Between civil, socialist and common law (2)

The idea found in civil and socialist law that the judiciary does not interpret the law in creative ways has its origins in Roman law. It is said that the famed Byzantine Emperor Justinian had the Corpus Juris Civilis compiled and all other decisions by jurists burned to create certainty in the law. Again in the 19th century, French legal scholars at the time of the development of the Code Napoleon advocated the same kind of approach — it was believed that since the law was being written down precisely, it should not need interpretation; and if it did need interpretation, it could be referred to those who wrote the code.

However, this idea was found difficult to implement in practice. In France, and other countries that Napoleon had conquered, or where there was a reception of the Civil Code approach, judges once again assumed an important role, like their English counterparts. In civil law jurisdictions at present, judges interpret the law to about the same extent as in common law jurisdictions – though it may be acknowledged in theory in a different manner than in the common law tradition which directly recognizes the limited power of judges to make law. For instance, in France, the jurisprudence constante of the Cour de cassation or the Conseil d'État is equivalent in practice with case law.

In theory, in the French civil law tradition, a judge does not make new law; he or she merely interprets the intents of "the Legislator." The role of interpretation is traditionally approached more conservatively in civil law jurisdictions than in common law jurisdictions. When the law fails to deal with a situation, doctrinal writers and not judges call for legislative reform, though these legal scholars sometimes influence judicial decision-making. Civil law judges also refer to the interpretation of codal provisions and they look for an underlying rationale not only in the particular text, but its relationship to the whole structure of the code as an organizing structure that reflects order in a civil society.

Socialist law adopted the status of civil law, but added to it a new line of thought derived from Communism — the interpretation of the law is ultimately political, and should serve the purposes of Communism, and hence should not be left to a non-political organ (even though in practice, the judiciary was never much of a neutral organ above politics).

TEXT 4

1. Выпишите в свой словарик с транскрипцией и переведите выделенные жирным шрифтом слова (в начальной форме: сущ. и прил. – в им.п., ед.ч; глаг. - инфинитив). Назовите, к какой части речи относится каждое слово.

Заполните таблицу, указав недостающие формы неправильных глаголов и их перевод.

Инфинитив (неопределенная форма глагола) Infinitive (что с/делать?)	Прошедшее простое Past Indefinite (что с/делал?)	Причастие I Participle I	Перевод
	arose
		driven
to write
		born
	wore
to tear
	swore
		brought

Определите и укажите время и залог подчёркнутых сказуемых.

Переведите текст, пользуясь словарем.

CIVIL COURTS

The most important civil courts are the county courts, which deal with minor cases, and the High Court, before which more serious matters are brought. Most appeals go to the Court of Appeal (Civil Division) in London. The Civil Division can provide legal remedy against judgments of the High Court and the county courts.

More than 500 county courts are grouped into over 50 circuits with at least one judge for each such circuit. The judges called 'circuit judges' since the Court Act of 1971 are appointed by the Crown on the advice of the Lord Chancellor. They must be barristers with at least seven years of experience.

The High Court of Justice is above the county courts. It has several divisions. The Chancery Division consists of the Lord Chancellor and ten judges, and deals with questions of company law, bankruptcy, trusts, the administration of the estates of people who have died, tax and some other matters affecting finance and property. The Family Division deals with divorce and questions arising out of wills well as questions affecting children (adoption, or guardianship, for example). There are about 30 judges in the Chancery and Family Divisions of the High Court of Justice, who deal only with civil cases, almost all in London. The Queen's Bench Division consists of the Lord Chief Justice and about fifty other judges. They divide their time between civil work in London, the Central Criminal Court, also in London, and visits to the provincial Crown Courts.

The High Court judges still wear robes and big wigs in court. They are appointed by the Queen on the recommendation of the Lord Chancellor, and retire at age 75. The Queen's Bench Division with the widest jurisdiction is both the main civil court for disputes involving more than 5,000 pounds, and the main criminal court. It also deals with suits for libel. The Division also takes appeals from lower courts, mostly the Magistrates' Courts.

The Queen's Bench Division includes a Commercial Court that specializes in large commercial disputes, and an Admiralty Court for shipping cases. These three divisions were unified into one High Court in a major judicial reform in 1875, but they are still in many respects separate. High Court judges try civil cases alone, except for a few cases like defamation false imprisonment or fraud.

TEXT 5

1. Выпишите в свой словарик с транскрипцией и переведите выделенные жирным шрифтом слова (в начальной форме: сущ. и прил. – в им.п., ед.ч; глаг. - инфинитив). Назовите, к какой части речи относится каждое слово.