Exercise 1. Match the words and their definitions
| 1. Secular | a. a room in a building where trials and other legal cases happen, or the people present in such a room, esp. the officials and those deciding whether someone is guilty; |
| 2. Legislature | b. an opinion or decision, made after judging the facts that are given, esp. one made at the end of a trial; |
| 3. Referendum | c. not having any connection with religion; |
| 4. Chamber | d. a group of people who form (part of) a parliament; |
| 5. Court | e. a vote in which all the people in a country or an area are asked to give their opinion; |
| 6. Verdict | f. the group of people who have the power to make and change laws. |
Exercise 2. Match the word combinations with the Russian equivalents
| 1. Legal system | a. внутренняя политика; |
| 2. Self-govern | b. проект закона; |
| 3. Code of laws | c. народный заседатель; |
| 4. Legislative body | d. правовая система; |
| 5. Domestic policy | e. кодекс, свод законов; |
| 6. Draft of a law | f. самоуправление; |
| 7. People’s assessors | g. законодательный орган. |
Exercise 3. Finish the sentence adding the information from the text
1. The two main traditions of law in the world are … .
2. The origin of the legal system in Belarus dates back … .
3. Since 1922 the Belarusian Republic has established … .
4. The National Assembly acts … .
5. The National Assembly approves … .
6. The supervision of the exact and uniform execution of laws … .
Exercise 4. Fill in the missing words
Instances judicial responsibilities
adoption referendum chambers
1. The most important event in the development of feudal law of Grand Duchy of Litva was the … of Statutes in 1529.
2. In accordance with the results of the national … the National Assembly is the supreme legislative body of Belarus.
3. The National Assembly is comprised of two … – the Council of the Republic and the House of Representatives.
4. All the legislative activities in Belarus are based on the principles of provision of citizens' rights, freedoms and … .
5. Courts perform the … power in the republic.
6. Criminal and civil courts can be distinguished as courts of first and second … .
Exercise 5. Answer the following questions
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1. What is the origin of Belarusian law?
2. What document was the most comprehensive state code of law in Belarus in the 16th century?
3. What body is the supreme legislative one in Belarus?
4. What are the main legislative functions of the National Assembly?
5. What are the matters the Constitutional Court deals with?
6. What does the Supreme Economic Court do?
LAW IN GREAT BRITAIN
British law is based on the common law tradition – a system of “judge made” law which has continuously developed over the years through the decisions of judges in the cases brought before them. These judicial precedents are an important source of law in the English legal system. English judges have an important role in developing case law and stating the meaning of Acts of Parliament.
British law is divided into two parts – civil and criminal. A criminal case is a legal action by the government against a person charged with committing a crime. Civil laws regulate relations between individuals or groups of individuals. There are also two types of courts – dealing with civil jurisdiction and the other, with criminal jurisdiction. The law of Britain distinguishes offences into main categories: a) indictable offences and b) non-indictable offences. Indictable offences are the more serious crimes, which must be tried before a jury. Non-indictable offences are all the rest and they are tried by the Magistrates’ Court. However, nowadays there are many offences which may either be treated on indictment by a jury or by a Magistrates’ Court. When a person is brought before the Magistrates’ Court charged with one of the overlapping offences, the court may in many cases treat the charge as being for a non-indictable offence. The principal courts of ordinary criminal jurisdiction in England and Wales include:
a) Magistrates’ Courts, which try the less serious offences and conduct preliminary inquiries into the more serious offences. They are presided overby Justices of the Peace;
b) Quarter Sessions which take place at least four times a year. They deal with more serious offences and are presided over either by a legally qualified chairman with a group of magistrates or by a single lawyer;
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c) Assizes which are branches of the High Court and are presided over by High Court Judges. They deal with the most serious offences and cases presenting special difficulties.
New legislation in Britain usually starts in the House of Lords. In each house a bill is considered in three stages, called readings. The first reading is purely formal, to introduce the bill. The second reading is usually the occasion for debate. After the second reading the bill is examined in detail by a committee.
The bill is then returned to one of the houses for the report stage, when it can be amended. If passed after its third reading, it goes to the other house. Amendments made to a bill by the House of Lords must be considered by the Commons. If the House of Commons does not agree, the bill is altered and sent bask to the Lords. In the event of persistent disagreement between the two houses, Commons prevails.
Finally, the bill goes to the reigning monarch for the royal assent. Nowadays the royal assent is merely a formality. In theory the queen could still refuse her consent, but the last monarch to use this power was Queen Anne, who vetoed the unpopular Scottish Militia Bill in 1707.
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