Стаття 127. Надіслання копії

1. Після відкриття провадження у справі суд невідкладно відсилає особам, які беруть участь у справі, копії ухвали про відкриття провадження у справі.

2. Одночасно з копією про відкриття провадження у справі відповідачу надсилається копія позовної заяви з копіями доданих до них документів, а третій особі – копія позовної заяви.

Стаття 130. Попереднє судове засідання

1. Попереднє судове засідання проводиться з метою з’ясування можливості врегулювання спору до судового розгляду або забезпечення правильного та швидкого вирішення справи.

2. Попереднє судове засідання проводиться суддею за участю сторін та інших осіб, які беруть участь у справі.

3. Для врегулювання спору до судового розгляду суд з’ясовує: чи не відмовляється позивач від позову, чи визнає позов відповідач, чи не бажають сторониукласти мирову угоду або передати справу на розгляд третейського суду.

III. PRACTICE AND EXPERIENCE

 

1. A. Read the text about the complaint form accepted in the USA:

The essential parts of the complaint are: the caption, jurisdictional allegations, body, prayer for relief, and subscription.

a. Caption: the complaint must set forth:
(i) the name of the court;

(ii) the number assigned to the action (stamped by the clerk when the action is filed);

(iii) a designation of the pleading (e.g., "Complaint for Damages"); and

(iv) the names of the parties.

b. Jurisdictional allegations: in federal court, the complaint must contain allegations showing the ground (or grounds) upon which the subject matter jurisdiction of the federal court is invoked. Since federal courts are courts of limited jurisdiction, a complaint that fails to set forth the jurisdictional grounds must be dismissed unless the ground can be supplied by amendment.

c. Body: the complaint must also contain a statement of the facts upon which recovery is sought. In code pleading states, this requires a "statement of the (ultimate) facts constituting the cause of action"; while under the Federal Rules there must be a "short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief."

d. Prayer for relief: a complaint must also contain a prayer for relief, i.e., a statement of the relief sought.

e. Subscription: the complaint must be signed by the attorney (or by the party himself, where he is acting as his own counsel).

 

B. Using the text decide what information an American attorney should obtain and what procedural rules he should consider to complete the document.

C. Imagine you are an attorney in the USA and your client was damaged by a business partner who broke, for example, a delivery contract. Invent a situation which may arise in real life and:

· explain the merits of your claim to the colleagues (groupmates)

 

INTERVIEW. Work in pairs.

Choose the role you’d like to play: One person is the interviewer
(a journalist/a defence-lawyer/a friend or some other person of your choice) and the other - the interviewee (a defence-lawyer).

1 The interviewer. Prepare 10 questions to ask your groupmate, who takes the role of a defence-lawyer, about the case s/he is dealing with now.

2 The interviewee. Think about the possible questions his/her character might be asked and prepares answers.

Present the interview to your groupmates in the class.

IV. WRITING

1. Use the facts and language you have learnt in this Unit to compare the main points of civil procedure in the USA and Ukraine in written form.

The following phrases will help you to describe similarities and contrasts: as compared with, like, unlike, both, both … and, neither of, the same is true of.

 

 

V. OVER TO YOU

To practice the language, complete the following activity in your own time.

Write a brief report displaying the main features of civil procedure law in Ukraine to explain stages and the main procedures of a civil case proceeding in your country to foreign colleagues. Consider only the main points of legal proceedings on civil matters.

 

 

Unit 2 Appellate Review Section 1 Rules of Appellate Review

 

I. LEAD-IN

1. Think about the subject of this section and get ready to discuss the following questions:

· What stages of legal proceedings does a civil case usually pass through? Which of them are post-trial ones?

· What types of trial court decisions do you know and which of them can be a subject for appellate review in Ukraine?

· Explain the term “court judgment without appeal”.

· What do you call parties to an appeal in your country? What are their English counterparts?

· What grounds for lodging an appeal are provided for by Ukrainian Civil Procedure Code?

