Verb noun (agent) noun (concept) to promote
to legislate legislator legislation
to operate
to distribute
to regulate
to violate
to separate
to administrate
Ex. 3. Pair the words in column with A the ones from column B.
| A
| B
| | 1) forms
2) set
3) standard
4) sphere
5) system
6) distribution
7) object
8) part
9) violation
10) range
11) man-made
12) status
| a) of exchange
b) of labour
c) of law
d) of encroachment
e) of objectives
f) of citizens
g) laws
h) of behaviour
i) of interests
j) of morality
k) of relationships
l) of rules
|
Ex. 4. How can you express the following ideas in one word?
1. to bear (oneself) in a socially-acceptable or polite way;
2. rightness or pureness of behaviour or of an action;
3. the control or direction of affairs, as of country or business;
4. an object to be won;
5. a guiding rule on which behaviour is based;
6. to make laws;
7. a statement of something at last;
8. the body of laws and principles according to which a country is governed;
9. a condition that determines one’s formal position;
10. the way or order of directing business in an official meeting, a law case;
11. to fight or struggle against;
12. the act or result of encroaching;
Ex. 5. Match English and Russian equivalents.
| 1) to regulate the relations
| a) установленная норма нравственного поведения
| | 2) to define a set of rules
| b) главное требование
| | 3) the pattern of behaviour
| c) устанавливать правовой статус
| | 4) a standard of morality
| d) простая сумма правил
| | 5) man-made law
| e) образец поведения
| | 6) moral precepts
| f) социальные цели
| | 7) social objectives
| g) определять формы управления
| | 8) a chief claim
| h) издавать закон против чьих-либо пороков
| | 9) to influence subsequent events
| i) объект посягательства
| | 10) to fix the forms of administration
| j) нечеткое различие
| | 11) to determine the legal status
| k) нравственные заповеди
| | 12) to lay down the measures
| l) определять набор правил
| | 13) the mere sum of rules
| m) закон, созданный человеком
| | 14) a vague distinction
| n) регулировать отношения
| | 15) to legislate against one’s defects
| o) влиять на последующие события
| | 16) the object of encroachment
| p) устанавливать меры
| | 17) spheres of production
| q) сферы производства
| Ex. 6. Choose the best alternative to complete the following sentences.
1.The English word “law” refers to limits upon various / some forms of behaviour.
2.Laws prescribe how people can / ought to behave.
3.Law essentially serves two / four functions in modern society.
4. There is a vague/clear distinction between man-made law and moral precepts.
5.In a developed / feudal state the sphere in which the law operates / develops proves to be extensive.
6.Law fixes the forms of constitutional / educational system.
7.Law operates as a regulator/obstacle of distribution of labour and its products.
8. The law of a country may be analyzed as a selection / set of rules.
9. The study of legal process is the study how decisions/customs are made, who makes/fixes them.
10. Law seems/regards to exist apart from/inside man and is not even noticed/decided by him until somebody/criminal violates its orders.
11. Law is called/invited upon to defend interests/habits that have been the object/crime of encroachments.
12. Law embraces/separates all the spheres of production, distribution and exchange.
Ex. 7. Complete the following text with the words and phrases from the box.
| jail
in prison
acquitted
similar
| violently
punishment diet
treatment
statute
| justice
harsh
brought
warrant
|
The Foundation of British Law: Habeas Corpus Act
Let the Body Be Brought...
In Britain, the United States and many other English-speaking countries, the law of Habeas Corpus guarantees that nobody can be held _______ without trial. Habeas Corpus became a law because of a wild party held in 1621 at the London home of a notoriously rowdy lady, Alice Robinson. When a constable appeared and asked her and her guests to quiet down, Mrs. Robinson allegedly swore at him so _______ that he arrested her, and a local ______ of the peace committed her to _______ .
When she was finally _______ to trial, Mrs. Robinson’s story of her treatment in prison caused an outcry. She had been put on a _____ _____ of bread and water, forced to sleep on the bare earth, stripped, and given 50 lashes. Such ________ was barbaric even by the ______ standards of the time; what made it worse was that Mrs. Robinson was pregnant.
Public anger was so great that she was _______ the constable who had arrested her without а _______ was himself sent to prison. And the case, along with other ________ cases, led to the passing of the Habeas Corpus Act in Britain in 1679. The law is still on the British _______ books.
Text Study
Ex. 1. Choose the best way to complete the sentences.
1. The English word “law” refers to ...
a) development of institution of behaviour;
b) limits upon various forms of behaviour;
c) discernment in main claims for forms of behaviour.
2. Law can be defined as ...
a) a set of rules which form the pattern of behaviour of a given society;
b) a body of abstract rules of a particular society;
c) concept of common sense.
