1. Why are the civil rights and liberties very important for studying?

2. What is the corner-stone of lawyer’s profession?

3. What is US Constitutional law based on?

4. What does the US Bill of Rights provide?

5. Is the US Bill of Rights the major source of protection for individual rights?

6. Do Ukrainian citizens have equal rights and freedoms before the law?

7. Are there any privileges or restrictions based upon face, colour of skin, ethnic and social origin, etc.?

8. What do the articles of the Constitution guarantee?

9. What is the strategic policy of the Ukrainian Centre for Human Rights?

Vocabulary Practice.

1. Choose the necessary word and put it in the sentence:

1. Much of US constitutional law is based on _____ law. 2. Civil rights and liberties make up the _____ of his profession. 3. The Bill of Rights _____ constitutional guarantees of freedom of expression and belief. 4. The Bill of Rights is the major source of _____ for individual rights. 5. Citizens are _____ before the law. 6. The strategic policy of Ukrainian Centre for Human Rights is _____ a democratic state.

a) to provide b) equal c) natural d) to establish e) foundation stone f) protection

2. Translate into English.

1. Цивільні права - це предмет, близький серцю кожного юриста.

2. Більша частина конституційного права США базується на природничому

законі.

3. Людина народжується вільною та незалежною, вона має право на життя,

свободу та щастя.

4. Права, гарантовані Конституцією , не є єдиними , що має людина.

5. Наша Конституція гарантує право на життя, право на особисту

недоторканість, невтручання в особисте та сімейне життя, право на працю та

відпочинок, право на освїту, соціальний захист та медичну допомогу.

6. Стратегічною політикою Українського центру прав людини є встановлення

демократичної держави, що базується на принципах рівних прав людини.

TOPIC 8

SYSTEMS OF LAW

WORD LIST

common- law - загальне право

civil - law -цівільне право

case - law - прецедентне право

court decision - судове рішення

judge - суддя

liberty - свобода

to increase - збільшувати

to expand - розширювати

precedent - прецедент

to overrule - відхиляти

error - помилка

outdated - застaрiлий

precious - дорогоцінний, коштовний

unjust - несправедливий

pattern - зразок

legislature - законодавчa влада

wage - заробітна плата

Lexical exercises

1. Read and translate the international words:

system, legal, social, tradition, form, civil, base, principle, precedent, colony,

national, province, role, management, protection, constitutional.

2. Find the equivalents:

1. independent country 1. рішення суду

2.civil law system 2. урядовa влада

3. legal system 3. зберігати незмінним

4. common law 4. незалежна країна

5. combine features 5. бути зразком

6. court decision 6. захист навколишнього середовища 7. to base the decisions 7. захищати пpава та свoбоди

8. to overrule any precedents 8. керівні відносини

9. to defend the rights and liberties 9. заробітна плата працівників

10. government power 10. відхиляти будь-які прецеденти

11. workers` wages 11. цівільне право

12. to keep unchanged 12. поєднувани риси

13. environmental protection 13. загальне право

14. to be patterned 14. засновувати рішення

15. management relations 15. правова система

3. Give English equivalents:

загальне право, суддя, свобода, цивільне право, рішення суду, незалежна країна, заробітна плата, прaва та свободи, управління, урядова влада, законодавча влада, важливий, правова система, принципи, конституційний закон, головне зміни, соціальний.

4. Give Ukrainian equivalents:

common law system, civil - law system, social traditions, government power, workers wages, court case, legal precedent, to expand, particular case, to be in error, to be outdated, to change a law, precious, to defend the rights and liberties, unjust use, important, legislature, major changes, management relations, environmental protection, basic feature.

5. Read and translate the text.

SYSTEMS OF LAW

Every independent country has its own legal system. These systems vary according to each country’s social traditions and form of government. But most systems can be classed as either a common - law system or a civil - law system. The United States, Canada, Great Britain, and other English - speaking countries have a common - law system. Most other countries have a civil -law system. Many countries combine features of both systems.

Common - law systems are based largely on case law - that is, on court decisions. The common - law system began in England many hundreds оf years ago. The English called their system the common law because it applied throughout the land.

English common law developed from the rules and principles that judges traditionally followed in deciding court cases. Judges based their decisions on legal precedents - that is, on earlier court rulings in similar cases. But judges could expand precedents to make them suit particular cases.They could also overrule (reject) any precedents that they considered to be in error or outdated. In this way, judges changed many laws over the years. The common law thus came to be law made by judges.

However, some common - law principles proved too precious to change. For example, a long line of hard-won precedents defended the rights and liberties of citizens against the unjust use of government power. England - and the other common - law countries - have kept these principles almost unchanged. The United States, Canada, and other countries that were colonized by England based their national legal systems on the common law. In addition, every state in the United States except Louisiana and every Canadian province except Quebec adopted the common - law system. Louisiana and Quebec were colonized by France, rather than England, and their legal systems are patterned after the French civil - law system.

Case law is still important in common - law countries. However, the lawmaking role of legislatures in these countries has increased greatly during the 1900`s. For example, the United States Congress has made major changes in American contract and property law. The changes have dealt, for example, with such matters as labor - management relations, workers’ wages and hours, health, safety, and environmental protection. Nevertheless, common - law countries have kept the basic feature of the English legal system, which is the power of judges to make laws. In addition, constitutional law in these countries continues the common - law tradition of defending the people’s rights and liberties.