Заполните пропуски соответствующими словами из рамки.

1. independent 2. legislature (2) 3. United States 4. conform 5. executive (3) 6. judicial 7. three 8. different (2) 9. prescriptive 10. judiciary 11. administrative 12. descriptive 13. legislative

 

There are (….) main functions of government. These are the (…), the (…), and the (…). The theory of separation of powers states that these functions should be carried out by (…) bodies. The British constitution does not (…) to this theory. The same people are members of the (…) and the (…) and there are some (…) functions which are carried out by the courts. The distinction is clearer in the constitution of the (…) where the executive, legislative and judicial roles are performed by (…) bodies. The theory is (…) rather than (…) of the liberal system of government, an essential feature of which is that the (…) should be (…) of the (…) and the (…).

 

 

7. Напишите небольшое сочинение (12-15 предложений) на тему “Separation of Powers” по следующему плану:

 

1. Define the theory.
2. The reasons for the theory.
3. How the theory is applied to the Russian state system.
4. Comparison of the Russian Constitution with constitutions of other countries.

 

Используйте в сочинении логико-грамматические лексические единицы:

 

However - Однако

Furthermore – Кроме того

In addition – К тому же

Nevertheless – Тем не менее

The point is … - Дело в том, что …

To begin with – Прежде всего

To sum it up – В итоге

Most probably – По всей вероятности

Let’s take facts – Давайте рассмотрим факты

In fact - Фактически

Thus – Таким образом

That is why -Поэтому

As a result – В результате

Still – Все-таки

In general – В общем

In brief – Вкратце (в нескольких словах)

Besides – Более того

 

Работа в парах. Обсудите с коллегой, в каком суде рассматривались или будут рассматриваться судебные дела, приведенные ниже. Обоснуйте свою точку зрения. Используйте информацию о юрисдикции судов. Начинайте свои высказывания с одной из данных ниже речевых моделей.

 

1. What with one thing and another …	Учитывая все обстоятельства, …
2. As far as I can see …	Насколько я понимаю, …
3. Under the circumstances …	В данном случае …
4. In any case ю...	При любых обстоятельствах ….
5. In short …	Короче говоря, …
6. On the one hand …	С одной стороны, …
7. On the other hand …	С другой стороны, …
8. I am inclined to think …	Я склонен думать, что …
9. To my mind …	По моему мнению, …

 

Case 1.

 

A drunk walked into a supermarket. When the manager asked him to leave, the drunk assaulted him, knocking out a tooth. A policeman who arrived and tried to stop the fight had his jaw broken.

 

Case 2.

A man owns a large country estate which he has turned into a wildlife park. The park is surrounded by a five-meter fence and is regularly patrolled by security guards. One night one of the lions escaped and killed a valuable horse in the adjoining field which is owned by Henry.

 

Case 3.

 

The plaintiff’s friend bought her a bottle of ginger beer which had been manufactured by the defendant. She became ill in the result of drinking the ginger beer which contained the remains of the discomposed snail. She sued the manufacturer for the compensation for damages she had suffered.

 

 

Case 4.

A defendant owed the plaintiffs a sum of money for building work. The defendants consistently refused to pay the money knowing the plaintiffs were in financial difficulty, they offered to pay only half of the sum to settle the debt. The plaintiffs reluctantly accepted. Then they sued for the recovery of the outstanding debt.

 

Case 5.

The plaintiffs asked their bankers to inquire into the financial stability of the company with which they were having business dealings. Their bankers made inquiries of the company’s bankers who carelessly gave favourable references about the company. Reliance on these references caused the plaintiffs to lose $117,000. The plaintiffs sued defendants of their careless statements.

 

 

9. Соревнование между группами. Студенты разбиваются на две группы. Одна группа разгадывает кроссворд I, другая – кроссворд II. Побеждают студенты, разгадавшие кроссворд первыми. Проигравшие отгадывают кроссворд победившей группы, выигравшие их проверяют.

I.

По горизонтали: 1. верховный (закон, суд); 2. административный; 3. провозглашать; 4. социальный; 5. одобрение (закона); 6. правовой; 7. торговый; 8. предусматривать; 9. произвольно; 10. обстоятельство, факт.

По вертикали: 1. наблюдение, надзор; 2. юридически действительный; 3. политический; 4. налагать вето; 5. неприкосновенность; 6. судебный; 7. лишать (права); 8. экономический; 9. частная (жизнь); 10. правосудие, судья.

 

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По горизонтали: 1. судебная власть; 2. парламентский; 3. утверждение; 4. федеративный; 5. защищать (право, закон); 6. назначать (на должность); 7. республиканский; 8. исполнительная (ветвь власти); 9. передача (дела, закона) на рассмотрение; 10. демократический.

По вертикали: 1. юрисдикция, подсудность; 2. судебное решение; 3. назначать; 4. имеющий отношение к делу; 5. поправка (к закону); 6. освобождать (от должности); 7. законодательный орган; 8. бюджетный; 9. научный; 10. осуществлять арбитражное разбирательство.

