Translate the new words and learn them before reading the text.
To be in written form, statute, constitutional issues, media, a body of law,
consider, include, definite, confuse, fundamental, conventions, enforce, govern,
describe, predominate, citizens, governmental institutions, justice, ultimately, accepted rules.
4. Explain the meaning of the following expressions:
a) fundamental political traditions;
b) flexible;
c) decision;
d) constitutional issue;
e) misconception.
Read the text.
What Constitutes the Constitution of Canada
There are three important points to remember about what constitutes “the
Constitution”:
(a) The Constitution is not a Single Document, nor Entirely Written
Not all aspects of the Constitution are in written form and the written portions
are not contained in a single document or statute.
Most Canadians have some impressions about what the Constitution is and what
it says. They have had the steady diet of constitutional issues in the media for much of the past 30 years. For many people, the Constitution conjures up something written and definite. However, the Constitution is not really something you can hold in your hand.
(b) The Constitution Includes Both Legal and Political Rules
The Constitution is not entirely a body of law. Most experts consider the
Constitution to include both legal and political rules.
The legal rules, contained for the most in constitutional statutes and court
decisions, are interpreted and enforced by the courts. When a dispute arises the
parties go to court, argue their points of view, and when the decision is handed
down by the court, the parties treat it as binding and act accordingly.
The political rules of the Constitution, called “conventions”, arise from fundamental political traditions. Constitutional conventions are political rather than
legal in nature and do not appear in any legally binding documents. Conventions
are not directly enforced through the courts. If observed at all, it is through various
political institutions or by the self-discipline of the politicians. Conventions have
been described as the code of ethics that governs political processes.
(c) The Constitution is Evolving
The legal and conventional constitutional rules evolve and change, sometimes
quickly, often subtly. Conventional constitutional rules, because they are based on political traditions, inevitably change or evolve as changes occur in Canadian society. On the other hand, many of the legal rules of the Constitution are modified in the course of interpretation by the courts and may be difficult to articulate with precision. Therefore, identifying accepted rules or principles that underlie the Constitution presents a moving target. To summarise, the Constitution is not concise, legalistic and static, rather it is voluminous, flexible and evolving.
|
|
|
Answer the questions about the text.
1. What three important points constitute the Constitution?
2. What is convention?
3. How can you interpret the idea that the Constitution in Canada presents a moving target?
Find the equivalents for the words below in the text.
Єдиний документ, заперечливі питання конституції, рішення суду, ви-
кликати образ чогось писаного та визначеного, конституційний законодавчий
акт, відповідно діяти.
Play the role of George Brown, a famous Canadian politician, who played a
Significant role in Canada’s formation.
Imagine that you (G. Brown) are addressing the law students from Ukraine
who are taking a special course in Canada’s Constitutional Law. The subject of
your report is: “Canada’s Constitution is voluminous, flexible and evolving ”.
Discussion.
a) What is opinion of Canada’s Main Law?
b) Make use of the following conversational formulas:
if you ask me; to come back to; more than that; I don’t quite follow you; do you mean to say…; in other words; that’s neither here nor there; not that I…(не те, щоб я…); you’ve got it all wrong; it’s not to the point; I don’t mind telling you; it just occurred to me that…; what do you think of…; I dare say…; to begin with…; one the one hand; on the other hand; the point (the matter, the fact) is that…; it comes to the same point (це одне і те ж саме).
LESSON 7
I. Vocabulary Work.
Дата добавления: 2018-10-27; просмотров: 184; Мы поможем в написании вашей работы! |
Мы поможем в написании ваших работ!