Ancient systems of Law

Английский язык для студентов-заочников

(гуманитарные специальности)

МИНСК

"ВЫШЭЙШАЯ ШКОЛА" 1998

УДК 802.0 (075.4)

ББК 81.2 Англ-923

А64

Авторы: Л. В. Хведченя, О. И. Васючкова. Т. В. Елисеева. Ж. В. Соловьева. Е. В. Коршун. Н. И. Князева, Г. Д. Прохоренко, Р. В. Хорень, Г. П. Савченко, И. Ф. Ухванова, Е. Ф. Абрамчик, Л. Г. Лизгаро, И. В. Крюковская, Т. В. Борз-дова, М. А. Лавыш, Г. Г. Лычковская

Рецензенты: кафедра иностранных языков Гродненского государственного университета; кандидат филологических наук С. X. Гомза

Под общей редакцией Л. В. ХВЕДЧЕНИ

Английский язык для студентов заочной формы обучения (гуманитарные специальности): Учеб. пособие / Л. В. Хведченя, О. И. Васючкова, Т. В. Елисеева и др. - 2-е изд., перераб. и доп. - Мн.: Выш. шк., 1998. - 416 с.

ISBN 985-06-0388-7.

Учебник состоит из четырех частей: краткого фонетического справочника, грамматического практикума, лексического материала по специальностям и устной практики. Лексическая часть представлена шестью самостоятельными разделами: История, Правоведение, Филология, Журналистика, Социология, Экономика.

Первое издание вышло в 1993 г. В настоящее издание включены новый разделы «Экономика» и «Устная практика», а также значительно переработаны почти все разделы.

Для студентов-заочников гуманитарных специальностей вузов.

© Коллектив авторов, 1993

© Изменения, дополнения. Коллектив авторов, 1998

© «Вышэйшая школа», 1998

UNIT I

LAW

Section I. TOPICAL VOCABULARY

Index

accept [ k'sept] v принимать accept the rules принимать правила administer [ d'mınıst ] v управлять; отправлять (правосудие) adopt [ 'd pt] v принимать adoption [ 'd p n] n принятие apply [ 'plaı] v обращаться, применять application [,æplı'keı n] n применение, обращение application of the law применение закона approve [ 'pruv] v одобрять attempt [ 'temt] n попытка authority [ :'θ rıtı] n власть, полномочие behave [bı'heıv] v поступать, вести себя behaviour [bı'heıvj ] n поведение forms of behaviour формы поведения barrister ['bærıst ] n барристер, адвокат on behalf of [bı'hα:f] n от имени кого-либо break ['breık] v нарушать break the law нарушать закон case ['keıs] n случай, судебное дело, случай в судебной практике, прецедент Case Law прецедентное право claim ['kleım] v претендовать, заявлять право (на что-либо) code ['koud] n кодекс, свод законов codify ['k dıfaı] v составлять кодекс, приводить в систему commit [k 'mıt] v совершать commit a crime совершать преступление conduct ['k nd kt] n поведение, образ действия confirm [k n'f :m] v подтверждать, утвердить, ратифицировать court ['k :t] n суд court decision решение суда create ['kri:'eıt] v творить, создавать creation [kri:'eı n] n создание, творение crime ['kraım] n преступление criminal ['krımın l] а уголовный custom ['kΛst m] n обычай customary ['kΛst m rı] а обычный, привычный, основанный на опыте customary rules обычные нормы customary law обычное право deal ['di:l] v общаться, иметь дело define [dı'faın] v определять, давать определение draft ['drα:ft] v составлять законопроект enforce [ın'f :s] v оказывать давление, принуждать enforce law принуждать выполнять закон evolve [ı'v lv] v эволюционировать, развиваться express [ıks'pres] а определенный, точно выраженный govern ['gΛv n] v управлять, править government ['gΛv nment] n правительство judge ['d Λd ] n судья law [l :] n закон, право lawmaker ['l :meık ] n законодатель legal ['li:g l] а юридический, правовой legal rights законные права legislator ['led ısleıt ] n законодатель memory ['mеm rı] n память obedience [ 'bi:dj ns] n послушание, повиновение observe [ b'z :v] v соблюдать observe the rules соблюдать нормы observance [ b'z :v ns] n соблюдение pass ['pα:s] v принимать (закон, резолюцию) pass a law принимать закон pattern ['pæt n] n образец, модель pattern of behaviour шаблон, модель поведения pattern v делать по образцу penalty ['pen ltı] n наказание suffer penalty нести наказание power ['раu ] n могущество, власть power of the police власть полиции government in power правительство, находящееся у власти prevail [prı'veıl] v преобладать propose [pr 'p uz] v предлагать, вносить предложение propose a bill внести законопроект realm ['relm] n королевство reduce [rı'dju:s] сводить, приводить (к) reduce to writing выразить в письменной форме refuse [rı'fju:z] v отказывать, отвергать regulate ['regjuleıt] v регулировать, упорядочивать regulate relations регулировать отношения relation [rı'leı n] n отношение, связь rule ['ru:l] n правило, норма, образец source ['s :s] n источник source of law источник права suffer ['sΛf ] v страдать, испытывать, претерпевать verdict ['v :dıkt] n вердикт violently ['vaı lentlı] adv сильно, неистово

