English для юристов. Гончар

Part ІI. BASIC COURSE

Reading Tasks

1.Read the text to understand what information is of primary importance or new for you.

Notes on the text:

The British constitution is a mixture of legal provisions, conventions and acceptance of the constitutional principles. — Британська конституція — це правові положення, звичаї та визнання конституційних принципів.

to hold on tight — твердо додержуватися peer — пер

Lay peer — світський пер Peerage — звання пера

Lords Spiritual — єпископи — члени палати лордів Lord Temporal — світські члени палати лордів

GREAT BRITAIN

(LEGAL AND POLITICAL SYSTEM)

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the only European state without a formally written constitution. Of course, this does not mean that a constitution does not exist. The British cons* titution is a mixture of legal provisions, conventions and acceptance of the constitutional principles.

The essence of the British constitution is based on two basic principles: The rule of law, and the sovereignty of Parliament. The rule of law protects citizens from the state and forces Parliament to put into law the powers it transfers to the government. Laws can be rejected, repealed or passed by a simple majority. Since there is no written constitution, there is no need for special majorities to enact changes to the constitution.

The English legal system simplifies the flexible way in which the British constitution develops. It is based on common law. The main feature of common law is its foundation on case law, that is, precedents set by previous cases, which can be used to settle new disputes, and developed further according to new legislation. Legal decisions are always based on firm cases and not a general rule. A code of law like the one in Ukraine does not exist. This means that a great deal of flexibility exists in interpreting the law.

110

Module 4. Unit 1

Due to the legal and constitutional traditions in Great Britain the modification of laws and institutions to meet new challenges has been possible without major external changes. The widespread idea that Great Britain is a nation that holds on tight to its historical traditions is based on this outer impression of formal continuity. The role of the monarch and the role of Parliament have changed dramatically over the past four centuries despite this continuity.

In addition to the rule of law, sovereignty of Parliament forms the second pillar of the British constitution. While Parliament is responsib5 le for passing laws and is solely responsible for controlling legislation, it is not bound to a written constitution and therefore cannot be ov5 erruled. It is Parliament and not the people that is responsible for the constitution*.

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a constitutional hereditary monarchy. The head of state is the reigning monarch. Executive power, however, is wielded by a prime minister, who is head of government, and a committee of ministers called the cabinet. The prime minister is usually the leader of the majority party in the House of Commons. By custom, cabinet ministers are selected from among the members of the two houses of Parliament. The King or Queen is responsible for appointing Bishops to the Church of England, the Chief Justice and the highest5ranking members of the armed forces, who all swear allegiance to the Crown. The monarch performs a representative, ceremonial and integrating role. The present Queen, Elizabeth II, has been on the Throne since 1952 and (and the Royal Family) represents Great Britain at home and abroad, as well as being the head of the Anglican Church. The Queen carries out and legitimises acts of state such as the annual opening of Parliament during which the Queen reads out a speech drawn up by the Prime Minister, which marks out the government’s intended legislative program for the coming Parliament (Queen’s Speech). The monarch’s neutral position makes him/her a generally accepted figure of national integration even in times of war and crisis.

The UK Parliament is one of the oldest representative assemblies in the world. From the 14th Century, parliamentary government in the United Kingdom has been based on a two5chamber system. The House of Lords (the upper house) and the House of Commons (the lower house) sit separately and are constituted on entirely different principles. The relationship between the two Houses is governed largely by

111

Part ІI. BASIC COURSE

convention but is in part defined by the Parliament Acts. The legislative process involves both Houses of Parliament and the Monarch.

The House of Commons is traditionally regarded as the lower house, but it is the main parliamentary arena for political battle. A Government can only remain in office for as long as it has the support of a majority in the House of Commons. As with the House of Lords, the House of Commons debates new primary legislation as a part of the process of making an Act of Parliament, but the Commons has primacy over the non5elected House of Lords. «Money Bills», concerned sole5 ly with taxation and public expenditure, are always introduced in the Commons and must be passed by the Lords promptly and without amendment. When the two houses disagree on a non5money bill, the Parliament Acts can be called upon to ensure that the will of the elected chamber prevails.

