Comprehension check

Exercise 1. Answer the following questions.

1. What is the origin of the writ of habeas corpus?

b. What does the phrase “the writ of habeas corpus” mean?

c. What procedures that made for effective assertion of people’s rights were provided by the Habeas Corpus Act of 1679?

d. How did the Habeas Corpus bill become a law?

Exercise 2. Do you agree and disagree with the following statements?

1. The writ of habeas corpus is a device for the protection of personal liberty against official authority.

2. Habeas corpus proceedings may be employed to obtain release of the accusedprior to trial on the ground that the bail set is excessive.

3. The writ may also be employed in a wide variety of situations not involving criminal proceedings.

Exercise 3. Explain and extend the following statements.

1. An essential safeguard of personal liberty is the writ of habeas corpus.

2. In the British colonies in North America, by the time of the American

3. Revolution, the rights to habeas corpus were popular regarded as among the basic protections of individual liberty.

4. The United States Constitution (Article 1, Section 9) says: “The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in cases of rebellion or invasion the public safety may require it.”

DISCUSS

Speak on the current uses of habeas corpus in Europe and the United States.

Unit 2

IMPORTANT CONCEPTS OF CONTEMPORARY LAW

2.1 What is law?

There is but one law for all, namely, that law which

governs all law, the law of our Creator, the law of

humanity, justice, equity – the law of nature, and

of nations.

Edmund Burke 1729-1797

Law can affect many aspects of our lives, yet most people living in England and Wales have little understanding of the legal system that operates in these countries. For many their main awareness comes from newspaper articles with headlines such as ‘Murderer jailed for life’; ‘Young offender goes free’; ‘Burglar caught’. This type of headline appears so frequently that it is not surprising that, when law is mentioned, many people only think of the criminal law and the courts that deal with this type of case. In reality law covers an enormous range of situations and the legal system in England and Wales has a variety of courts and methods for dealing with different types of cases.

Law exists to ensure that civilized life is possible: Law ensures that individual citizens can go about their daily business without being attacked or robbed, and that society can set up institutions which will be respected by the individual. To do this, the government provides the legal machine with the weapons of compulsion: police to enforce the law and catch those who break it, courts to establish guilt and innocence, and prisons to punish offenders. (compulsion).

Government itself is defined by constitutional law. In Britain some of the most fundamental laws of the constitution are traditional rather than being written down, but there is also a mass of written laws covering how the British are governed, both centrally and by local authorities. (the constitution).

As individuals we want to be able to make private arrangements between ourselves, secure in the knowledge that if others break their word, we will be compensated for our loss. We want to make sure that other people cannot spoil our enjoyment of our property or hurt us physically by their carelessness – and that if they do we can get them to stop or be compensated. Law provides a framework within which we can protect ourselves in this way. (a framework)

To achieve all these things we need a law that is consistent and consistently applied. So, we need a legal system that is capable of applying law fairly and consistently and amending and interpreting it so that it can deal with new and changing circumstances. (a system).

The word ‘law’ suggests the idea of rules; rules affecting the lives and activities of people. In any community or group, rules made by people will develop to control the relationships between members. The rules come into existence in varying ways, although in most cases there must have been an agreement between at least some of the members of the community that the rule was desirable. When people having power in the community enforce the rule, then that rule will acquire the status of a ‘law’ in the generally accepted meaning of the word.

WORDS AND PHRASES YOU NEED TO KNOW

1. legal adj (allowed by law)

2. legal system n (the laws and the way that they work in a particular country)

3. offender n (a person who has committed a crime)

4. criminal law n (the body of law defining offences against the community at large)

5. case n (an action, cause, suit, or controversy, at law or in equity)

criminal case (court case concerned with law-breakers)

civil case (court case concerning a disagreement between parties)

try a case v

6. guilt n (the fact or state of having committed a wrong, esp. a crime.) (Cf. innocence) establish guilt

7. constitutional law (the body of law deriving from the U.S. Constitution and dealing primarily with governmental powers, civil rights, and civil liberties)

8. enjoy one’s property v (posses or use ) enjoyment of one’s property n

9. rule n (an official or accepted principle or order which guides behaviour)

rule v (especially in law) to give an official decision on)

10. agreement n (a mutual understanding between two or more persons about their relative rights and duties regarding past or future performances)

Reading notes:

compulsion the act of compelling: the state of being compelled

a framework a set of ideas, rules, or beliefs from which something is developed, or on which decisions are based.

