My Future Profession

I am a second-year student of Kyiv National University named after Taras Shevchenko, Law faculty. When I entered the University I had a vague [veig] idea of what I would do in future. Having studied a lot of legal subjects, such as Theory of Law and State, Criminal Law, Civil Law, Financial Law and others I could outline the profession I’m engaged in. Now it is obvious that in community some kind of law is necessary because every day of our lives we are restrained and guided by law. It protects us while it restricts us. Sometimes it punishes us.

Law can also be defined as a standard of conduct, which regulates the relation of the individual to the central government, the relation of the government to the individual, and the relations among the individuals. If there is a conflict in these relations, the law also provides the court system, through which the respective sides can litigate a problem and reach a solution. So, the scope of the law necessarily makes it complex, and complexity has created the need for specialists, namely a lawyer, whose work is quite diversified [dai´və:sifaid]. He may act as the defence counsel in court, he may represent the interest of the plaintiff or the defendant in civil and criminal cases.

In national economy lawyers are entrusted the control on the legality of orders and instructions issued by governing bodies: they participate in drawing up different agreements and contracts, which are concluded with other enterprises; lawyers also inform on the current legislation and give help in legal matters, conduct cases in courts. In addition, they give advice on various legal problems and are often employed by business firms. In almost all civil-law countries there are notaries, who have exclusive rights to deal with such office work as marriage settlements and wills.

All barristers in our country are incorporated either in the national or regional (territorial) bar. Members of the bar work at legal advisory offices, which function in every town administrative district.

Our department trains specialists for working in court, Office of Public Prosecutor, Notary’s offices, other juridical bodies and also in legal service of national economy.

Block 2. Countries and their Political Systems.

1. Constitution - the Standard of Legitimacy. Types of Constitutions. Constitutions of Ukraine, Great Britain and the usa. Constitution – the Standard of Legitimacy

Constitution is the body of doctrines and practices that form the fundamental organizing principle of a political state. A constitution is a set of rules which defines the relationship between the organs of government and between the government and citizens of a country. Its purpose is to set the framework of governmental power and the rights and duties of the citizens. Therefore, the constitution of any independent country will determine the system of government in that country.

In some states, such as the United States, the constitution is a specific written document; in others, such as the United Kingdom, it is a collection of documents, statutes, and traditional practices that are generally accepted as governing political matters. States that have written constitutions may also have a body of traditional or customary practices that may or may not be considered to be of constitutional standing. Virtually every state claims to have a constitution, but not every government conducts itself in a consistently constitutional manner.

In its wider sense, the term constitution means the whole scheme whereby a country is governed: and this includes much more else besides law. In its narrower sense, ‘constitution’ means the leading legal rules, usually collected into some document that comes to be venerated as ‘The Constitution.’ But no country can be compressed within the compass of one document, and even where the attempt has been made, it is necessary to consider the extralegal rules, customs, and conventions that grow up around the formal document.

Written constitutions In most Western countries the constitution using the term in the narrower sense, is a scheme of government that has been deliberately adopted by the people. Examples are the Constitution of the United States, drawn up in 1787 and ratified in 1789 and still in essentials unchanged; the constitution of the Weimar [΄waima:] Republic or that of the Federal Republic of Germany, brought in force in 1949; and the constitutions that France has had since the Revolution. The constitution in these countries is the basis of public law; it is usually enacted or adopted with special formalities; special processes are devised for its amendment and sometimes safeguards are inserted to ensure that certain provisions are unalterable.

Unwritten constitutions,An unwritten constitution means that it is not formally enacted; its rules can be found in a dozen fields, not in any one code. Similarly, it is flexible and here is the contrast with a rigid constitution. There are no special safeguards for constitutional rules; constitutional law can be changed, amended or abolished, just like any rule of private law.