The House of Lords is the second chamber of the U.K. Houses of Parliament. Members of the House of Lords (known as «peers») consist of Lords Spiritual (senior bishops) and Lords Temporal (lay peers). Law Lords (senior judges) also sit as Lords Temporal. Members of the House of Lords are not elected. Originally, they were drawn from the various groups of senior and influential nobility in Britain, who advised the monarch throughout the country’s early history.

Following the House of Lords Act 1999 there are only 92 peers who sit by virtue of hereditary peerage. The majority of members are now life peers and the Government has been consulting on proposals for further reform of the Lords.

The House of Lords considers legislation, debates issues of impo5 rtance and provides a forum for government ministers to be questioned. The Committees of the House consider a wide range of issues and produce reports on them. The House of Lords is also the highest court in the United Kingdom.

The most important political role in the British democratic system is reserved for the Prime Minister. British prime ministers are powerful. This is because they have great power and appoint, for instance, around 100 senior and junior ministerial posts to members of the ruling party across government. The Prime Minster’s power is based on the par5 liamentary loyalty of his/her party.

* Gr. note: Конструкція it is…that перекладається як «саме, якраз»

112

Module 4. Unit 1

2. Look through the text carefully to answer the following questions:

1.What role does the Queen play in the Parliament?

2.What is the British Constitution?

3.Whom do the House of Lords and the House of Commons consist of?

4.Who is responsible for the state policy?

5.What are the differences in function and in composition between the British Government and the Parliament?

6.Which of these people aren’t elected: a peer, a MP, a civil servant, the Queen, the Prime Minister?

7.What is the difference between the life peer and the hereditary one?

8.What kind of political system does the Great Britain and Northern Ireland have?

3. Scan the whole text. You have met a lot of new words in it. Copy the following table in your notebooks. Write as many words and expres sions as you can think of to complete it.

4. PREPOSITIONS. Choose the right preposition in brackets according to the contents of the sentences (on, by, of, for, in, from, over, to, between).

Great Britain is a monarchy, but powers of the Queen are limited

…the Parliament, which consists … two Chambers, the House of Commons and the House of Lords.

Everything in the country officially is done … the name of the Queen (or King), but, in reality, the MP is responsible … the policy conducted … the Parliament.

Peers sit in the House of Lords; in the House of Commons representatives of the people … England, Scotland, Wales and Nort5 hern Island take their seats.

The essence of the British Constitution is based … two main principles: sovereignty of Parliament, the rule… law. The latter protects every citizen

…the state and enforces Parliament to put into laws it transfers to the gover5

113

Part ІI. BASIC COURSE

nment. According … the Parliament Acts … 1911 and 1949 there is the supremacy of the House of Commons … the House of Lords.

Due … the traditions Ministers of the Cabinet are selected … the members of the two Houses of Parliament. The relationship … the two Hou5 ses is governed … convention and partially defined by the parliament Acts.

5. Insert one of the following words into the text in an appropriate form.

legislative, judicial, executive, courts, crown, majority, Queen, MPs, Monarch, Prime Minister, Lords, Commons, judges, spiritual, ministers, organ, effect

In theory, constitution has three branches of power:

1.… . Parliament is the legislative … which is composed of the …, the House of Lords, the House of Commons.

2.… . Government which puts the law into … and consists of the ministers appointed by the … on the recommendation of the …, who is appointed directly by the Crown and is the leader of the political party which for the two time being has a … of seats in the House of Commons.

3.… . Law Courts, which interpret the law and belongs to:

a.House of …, which in the Final Court of Appeal.

b.Courts of Appeal, which deals with criminal and civil law cases.

c.Magistrate’s Courts, which deal with minor criminal and civil cases.

d.Crown …, which deal with more serious criminal cases and County Courts which deal with more serious civil cases. Although the … is officially head of all three branches, she has little

direct power.

The House of … consists of 651 … ; its main function is to make laws. The House of … consists of the Lords … (senior bishops) and the

Lords Temporal (lay peers/senior …).

