Table Of ContentCopyright ОАО «ЦКБ «БИБКОМ» & ООО «Aгентство Kнига-Cервис»
M.V. Lomonosov Moscow State University M.V. Lomonosov Moscow State University
Law School Law School
Department of Foreign Languages Part I Department of Foreign Languages
ENGLISH FOR LAW STUDENTS E
N
is a part of the university
course of legal English for G
ENGLISH
academic purposes. It is L
I
addressed to law students S
of non-common law countries. H
It is aimed at teaching students
F FOR LAW STUDENTS
to understand the language O
R
of English law, its fundamental
L
U N I V E R S I T Y C O U R SE
concepts and institutions. A
W
Its goal is to enable students
S
to deal with different types T
U
of legal texts, to become
D
knowledgeable in current legal E
N
issues, to use proper English
T Part I
legal terms with regard to their S
U
own legal systems. The final
N
objective is to stimulate I
V
E
students’ interest in law and
R
language. Although English S
I
T
for Law Students is designed
Y
as a part of the university C
O
course of legal English it can
U
also be useful for students R
S
of the humanities, economics, E
social and political sciences,
etc. in their self-study of
English law and language.
Copyright ОАО «ЦКБ «БИБКОМ» & ООО «Aгентство Kнига-Cервис»
M.V. Lomonosov Moscow State University
Law School
Department of Foreign Languages
ENGLISH
FOR LAW STUDENTS
UNIVERSIT Y COURSE
Part I
ÌÎÑÊÂÀ 2014
Copyright ОАО «ЦКБ «БИБКОМ» & ООО «Aгентство Kнига-Cервис»
УДК802/809.1
ББК81.2
E58
EditEdby
tatianatarasova
CONtRibUtORS:
Natalyaberezhneva
AsyaGoloborodko
dinaKarpova
tatianatarasova
REViEWEdby
EugeniayakovlevaProfessorofLinguistics
SurenAvakjanProfessorofLaw
E58 English for Law Students:UniversityCourse/Ed.byt.tarasova.Parti.–
Moscow:StAtUt,2014.–343p.[Английскийязыкдлястудентов-
юристов.–М.:Статут,2014.–Наанглийскомязыке]
iSbN978-5-8354-0978-5(Parti;softback)
iSbN978-5-8354-0977-8
ENGLiSHFORLAWStUdENtSisapartoftheuniversitycourseof
legalEnglishforacademicpurposes.itisaddressedtolawstudentsofnon-
commonlawcountries.itisaimedatteachingstudentstounderstandthe
languageofEnglishlaw,itsfundamentalconceptsandinstitutions.itsgoal
istoenablestudentstodealwithdifferenttypesoflegaltexts,tobecome
knowledgeableincurrentlegalissues,touseproperEnglishlegaltermswith
regardtotheirownlegalsystems.thefinalobjectiveistostimulatestudents’
interestinlawandlanguage.Although English for Law Studentsisdesigned
asapartoftheuniversitycourseoflegalEnglishitcanalsobeusefulfor
studentsofthehumanities,economics,socialandpoliticalsciences,etc.
intheirself-studyofEnglishlawandlanguage.
УДК802/809.1
ББК81.2
iSbN978-5-8354-0978-5(Parti)
iSbN978-5-8354-0977-8
©Contributors,2013
©Издательство«Статут»(StatutPublishingHouse),2013
Copyright ОАО «ЦКБ «БИБКОМ» & ООО «Aгентство Kнига-Cервис»
CONTENTS
Foreword.................................................................................................5
UNIT I
HISTORY AND SOURCES OF ENGLISH LAW
text1.CaseLaw.....................................................................................6
text2. HowdoJudgesReallydecideCases?........................................19
text3.Equity........................................................................................30
UNIT II
CONSTITUTION
text1.thedevelopmentoftheUKConstitution..................................38
text2. EvolutionofthebritishConstitution
inthe17-thCentury...................................................................44
text3.StructureoftheUKConstitution...............................................52
text4.Constitutionalism.......................................................................63
text5.SeparationofPowers..................................................................71
text6.SeparationofPowersintheUnitedKingdom.............................79
text7.theRuleofLaw.........................................................................84
text8.FederalandUnitaryConstitutions.............................................95
UNIT III
MONARCHY
text1.NatureoftheCrown................................................................107
text2.FunctionsofMonarchy............................................................118
text3.PersonalPowersoftheMonarch..............................................124
text4.theRoyalPrerogative..............................................................136
text5. dwindlingPoweroftheCrown................................................141
text6.ARightRoyalArgument..........................................................147
text7.ReferendumSettobacktheQueenofAustralia........................150
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Copyright ОАО «ЦКБ «БИБКОМ» & ООО «Aгентство Kнига-Cервис»
UNIT IV
PARLIAMENT
text1.RiseofEnglishParliament.......................................................157
text2.FormationoftwoHousesofParliament..................................162
