Task: read the text, find the answers to the questions given below.

The judge is the presiding officer of the court. The statutory basis for the appointment of judges dates from the Act of Settlement 1700 (1).

Judges are not themselves a separate profession: they are barristers who have been elevated to the bench (2) itself a name derived from the part of the Court where they sit.

The judge decides the interpretation of the law. After all the evidence has been given the judge summarizes the case, both law and facts, for the jury, This is called his summing up.

Judges cannot be removed from office on account of political considerations- the independence of the judiciary is, at least theoretically, guaranteed.

The professional judges, “High Court Judges”, deal with the most serious crimes. They are paid salaries by the state. Alongside with professional judges there are unpaid judges. They are called “Magistrates” or “Justices of the Peace” (JPs) (3). They are ordinary citizens who are selected not because they have any legal training but because they have “sound common sense” (4) and understanding of their fellow human beings. They give up their time voluntarily.

Magistrates are selected by special committees in every town and district. Nobody, not even the Magistrates themselves, knows who is on the special committee in their area. The committee tries to draw Magistrates from different professions and social classes.

The work of the Magistrates’s Courts throughout the country depends on the unpaid services of JPs.

 

Notes:

1 Act of Settlement- Акт о престолонаследии (облек Ганноверскую династию правом престолонаследия, закрепив английский престол за протестантами).

2…be elevated on the bench- возвысить до положения судьи (букв. скамья, используется в собирательном смысле по отношению к судьям или магистратам в суде).

3 Magistrate, Justice of the Peace (JP)- судья, мировой судья.

4 “Sound common sense” – (зд.) чувство здравого смысла.

5 Magistrates’ Court- суд магистратов, мировой суд (рассматривает дела о мелких преступлениях).

 

1. Are judges themselves a separate profession?

2. What is judge’s summing up?

3. What do judges deal with?

4. Are magistrates paid salaries?

5. Who are magistrates selected by?

6. What does the work of Magistrates’ Courts depend upon?

 

Text C. Juries

Task: read the text, get ready to render its contents in Russian.

The use of the jury in English law stretches far into history,the modern English jury now owes its statutory existence to the Juries Act 1974. To qualify service it is necessary to be registered elector between the ages of 18 and 65 (the property qualification for jurors was abolished). All those people connected with the law by way of occupation (including ex-prisoners) are ineligible to jury service, as well as the clergy and the mentally ill. Barristers, solicitors and police officers must have retired from that work for a minimum of 10 years. The call to jury service is regarded as an obligation. A jury is normally composed of twelve persons whose names have been selected at random from the list of qualified jurors for the area. Its verdict must be unanimous (it is essentially one of “guilty” or “not guilty”) and, in the event of failure to reach agreement, the case is retired before another jury. Only 6-7% of jury decisions are by a majority verdict.

Juries must frequently appear in criminal cases in the Crown Courts. The function of the jury is to determine the facts, having heard the judge’s summing up and his directions on questions of law.

Counsel for the defence or the defendant have the right to object to jurors without giving reasons, the maximum number of peremptory challenging being reduced to three.

Notes:

1 at random- наугад, случайно

2 peremptory challenging – отвод без указания причины

 

Text D. The attorney-general and the director of public prosecutions