BUILD UP YOUR VOCABULARY

6.Study the following words and phrases from the text, relating to UK institutions:

Bill, Prime Minister, Act of Parliament, the Throne, constituency, constitution, Parliament, Chamber.

114

Module 4. Unit 1

7.Copy the following words in your notebooks, consult any «Law Dict ionary» and give the meaning that, you think, the following words have in the context:

Throne, crown, custom, house, head, bound, cabinet, rule, will

Example: Throne

a)ceremonial chair or a seat of a monarch;

b)royal authority, the sovereign.

Post reading tasks

1. Read the extracts below and put them in correct order.

ELECTION FEVER

_______The British Head of State is not a president; it is a king or queen who has little real power. One of the few important functions left to the Head of State is to make sure that the Head of Government, the Prime Minister, calls a general election within five years.

_______In Britain for many years the contest has been between the Conservative Party on the right, and the Labour on the left. But there are now other major political parties in the centre: the Social Demo5 crats and the Liberals. And of course, the centre parties hope to attract more votes from both conservatives and socialists.

_______The PM listens to the advice of the cabinet ministers, and chooses a time when opinion is favourable. At last the date of the general election is announced and the voters, who must be over the age of 18, make choice. And as soon as it is all over, the politicians start talking about when the next election will be.

_______Most British politicians spend a great deal of time discussing when the next general election will be. In the House of Commons, they talk about it all the time. Members of Parliament know that if they don’t get enough votes they could be looking for a new job.

2.Describe the political system of the Great Britain and Northern Ireland using words from the chart reading task 3(reading tasks):

a)the Monarch;

b)Legislature;

c)the Executive.

115

Part ІI. BASIC COURSE

3.Describe the number of stages which any bill should pass through in order to become a new law. Use the following words:

amendment, First/Second Reading, Committee stage, Report st5

age, Third Reading, The House of Commons, the Royal Assent, to go through, to be debated, to discuss in detail, to accept or to reject.

4.Social English.

Agreeing and Disagreeing.

Read and translate the following clichйs and learn them by heart.

<——————————————————————————> Strongly agree Strongly disagree

•I think it depends on…

•I don’t think so

•I’m not really sure

•I completely/quite agree

•Certainly

•I disagree with you

•Nonsense

•Nothing of the kind

•Yes, but…

•I don’t really agree

•I agree in some ways

•I suppose so

•That’s absolute rubbish

•I agree in theory, but …

B.Work in pairs. Find three arguments for and against monarchy and unwritten form of Constitution. In the discussion, use the given forms of agreements and disagreements.

LANGUAGE FOCUS

Tenses in the Passive Voice

PROGRESS CHECK

1.Use the appropriate form of the verb (Present, Past, Future Simple Passive):

116

Module 4. Unit 1

1. The British Constitution (to be based) on two basic principles. 2. Parliament (not to be bound) to a written constitution. 3. The common law offences (to be codified) by 1986. 4. The offences (to be classified) just by the police service in London. 5. Laws in Great Britain can (to be rejected) by a simple majority. 6. The House of Lords (to be presided) over by the Lord Chancellor. 7. The Speaker of the House of Commons (to be elected) by the members of the House at the very moment.

2. Choose the correct item:

1.The ministers of the Government …by the Crown on the recom5 mendation of the Prime Minister.

a) are being appointed b) have been appointed c) are appointed 2. The work of the Government…by the Lords and Commons.

a) are examined b) is examined c) was being examined 3. Members of the Cabinet…by the Prime Minister since long ago. a) are chosen b) have been chosen c) have been choosing

4. The House of Commons decides what taxes…and how the money

5. The results from each constituency (округ) are announced as soon

7. The speech which the Queen is reading out,…by the Prime Minister. a) has been drawn up b) was drawn up c) was being drawn up

3.Correct the mistakes:

1.The Parliament will passed a new tax bill by next week. 2. The Prime Minister was appoint by the President last week. 3. The common law offences have been codified by 1986. 4. Precedents have always used to settle new disputes and cases. 5. A new law is being discussing by the members of Parliament. 6. The law regarding pensions have been rejected. 7. The monarch have always performed an integrating role.

