orlovskaya

A simple distinction between the criminal law (the foundation of which is the common law), and the civil law is that the latter regulates the relationships between individuals or bodies and the former regulates the legal relationships between the state and individual people and bodies. Examples of the civil law include breaches of contract (the law of contract), tort (literally meaning «wrong»), property or claims for damages for negligent conduct. Consider the following situation. You decide to buy a cellphone from a local shop. You pay the correct price and take the cellphone away. You have entered into a contract with the owner of the shop. After three days the cellphone fails to work. This is a common situation and usually the shopkeeper will replace the cellphone or return your money. If not, you may wish to take legal action to recover your loss. As the law of contract is part of the civil law the parties to the action will be you (an individual) and the owner of the shop (an individual person or body). Hence, the civil law is more concerned with apportioning losses than determining blame. Given that the defendant has damaged the victim’s property, the question in the civil law is who should pay for that damage. If the victim is wholly innocent and the defendant even only little to blame, then the defendant should shoulder the liability.

Now let us look at some examples of the criminal law. This is the law by which the state regulates the conduct of its citizens. Criminal offences range from the petty (e.g. parking offences) to the very serious (e.g. murder). Look at the following situation. You are driving your car at 70 m.p.h. (112 kilometers per hour) in an area, which has a speed limit of 40 m.p.h. You are stopped by a police officer and subsequently a case is brought against you for dangerous driving. This is a criminal offence. The parties to the action will therefore be the state (in the form of prosecuting authority) and you (an individual).

Although the division between the civil and criminal law is clear, there are many actions, which will constitute a criminal offence and a civil wrong. For example, you are driving your car too fast. Suppose that while

you were doing this you knocked over and injured an elderly man. You

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will have committed a criminal offence (dangerous driving) and a civil wrong (negligence). The legal consequences under the criminal and civil law will be different. You would be prosecuted by the state in the criminal courts for dangerous driving and sued by the elderly man in the civil courts

for negligence. The two actions will be totally separate.

The law of contract and the criminal law are two areas of substantive law. «Substantive law lays down people’s rights, duties, liberties and powers». By this is meant the actual content or substance of the law. These are the rules on which the courts base their decisions.

Procedural law is also a set of rules. Rules of procedure are the rules, which govern such matters as how the case is to be presented, in what court it shall lie, or when it is to be tried. Procedural rules are, in other words, the rules, which govern the machinery as opposed to the subjectmatter. It is a striking fact that in the earlier stages of legal development these rules assume paramount importance: form is better understood than substance, and formal requirements, rather than abstract principles, usually determined legal rights. However, the rules of procedure are now more flexible than once they were.

Упражнение 1. Прочитайте определения юридических терминов. Дайте русские эквиваленты выделенным словам и словосочетаниям. Переведите предложения.

1. The person charged with the criminal offence is the defendant. 2. A criminal case is brought by a prosecutor. 3. A successful criminal prosecution will result in a conviction. 4. The word «guilty» is used primarily of criminals. The corresponding word in civil cases is «liable», but this word is also used in criminal contexts. 5. The party bringing a civil action is the plaintiff. 6. The party is one of the persons or sides in a legal agreement or dispute.

7. The defendant in a civil case is sued by the plaintiff. 8. If the plaintiff is successful, the defendant will be found liable. 9. The distinction between crimes and civil wrongs relates to the legal consequences. 10. A court order not to do something is an injunction.

11. Judgment is the decision of a judge or court. 12. Procedure is the regular order of doing legal things. 13. A proceeding is a course of action.

14.Damages are money given as legal compensation.

15.To sue is to take legal action against someone in a civil case.

Упражнение 2. Заполните пропуски следующими словами:

judgment prosecutor conviction plaintiff sues prosecution punishment injunction

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punished

1.In criminal proceedings a (1) ... prosecutes a defendant.

2.The result of the (2)... if successful is a (3)... 3. And the defendant may

life imprisonment to a fine or else may be released or discharged without

(5) ... 4. In civil proceedings a plaintiff (6) ... (e.g. brings an action against) a defendant. 5. The proceedings if successful result in judgment for the plaintiff, and the (7)... may order the defendant to pay the (8)... money, or transfer property to him, or to do or not to do something [(9)...], or to perform a contract.

Упражнение 3. Заполните пропуски, разместив следующие слова и словосочетания в соответствующую колонку:

crime, l(fe imprisonment, to convict, civil wrong, guilty, plaintiff, defendant, to prosecute, liable, to punish, prosecution, conviction, judgment for the plaintiff, prosecutor, offence, punishment

Упражнение 4. Составьте словосочетания глаголов из колонки А и существительных из колонки В.

