- •1. Read the text about Legal English and answer the questions.
- •3. Match each Latin word or expression (1-8) with its English equivalent and the explanation of its use (a-h).
- •4. Match each Latin term (1-10) with its English equivalent (a-j).
- •1. Read the text about Legal English and answer the questions.
- •2. Match the words with their definitions.
- •Grammar 4 Revision of the Active Voice
- •Revision of the Passive Voice
- •Modal verbs
4. Match each Latin term (1-10) with its English equivalent (a-j).
de facto |
d in fact |
ipso facto |
g by that very fact itself |
inter alia |
a among other things |
per annum |
b per year |
pro forma |
h as a matter of form |
pro rata |
f proportionally |
quorum |
c number of shareholders or directors who have to be present at a board meeting so that it can be validly conducted |
sui juris |
e of one’s own right; able to exercise one’s own legal rights |
ultra vires |
j beyond the legal powers of a person or a body |
videlicet (viz.) |
i as follows |
Reading 2: The Language of the Law
B) Complete the word building table.
Noun/Verb Adjective |
Verb Noun |
proud proudly |
to descend descendant |
boast boastful |
to employ employee |
notary notarial |
to prosecute prosecution |
separate separate |
to conduct conduction |
guility guilty |
to suggest suggestion |
evidence evidence |
to sum-up summing-up |
1. Read the text about Legal English and answer the questions.
1. Why are the English proud of their legal system? - They follow the tradition of Rome, but in their law they owe less to the Romans than almost any country in Europe.
2. What is the difference between solicitor and barrister? - The solicitor summarises his client’s case for counsel, and the document on which he does so is called a brief. A barrister retained by a solicitor for a client is said to be briefed for him.
3. What are the Bar and the Bench, and why are they called so? - The Bar referred to is a physical bar in the Courts, beyond which no one may pass except the privileged Queen’s Counsel who have been called within the bar. Judges, thus, are not themselves a separate profession; they are barristers who have been elevated to the Bench, itself name derived from the part of the Court where they sit.
4. What is a jury, and what is their function in court? - Аll questions of fact are decided by a jury. Juries may also be found in civil cases, that is disputes other than criminal trials. In England a jury in a criminal case can return only one of two verdicts: Guilty or Not Guilty.
Explain the following legal terms:
beyond reasonable doubt |
to have no doubt |
to turn the King/Queen’s evidence |
to become a witness |
leading question |
to ask questions which suggest the answers he wants |
cross-examination |
the procedure by which, after he has given his/her evidence-in-chief, a witness is further questioned by counsel for the other side. |
summing-up |
after all the evidence has been given the judge summarises the case, both law and facts, for the benefit of the jury. |