Exercise 10. Pick up pairs of antonyms.

 

Legal; prosecution; public; obligation; to borrow; to violate law; marriage; employment; sale; wrongful.

 

Lawful; unemployment; to obey law; right; defence; illegal; private; to lend; divorce; buying.

 

Exercise 11. State if the following sentences are True or False. Correct them if necessary.

 

1. The civil code defines civil law as the body of rules which regulates property rights and related non-property relations. (T; F)

2. Civil law is also called public law. (T; F)

3. The great majority of lawyers and judges spend most of their time dealing with criminal matters. (T; F)

4. Civil law systems include both private law and criminal law. (T; F)

5. The law of torts governs injuries suffered by one person at the hands of another. (T; F)

 

Exercise 12. Read the text. Choose the best answer.

 

1. Civil law – it is a statutory regulation of legal relations between…

a) legal entities and government.

b) legally equal persons and legal entities.

c) legally equal persons and police agencies.

 

2. Civil law determines … in many kinds of activities that involve other people.

a) powers of government

b) duties and freedoms

c) a person’s rights and obligations

 

3. Lawyers handle most of the matters …

a) out of court.

b) in the court room.

c) in the government institutions.

 

4. Civil law in England covers business related to …

a) the family, property and administration of trusts.

b) the family, property, contracts and torts.

c) the family, inheritance and employment.

 

5. Family law includes the laws …

a) rights of employment and the disposal of property on death.

b) the sale of goods, loans and insurance.

c) marriage, divorce and welfare of children.

 

Exercise 13. Answer the following questions on the text.

 

1. What is the definition of civil law?

2. What does civil law define?

3. How is also civil law called?

4. What does civil law determine?

5. What kinds of activities does civil law deal with?

6. How do the great majority of lawyers and judges spend most of their time?

7. What must a judge or a jury decide?

8. What cases are called lawsuits?

9. Why should not be the term civil law confused with its use as an alternate term for private law?

10. What principal areas does civil law of England, Wales and Northern Ireland cover?

11. What branches of law does civil law of Great Britain include?

12. What are the main subdivisions of civil law?

13. What kinds of activities does family law include?

14. What kinds of activities does the law of property govern?

15. What does the law of contracts regulate?

16. What is the law of torts?

17. Where are civil cases heard in Great Britain?

 

Exercise 14. Match the beginning and the end of the proverbs and sayings. Find the appropriate translation given below. Comment on their meaning.

 

1. Circumstances... 1. wants no washing.

2. A clean hand … 2. words are leaves.

3. Deeds are fruits, … 3. alter cases.

 

1. Чесній людині не треба виправдовуватися.

2. Не по словах судять, а по ділах.

3. Обставини визначають вчинки людини.

 

Exercise 15. Topics for discussion.

 

1. Speak about the essence o civil law.

2. Speak about the kinds of activities determined by civil law.

3. Speak about law suits.

4. Speak about civil law in Great Britain.

5. Speak about subdivisions of civil law in Great Britain.

 

Legal Terms to be Memorized

 

civil law цивільне право

private law приватне право

public law публічне право

family law сімейне право

property law (the law of property) майнове право

contract law (the law of contract) договірне право

tort law (the law of torts) деліктне право

constitutional law конституційне право

administrative law адміністративне право

industrial law господарське право

maritime law морське право

civil code цивільний кодекс

legal; legally; legality; legalize правовий, законний; законно;

узаконювати

legal relations правові відносини

legal entity юридична особа

legally equal persons юридично рівні особи

property rights майнові права

related non-property relations особисті не майнові відносини

lawyer юрист, правознавець, адвокат

judge суддя

jury суд присяжних

private-law matter приватна справа

lawsuit / civil suit / civil case судова справа; цивільна справа

wrongful act незаконна дія

to sign a job contract підписати трудову угоду

to handle a case / matter вести справу, діло

to hear a case in the court слухати справу в суді

rights of employment права наймання на роботу

insurance страхування

guarantee; to guarantee гарантія; гарантувати

to suffer injury зазнавати пошкодження

negligence недбалість

libel наклеп

prosecution ведення; виконання; судове

переслідування; обвинувачення

malicious prosecution навмисне обвинувачення

county court місцевий суд графства

the High Court Верховний суд

 

Additional Reading

TASK 1. Read the following text and write down the Russian equivalents for the words and expressions given in bold type:

Ordeal

Ordeal is a judgement of the truth of some claim or accusation by various means based on the belief that the outcome will reflect the judgement of supernatural powers and that these powers will ensure the triumph of right. Although fatal consequences often attend an ordeal, its purpose is not punitive.

The main types of ordeal are ordeals by divination, physical test, and battle. A. Burmese ordeal by divination involves two parties being furnished with candles of equal size and lit simultaneously; the owner of the candle that outlasts the other is adjudged to have won his cause. Another form of ordeal by divination is the appeal to the corpse for the discovery of its murderer.

The ordeal by physical test, particularly by fire or water, is the most common. In Hindu codes a wife may be required to pass through fire to prove her fidelity to a jealous husband; traces of burning would be regarded as proof of guilt. The practice of dunking suspected witches was based on the notion that water, as the medium of baptism, would 'accept', or receive, the innocent and 'reject' the guilty. Court officials would tie the woman's feet and hands together and then drop her into some deep water. if she went straight to the bottom and drowned, it was a sure sign that she wasn't a witch. On the other hand, if she didn't sink and just bobbed around for a while, the law said she was to be condemned as a witch.

In ordeal by combat, or ritual combat, the victor is said to win not by his own strength but because supernatural powers have intervened on the side of the right, as in the duel in the European Middle Ages in which the 'judgement of God' was thought to determine the winner. If still alive after the combat, the loser might be hanged or burned for a criminal offence or have a hand cut off and property confiscated in civil actions.

 

TASK 2. Answer the following questions:

 

1. What was the purpose of ordeal in early ages?

2. What were the main types of ordeals?

3. What did ordeal by divination consist of?

4. What did ordeal by fire have to prove?

5. In what way was ordeal by water devised?

6. What concept was at the basis of ordeal by combat?