Exercise 1. Read the following sentences, notice carefully the active words in bold, and translate the sentences into Russian.

Legal

1. People on low salaries can get free legal advice.

2. This trade in foreign currency is perfectly legal.

3. In England divorce finally became legal in 1992.

Legal system

1. Scotland has its own law and legal system which are quite separate from the law and legal system which operate in England and Wales.

2. One of the best known definitions of a legal system comes from Professor Hart.

3. Law can affect many aspects of our lives, yet most people living in England and Wales have little understanding of the legal system that operates in these countries.

Offender

1. The courts should impose tougher punishments on offenders.

2. An offender is someone who has broken the law and is being punished for doing it.

3. For many their main awareness of the legal system comes from newspaper articles with headlines such as ‘Murderer jailed for life’; ‘Young offender goes free’; ‘Burglar caught’.

Case

1. The federal courts of the United States have the power to hear and try cases involving disputes between a state and citizens of another state.

2. Serious criminal cases are tried by jury.

3. This type of headline appears so frequently that it is not surprising that, when law is mentioned, many people only think of the criminal law and the courts that deal with this type of case.

Constitutional law

1. The law is divided into: 1. constitutional law, statutory law, case law, administrative law, and common law.

2. Constitutional law is the body of law deriving from the U.S. Constitution and dealing primarily with governmental powers, civil rights, and civil liberties.

3. The Government itself is defined by constitutional law.

Guilt

1. He made an attempt to deny his guilt.

2. The first purpose of the legal procedure is to find out whether the defendant admits his guilt or not.

3. To do this, the government provides the legal machine with the weapons of compulsion: police to enforce the law and catch those who break it, courts to establish guilt and innocence, and prisons to punish offenders.

Rule

1. You must obey/observe the rules.

2. The court has ruled in favour of the sacked employee.

3. The word ‘law’ suggests the idea of rules; rules affecting the lives and activities of people. In any community or group, rules made by people will develop to control the relationships between members.

Enjoy (one’s property, health)

1. He has always enjoyed (= had) good health.

2. These workers enjoy a high level of job security (have a particular ability or advantage).

3. The law recognizes that people have the right to enjoy the use of their own property, but this right is balanced by the right of other land users to enjoy the use of their properties.

Agreement

1. The two sides were unable to reach an agreement.

2. We are in agreement with their decision.

3. The rules come into existence in varying ways, although in most cases there must have been an agreement between at least some of the members of the community that the rule was desirable.

Exercise 2. Fill the spaces in the following sentences with a suitable expression from Exercise 1.

a. Most attorneys will expect you to pay them a retainer, especially if your … problem is going to take months to resolve and will cost a lot of money.

b. A retainer is an amount of money paid to an attorney to begin work on a ….

c. Can you prove his …?

d. … actions taken against the state – against, for example, a public authority or even against the government itself – these actions are part of ….

e. At 16, Scott was already a persistent … (= someone who has been caught several times for committing crimes).

f. A defendant in a criminal case is found … or … (an alternative way putting it is to say the defendant is convicted or acquitted).

g. It’s against the … to handle the ball in football.

h. The negotiators came to … that all troops would be withdrawn.

Exercise 3. Find in the text English equivalents for the following Russian words and expressions.

правовой, законодательство, преступник, судебное дело, конституционное право, вина, власть, договор, соглашение, вступать в соглашение (с кем-л.), невиновность, установить вину (невиновность), придавать законную силу, принуждение, основать

Exercise 4. Translate these sentences into English

а) Английское право составило отправную базу для ведущей правовой системы современного мира – права США и Британского Содружества.

b) Конституционное право Великобритании не имеет главного источника – писаной конституции.

c ) Основная цель правительства – проводить зaконы в жизнь.

d) Премьер-министр Великобритании имеет неограниченные полномочия по руководству правительством.

5. В Великобритании магистратские суды и суды графств рассматривают около 90% всех дел.

6. Преступник обнаружен и во всем сознался.