The Judicial System of the Republic of Belarus
The judicial power in Belarus is exercised by the courts and is based upon the principles of territorial delineation and specialization. The courts should administer justice on the basis of the Constitution, the laws and other enforceable enactments. Belarusian courts are judicial organs of government which resolve disputes of civil and criminal cases on the territory of Belarus.
In general, the court system is divided into the following stages: city People's courts, district People's courts, regional courts and Minsk city court and the highest one - Supreme Court of the Republic of Belarus. It means that a case is
firstly heard in city / district People's courts. Its decision may be reviewed by regional courts; then an appelation may be sent to Minsk city court. The court of the last resort is the Supreme Court of the Republic of Belarus.
The Constitution of Belarus provides the system of election of judges and people's assessors and the collective order of trying criminal and civil cases in courts. Criminal and civil courts are distinguished as courts of first and second instances. Courts of first Instance pronounce verdicts in criminal cases and pass judgement in civil cases after trial. Courts of second instance are courts of cassation and can control the legality and justification of verdicts or judgement pronounced by courts of first instance.
The Judicial System of the United Kingdom
Prosecution in the United Kingdom is initiated and conducted by the police. Each town has a magistrates' court commonly known as a Police Court which hears the less serious cases. Such courts consist of two to seven magistrates known as justices of the peace. They are often without legal training and knowledge of the law. In some cases they are advised by a Clerk of the Court, a trained lawyer. A magistrates' court is in session, twice each week. The normal sittings of a magistrates' court take place in a properly appointed courthouse on appointed days of the week.
If a person breaks the law he must be brought first before a magistrates' court which has the power to fine people up to 100 pounds and send them to prison for up to six months. If a case is too serious for magistrates they hear the material of the case and then send the case to a higher court called the Crown Court where a judge and a jury hear the case.
Appeals against the sentences given in the Crown Court are sent to the Court of Appeals. Appeals on cases which are of great public importance are dealt with the House of Lords - the final court of appeals.
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English law
English law can be divided into statute law; common law; case law. Statute law consists of all laws passed by Parliament. The majority of laws are proposed and drafted by the government in power; any member of the House of Commons or the House of Lords can also propose a law. An exception to this is that only a member of the House
of Commons may introduce a financial bill. The laws that are drafted by the government, as the laws proposed by individual members of the House of Commons or the House of Lords, must be agreed to by Parliament before they become effective. That means that they must be passed by the elected House of Commons,approved by the House of Lords (in most cases), and confirmed by the Sovereign.
common law consists of the principles and rules of conduct based on the ancient customs of the country and recognized by the courts as law. Common law is unwritten, and its principles can be learnt only by intensive study of past court decisions and ancient custom. The common law can, however, be changed or developed by statute.
But more important perhaps than either the statute law or even the common law are decisions of the courts. Just as the many ancient customs of the land make up the common law, the collected decisions of the courts form English “case law”. Once Parliament has passed a law, the courts must decide what the words of that law mean. The толкование of the court remains till either a higher court decides that this interpretation was wrong, or Parliament passes another law and changes it.
So once a court decided against the government on a question of what a law means - and the courts may decide that a law as worded means something quite different from what the government in-tended - the government must accept the decision of the court. They may, if the Houses agree, pass another law. But that takes a great deal of time and trouble.
What is Law?
Law is a system of rules to govern behaviour. Such systems are ancient, dating back at least to the legal text written by Ur-Nammu, a Mesopotamian king, in about 2100 B.C.
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The law serves many functions in any society. The four main functions are: establishing standards of conduct, maintaining order, resolving disputes, and protecting liberties and rights of citizens.
Laws can be made by a collective legislature or by a single legislator, or by judges. The formation of laws themselves may be influenced by a constitution.
