of a systematic rule of violence, brutality, and terrorism by the German government in the territories occupied by its forces. Millions of persons were destroyed in concentration camps, many of which were equipped with gas chambers for the extermination of Jews, Roma (Gypsies), and members of other ethnic or religious groups. Under the slavelabour policy of the German government, at least 5 million persons had been forcibly deported from their homes to Germany. Many of them died because of inhuman treatment. The tribunal also found that atrocities had been committed on a large scale and as a matter of official policy.

Twelve defendants were sentenced to death by hanging, seven received prison terms ranging from ten years to life, and three, including the German politician and diplomat Franz von Papen and the president of the German Central Bank Hjalmar Horace Greeley Schacht, were acquitted. Those who had been condemned to death were executed on October 16, 1946. Göring committed suicide in prison a few hours before he was to be executed.

Subsequent Trials

After the conclusion of the first Nürnberg trial, 12 more trials were held and provided for war crimes trials in each of the four zones of occupied Germany.

About 185 individuals were indicted in the 12 cases. Those indicted included doctors who had conducted medical experiments on concentration camp inmates and prisoners of war, judges who had committed murder and other crimes under the guise of the judicial process, and industrialists who had participated in the looting of occupied countries and in the forcedlabour program. Other persons indicted included SS officials who had headed the concentration camps, administered the Nazi racial laws, and carried out the extermination of Jews and other groups in the eastern territories overrun by the German army; and high military and civilian officials who bore responsibility for these and other criminal acts and policies of the Third Reich. A number of doctors and SS leaders were condemned to death by hanging, and approximately 120 other defendants were given prison sentences of various durations. The tribunals acquitted 35 defendants.

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Private Law

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Unit 1. Civil Law. Section 1. The Nature of Civil Law

Unit 1. Civil Law

Section 1. The Nature of Civil Law

I. WARMING-UP

1. Answer the following questions:

What is a civil law system?

What is the main difference between civil law and common law? What do you know about the history of civil law?

2.Match the following English words and expressions with their Ukrainian equivalents:

3. Circle the word in each group which is different in pronunciation

Read the text to understand what information is of primary importance or new for you.

TEXT 1

The Nature of Civil Law

Civil Law, is a term applied to a legal tradition originating in ancient Rome and to the contemporary legal systems based on this tradition. Modern civil law systems, which were originally developed in Western

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European countries, have spread throughout the world. Civil law is typically contrasted with common law, a system that evolved in medieval England and that is the basis of law in most of the United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States.

The term civil law also applies to all legal proceedings (whether taking place in a civil law or a common law system) that are not criminal in nature. Under this definition laws regulating marriage, contracts, and payment for personal injury are examples of civil law.

The most obvious feature of a civil law system is the presence of a written code of law. The code is a systematic and comprehensive accumulation of legal rules and principles.

The civil law tradition traces its origin to the Roman Republic. The early custom and laws of Rome were put in writing for the first time in 451 and 450 bc, when they were inscribed on 12 bronze tablets. The principles contained within these Twelve Tables constituted the basis for all Roman civil law.

In compiling the Corpus Juris Civilis, Justinian sought to rescue the Roman legal system from years of deterioration and to restore it to its former glory. The vast quantity of material written on the civil law convinced him that the code should eliminate error, resolve conflicts.

The rise of nationalism that began in the 18th century led to the adoption of distinct civil codes for each European country, of which the French Code Napoléon of 1804 is the most famous. In the early 1900s Switzerland and Germany adopted similar codes. The subject matter of all these codes is almost identical with the first three books of the Corpus Juris Civilis.

The civil law tradition makes a sharp distinction between private and public law. Private law is the law that governs relations between private citizens and private businesses. When applied to financial and commercial transactions, it is known as commercial law. All other private law is known as civil law or labour law. Civil law refers to the law of persons, family law, marital property law, property law, contract law and tort law. Labour law regulates the relations of employers and their employees.

In general, public law regulates the relations between organs of the government and between the government and private citizens. Public law consists of matters that concern the government: constitutional law, criminal law, and administrative law, it also includes taxation and business licensing. In many countries with civil law systems, two sets of courts exist—those that hear public law cases and those that address matters of private law.

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Unit 1. Civil Law. Section 1. The Nature of Civil Law

II.COMPREHENSION

1.A. Give the definitions for the following terms and expressions or explain in other words.

1.civil law

2.legal proceedings

3.private law

4.public law

5.civil code

B. Answer the following questions using the information from the text:

What is civil law typically contrasted with? What does the term civil law also denote? What is the main feature of a civil law system?

When and where were the early custom and laws of Rome put in writing? What does private law include?

What does public law consist of?

2.Complete the following sentences according to the information from the text:

1.Civil law is usually contrasted with …

2.The term civil law is used to mark all …

3.The most evident characteristic of a civil law system is …

4.The rise of nationalism led to the adoption of …

5.The civil law tradition makes …

6.Private law involves …

7.Public law is composed of …

3. Match the following legal terms with their definitions:

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III. VOCABULARY STUDY

1. Write sentences using the following terms.

civil law, legal system, civil code, private law, marriage, constitutional law, criminal law, personal injury, custom, administrative law, court, contract, public law, to adopt a code, legal proceedings, common law.

2.Choose the right preposition in brackets according to the contents of the sentences (with, on, from, in).

The role of judges in civil law jurisdictions differs considerably … that of judges in common law systems.

The term civil law was used to combine all non-English legal traditions together and contrast them … the English common law.

