Additional reading text I: law

I. Study the vocabulary.

1. Law - право

2. Laws - законы

3. Lawyer - специалист в области права

4. Law and order - правопорядок

5. Area of law - область права (практика)

6. According to the law - согласно закону

7. Body of laws - совокупность правовых норм

8. At law - в соответствии с законом

9. Harsh law - жесткий закон

10. Law-abiding - законопослушный, соблюдающий право, закон

11. Law enforcement bodies - правоохранительные органы

12. Lawful - законный, правомерный (соответствует закону)

II. Complete the sentences with the words from Ex. I. Translate them into Russian.

1. The soldiers restored _________ __ ___________ in the region.

2. _________ sometimes acts for the client in court.

3. There are two main kinds of international ______: private and public.

4. The State Duma of the Russian Federation adopts such federal_________ as the federal budget, money emission, ratification of international treaties and so on.

5. If you never break laws you can be called a _________ ___________ person.

III. Read and translate the texts.

1) The word law has Old English origin. It appeared in ancient times when the Saxons invaded Britain.

Then the Normans came to the island. They established their rules of the state and wanted everybody to follow strictly those rules. Many words assimilated, the French word ordre – that means порядок – among them. Now both words used together strengthen the meaning (law and order).

- common law - англосаксонское право

2) Law is unwritten in common law countries. In Russia there are codes with rules and regulations. In the UK there is no constitution but there are Acts of Parliament. In the USA there is the Constitution of the USA. But precedent, or case, is the main source of law. Common law is a case law or judge-made law. It means that certain judicial decisions may become laws according to which judges must decide later cases.

Common law countries are the United Kingdom, the USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

- civil law – 1) гражданское право; 2) Римское право

- сriminal law – уголовное право

- tort law – деликтное право; касается нарушений против личности и имущества личности, за которые требуется взыскание по иску потерпевшего.

3) Laws protect, provide control, and define the rights and obligations and set principles of lawful behaviour.

Laws include certain rules and regulations, statutes, procedures and orders that any activity is governed by an appropriate legislation. The areas of law practice in which lawyers specialize are numerous; some are included into large bodies of laws, such as Civil Law, Tort Law or Criminal Law. Some refer to definite spheres of economy, business, human relations, etc.

4) Civil law

Civil law is the law inspired by old Roman law, the primary feature of which was that laws were written into a collection: codified, and not determined, as is common law, by judges. The principle of civil law is to provide the citizens with an accessible and written collection of laws which apply to them and which judges must follow.

Civil law regulates relationships amongst persons and organizations setting rules and principles that apply to private relations. Violation of these rules is a private wrong, or tort. Thus, Civil Law is referred to as Tort Law that consists of legal rules, regulations and procedures. Civil Procedure sets rules of compensation for damages.

Tort is a civil wrong against a person or person’s property, meaning both individuals and legal entities (e.g. negligence, assault, breach of contract, unfair competition). A person who does such wrong must pay compensation.

Criminal law

Criminal law is the body of laws setting limits of social conduct and forbidding unlawful actions. Violation of these laws is a public wrong, or wrong against society. Criminal Law sets the rules of punishment for crimes. Criminal Law consists of legal rules defining the criminal conduct and criminal procedure.

Crime is a criminal wrong against society, because a wrong is committed against all members of the community (e.g. murder, bribery, robbery, fraud).

A person who commits a crime is punished and sent to prison.