A, D С С В В С С   D С A, D А А, В   T1 В А, С С D В С В, С А А А, D D А, В, С D А, В В А   А, В, D В     А В, С D А, В А В В В, С А, С, D С А, В, С С В, С   C B B B B B D   В   А     A, D D   Т2 С, D   В T2   А A   A, C A, B B B A   A

Section II. READING MATERIAL

TEXT A. SOCIAL MORALITY, RULES AND LAWS

Task: read the text, translate it into Russian in written form.

The English word "law" refers to limits upon various forms of behaviour. Some laws are descriptive: they simply describe how people usually behave. Other laws are prescriptive - they prescribe how people ought to behave.

In all societies, relations between people are regulated by prescriptive laws. Some of them are customs - that is, informal rules of social and moral behaviour. Some are rules we accept if we belong to particular social institutions, such as religious, educational and cultural groups. And some laws are made by nations and enforced against all citizens within their power.

The rules of social institutions are more formal than customs. They carry penalties for those who break them. They are not, however, enforceable by any political authority.

Customs need not be made by governments, and they need not be written down. We learn how we should behave in society through the instruction of family and teachers, the advice of friends, and our own experiences. Sometimes, we can break these rules and do not suffer any penalty. But if we continually break the rules, or break a very important one, other members of society may criticize us, act violently toward us or refuse to have anything to do with us. The ways in which people talk, eat and drink, work and relax together are usually guided by many such informal rules which have very little to do with laws created by governments.

However, when governments make laws for their citizens, they use a system of courts backed by the power of the police. Of course, there may be instances where the law is not enforced against someone (for example when young children commit crimes).

Government - made laws are nevertheless often patterned upon informal rules of conduct which already exist in society and relations between people are regulated by a combination of all these rules.

EXERCISES

Ex. 1. Read the international words and guess their meaning. Mind the stress.

Ex. 2. Memorize the following pairs of derivatives.

Ex. 3. Transform as in the models.

Model: describe the behaviour - description of the behaviour

regulate the laws, regulate the behaviour, accept the rules, violate the laws.

Model 2: decision of the government - the government decision

behaviour of the group, system of the court, power of the police, documentation of the court.

Model 3: instructions of the teacher - the teacher's instructions

advice of the friend, land of the people, decision of the police

Ex. 4. Match English and Russian equivalents.

Ex. 5. Choose the right word or word-combination.

1. The English word "law" refers to limits upon various....

a) rules of social institutions b) members of the society c) forms of behaviour

2. The rules of social institutions are not enforceable by any....

a) political authority b) social rules c) social relations

3.... need not be made by governments and they need not be written down.

a) rules b) laws c) customs

4. When governments make... for their citizens they use a system of courts backed by the police.

a) customs b) relations c) laws

5. Government-made laws are often patterned upon informal... which already exist in society.

a) norms of behaviour b) rules of conduct c) social norms

Ex. 6. Complete the sentences.

1. Descriptive laws describe how people usually.... 2. In all societies... are regulated by prescriptive laws. 3. It is important to distinguish between.... 4. Sometimes we can break the rules and do not suffer.... 5. If we continually... of social institutions other people may refuse to do with us.

Ex. 7. Insert the right words:

laws (2), commit crime, customs, rules (2).

1. Customs are informal... of social and moral behaviour. 2. The rules of social institutions are more formal than.... 3.... need not be made by governments. 4. We accept... if we belong to particular social institutions. 5.... are made by governments and enforced against all citizens within their power. 6. The law is not enforced against young children when they....

Ex. 8. Mark the statements that are true.