Civil law is based … written legal codes, a hallmark of the Roman legal system.

The tendency …civil law is to create a unified legal system by working out with maximum precision the conclusions to be drawn from basic principles.

3.Substitute the words in italics with the words from the active vocabulary.

1.Civil law is typically contrasted with case law.

2.Civil law is made by legislators who strive to supplement and modernize a system of laws or written rules, usually with the advice of legal scholars.

3.The civil law system assumes that there is only one correct solution to a specific law problem.

4.In civil-law countries, the official written agreement of carriage first achieved distinct form in the early 19th century.

5.The manner in which legal actions are conducted in civil law jurisdictions demonstrates a great concern for the protection of personal privacy.

4.Complete the sentences with the words of the active vocabulary.

marriage civil law (2) common law contract code personal injury

… … judges administer the law, but they do not create it.

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Unit 1. Civil Law. Section 1. The Nature of Civil Law

Systems of … … and … … also differ in how law is created and how it can be changed.

Private law includes the rules governing civil and commercial relationships such as …, divorce, and … agreements.

Laws regulating marriage, contracts, and payment for … are examples of civil law.

The … is a systematic and comprehensive accumulation of legal rules and principles.

5.The verbs below can all be used to form nouns. Find in the text the words which have related meanings and make up your own sentences with them. Pay special attention to where the stress is.

Example: To administer – an administrator (n.) e.g. The pension funds are administered by commercial banks.

to proceed, to accumulate, to adopt, to govern, to injure

6. Give the English equivalents for the following word combinations:

Адміністративний кодекс, приватне право, публічне право, правова система, процесуальні дії, конституційне право, шлюб, договір, звичаєве право, цивільно-правова система, суд, кримінальний, правові принципи, розв’язувати конфлікти, термін, походити.

7. Complete the words using definitions

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8. Translate into English.

Цивільне право виникло в Стародавньому Римі. Цивільне право регулює шлюб, угоди, сплату завданої особистої шкоди тощо. Традиційно цивільне право порівнюють із загальним правом. Загальне право є основою правової системи більшої частини Великої Британії, Канади та США. Цивільно-правова традиція передбачає відмінності між приватним та публічним правом. Приватне право стосується регулювання цивільних торговельних правовідносин. Конституційне право, кримінальне право та адміністративне право складають приватне право.

IV. GRAMMAR FOCUS

1.Point out sentences with Participles II in the text and explain the use.

2.Read the text. Use the correct form of the participle.

Civil law systems do not have any process like the common law practice of discovery—the pretrial search for information conducting/conducted by the parties involving/involved in the case. In civil law systems the judge supervises the collection of evidence and usually examines witnesses in private. Cross-examination of witnesses by the opposing/opposed party’s attorney is rare. Instead, a civil law action consists of a series of meetings, hearings, and letters. This eliminates the need for a trial and, therefore, for

ajury.

3.Fill in articles where necessary.

Civil law countries today include many countries in … Asia, including

…Japan and … South Korea, countries of … Africa, including … Ethiopia,

…Latin American countries, and most … European countries, most notably … France and … Germany. … United States and … United Kingdom and its commonwealth countries are common law, not civil law, countries. However, because of their French origins, … Quebec in … Canada, and … Louisiana in … United States have adopted and followed the civil law tradition.

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Unit 1. Civil Law. Section 1. The Nature of Civil Law

V. SPEAKING

1.You have three minutes to list the expressions in the box under one of the three headlines:

Use these statements to agree or disagree with the following sayings.

Good men must not obey the laws too well.

Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)

In commercial law, the person duped was too often a woman. In a section on land tenure, one 1968 textbook explains that "land, like women, was meant to be possessed."

Ruth Bader Ginsburg (1933–), U.S. jurist and educator.

In university they don't tell you that the greater part of the law is learning to tolerate fools.

Doris Lessing (1919–), British novelist and short-story writer.

Where there's a will, there's a lawsuit.

Attributed to Addison Mizner (1872–1933), U.S. architect.

2.The most common type of civil case (perhaps other than divorce matters) is a claim arising from an automobile crash (car, truck, van, semi or other vehicle collision). Motor vehicle crashes are a leading cause of accidental death and injury. In the following list

the instructions for an aggrieved party are mixed. Arrange them in the right order. What should one do after an accident? Suggest your own ideas.

Steps To Follow After A Motor Vehicle Accident

If you, or someone you know, has been injured in automobile collision you (or the person involved) should do the following:

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1)Don't sign anything except a ticket, citation or report issued by police. Never sign anything else at the accident scene. Signing some types of documents may jeopardize your rights.

2)Get out of your vehicle. Although you must remain on the accident scene, remove yourself from further danger by getting out of your vehicle – and out of traffic.

3)Turn off your engine to minimize the risk of fire.

4)Stop your car . . . no matter who is at fault, the law requires you to stop and exchange names, addresses and insurance information at the scene of an accident.

5)Collect information. If possible, collect information about the accident at the scene or as soon after as appropriate.

6)Call for police or medical assistance. Even if there are no injuries, assistance may be necessary to clear the accident scene, handle traffic, and file an accident report.

7)Inform your insurance company. Call your agent or your company's claims number and inform them that you have been involved in a collision and give them the information about the time, date and place of the collision and the people involved.

8)Don't discuss the accident . . . except for giving necessary details to police, medical personnel, your insurance company, or your attorney, do not discuss the accident...especially with insurance companies or lawyers representing other people or insurance companies.

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