Laws may be classified in different ways. For example, depending on the sources, laws may be-long to the system of European (continental) law and common law system. The system of law in which a central body codifies their laws is called continental or European law. In common law systems judge-made precedent is a binding law. According to the extent to which laws relate to the private individual or to the state they are classified into private (or civil) law and public law systems. On the basis of their sub-ject matter laws are divided into the groups of contract law, property law, family law, business law, crim-inal law, constitutional law, administrative law, revenue law, and others.
Law is one of the main social institutions. It shapes politics, economics, and society in different ways. It is also a mediator of relations between people.
PHILOSOPHERS OF LAW
Thomas More, John Locke, Charles-Louis de Montesquieu, Jeremy Bentham are among the fa-mous scholars who made an important contribution to the development of law.
Sir Thomas More (1478–1535) was an English statesman, writer and humanist. He thought that the reasons for crime lie in economic and social conditions. He stressed that punishment should be sensi-ble and that people found guilty must work for the good of the community. His views were far ahead of the time, and only in later centuries his book Utopia was really understood. Among the topics discussed by More in Utopia were penology, state-controlled education, religious pluralism, women's rights.
Among the major works of the English philosopher John Locke (1632–1704) were two Treatis-es on Government. Locke reasoned that all people were born free, equal, and independent. People con-tracted among themselves to form governments to protect their natural rights. And if a government failed to protect these natural rights, the people could change that government.
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Locke’s views deeply influenced the political outlook of the American colonists.
Charles-Louis de Montesquieu (1689–1755) is a French political philosopher. One of his most noted arguments is the theory of the separation of powers into the legislative, executive, and judicial powers. Montesquieu’s works inspired the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Constitution of the United States.
Montesquieu also classified governments into the republic, monarchy, and despotism.
The English philosopher and lawyer Jeremy Bentham (1748–1832) criticized the existing law and suggested ways for its improvement. He advocated individual and economic freedom, the separation of church and state, freedom of expression, universal suffrage, equal rights for women.
Bentham also tried to make the punishment more precisely fit the crime. He called for the abolition of slavery, the abolition of the death penalty and physical punishment.
The ideas of More, Locke, Montesquieu, and Bentham had great influence on political and legal theory.
Brief History of the USA
The history of the USA dates back only to the 15th century. In the 15th century there was no USA at all. The present territory of the USA was divided among some countries. In the 15th — 16th centuries some territory of the USA belonged to Great Britain (northern and western lands); southern parts (California, Florida, New Mexico, Texas) belonged to Spain, then — to Mexico; the central part, the territory was called Louisiana — to France; Alaska was possessed by Russia; some territories remained to be under Indians control.
In 18th century there were only thirteen Britain's American colonies and they broke with Great Britain in 1776 and later were recognized as the new nation of the the United States of America, following the Treaty of Paris in 1783. During the 19th"and 20th centuries, 37 new states were added to the original 13 as the nation expanded their frontiers across the North American continent and acquired a number of overseas possessions.
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There were three most dramatic experiences in the nation's history: the Civil War (1861-1865), the Great Depression of the 1930s and Vietnam War of the 1960s — 70s.
After its victories in World Wars I and II and the end of the Cold War in 1991, the USA remains the world's most powerful state. The economy is marked by steady growth, low unemployment and inflation, and great advances in technology.
Nowadays USA is world's third-largest country by size (after Russia and Canada) and by population (after China and India). It is about half the size of Russia or lightly larger than China or Brazil.