1. Social customs and rules are both enforced by governments. 2. Many laws reflect social customs. 3. The ways in which people talk, eat and drink are regulated by laws made by governments. 4. Informal rules have very little to do with laws created by governments. 5. Prescriptive laws prescribe how people behave. 6. Relations between people are regulated by customs, rules of social institutions and government-made laws.

Ex. 9. Answer the questions on the text.

1. What does the English word "law" refer to? 2. What regulates the relations between people? 3. Are customs made by governments? 4. How do we learn how to behave in society? 5. How do governments enforce the laws which they make?

Ex. 10. Give a short summary of the text.

TEXT B. CUSTOMS

Task: read the text, find the answers to the questions given below.

Customs are social habits, patterns of behaviour, which all societies evolve without express formulation or conscious creation. Custom is one of the principal sources of law; originally law was based upon it. Moreover, custom is not important only as a source of law, for even today some customary rules are still observed and they have almost the same power as rules of law. The only difference is that their observance is not enforced by the organs of the State. Thus, many of the fundamental rules of the Constitution are "conventional" (i. e. customary) rather than legal, rules.

But in modern times most general customs (i. e. customs universally observed throughout the realm) either do not exist or have become absorbed in rules of law. For example many of the early rules of the common law were general customs which the courts adopted, and they have become laws.

On the other hand customs of particular groups of people living in particular localities, are sometimes still capable of creating a special "law" for the locality in question which is different from the general law of the land.

But such variants will only be recognized if certain conditions are satisfied. The following are among the more important of those conditions. The custom must (1) not be unreasonable, (2) the right must be claimed by or on behalf of a defined group of people, (3) must have existed since "time immemorial". This means that it must go back to 1189 (by historical accident the terminal date of "legal memory").

1. What is one of the principle sources of law?

2. Is custom important only as a source of law?

3. What is the difference between customary rules and rules of law?

4. Do customs still create new laws?

5. What conditions must such customs satisfy?

TEXT C. COMMON AND CONTINENTAL LAW

Task: read the text, get ready to render its contents in Russian.

Each country in the world has its own system of law. There are two main traditions of law in the world. One is based on English Common law¹. The other tradition is known as Continental, or Roman law.

Common law, or case law system, differs from Continental law as it has developed gradually throughout history. It is not the result of government attempts to codify every legal relation. Customs and court rulings have been as important as statutes (government legislation). Judges do not merely apply the law, in some cases they make law, and their, interpretations may become precendents² for other courts.

Before William of Normandy invaded England in 1066 no law was common to the whole kingdom. The Norman Kings sent travelling judges around the country and gradually a "common law" developed. Uniform application of the law throughout the country was promoted by the gradual development of the doctrine of precedent.

The doctrine of precedent is still a central feature of modern common law systems.

Even when governments make new laws - statutes, they are interpreted by the courts in order to fit particular cases, and these interpretations become new precedents.

Continental systems, codified legal systems, have resulted from attempts by governments to produce a set of codes so that the state could govern every legal aspect of a citizen's life.

When the lawmakers were codifying their legal systems, they looked to the example of Revolutionary and Napoleonic France, whose legislators wanted to break with previous case law.

The lawmakers were also influenced by the model of the Canon law of the Roman Catholic Church, but the most important models were the codes produced in the seventh century under the direction of the Roman Emperor Justinian.

Versions of Roman law had long influenced many parts of Europe but had little impact on English law.

Notes:

¹ Common law - общее право, обычное право, некодифицированное право

² precedent - прецедент

TEXT D. ENGLISH LAW

Task: read the text and explain the difference between Statute law and Case law.

English law can be divided into Statute Law¹, Common Law and Case Law². 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 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 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 (in most cases) by the House of Lords, and confirmed by the Sovereign.

Common Law consists of 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 interpretation of the Courts 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 intended - 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.

Notes:

¹ Statute Law - статутное право, писаный закон

² Case Law - прецедентное право

Section III. LEXICAL-GRAMMAR TESTS

Для того, чтобы выполнить контрольные работы, необходимо усвоить следующий грамматический материал:

1. Словообразование: основные словообразовательные суффиксы.

2. Видо-временные формы глагола (действительный и страдательный залог).

3. Степени сравнения прилагательных.

4. Функции глаголов "to be", "to have".

TEST I

I. Прочитайте текст и письменно ответьте на вопросы, следующие за ним.

Ancient systems of Law

1. One of the earliest systems of law of which we have knowledge is the collection of laws, known as the Code of Hammurabi, the Babylonian king, who lived in about 1900 B.C., and whose stone figure we can see in the British Museum in London. Another early code is the code of Hebrew Law¹ contained in the Book of Exodus² in the Bible.