 

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Переведите предложения на английский язык.

 

1. Конституционный Суд Российской Федерации по запросам Президента Российской Федерации, Совета Федерации, Государственной Думы, одной пятой членов Совета Федерации или депутатов Государственной Думы, Правительства Российской Федерации, Верховного Суда Российской Федерации и Высшего Арбитражного Суда Российской Федерации, органов законодательной и исполнительной власти субъектов Российской Федерации разрешает дела о соответствии Конституции Российской Федерации. (Статья 125 Конституции РФ)

2. Судьи Конституционного Суда Российской Федерации, Верховного Суда Российской Федерации, Высшего Арбитражного Суда Российской Федерации назначаются Советом Федерации по представлению Президента Российской Федерации. (Статья 128 Конституции РФ)

3. Судебная власть осуществляется посредством конституционного, гражданского, административного и уголовного судопроизводства. (Статья 118 Конституции РФ)

4. Суд, установив при рассмотрении дела несоответствие акта государственного или иного органа закону, принимает решение в соответствии с законом. (Статья 120 Конституции РФ)

5. Судопроизводство осуществляется на основе состязательности и равноправия сторон. (Статья 123 Конституции РФ)

6. Генеральный прокурор Российской Федерации назначается на должность и освобождается от должности Советом Федерации по представлению Президента Российской Федерации. (Статья 129 Конституции РФ)

 

UNIT 4. SOURCES OF RUSSIAN LAW

1. Прочитайте текст и найдите ответы на вопросы.

 

2. What are the official sources of law in Russia?

3. Why does the Russian Constitution provide for the complicated procedure of the adoption of the federal constitutional laws?

4. What do federal laws regulate?

5. In which cases does the Constitution guarantee the priority of the act of a constituent component?

6. What is a code?

7. What happens if any international treaty of the Russian Federation establishes rules other than those established by a domestic law?

8. What is the main aim of decrees and directives of the President?

9. What is the role of the precedent in the judicial practice in Russia?

TEXT

SOURCES OF RUSSIAN LAW

 

Historically, Russia belongs to the continental legal system, and a written law, which was passed under the established legislative procedure, is the main legal source. About 10,000 laws, regulations, and other legal acts are passed in Russia annually.

The Constitution is the supreme Russian law and major legislative instrument. It establishes the principle of superiority of law in the system of legal sources. All other legal acts, such as decrees of the President, Governmental regulations, acts of Ministries and other federal executive agencies, as well as legislation passed by the constituent components of the Russian Federation cannot contradict laws. All laws are passed exclusively by the Federal Assembly.

Federal constitutional laws establish the group of the most important legislative acts. Because of their significance, the Russian Constitution provides for the complicated procedure of their adoption. The federal constitutional law is adopted if it has been approved by at least three-quarters of the total number of the Federation Council members and by at least two-thirds of the total number of the State Duma members. The President of Russia cannot veto federal constitutional laws. The list of federal constitutional laws is prescribed by the Constitution. It includes laws on the state of emergency, the change of the status of a constituent component of the federation, on constitutional amendments, on government, on referendum, on the judiciary, on the Constitutional Court, and some other.

Federal laws constitute the second category of legal sources. They regulate issues included into executive authority of the Russian Federation and its components. The Constitution protects priority and direct effect of federal laws throughout the territory of Russia. In case of a conflict between federal law and another act issued in Russia, the law will prevail. Meanwhile, the Constitution guarantees the priority of the act of a constituent component if such act regulates issues outside the Russian Federation’s scope of authority. Often, Russian laws are adopted in the form of a Code of Law. A Code is a complete collection of rules in an entire subject area such as: civil law, criminal law, labour law, etc.

Universally acknowledged principles and standards of international law and international treaties of the Russian Federation are a part of Russia’s legal system. Should an international treaty of the Russian Federation establish rules other than those established by a domestic law, the rules of the international treaty will prevail.

Decrees and directives of the President establish a separate category of legal acts and do not belong to subordinate legislation. Due to an absence of required laws, the President can pass decrees regarding all questions without any limits if a valid federal law does not regulate this issue, except of cases when the Constitution directly says that the question requires the adoption of a federal law.

An additional group of delegate legislation is comprised by normative acts of federal executive authorities. These acts are related to laws through Directives of the Government. They develop, add, and concretize existing legal norms. There are different forms of such acts: regulations, orders and instructions, varying by its content and the procedure of adoption

Following the traditional civil law approach, judicial practice is restricted to applying and interpreting the law, and the precedent cannot serve as a legal source. According to Russian legal doctrine, judges are supposed to use only written law contained in codes, statutes, or regulations in deciding a case; however, a decision to vacate a particular legal act proves to be a source of law, and the Constitutional Court indicated that its previous decisions shall be followed as stare decisis. Even though attorneys use prior judicial decisions in their arguments, judges should not refer to prior cases in their decisions. Court judgments in individual cases are not precedents for future decisions.