Write out of a dictionary the phonetic scripts of the words given below. Group the words according to spelling differences and compare the pronunciation of bold letters using the phonetic scripts. Memorize the words spelling and their respective pronunciation.

app eal, app ell ate, app eal able, to app eal, app ell ant, app ell ee.

You have a minute to make up all possible word combinations with the words from exercise 2 which might be used in the text. Explain your choice.

Read the text and continue the list of word combinations in exercise 3:

TEXT 1

Notes:

¹rules and practices – процесуальні норми та судові процедури

²on specific grounds – на певних підставах

³due process – процедура розгляду справи з належним дотриманням норм процесуального права

⁴in a lawful manner – законно, правомірно, у відповідності до закону

⁵in the course of the case – у ході справи

⁶damages – відшкодування збитків

⁷underlying constitutional or legal principles – основніконституційні та правові принципи; принципи, що лежать в основі конституції та законів

⁸in an improper manner – неправомірно, неналежним чином

RULES OF APPELLATE REVIEW

Appellate procedure consists of the rules and practices ¹ by which a court of appeal reviews trial court judgments. The procedure focuses on several main aspects: what judgments are appealable, how an appeal is to be brought before the court, what will be required for a reversal of the lower court judgment, and what procedures the parties must follow.

Appellate review is the general term for the process by which courts with appellate jurisdiction review matters decided by lower courts. In law, an appeal is a request for a formal change of an official decision. Depending on the particular legal rules, a party to a court case who disagrees with the result is able to challenge the decision in an appellate court on specific grounds ² typically including errors of law, fact, or procedure that is called due process ³ in the USA. The function of the appeal isto assure that the trial has been conducted in a lawful manner⁴ and that judgment conforms to the law. Broadly speaking, the lower courts decide matters of fact and the upper courts normally deal with points of law.

When trial proceedings are terminated, a judgment is rendered and there is nothing to be done in the action except to execute the judgment one speaks of a final judgment. But if the attorney and client are not satisfied with the court decision in their matter, under some circumstances they can initiate an appellate procedure that is to apply for the judicial examination of the decision by a higher tribunal by submitting appellate brief to an appropriate appellate court.

In most jurisdictions the normal way of seekingappellate review is by filing an appeal of the final judgment in the action. Appealing from interlocutory judgments, deciding some procedural, that is interlocutory, matter, but not terminating the proceedings, is not allowed. This type of orders is commonly described as reviewable but not appealable. Generally, an appeal of the judgment will also include appeal of all other orders or rulings made by the trial court in the course of the case ⁵.

A party who files an appeal is called an appellant or a petitioner, and an opposing party is called a respondent (in most common-law countries) or an appellee (in the United States). In civil matters any dissatisfied party to a trial may appeal to a higher court. So the appellant can be either the claimant or defendant. As a rule the losing party refersto a higher court to have its case reconsidered,though in some cases the prevailing party in the trial court may still appeal on the ground that the amountof damages⁶ awarded is too low.

Appeal may be a matter of right or that of discretion. An appeal as of right is one that is guaranteed by statute or some underlying constitutional or legal principle⁷ and an appellate court cannot refuse to listen to the appeal. An appeal by leave or permission requires the appellant to move for leave to appeal; in such a situation either or both of the lower court and the appellate court may have the discretion to grant or refuse the appellant's demand to appeal the decision of lower court.

It is important to note that in adversarial system appellate courts do not have the power to review lower court decisions unless a party appeals it. Therefore, if a lower court has ruled in an improper manner⁸ or against legal precedent and the judgment was not appealed, it will stand even if it might have been overturned on appeal.

II. COMPREHENSION

1. Find in the text legal terms which correspond to the following explanations:

· a party who initiates an appeal from one court to another;

· a procedural document filed with an appellate court to initiate appellate proceeding;

· an opposing party against whom an appeal is filed;

· a request for a formal change to lower court decision.