Case law

British law is based on the principle of (1)…………….., meaning that if a court has already ruled on a given legal issue and another case arises with the same legal issue, the holding in the previous case will be applied to the new (2)…………. The use of precedents helps to promote stability in the (3) ……, as all parties are given notice as to the current state of the law.

Precedents also have a role to play when new (4)…….. are presented to courts. (5)…… for both sides of a case look to cases that have been decided in the past that support their current arguments. When deciding new legal issues, sometimes courts expand (6)…………...

Through reliance upon precedent established in prior cases the (7)……… has resolved many legal issues and brought stability into many areas of the law, such as the law of….(8).

Ex. 6:

These words can help you identify similarities and differences between two subjects. Below are just a few words; add to this list as you find more.

Compare	Contrast
Same	Different
Both	But
Alike	On the other hand
Similar	Instead of
Compared to	In contrast to

Case law or codes? Compare the British legal system based on case law and legal systems of European countries (e.g. France, Germany, etc.) based on codes. What are their relative advantages and disadvantages? Use the table given below:

	ENGLISH LAW	CONTINENTAL LAW
TYPE OF LEGAL SYSTEM	common law	civil law
BASIC CHARACTERISTIC OF SYSTEM	central importance of precedent	central importance of enacted law
STYLE OF LEGAL REASONING	Inductive - reasoning in individual cases leads to general rules	deductive – decisions reached by reasoning from general rules to particular cases
LEGAL PRINCIPLES	principles are flexible; based on real facts, develop in individual cases	in time fixed principles may not correspond to changing circumstances; general enacted principles are applied to individual cases
OTHER CHARACTERISTICS	inferior courts must follow decisions of superior courts; central position of judges	original source of principles may be case-law, custom, etc.

Ex. 7: Visit the internet site www.legalskills.com. and make a report about sources of law.

Section 2 t e X t 2

The Judicial System Of Great Britain

Ex. 8. Make the derivatives

Noun	Verb	Adjective
Operation/operative	To operate	operative
	divide
trial
		legislative
	To deal
establishment
	To separate

Ex. 9. Read and translate the international words:

System,group,special,instance,serious,start,number, separate,function, operate

Pre-reading task: Read the introductory text giving you the general idea on the structure of the British Court system.

Crown Court - суд короны (суд по уголовным

делам)

High Court of Justice - Высокий Суд правосудия

Queen's Bench Division - Отделение королевской скамьи Высокого Суда правосудия (рассматривает важнейшие уголовные дела и некоторые категории гражданских дел)

Chancery Division - Канцлерское отделение Высокого Суда правосудия (рассматривает гражданские дела)

Family Division - Отделение Высокого Суда правосудия по семейным делам, разводам и завещаниям

Court of Appeal - Апелляционный суд

Lords of Appeal in Ordinary - лорды-судьи, судебные лорды; члены палаты лордов, назначаемые для рассмотрения апелляций

The structure of the court system in Britain is many-layered. The courts in Great Britain are divided into two large groups: criminal courts and civil courts. Besides, there are many special tribunals – independent judicial bodies - set up by Parliament.

Criminal courts are Magistrates' Courts and Crown Courts. Magistrates' Courts are the courts of first instance. Cases involving minor offences begin and end there. Cases involving more serious offences normally start in Magistrates' Courts before being referred to higher courts - Crown Courts - for trial. Crown Courts try serious cases such as murder, rape, arson, armed robbery, fraud, and so on.

Civil courts include county courts as the courts of first instance, and the High Court as a higher court. Jurisdiction of county courts is now statutorily unlimited, and the number of cases tried at this level is vast.

The High Court of Justice consists of three separate subdivisions: the Queen's Bench Division, the Chancery Division and the Family Division. They are independent of each other and deal with different cases, both criminal and civil.

Appeals against decisions of the High Court and the Crown Court may be taken to the Court of Appeal with its Criminal and Civil divisions.

The Constitutional Reform Act 2005 established the new Supreme Court of the United Kingdom to replace the Appellate Committee of the House of Lords. The main reason for the establishment of this court is to separate legislative and judicial powers in the country. The Supreme Court took over the judicial functions of the House of Lords and started to operate in October 2009.

Ex. 10. Match each word or phrase on the left to the Russian equivalent on the right:

1.tribunal	a. незначительное правонарушение
2. minor offence	b. убийство
3. county court	c. поджог
4. murder	d. изнасилование
5. rape	e. суд; трибунал; суд специальной юрисдикции
6.arson	f. вооруженный разбой
armed robbery	g. суд графства

Ex.11. Match each word or phrase on the left to the correct definition on the right:

criminal court	a court that handles noncriminal legal matters
civil court	a court of summary jurisdiction held before two or more justices of the peace
court of first instance	the lowest civil tribunal, having limited jurisdiction, mostly for the recovery of small debts.
Magistrates' Court	a court of criminal jurisdiction holding sessions in towns throughout England and Wales
tribunal	includes the Chancery, Family, and King's Bench or Queen's Bench divisions
county court	the final court of appeal in the UK for civil cases, which also hears appeals in criminal cases from England, Wales, and Northern Ireland.
Crown court	a body established to settle certain types of dispute
High Court of Justice	A court to which appeals are made on points of law resulting from the judgment of a lower court
Court of Appeal	a court having jurisdiction over criminal cases
Supreme court	a court in which legal proceedings are begun or first heard

Ex. 12 a) Match the words to make word combinations

To try	subdivisions
To consist of	Criminal cases
To deal with	Supreme court
To take	powers
To establish	A case
To separate	appeals

b) Fill in the gaps with the suitable word-combinations

1. Crown Courts ….such as murder, rape, arson, armed robbery, fraud, and so on.

2. Magistrate courts ……..minor offences.

3. The High Court of Justice ……three separate subdivisions: the Queen's Bench Division, the Chancery Division and the Family Division.

4. The main reason for the establishment of this court is …..in the country.

5. The Constitutional Reform Act 2005 ……..of the United Kingdom.

Ex. 13: Complete the sentences.

Model : The structure of the court system in Britain is … .

The structure of the court system in Britain is many-layered. The courts in Great Britain are divided …

1. The tribunals are …

2. Criminal courts are …

3. Civil courts include …

4. The highest court in the country is …

5. According to the Constitutional Reform Act 2005 …

Ex. 14: Ask your friend questions on judicial system of Great Britain.

Ex.15: Examine the diagram on page….. and add more information on the Judicial system of Great Britain.