3.investigate c. blame/right

6.determine g. a case/a crime

Упражнение 5. Подберите к словам из колонки А синонимы или близкие по значению слова и словосочетания из колонки В.

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1. a system of laws m. breaking (an agreement/ duty) n. offence

Упражнение 7. Заполните таблицу на словообразование.

Упражнение 8. А. Назовите 20—25 ключевых слов и словосочетаний на тему «Branches of the law».

В. Speak about:

Distinctions between the criminal law and the civil law. Give your own examples of both of them.

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Какие судебные институты исполняют закон? Прочитайте и переведите текст.

Judicial Institutions (Courts)

In all legal systems there are institutions for creating, modifying, abolishing and applying the law. Usually these take the form of

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a hierarchy of courts. The role of each court and its capacity to make decisions is strictly defined in relation to the courts. There are two main reasons for having a variety of courts. One is that a particular court can specialize in a particular kind of legal action. The other is so that a person who feels his case was not fairly treated in a lower court can appeal to a higher court for reassessment. The decisions of a higher court are binding upon lower courts. At the top of the hierarchy is a supreme law-making body.

The court in which a case is first heard is called the court of first instance. Appellate courts (or Appeal Courts) are civil or crime courts to which a person may go for a reconsideration of the decision of the original court.

The formal courts are not the only means of solving disputes; adjudication increasingly takes place outside the court system. The two main forms of extra-court adjudication are tribunals and arbitration. Tribunals were established to adjudicate on disputes arising out of social legislation which regulates such areas as employment, housing and social security benefits.

The disputes in these areas might be settled by ordinary courts but the ordinary courts lack the necessary expertise or are too formal, slow and costly. Hence, the legislation has established a tribunal to do the job. There are numerous types of tribunals, each with its own limited jurisdiction over a particular type of claim. Many tribunals have expert assessors1 sitting along a legally experienced chairman to make up the judging panel2. From the point of view of the ordinary citizens they are the most important courts in the country but from the point of view of lawyers they are perhaps the least important element in the court system of England.

In contrast, arbitration is a private means of adjudication, arranged and agreed between parties involved. Here the parties agree to place their dispute in the hands of an independent third party and invest the arbitrator with the power to decide the issue. The arbitrator is likely to be someone

with expertise in the area. The purpose of arbitration is to enable people to

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have small disputes resolved in an informal atmosphere, avoiding as far as possible the strict rules of procedure usually associated with court proceedings. This does not mean that rules are not observed because the object of all court procedures is to protect the interests of each party to the

action and to ensure that the case is tried fairly. Nevertheless, the formalities are kept to the minimum.

The advantages of arbitration are similar to those of tribunals: speed, lower costs, flexibility, informality and adjudication by an expert. These advantages must, of course, be balanced against disadvantages. There is the argument that cheaper, quicker and less formal hearings result in a poor quality service. Nevertheless, the increasing use of tribunals and arbitration seems to indicate that they are a popular way of resolving disputes. On a wider point, they also increase access to justice for the ordinary people who make up 38 per cent of the plaintiffs.

Notes to the Text

1.expert assessor — эксперт-консультант

2.judging panel — состав, список судей

Упражнение 1. Дайте русские эквиваленты выделенным словам и словосочетаниям, переведите предложения.

1. A hierarchy of courts is an organization with levels of authority from the highest to the lowest courts. 2. To appeal means to take a case to a higher court in the hope of a new decision. 3. A request to a higher court to reexamine and change the judgment of a previous court hearing is called an appeal. 4. An appellant is the person or the party that requests an appeal. S. Adjudication is an act of giving a judgment or of deciding a legal problem. 6. The courts called tribunals are specialist courts outside the judicial system which examine special problems and make judgments. 7. To arbitrate is to settle a dispute between parties by referring it to an arbitrator instead of going to court. 8. The word «legislation» means making laws or the laws made. 9. Jurisdiction is administration of justice or the extent of legal authority. 10. An assessor expert helps and advises a judge on technical matters in a particularly difficult case.

11. Disputes are disagreements or arguments. To be in dispute means to be in opposition to each other. 12. The agreement is binding on all parties, that is, all parties signing it must do what is agreed. 13. To bind is to place a court under legal obligation to act in accordance with a previous judicial decision. 437

Упражнение 2. Заполните пропуски.

1. We have no authority to deal with this matter: it does not come