Legal professions in russia

The law and lawyers have not traditionally been accorded much power or status in Russia. During his travels to London in 1698 Peter the Great encounted some English barristers wearing wigs and gowns. “Who are those men?” Peter inquired of his escort. “Lawyers” was the reply. “Lawyers!” exclaimed Peter, “What is the use of so many? I have only two in my whole empire, and I mean to hang one of them as soon as I return”.

Yet, a current generation of Russian politicians wishes to reform and modernize the legal system of our country, and at the heart of these reforms is the need to create a society based on the rules of law. The Russian legal tradition like Russian society in general, is neither Western-oriented, nor wholly Eastern, thus Russian legal culture is assumed to be a mix of numerous traditions and influences.

Currently, justice in the Russian Federation is treated as a special type of independent state activity. The aim of justice in Russia is to safeguard the citizens’ rights and interests as well as those of the state and of individual institutions, enterprises and organizations.

Justice in the Russian Federation is administered by the courts of law only, whereas the court system depends on the legal profession to make it work. Russia is similar to many other European countries in having different kinds of lawyers, and consequently various types of state and privately-owned legal institutions that form the basis of the country’s legal system.

A diploma in law enables you to make a career of a judge, an attorney, a legal adviser, a procurator, a notary or an investigator. Citizens of the Russian Federation, who have reached the age of twenty five, have a higher legal education, and a record of work in the legal profession of no less than five years, may become judges and work in all levels of courts of the Russian Federation.

One more option of a law-school graduate is to work at the Procuracy, which, like all Russian courts, protects legality, law and order in the country. Its main function is to supervise the implementation of laws by local legislative and executive bodies, administrative control organs, legal entities, public organizations, and officials, as well as the lawfulness of their acts. The Procurator-General (The Prosecutor-General) of the Russian Federation is nominated by the President and serves a five-year term. Procurators of republics, regional and city prosecutors are appointed by the Russian Prosecutor-General.

Nowadays, numbers of Russian people are attracted by the glamour of legal practice, which is only strengthened by its financial rewards. A career of an attorney is usually started in advocatura or Russian Bar with its main function to provide representation to citizens in courts in both civil and criminal cases. Professional attorneys in Russia form the so-called colleges - professional unions of about 150 lawyers each. These colleges maintain consultation bureaus in virtually every town and city throughout the country. At the consultation bureaus citizens may seek legal advice on a vast array of questions: divorce, custody, inheritance, property rights, housing disputes, labor conflicts and so forth. The colleges also provide legal defense for people accused of criminal offences. The constitution provides that a defendant is guaranteed the right to legal counsel and the legal assistance will be provided free of charge if the defendant cannot afford a lawyer.

Currently, Russian attorneys are establishing their own law firms, independent of the colleges and consultation bureaus, and the rate at which this profession grows is really great. This is happening due to the fact that salaries of successful lawyers are substantially greater than those of many other professionals.

Lawyers are also widely employed by militia organs of the Russian Federation as investigators. Investigators are responsible for conducting criminal investigation, collecting the evidence, finding witnesses and providing for the documentative basis of any criminal case.

A notary is another important type of a legal profession. The most common function of a notary is to notarize documents. They are also authorized to witness and attest signatures, to take acknowledgements and certify or attest copies.

It is widely acknowledged that the profession of a lawyer is one of the most important and diversified professions in any law-governed state. The main purpose of this profession is to protect the rights and legal interests of citizens, institutions and organizations, as well as to educate people in the spirit of strict observance of all laws and the norms of behavior.

Ex.1. Pronounce the words:

status, politician, society, safeguard, enterprise, attorney, procurator, legislative, executive, legal entity, lawfulness, glamour, bureaus, substantially, due, militia organs, signature, acknowledgement, certify, diversified, law-governed, observance, behavior.

Ex.2. Find in the text

a) English equivalents for the following Russian words and word combinations:

парики и мантии, современное поколение, реформировать правовую систему общества, правосудие, быть на страже прав и интересов граждан, юридическая профессия, государственные и частные юридические структуры, диплом по праву, судья, адвокат, прокурор, следователь, стаж работы по профессии, высшее юридическое образование, суды, прокуратура, правопорядок, закон и порядок, осуществлять контроль за применением законов, правозаконность действий, материальное вознаграждение, карьера адвоката, адвокатура, представительство граждан в суде, коллегия адвокатов, юридическая консультация, вопросы наследования, споры по недвижимости, трудовые конфликты, юридическая защита, уголовное расследование, свидетели, заверять подлинность копий документов, гражданское общество, соблюдение законов и норм поведения.

b) Russian equivalents for the following English words and word combinations:

to reform and modernize the legal system, Russian legal tradition, a mix of traditions and influences, attorney, a record of work in the legal profession, a law-school graduate, to protect legality, legal entities, a five-year term, glamour of legal practice, consultation bureaus, colleges, vast array of questions, custody, free of charge, militia organs, criminal investigation, to notarize documents, law-governed state, strict observance of laws.

Ex.3. Find in the text