London, the capital of Great Britain, is situated on the Thames River. It is the largest city in Europe with a population of eight and a quarter million. It is divided into four parts: the City, Westminster, the West End and the East End. The City is the business and commercial heart of London. Many banks, offices and firms are concentrated there. The Tower and St. Paul's Cathedral are in the centre. The Tower is about 900 years old. Many years ago it was a royal residence, then a prison. Now it is a museum. St. Paul's Cathedral is very large and fine. It was completed in 1710. The famous English architect Christopher Wren planned and built St. Paul's Cathedral. If the City is the business part of London, Westminster is the centre of administration. We can see the Houses of Parliament there. It is a beautiful building with two towers and a very big clock called Big Ben. The Houses of Parliament stand in Parliament Square. Westminster Abbey is opposite the Houses of Parliament. Many great Englishmen were buried in Westminster Abbey. To the west of Westminster Abbey you can see Buckingham Palace. It is the royal residence. The ceremony of the changing of the guards which takes place in front of Buckingham Palace is of great interest to the tourists. Rich people live in the West End. The best and most expensive clubs, restaurants and theatres, beautiful houses and parks are there. The East End — the district of plants, factories, slums and docks — is for the working people. London is unlike any other city in the world. It has rather wide streets but low houses. It looks very grey because there is so much rain and fog there. Only buses and pillar-boxes are red. This city has never been planned and it has many parts which are different from each other.
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is situated on the British Isles. The British Isles consist of two large islands, Great Britain and Ireland, and about five thousand small islands. Their total area is over 244 000 square kilometres.
The United Kingdom is one of the world's smaller countries. Its population is over 60 million. About 80 percent of the population is urban.
The United Kingdom is made up of four countries: England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. Great Britain consists of England, Scotland and Wales and does not include Northern Ireland. But in everyday speech "Great Britain" is used in the meaning of the "United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland". The capital of the UK is London.
The British Isles are separated from the Continent by the North Sea, the English Channel and the Strait of Dover. The western coast of Great Britain is washed by the Atlantic Ocean and the Irish Sea.
The surface of the British Isles varies very much. The north of Scotland is mountainous and is called Highlands. The south, which has beautiful valleys and plains, is called Lowlands. The north and west of England are mountainous, but the eastern, central, and south-eastern parts of England are a vast plain. Mountains are not very high. Ben Nevis in Scotland is the highest mountain (1,343 m). There are a lot of rivers in Great Britain, hut they are not very long. The Severn is the longest river, while the Thames is the deepest and the most important one. The mountains, the Atlantic Ocean, and the warm waters of Gulf Stream influence the climate of the British Isles. It is mild the whole year round.
The UK is a highly developed industrial country. It produces and exports machinery, electronics, textiles.
Minsk is the capital of the Republic of Belarus, its political, economic, scientific and cultural centre. It is one of the oldest and most beautiful cities in our republic.
Minsk is situated on the river Svisloch and occupies an area of 200 square kilometres. Its population is about 1,8 million.
During the Great Patriotic War Minsk was destroyed by German invaders almost completely. In post-war years the city was rebuilt anew. Modern Minsk is a city of numerous plants and factories, modern buildings, tree-lined streets, beautiful parks and gardens. It is also a big traffic centre with a large network of railways, roads, airlines and two Metro lines.
Minsk has a highly developed industry. There are hundreds of industrial enterprises in the city which produce tractors and automobiles, motor-cycles and bicycles, TV-sets and radio-sets, watches and refrigerators, electronic computers, textile, footwear, food and other goods. Our Belarus tractors and MAZ trucks enjoy a high reputation both in our country and abroad.
Minsk is also known as a city of science and students. There is the Academy of Sciences and 16 state higher educational establishments there, the biggest of which are the University and the Polytechnical Academy.
The cultural life of the people in the Belarusian capital is varied and interesting. In Minsk there are 6 theatres, a number of concert halls, a circus, dozens of cinemas, many palaces of culture, libraries and clubs. The most famous theatres are the Opera and Ballet Theatre, the Yanka Kupala State Academic Theatre, the Gorky Russian Drama Theatre.
Among the most interesting museums one can mention the Museum of the History of the Great Patriotic War, the Art Museum and Yanka Kupala and Yakub Kolas museums.
Minsk is a Hero-City. It was honoured with the title in 1974 for outstanding courage and heroism during the Great Patriotic War.
The citizens of Minsk are proud of their city. It is beautiful at any time of the year. A lot of tourists from our country and abroad come to Minsk to see its sights.
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