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If all this is common knowledge, how is it that the question “What is law?” has persisted and so many various answers have been given to it? It is because there exist also doubtful cases and about their “legal quality” not only ordinary educated men but even lawyers hesitate. Primitive law and international law are the foremost of such doubtful cases. International law lacks a legislature, states can not be brought before international courts without their prior consent, and there is no centrally organized effective system of sanctions. Certain types of primitive law similarly lack these features.

(from The Concept of Law by H. L. A. Hart)

LESSON 8

A. REVISION

A1. Write out synonyms from the words below.

Abolish – create – obey – violate – commit – perform an action – disobey – cancel – break – nullify – observe – modify – do what is told – abuse – do – change – repeal – establish – remake – give birth to – follow – execute – reform – put an end to

A2. Insert the words in the text and translate it in a written form.

Cases, statutes, governments, courts, precedents, a decision, previous, before, differ from, define or codify

Common law systems, particularly that of England, ________ Continental law in having developed gradually throughout history, not as the result of government attempts to _________ every legal relation. Customs and court rulings have been as important as ________ (government legislation). Judges do not merely apply the law, in some cases they make law, since their interpretations may become ________ for other courts to follow. If the essential elements of a case were the same as those of ________ recorded cases, then the judge was bound to reach the same decision regarding guilt or innocence. If no precedent could be found, then the judge made ________

based upon existing legal principles, and his decision would become a precedent for other ________ to follow when a similar case arose. Sometimes

________ make new laws to modify or clarify the common law, or to make rules where none existed ________. But even statutes often need to be interrupted by the courts in order to fit particular ________, and these interpretations become new precedents.

B. RENRERING*

B1. Render the following text in English.

СТЕПНОЙ ЗАКОН

Практически все известные на сегодняшний день письменные источники по обычному праву казахов, киргизов и туркмен – это документы, созданные российскими чиновниками в XVIII-XIX вв. Причина этого в том, что адаты (обычаи, древние нормы права) не имели письменного выражения. Обычное право кочевников существовало в форме устных преданий и обычаев, которые содержали способы разрешения споров, расследования преступлений и восстановления справедливости. Авторитетность норм обычного права вытекала из уважения к предкам и древним преданиям. Нормы обычного права действовали не сами по себе (как в европейских судах),

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но лишь в случае заинтересованности родственников сторон. Поэтому обычное право всегда неопределенно и вариативно. Оно постоянно изменяется, в зависимости от ситуации и времени.

Устный характер суда означал быстроту, гласность и открытость процесса. Устами старейшин говорил не абстрактный писаный закон, а обычай, который нельзя было не признавать и не подчиняться ему. Первое место в нем занимает закон возмездия: родственники убитого имели право лишить жизни убийцу, а отрубивший ногу, руку, ухо и пр. должен быть лишен той же части тела. Хотя наказания могли быть заменены по согласию родственников платой: убийца мог вернуть себе жизнь, заплатив за убитого мужчину1000 баранов, а за женщину 500 баранов. Большой палец стоил 100 баранов, мизинец – 20 и т.д.

Вот некоторые примеры законов обычного права киргизов: обидевший женщину обязан просить у нее прощения, а в случае отказа

– платить; если кто примет христианскую веру, у того родственники отнимают все его имение;

за убитую охотничью собаку хозяин может требовать невольника; если один человек ударит другого (без повреждения членов), или будет произносить ругательства, то должен отдать обиженному что-либо из своего имущества (скотом или вещами).

(Степной закон. Обычное право казахов, киргизов и туркмен.)

C. CASES

C1. Read the cases. Using the information from the texts and your background knowledge try to guess what category of law the situation refers to.

Case 1

Recently a small group of politicians initiated a debate about the principles of federal structuring of the country. They claimed that a multinational state should not be in a form of federation as this structuring presents less opportunities for the nation to choose whether to stay in the federal state or

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not. Any nation has a right to form its own state thus the principles of separatism should be clearly formulated in the state law.

What do you think about the situation? Does this point of view have any grounds? What principle of state structuring do you consider the best? (Give reasons to ground your choice)

Case 2

Part 1

James B. broke into the house of Mr. and Mrs. L. (who were on holiday at that time) and stole $20,000 cash and some expensive jewelry from the safe. On his way out of the house he upset a coffee table in the lounge and broke an ancient Chinese vase that cost $230,000. Unfortunately, James did not notice that the house had a modern security system that informed the police about his presence in the house. As soon as he left the house he saw two police officers waiting for him. They handcuffed him and took to the police station.

What was the crime he was accused of? What might the penalty be? Part 2

When the L’s were informed about the situation they returned from their trip to Florida at once. The first thing they noticed, were the remains of the vase on the floor. Mrs. L. broke into tears: it was a family tradition to give this vase to girls as a wedding gift. Mr. L. was less emotional. He told that the vase was the most precious thing in the house and he wished James had stolen everything but hadn’t touched the vase. Mr. L. is now planning to sue James to make him pay for the vase.

What kind of lawsuit is it going to be? Do you think the L’s have legal grounds for suing James? Would they get the money?