text3.LegalHistoryofParliament......................................................164
text4.britishParliamenttoday.........................................................172
text5.CompositionofParliament......................................................187
text6. CompositionoftheModernHouseofLords.............................202
text7.CompositionoftheModernHouseofCommons.....................224
text8.MeetingofParliament..............................................................236
text9. typesofLegislation.................................................................240
text10.PassageofaPublicbillintroducedbytheGovernment
intotheHouseofCommons...................................................242
text11.ParliamentaryPrivilege..........................................................249
UNIT V
THE EXECUTIVE
text1.ParliamentaryGovernment......................................................259
text2.CabinetandPrimeMinister.....................................................268
text3. GrowthoftheExecutive...........................................................272
text4. ‘Hollowed-outGovernment’....................................................277
Glossary..............................................................................................291
Keys....................................................................................................326
References...........................................................................................342
Copyright ОАО «ЦКБ «БИБКОМ» & ООО «Aгентство Kнига-Cервис»
FOREWORD
English for Law Studentsisdesigned
• tomeetthestudents’needsinacquiringbothlanguage
throughlawandlawthroughlanguage;
• tostrengthentheirreadingandwritingskills;
• todevelopthestudents’abilitytoanalyse,summeriseand
interpretlegaltextsconcerningparticularlegalareaorissue;
• tointroducecommonlawterms,conceptsandinstitutions
tothestudentsofadifferentlawsystem;
• toincreasetheircompetenceinlegallanguageusage;
• toprovidethoughtprovokingmaterials;
• toencourageanalyticalapproachtoandcomparative
studiesofcurrentlegalissuesandreforms;
• toequipstudentswithlinguistictoolstoadvanceintheir
scholarlyactivity.
English for Law StudentscontainsfiveUNitS:Historyand
SourcesofEnglishLaw,Constitution,Monarchy,Parliament,
theExecutive.Eachunitincludesanumberoftextsona
particularthemefollowedbyLANGUAGEPRACtiCEANd
COMPREHENSiONCHECKwithtASKSrangingfrom
wordbuildingtocomplicatedlegalvocabulary,grammar,syntax,
discussionpoints.theyfocusonreadingcomprehension,speaking
andwritingactivities.Eachunitendswiththetasktowritean
essaybasedonthetextsoftheunitononeoftheexamquestions.
theKEyattheendofthebookgivestheanswerstosome
exercises.
theGLOSSARyprovidesdefinitionsformostlegalterms
usedintheunits.
English for Law Studentsisdesignedforallthosewhostrive
foracademicexcellenceandprofessionalsuccess.
Copyright ОАО «ЦКБ «БИБКОМ» & ООО «Aгентство Kнига-Cервис»
UNIT I
HISTORY AND SOURCES OF ENGLISH LAW
tEXt1
CASE LAW
thewordsourcecanmeanseveraldifferentthingswithregard
tolaw,butforourpurposesitprimarilydescribesthemeansby
whichthelawcomesintoexistence.
Englishlawstemsfromsevenmainsources,thoughthese
varyagreatdealinimportance.thebasisofEnglishlaw
todayiscaselaw,amassofjudge-madedecisionswhichlays
downrulestobefollowedinfuturecases.Formanycenturies
itwasthemainformoflawanditisstillveryimportanttoday.
However,themostimportantformoflaw,inthesensethatit
prevailsovermostoftheothers,isstatute,orActofParliament,
whichtodayisthesourceofmostmajorchangesinthelaw.
Aswellasbeingasourceoflawintheirownright,statutes
contributetocaselaw,sincethecourtsoccasionallyhave
tointerpretstatutoryprovisions,andsuchdecisionslaydown
newprecedents.delegatedlegislationisarelatedsource,laying
downdetailedrulesmadetoimplementthebroaderprovisions
ofstatutes.
Anincreasinglyimportantsourceoflawisthelegislationof
theEuropeanCommunity,whichistheonlytypeoflawthat
cantakeprecedenceoverstatutesintheUK,andisincreasingly
influencingthedecisionsofthecourtsininterpretingstatutes.
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Copyright ОАО «ЦКБ «БИБКОМ» & ООО «Aгентство Kнига-Cервис»
HiStORyANdSOURCESOFENGLiSHLAW
Finally,custom,equityandobligationsrelatingtointernational
treatiesareminorsourcesoflaw,thoughbritain’sobligations
undertheEuropeanConventiononHumanRightshave
producednotablecontributionstolawreform.
beforetheNormanconquest,differentareasofEngland
weregovernedbydifferentsystemsoflaw,oftenadaptedfrom
thoseofthevariousinvaderswhohadsettledthere;roughly
speaking,danelawappliedinthenorth,Mercianlawaround
themidlands,andWessexlawinthesouthandwest.Eachwas
basedlargelyonlocalcustom,andevenwithinthelargerareas,
thesecustoms,andhencethelaw,variedfromplacetoplace.
thekinghadlittlecontroloverthecountryasawhole,andthere
wasnoeffectivecentralgovernment.
