Unit 7 a civil justice Section I

Exercise 1

Pronunciation Practice.

Practise saying the words.

compensation, contract, crime, damages, family law, intellectual property, plaintiff, police, private, individual, prosecution, the accused, the defendant, theft, to bring a case, to bring an action, to fine, to charge someone with something.

Exercise 2

Classify the following terms into the appropriate column below. Some terms can appear in both columns.

Model:

criminal	civil
prosecution	intellectual property

Exercise 3

Match the words and word combinations with their Russian equivalents.

plaintiff	вмешиваться
legal principles	главный свидетель
to have free rein	ответчик
to determine	состязательные
adversarial	истец
defendant	доказательство в пользу защиты
to intervene	правовые принципы
key witness	описать суть дела вкратце
defence evidence	иметь свободу действий
counterpart	процессуальный противник

Text

Pre-reading task: Read the text and say whether the statements below are true or false:

1. The plaintiff can not call witnesses.

2. The judge controls all the proceedings.

3. The defendant presents the evidence after the plaintiff.

Civil procedure.

The case starts normally by the plaintiff outlining the case. And the plaintiff then calls the evidence he wants. When the plaintiff has presented all his evidence, the defendant or his lawyer speaks and then calls all the defence evidence. There are then speeches by the lawyers when they both try to persuade the judge as to what he should do. They may refer him to legal rules and legal principles, and the judge then gives his decision.

As with other aspects of procedure, it is for the parties to present the case. The judge doesn’t intervene to any great extent. He may ask for clarification, but the judge’s role, essentially, is to listen to the evidence which the parties choose to put in front of him. Unlike many civil jurisdictions, the judge is not in control of the proceedings. The judge is not taking an active part in what he has done. He is listening to what the parties choose to put in front of him; and after he has heard the evidence, the judge will then give his judgment and make the order on the basis of what he has determined.

The English civil trial, like its criminal counterpart, is conducted on adversarial lines. There are two contestants, each has free rein through their lawyers to run the case. The judge is the sole arbiter both of fact and law.

Exercise 4

Match the words with their definitions.

counterpart	to present a case
advocacy	a court officer who maintains order in the court room
plaintiff	party bringing a suit
defendant	a lawyer who speaks in a law court either for or against
judge	opposing party
witness	a right to present a case
judgment	a person appointed to hear and try cases
bailiff	a person appointed to hear and try cases in a court of law
to run a case	a person who gives evidence at a trial
counsel	a person against whom legal action is brought

Exercise 5

Fill in the chart using the topic-related words (use the dictionary if necessary; the first example has been done for you).

Verb	Noun ( concept)	Noun (person)	Adjective
to present	presentation	presenter	Presentable/ presentationable
	intervention
		judge
			decisive
	persuasion
		referee
			determined
			defamatory

Exercise 6

Complete the following sentences by using an appropriate form of the word in capitals.

The parties are… to win the case.	DETERMINATION
The … does not direct what people have to do.	JUDGMENT
The verdict depends on the strength of the evidence and … abilities of the respective barristers.	PERSUADE
The judge can and often … the trial to ask questions of his own.	INTERVENE
I’m seeking … of the regulations.	CLARIFY

Exercise 7

Match the synonyms.

Advocacy	Arbiter
Judgment	Adversary
Determine	Claimant
Proceeding	Respondent
Defendant	Trial
Plaintiff	Decide
Contestant	Decision in a civil trial
Judge	A right to present a case