Discussion

Give your grounded arguments for and against the following statements. Use your active vocabulary while discussing the issues:

1. “Society can do without lawyers”.

2. “The law is a profession of words”.

3. “Mercy killing should not be punished”.

4. “People who love sausage and people who believe in justice should never watch either of them made”. (Otto Bismark)

UNIT 2

Sources of modern law

LIST OF WORDS

law of contract	gibbet law
law of equity	good law
law of honour	juvenile law
law of master and servant	election law
law of nations	territorial law
law of persons	to displace the law
law of procedure	to go beyond the law
law of property	to go to the law
law of the staple	to keep within the law
law of succession	to become law
law of treaties	to issue law
business law	to make law
case law	to unmake law
club law	to sue at law
domestic law

common law	canon law
case	to amend a statute / law
codify	court ruling
statute	to administer law
precedent	to apply the law
doctrine of precedent	ascendancy (over)
criminal	to exercise discretion
civil	enacted law, enactment
be bound	sovereignty
guilt	itinerant justice
innocence	to delegate powers
equity, equitable	to pay damages
appeal	to seek specific performance
lord chancellor	to standardize law
beneficiary	to do justice
claim	to overrule decisions
specific performance	supremacy of legislation
egalitarian

to adopt a law	to exaggerate
biased	to construe
divergent	to speculate

Ex. 1. There are many phrases with the word “law”. Look through the following list of words, make phrases, give their Russian equivalents. Use dictionary if necessary.

a)	contract		business
	equity		case
	honour		club
	master and servant		contract
	nations		domestic
law of	persons		gibbet	law
	procedure		good
	property		unwritten
	the staple		juvenile
	succession		election
	treaties		territorial

b) break			become
displace			issue
go beyond	the law		make	law
go to			unmake
keep within			sue at

Ex. 2. Match each verb with an appropriate preposition. Translate them into Russian and learn.

by / from / with / to / on (upon) / about / to / at

differ, apply, belong, pay damage, be adopted, deal, aim, look, result, speculate, be dissatisfied, be based

Ex. 3. All the verbs given below relate to legal matters. Use them to complete the sentences.

adjourn, approve, arbitrate, bribe, dismiss, earn, employ, evict, issue, obligate, reach, recommend, rescind, testify, withhold

1. The jury was unable to ______ a unanimous decision.

2. The new landlord has started proceedings to ______ all the tenants.

3. I am sure that board will ______ your proposal: it’s just the sort of thing they are looking for at the moment.

4. The policeman warned him that it was illegal to ______ evidence.

5. How much dividend do these shares ______?

6. The minister was desperate and even tried to ______ the policeman to get the charges dropped.

7. Unfortunately the committee has had to ______ its earlier decision on the use of local government premises.

8. The tribunal will now ______ until tomorrow at 10 a.m.

9. How many people does the company ______?

10. Are you ready to ______ in court that this is what happened?

11. The company is going public and they are going to ______ 25,000 shares.

12. Do you realize that this contract will ______ you to buy a minimum quantity of goods each year?

13. This evidence is hearsay and I call upon the court ______ it.

14. The prisoner’s behaviour has been good and I am going ______ him for parole.

15. The management and the union could not agree and they called in an industrial tribunal to ______.

Ex. 4. Supply the sentences with missing words given below:

a case law, federal law, common law, civil law, widespread, traditions, a criminal code, judges, are codified, law, evidence, legal, civil form, adopted, cases

The spread of ¹⁾ ______ in the world is due both to the once ²⁾ ______ influence of Britain in the world and the growth of its former Colony the United States. Although ³⁾ ______ in the common law country cannot directly support their decisions by ⁴⁾ ______ from another, it is permissible for a judge to note such ⁵⁾ ______ in giving an explanation. Nevertheless, political divergence has produced ⁶⁾ ______ divergence from England. Unified ⁷⁾ ______ is only a small part of American law. Most of it is produced by individual states and reflects various ⁸⁾ ______. The state of Louisiana, for example, has a Roman ⁹⁾ ______ of law which derives from its days as a French colony. California has ¹⁰⁾ ______ tradition, but its laws ¹¹⁾ ______ as extensively as many Continental systems. Quebec is an island of French ¹²⁾ ______ in the Canadian sea of case law. In India, English common law has been codified and ¹³⁾ ______ alongside a Hindu tradition of law. Sri Lanka has inherited ¹⁴⁾ ______ from the Russian law introduced by the Dutch, and an uncodified ¹⁵⁾ ______ introduced by the British.