2. In Greece each city state had its own law, some laws were common to many states. In the seventh century B.C.³ the Greeks began to put their laws into writing. About 594 B.C. Solon, the famous Athenian law-giver, provided a new code of law. The Athenians did not consider it necessary to have legal experts for non-criminal cases. In a civil case the verdict was given by a jury, which might number anything from 201 to 2,500. The members of the jury listened to speeches made by the persons-who had brought the case before them, and by their friends. Barristers did not participate in court proceedings, but professional speech-writers sometimes prepared speeches.

3. Roman law is one of the greatest systems that has ever existed. It was based upon custom, and by A.D.⁴ 528 the quantity of Roman Law had become so immense that the Emperor Justinian in Constantinopole ordered to make a clear, systematic code of all the laws.

4. Roman law had a deep influence upon the law of the world. It had a strong influence on the law of most European countries and some influence on Anglo-Saxon law, which is the other great law system of the world. After many years Roman law reappeared in the eleventh century, when there was a great revival of learning. Many European countries began to use Roman law in their courts. In France, however, until Napoleon codified the law in 1804, each province had its own laws. The Napoleonic Code was a splendid achievement, and it has influenced the law of many countries in Europe and South America.

Notes:

¹ Hebrew Law - древнееврейское право

² Book of Exodus - Исход (2-я книга Ветхого Завета)

³ B.C. before Christ - до нашей эры

⁴ A.D. anno Domini (лат.) - нашей эры

1. What ancient systems of law do we have knowledge of?

2. What book contains one of the earliest systems of law?

3. When did the Greeks begin to put their laws into writing?

4. What is one of the greatest systems of law?

5. What system of law had a great influence on the law of the world?

II. Письменно переведите 2-й и 4-й абзацы текста.

III. По суффиксу определите и выберите: 1) существительные, 2) прилагательные, 3) глаголы, 4) наречия.

Earliest, collection, early, law-giver, famous, legal, criminal, civil, writer, professional, systematic, Napoleonic, achievement, barrister, codify, participate.

IV. Определите видо-временную форму глагола в следующих предложениях. Предложения переведите на русский язык.

1. In the seventh century B.C. the Greeks began to put their laws into writing. 2. The laws of many European countries were developing on the basis of Roman law. 3. The Napoleon Code has influenced the laws of many countries in America. 4. In the first year you will study Roman law as it is the basis on the laws of most European countries. 5. The institute of jury still exists, in many countries. By the eleventh century many European countries had begun to use Roman law in their courts.

V. Переведите следующие предложения, обращая внимание на употребление глагола-сказуемого в страдательном залоге.

1. The law on partnership was codified by the Parliament in 1972. 2. Customs are not created by societies consciously. 3. Many general customs have been adopted by the courts and have become laws. 4. Customs are sometimes still recognized by the courts. 5. Roman law was used in the courts by many European countries. 6. Statutes are made by the Government, customs are created by the people.

VI. Заполните пропуски предлогами in, into, by, of, to.

1. The members... the jury listened... speeches and gave their verdict. 2. By A.D. 528 Roman law had become so immense that it was necessary to have a clear, systematic code... all the laws 3. Customs are not made... governments. 4. Laws are traditionally divided... two main categories. 5. Solicitors do not participate... court proceedings.

VII. Определите, является ли глагол "to have" смысловым или вспомогательным. Предложения переведите на русский язык.

1. Each country of the world has its own system of law. 2. In Greece each city had its own law. 3. The Atheans did not consider if necessary to have legal experts for non-criminal cases. 4. The members of the jury listened to the speeches made by the persons who had brought the case before them. 5. French public law has never been codified.

VIII. Определите функцию глагола "to be". Предложения переведите на русский язык.

1. The law is not enforced against young children. 2. Government-made laws are often patterned upon informal rules of conduct. 3. The task of the jury is to bring in a verdict. 4. The jury is still discussing the verdict. 5. The courts are interpreters of the law. 6. The general nature of the law is that it is enforced equally against all members of the nation.

IX. Переведите предложения, обращая внимание на степени сравнения прилагательных.

1. Many of the early rules of the common law were general customs. 2. One of the largest systems of law of which we have knowledge is the Code of Hammurabi. 3. The largest number of the jury was in Greece. 4. Roman law is one of the greatest systems which has ever existed. 5. Anglo-Saxon law is the other great system of law.

TEST II

I. Прочтите текст и письменно ответьте на вопросы, следующие за ним.

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