4.Translate the text:

Об’єднане Королівство поділяється на 659 територій, які відомі як округи (constituencies). Проміжок між виборами ск5

117

Part ІI. BASIC COURSE

ладає 5 років. Дата оголошується Кабінету. Загальні вибори проводять за 17 днів після розпуску Парламенту. Що відбувається в день виборів? Кожний округ поділяється на кілька виборчих районів. Виборцям висилають картки для голосування заз5 далегідь. Після перевірки урн для голосування (voting boxes) їх закривають та запечатують. Результати від кожного округу ого5 лошують, щойно голоси пораховано. Національний результат стає відомим наступного ранку.

Коли всі результати відомі, Королева пропонує лідеру партії, що перемогла, більшість місць в Палаті Громад та посаду Прем’єр Міністра. Потім буде оголошено дату державного відкриття Пар5 ламенту.

Палата Лордів не бере участі (to be involved) у виборчому процесі.

Indirect Speech

1.Commands. Rewrite sentences as in the example: Example: Work hard! — He told (asked) me to work hard.

1.Stop talking on the phone! I am waiting for an important call! 2. Put hands on your neck! 3. Have a break for a moment! 4. Don’t speak so loud! I can’t hear the Speaker. 5. Don’t make so many mistakes! 6. Keep some money for a rainy day! 7. Tell him the truth! 8. Don’t complain of your boss! 9. Follow that car!

2.Change the following sentences into indirect speech as in the example:

1. Do you work as a legal adviser or a prosecutor? 2. Has he presented the evidence? 3. Did he have a personal interest in the case? 4. What does the legislative process involve? 5. Where are the members of the House of Lords drawn from? 6. What are the chambers of the UK Parliament? 7. What is the highest court in the United Kingdom?

3.Rewrite sentences as in the example:

Example: I am very busy. (Frank) — Frank said he was very busy.

118

Module 4. Unit 1

1.The rule of law protects citizens from the state. (the legislator). 2. We are going to settle the dispute. (Philip). 3. John is suspected of murder! (Alfred). 4. Legal decisions are always based on firm cases. (the lawyer). 5. They went to the Procurator’s Office. (Jerry). 6. He was g5 iving evidence that moment. (Frank). 7. They work as notaries. (Kelly).

4.Turn these into indirect speech, beginning I didn’t know: Example: There is no written constitution in the UK. — I didn’t know that there was no written constitution in the UK.

1.Laws in the UK can be passed by a simple majority. 2. The English legal system is based on common law. 3. Great Britain has been a nation that holds on tight to its traditions. 4. The Queen is responsible for appointing Bishops to the Church. 5. The Prime Minister’s power is based on the loyalty of his party. 6. This famous barrister will represent James in court. 7. The main feature of common law has always been its foundation on case law.

5.Rewrite the following sentences in indirect speech:

Example: The Prime Minister said, ‘The role of Parliament has much changed over the past 10 years’ — The Prime Minister said that the role of Parliament had much changed over the past 10 years.

1.The judge said, ‘I have never faced such an awful mistake’. 2. The students said, ‘The professor explained the legal and political system of Great Britain properly’. 4. The policeman said, ‘I saw them at the station’. 5. The postman said, ‘I have brought you a recommended letter’. 6. Mary said, ‘I studied Criminology at the Academy’. 7. His aunt said, ‘Something terrible happened’.

6.Translate the following sentences into English:

1.Вона сказала, що Парламент вже затвердив новий закон. 2. Слідчий департамент повідомив, що злочинця спіймали. 3. Юрист сказав, що прецеденти використовуються для вирішення нових спорів. 4. Газета повідомила, що докладаються певні зусилля, щоб покращити зв’язок з молоддю щодо попередження злочинності. 5. Він сказав, що королева Єлизавета II править з 1952 року. 6. Він запитав, яка гілка влади відповідальна за дотримання та застосуван5 ня законів. 7. Студент поцікавився, які екзамени здають адвокати.

119