Case 3

The Supreme Court is now hearing a case about distribution of authority among the Ministry Of Defense and the State treasury. The case involves such administrative functions as ordering different types of weapons for the national Military Forces and financing all military contracts. The Defense Minister claims that the Treasury officials who know nothing about military matters set hurdles to the development of Nation’s Army and Navy. The spokesman for the treasury reported that the military officials cannot plan the expenses and are constantly asking for more and more finance giving no grounds for such increases.

Whose arguments seem more reasonable in the situation? Who should be responsible for military expenses?

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Case 4

Mark H. was sentences to 2 years of prison for shooting a burglar who broke into his house. The killed man was a habitual criminal who had been released from jail a couple of months before the misfortune. The prosecutor considered the verdict fair because the killed criminal was not armed. Mark does not consider himself guilty and wants to appeal. “I have all legal rights to protect my family and my property”, he says.

Is the verdict fair? What kind of court will hear the case? What might the outcome of the situation be?

Case 5

Part 1

K., 95, was lonely for most time of his life. He had no wife and no children. Unsuccessful in his private life, he was very fortunate in business and at the time of death he had a fortune of about $400,000. When he died, his distant relatives (grandchildren of his cousin) wanted to inherit his property, including the apartment in a prestigious district.

Do they have any legal rights for inheriting the property? Part 2

Suddenly the relatives found out hat K. had left a will leaving all his property to a complete stranger. The relatives were shocked and indignant, they were really sure they had all chances to inherit the money and the flat. M., the beneficiary of the will, claims that she was helping the old man about the house and has all the legal and moral rights to get the fortune. The relatives want to take her to court.

What kind of case is it going to be? Do they have a chance to win and get the money? (Try to give legal grounds)

Case 6

Anna M., 37, is going to sue her former employer. She was dismissed when the company she worked for decided to close its subsidiary in her city. About 40 employees are out of job now. Anna says the company has no rights to fire her as she has three kids. Although her husband works, his salary is not enough to support the family, and it is highly unlikely that she will find a new job because of the high unemployment rate in the city.

Were there any legal grounds for her dismissal? Do you think she can succeed in the lawsuit?

Case 7

N., a Swiss company, sued Russia for breaking the terms of the contract. The spokesman for the company said that 10 years ago the company won a

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governmental contract for importing some goods to the country. They claim that the country broke the terms of the contract and did not pay the whole sum. The country’s officials admit that the contract was broken but they claim that the price of the goods was twice bigger than the market one. They call the contract fraudulent.

Who is right in the situation? What grounds should each of the sides give to the court to win the case?

C2. Read the newspaper headlines. What peculiarities of newspaper style can you notice in the headings? What category of law can they refer to? Write a newspaper article about one of the situations presented in the headlines.

Murder Susoect Skips Bail

3rd Amendment to Be Abolished Labour Units Threaten Immediate Strike President Testifies to Senate Committee

Gazprom Sues Ukrgaz for Illegal Gas Taking President Demands More Power

Nurse Inherits $10 bln

Government Announces Income Tax Cuts

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Lesson 4

B3 (answers may vary)

1c; 2h; 3a; 4i; 5e; 6g; 7f; 8b; 9d; 10 no variant

Lesson 5

C1 a)

Lesson 6 A1

1g 2c 3e 4a 5h 6d 7i 8f 9j 10b

B2

1d 2b 3f 4g 5a 6e 7c

Lesson 7 A1

take part – participate; ask for – request; say sorry – apologize; put off – postpone; find out – ascertain; call off – cancel; get – obtain; take up – occupy; come to an end – terminate; let smb know – inform; ; get in touch

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with – contact; need – require; cut off – disconnect; decide – resolve; put to an end – abolish; understand – comprehend .

A3

Instructed, above-mentioned, request, chambers, attend, regarded, acknowledgement, proceed.

A4

1d 2c 3b 4h 5j 6i 7g 8f 9e

I.Учебники и учебные пособия:

1)Английский для юристов /Сост. Назарова Н.Б., Коробова Е.Б.

М., 2002.

2)Крупченко А.К. Contemporary Law in Russia. М., 2002.

3)Антрушина Г.Б. и др. Лексикология английского языка. М., 2000.

4)Шевелева С.А. Английский для юристов. М., 2002.

5)Матузов Н.И. Теория государства и права. М., 2004.

6)Farrell M. The World of English. Longman, 1995.

7)Riley A. English for Law.

8)Law Today

9)Padfield C.F. Law made simple. London, 1985.

II.Словари и справочники:

1)Longman Essential Activator, 1997.

2)Hornby A.S. Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary of Current English. Oxford-Moscow, 1982.

3)The Penguin English Dictionary, !986.

4)The Penguin Dictionary of English Idioms, 1986.

5)21st Century Synonym and Antonym Finder. Princeton Language Institute,1993.

6)Гринбаум С., Уиткат Д. Словарь трудностей англ. языка. М., 1990.

7)Карпентер Э. Часто смешиваемые слова. М., 2003.

8)Кейпл А. и др. Словообразование: Справочник по англ. яз.

М.,2003.

9)Словарь употребительных английских пословиц. М.,1985

10)Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, 2005

III.Прочие источники:

1)Hart H.L.A. The Concept of Law. Oxford, 1963.

2)Степной закон. Обычное право казахов, киргизов и туркмен.

М., 2000.

3)Newspapers: The Daily Telegraph, The St.Petersburg Times.