X. Discuss the following questions in a group.

1. What disputes are covered by civil law?

2. Is it necessary to create a unified system to deal with civil claims?

XI. Role Play.

Enact in English with roles on the “Hearing the Case of Paying Maintenance (выплата алиментов) in a Civil Court”.

The situation is that Mr. Ted Graham, a well-to-do businessman, refuses to pay maintenance. The court considers claim of Mr. Graham’s former wife. Her claim is to prescribe paying proper maintenance of £ 1,000 per month. Taking part in the play as barristers, plaintiff, defendant, judge give proof of your point of view in the case.

Unit 7.3 The Federal Court System And The Justice System of The usa

Read the text to fulfil the tasks

One of the most important rights in the U.S. is the right to a fair trial. The appeals process is set up to help ensure that people have as fair a trial as possible. Sometimes a person believes justice was not served at his/her trial because he/she believes

• his/her rights were violated;

• a rule of law was not properly followed; or

• all the evidence was not available.

That person may try to appeal his/her case to a higher court. The judge may agree with the

• person and overturn the lower court's decision; or,

• lower court and uphold the decision.

The person may appeal again if he/she, is not satisfied. However, courts will not always hear appeals.

The third branch of government is the federal judiciary. Its main instru­ment is the Supreme Court, which watches over the other two branches. It determines whether or not their laws and acts are in accordance with the Constitution. Congress has the power to fix the number of judges sitting on the Court, but it cannot change the powers given to the Supreme Court by the Constitution itself. The Supreme Court consists of a chief justice and eight associate justices. They are nominated by the President but must be approved by the Senate. Once approved, they hold office as Supreme Court Justices for life. A decision of the Supreme Court cannot be appealed to any other court. Neither the President nor Congress can change their decisions. In addition to the Supreme Court, Congress has established 11 federal courts of appeal and, below them, 91 federal district courts.

The Supreme Court has direct jurisdiction in only two kinds of cases: those involving foreign diplomats and those in which a state is a party. All other cases which reach the Court are appeals from lower courts. The Su­preme Court chooses which of these it will hear. Most of the cases involve the interpretation of the Constitution. The Supreme Court also has the "power of judicial review," that is, it has the right to declare laws and ac­tions of the federal, state, and local governments unconstitutional. While not stated in the Constitution, this power was established over time.

America has an enormous variety in its governmental bodies. Its system tries to satisfy the needs and wishes of people at the local level, while at the same time the Constitution guarantees basic rights to anyone, anywhere in America. This has been very important, for instance, to the Civil Rights Movement and its struggle to secure equal rights for all Americans, regardless of race, place of residence, or state voting laws. Therefore, although the states control their own elections as well as the registration procedures for national elections, they cannot make laws that would go against an individual’s election rights.

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