3. Law acts as ...
a) product of social and historical forces;
b) hallmark of civilized society;
c) standard of conduct and morality.
4. The study of a legal process is ...
a) the study of how decisions are made;
b) the operation of court system;
c) the influence of a society upon individual citizens.
5. Each rule which we call a law is a part of ...
a) the whole which we call the law;
b) a completely new subject;
c) the obvious question: what is law?
Ex. 2. Mark the statements which are true.
1. In all societies relations between people are regulated by government.
2. Functions of law seek to promote and achieve a broad range of social objectives.
3. There is a definite distinction between man-made law and moral precepts.
4. In man’s capacity to legislate against his own defects one can discern his claim to stand above the animal level.
5. The spheres of law embrace all forms of production, distribution and exchange.
6. Law enacts the legal status of citizens and the activity of the state mechanism.
7. Law embraces the measures for combating encroachment on the state system.
8. The laws of the country are common rules enforced by the government.
9. Law is based upon long observation of different people in different situations.
10. The general nature of the law is that it is enforced equally against all members of the nation.
Ex. 3. Complete the following sentences by adding the phrases given in part B.
| Part A
| Part B
| | 1) In all societies relations between people ...
2) Law can be defined as a set of rules which ...
3) Law serves to order and regulate ...
4) The functions of law seek to promote and achieve ...
5) The student of law is concerned with ...
6) The study of a legal process is ...
7) Law fixes the forms of ...
8) Law lays down the measures for ...
9) Each rule which we call a law is a part of ...
10)Lawyers generally speak of law and laymen ...
11)Law covers …
12)The laws of a country are …
| a) all the spheres of production, distribution and exchange.
b) separate, distinct, individual laws.
c) are regulated by laws.
d) form the pattern of behaviour.
e) the affairs of all “persons”.
f) a broad range of social objectives.
g) the questions of relationships between citizens and the state and between states.
h) the study of how the decisions are made.
i) administration and constitutional system.
j) combating encroachment on the state system.
k) the whole which we call the law.
l) more often of laws.
|
Ex. 4. Choose someone to act as an expect of law and answer the students’ questions.
| What do you mean by saying
What are (is)
Could you explain to me
Can you tell me
Could you prove that
Would you give the examples of
| the English word “law” refers to limits upon various forms of behaviour;
laws prescribe how people ought to behave;
law can be defined as a set of rules;
law serves two functions in modern society;
vague distinction between man-made law and moral precepts;
the chief claim to stand clearly above the animal level;
law is the highest achievement of civilization;
the law operates in extensive spheres;
two different aspects under which legal science may be approached;
the distinction between law as a system and law as enactments.
| Ex. 5. Speak on the essence of Law. Include the following points.
1. Law is the highest achievement of civilization: to refer to; to appear; various forms of behaviour; to be regulated by laws; to define as a set of rules; the pattern of conduct; to legislate against one’s own defects; to discern one’s chief claim; to stand above the animal level.
2. Functions of law: to serve; to regulate the affairs; to act; individuals; governments; a standard of conduct; morality; to seek; to promote; to achieve; a broad range; social objectives; a vague distinction; man-made law.
3. Spheres of law: to operate; to prove; to be quite extensive; to embrace all the spheres; of production; distribution and exchange; to fix the forms; the constitutional system; to determine the legal status; the existing property relations; to lay down the measures of combating encroachment.
4. Law and laws: to point; different aspects; to approach legal science; separate; distinct; individual rules; to analyse as separate rules; to order one’s conduct; the mere sum of rules; to call a law; law as a system; law as enactments.
Ex. 6.Argue the following points.
1. Laws are made to be broken.
2. The law is an ass.
3. Laws are like nets: little fish slip through them, big fish break through them and only medium-sized fish get caught.
4. There’s one law for the rich and another for the poor.
5. The law of the jungle and the people.
Ex. 7. Render the following text into English using the vocabulary of the present unit:
Драконт
Драконт (Draco [dreikou]) – афинский законодатель, чьи крайне суровые (severe) законы предусматривали только одно наказание – смерть (death penalty) – за незначительные нарушения и тяжкие преступления, совершенные в Афинах (Athens). Его имя теперь связывают со всем жестоким (ruthless)и безжалостным – “драконовские (draconian) меры”, “драконовы законы”, “драконовский кодекс”.
Кодекс Драконта, который принято датировать 621 г. до н.э., не был первым записанным сводом (written code) афинских законов, но он, возможно, был первым всеобъемлющим (all-embracing) кодексом или переработкой предыдущих законов.
Позднее Солон отменил драконтовы законы и издал новые, оставив лишь прежнее наказание за убийство (homicide).