Ex. 5. Fill in prepositions in the following phrases:

1. Codified law resulted ___ attempts ___ governments to produce a set of codes.

2. The Continental civil law is derived ___ a code.

3. Legislators wanted to break ___ previous case law.

4. The clear distinction ___ legislature and judiciary has weakened in many countries.

5. Courts are called ___ to determine issues of a similar kind.

6. The work of a theorist is divorced ___ reality.

7. One thing is distinctive ___ the English system.

8. A court which is inferior ___ authority to another court is obliged to follow a court of superior authority.

Ex. 6. Differentiate between the types of phrase with bind, binding and bound:

to be bound TO	+ infinitive	Lower courts are bound to follow House of Lords decisions
to be bound BY	+ noun	Lower courts are bound by House of Lords decisions
to be binding ON	+ noun	House of Lords decisions are binding on lower courts
to bind	+ noun	House of Lords decisions bind lower courts

Which two pairs of sentences have exactly the same meaning and emphasis?

Complete the following sentences correctly using a phrase with bind, bound, or binding.

1. Divisional Courts ______ by Court of Appeal decisions on questions of law.

2. In general the Court of Appeal ______ follow its own decisions.

3. A Court of Appeal decision ______ on the Court of Appeal in a later case.

4. Court of Appeal decisions ____ the House of Lords.

Ex. 7. Match the words in the box with their definitions and learn them:

case, statute, to bind, precedent, enactment, guilt, equity, to enforce, beneficiary, authority, claim, code, legislature, judiciary

1. The part of a country’s government which is responsible for its legal system and which consists of all the judges in the country’s courts of law.

2. An action, situation or decision which has already happened and which can be used as a reason why a similar action or decision should be performed or taken.

3. A system of justice which allows a fair judgement of a case where the laws that already exist are not satisfactory.

4. A right to have or obtain something.

5. A set of rules which are accepted as general principles, or a set of written rules which state how people in a particular organization or country should behave.

6. The group of people who have the power to make and change laws.

7. A feeling of anxiety or unhappiness that you have because you have done something wrong, such as causing harm to another person.

8. A law which has been formally approved and written down.

9. A problem, a series of events or a person being dealt with by police, lawyers, doctors, etc., or a matter to be decided by a judge.

10. A person or group who receives money, advantages, etc. as a result of something else.

11. Judicial decision cited as a statement of the law; an official organization or government department with the power to act and make decisions; the right or power to act, command, judge, etc.

12. A written law made by a legislative body.

13. To cause people to obey (a law).

14. To place a person under legal obligation to act in accordance with previous judicial decision (with the code).

To show that you understand the above words choose the best word to complete the following sentences.

1. There has been a sharp increase in the number of ______ for industrial injury compensation.

2. From next September, clinics will be subject to a new ______ of conduct and stronger controls by local authorities.

3. Ultimately, their aim is for a society based on ______ and social justice.

4. South Carolina’s ______ passed a law forbidding new houses to be built on its coast.

5. The salaries of most federal workers are set by ______.

6. She accused her employer of unlawful dismissal and won her ______.

7. The ______ are expected to publish their report next week.

8. There are several ______ for promoting people who do not have formal qualifications.

9. The main ______ of the new law will be those living on or below the poverty line.

10. She was tormented by feelings of ______ and shame over what she had done.

Ex. 8. Match these sources of law with the descriptions below:

Common law, Roman law, Napoleonic Code, The Ten Commandments

¹⁾ ______, which evolved in the 8-th century BC, was still largely a blend of custom and interpretation by magistrates of the will of the gods ²⁾ ______ evolved from the tribal and local laws in England. It began with common customs, but over time it involved the courts in law-making that was responsive to changes in society. In this way the Anglo-Norman rulers created a system of centralized courts that operated under a single set of laws that replaced the rules laid down by earlier societies. ³⁾ ______ formed the basis of all Israelite legislation. They can also be found in the laws of other ancient peoples. ⁴⁾ ______ refers to the entire body of French law, contained in five codes dealing with civil, commercial and criminal law.

Using the above information define whether these statements are true or false:

1. The Ten Commandments are based on moral standards of behaviour.

2. In common law judges resolve disputes by referring to statutory principles arrived at in advance.

3. Roman law is based on the principle of deciding cases by reference to previous judicial decisions, rather to written statutes drafted by legislative bodies.

4. The Napoleonic Code was introduced into a number of European countries, notably Belgium, where it is still in force.

Ex. 9. Complete the table below, showing the meaning and use of each connector.

Connectors: (1) thus, (2) therefore, (3) for, (4) however, (5) further

	Connector	Meaning	Use
a)		for that reason, consequently	to give a logical consequence
b)		because, since	to give a reason
c)		more, in addition	to state another fact
d)		so, in this way, consequently	to give a logical consequence
e)		by contrast, on the other hand	to show a contrast with something that was said before

Choose the best connector from the table above to complete the following passage.