WhenWilliamtheConquerorgainedtheEnglishthronein
1066,heestablishedastrongcentralgovernmentandbegan,
amongotherthings,tostandardizethelaw.Representatives
ofthekingweresentouttothecountrysidetochecklocal
administration,andweregiventhejobofadjudicatinginlocal
disputes,accordingtolocallaw.
Whenthese‘itinerantjustices’returnedtoWestminster,they
wereabletodiscussthevariouscustomsofdifferentpartsof
thecountryand,byaprocessofsifting,rejectunreasonableones
andacceptthosethatseemedrational,toformaconsistentbody
ofrules.duringthisprocess–whichwentonforaroundtwo
centuries–theprincipleofstare decisis(‘letthedecisionstand’)
grewup.Wheneveranewproblemoflawcametobedecided,
thedecisionformedaruletobefollowedinallsimilarcases,
makingthelawmorepredictable.
theresultofallthiswasthatbyabout1250,a‘commonlaw’
hadbeenproduced,thatruledthewholecountry,wouldbe
appliedconsistentlyandcouldbeusedtopredictwhatthecourts
mightdecideinaparticularcase.itcontainedmanyofwhatare
nowbasicpointsofEnglishlaw–thefactthatmurderisacrime,
forexample.
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Copyright ОАО «ЦКБ «БИБКОМ» & ООО «Aгентство Kнига-Cервис»
UNiti
theprinciplesbehindthis‘commonlaw’arestillusedtoday
increatingcaselaw(whichisinfactoftenknownascommon
law).Fromthebasicideaofstare decisis,ahierarchyofprecedent
grewup,inlinewiththehierarchyofthemoderncourtsystem,
sothat,ingeneral,ajudgemustfollowdecisionsmadeincourts
whicharehigherupthehierarchythanhisorherown.this
processwasmadeeasierbytheestablishmentofaregularsystem
ofpublicationofreportsofcasesinthehighercourts.thebody
ofdecisionsmadebythehighercourts,whichthelowerones
mustrespect,isknownascaselaw.
Caselawcomesfromthedecisionsmadebyjudgesinthecases
beforethem(thedecisionsofjuriesdonotmakecaselaw).inde-
cidingacase,therearetwobasictasks;first,establishingwhat
thefactsare,meaningwhatactuallyhappened;andsecondly,how
thelawappliestothosefacts.itisthesecondtaskthatcanmake
caselaw,andtheideaisthatonceadecisionhasbeenmadeon
howthelawappliestoaparticularsetoffacts,similarfactsinlater
casesshouldbetreatedinthesameway,followingtheprincipleof
stare decisisdescribedabove.thisisobviouslyfairerthanallowing
eachjudgetointerpretthelawdifferently,andalsoprovidespre-
dictability,whichmakesiteasierforpeopletolivewithinthelaw.
thejudgeslistentotheevidenceandthelegalargument
andthenprepareawrittendecisionastowhichpartywins,
basedonwhattheybelievethefactswere,andhowthelaw
appliestothem.thisdecisionisknownasthejudgment,
andisusuallylong,containingquitealotofcommentwhich
isnotstrictlyrelevanttothecase,aswellasanexplanation
ofthelegalprinciplesonwhichthejudgehasmadeadecision.
theexplanationofthelegalprinciplesonwhichthedecision
ismadeiscalledtheratiodecidendi–Latinforthe‘reasonfor
deciding’.itisthispartofthejudgment,knownasbinding
precedent,whichformscaselaw.Allthepartsofthejudgment
whichdonotformpartoftheratio decidendiofthecaseare
calledobiter dicta–whichisLatinfor‘thingssaidbytheway’.
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Copyright ОАО «ЦКБ «БИБКОМ» & ООО «Aгентство Kнига-Cервис»
HiStORyANdSOURCESOFENGLiSHLAW
theseareoftendiscussionsofhypotheticalsituations:for
example,thejudgemightsay‘Jonesdidthis,butifhehaddone
that,mydecisionwouldhavebeen...’Noneoftheobiter dicta
formspartofthecaselaw,thoughjudgesinlatercasesmaybe
influencedbyit,anditissaidtobeapersuasiveprecedent.
LANGUAGE PRACTICE AND COMPREHENSION CHECK
ACTIVE VOCABULARY
case possiblecrimeanditsinvestigationbythe
police
court case legalactionorcrime
case law lawasestablishedbyprecedents
to stem from toderivefrom,tooriginate
to lay down todeclareorstartfirmly
statute lawpassedbyalawmakingbody
to interpret toplaceaparticularmeaningon
precedence therighttobeputordealtwithbefore
others,especiallybecauseofthegreater
importance
to take precedence
to give precedence
to apply the law toeffect;bedirectlyrelated
justice 1.fairtreatment(inlaw)
2.magistrate
3.titlegiventoHighCourtjudge
itinerant justice travelingjustice
evidence theanswersgiveninthecourtoflaw
judgment adecisionmadebyacourtinrespectof
thematterbeforeit
TASK I. a) Complete the following sentences using
the above words:
1.thisruledoesnot…toyourparticularcase.
9