Text B Sources of Law
Task: read the text and get ready to discuss its main points.
Students of the law discover early that law is complex and flows from a great number of sources. Law can and does take many forms. British Law comes from two main sources: Common Law, sometimes known as customary or case law, and parliamentary or statutory law. But it is the latter which in the end always prevails; there is nothing more supreme than parliamentary law.
English common law dates from the “time immemorial”. Various customs, usages and conventions have been developed throughout the history of British legal tradition. Case law arises out of disputes and may be found in the decisions of courts. This is a system in which legal decisions are based upon decisions in previous cases and on custom, rather than on detailed written law. If there is no previous similar case the court will decide by applying existing laws to a new set of facts and its decision will become a new precedent for courts to follow in the future. The essential feature then, of Common Law is, that although partly based on local and national customs it is fundamentally judge-made law developed over many centuries.
Laws made by Parliament constitute parliamentary or statutory law. Now it is parliamentary law which is gradually seeing common law off the legal field. Statute law can be used to abolish common law rules which have outlived their usefulness, or to amend the common law to cope with the changing circumstances and values of society. Once enacted, statutes, even if obsolete, do not cease to have the force of law. A statute stands as law until it is specifically repealed by Parliament. All Acts of Parliament can be repealed by subsequent Parliaments.
Statutes alone would not provide a system of law but merely a set of disjointed rules. The basis of the law remains the Common Law and if all the statutes were repealed we should still have a legal system.
Among other sources of British law lawyers name equity, natural justice, European law.
Equity dates from the fifteenth century, if not earlier, in the form of the Court of Chancery. Those who were not satisfied with the way in which the common law courts had handled their grievances might petition the King. Often it was a case of the common law being defective in its own rules or not being able to deliver the remedy appropriate to the individual’s particular needs. To overcome the situation, plaintiffs started to petition the Sovereign directly, and such petitions were referred by the King to his deputy who was the principal judge in the Chancellor’s Court of Chancery. Where there was a conflict between equity and common law practices in any subsequent case, equity would prevail.
Ex. 1.Comment on the following sources of law and branches of law.
Common law, Parliamentary law, Equity, Natural justice, European law.
Ex. 2. Fill in the following chart.
| Activities
| Outcome of these activities
| | 1. Students of Law discover that
| ......
| | 2. .....
| becomes a new precedent for courts to follow
| | 3. Parliament makes laws which constitute
| .....
| | 4. Statute law can be used
| .....
| | 5. .....
| gradually sees common law off the legal field
| | 6. Legislation of subsequent Parliaments can
| .....
|
Ex. 3. Suggest how we call …
1. a rule that is supported by the power or government and that governs the behaviour of members of a society;
2. that part of the law which is based on former judgements;
3. the body of written laws established by Parliament;
4. the use of former customs or decisions as a guide to present actions;
5. a room or building in which law cases can be heard and judged;
Text C Advantages and Disadvantages of Case Law
Task:read the text, focus on its main points.
The system of Case Law is peculiar to England and the countries which have derived their law from England. Its essential principle is the rule that decided cases are building authorities for the future. In other countries the judge is not bound by previous decisions of the same or any other court. The great advantages of a system of Common Law in the English sense are four:
1) Certainty. The fact that decided cases are binding for the future makes it certain or highly probable that every future case which is essentially similar will be decided in the same way. People may therefore regulate their conduct with confidence upon the law once laid down by the judges.
2) The possibility of growth. Where there is no system of Case Law the work of the judge is to develop new rules of law.
3) A great wealth of detailed rules. Case Law is much richer in detail than any code of law can possibly be.
4) The practical character. Case Law rules are the product of difficulties which actually arise in everyday life, they are practical in nature, not solely academic speculations.
The great disadvantages of Case Law are:
1) Rigidity. When a rule has once been decided, even though wrongly, it is difficult and sometimes impossible to depart from it. Flexibility is not a characteristic of Case Law.
2) Bulk and complexity. The fact that the rules of law are scattered over more than 2,000 volumes of law reports, makes the law extraordinary difficult to learn and apply.
Ex. 1. Put the following sentences in the logical order to speak about British case law.
1. The system of Case Law is peculiar to England.
2. People may regulate their conduct with confidence upon the law once laid down by the judges.
3. The rules of case law are practical in nature and arise in everyday life.
4. There are some disadvantages of Case Law.
5. The work of the judge is to develop new rules of law if there is no system of Case law (in the possibility of growth).
6. The law is extraordinary difficult to learn and apply because it is bulky and complex.
7. It is difficult and sometimes impossible to depart from the rule once has been decided.
Ex. 2. Complete the following table of notes.
|