Agree or disagree with the following statements. Use the expressions given below.

I agree. I suppose so. That’s right/not right/true. That’s not what I’ve heard. That’s what I’ve heard. I’m not sure. I think so.

- There must be respect for the law on the part of every Ukrainian regardless of rank and position.

- It is not very easy for an ordinary citizen to refer a case to a court of law because the procedures for filing claims are very complicated.

- There are so many discrepancies (розбіжність, суперечність) in the current legislation that even the professional lawyers sometimes find it difficult to determine the jurisdiction of a case: e.g. to be handled by the administrative or the economic court.

- Our courts must serve our citizens, but in fact they serve the state.

- Ukraine will become a law-governed state only if legal punishment becomes unavoidable for everyone without exceptions, including judges and prosecutors.

You are participants of the International Seminar on Judicial System. Be ready to give a talk on one of the issues given below or of your own choice.

1) Powers of Judges: too many or too few?

2) Role of People’s Assessors in Judicial Proceedings.

3) Judges Immunity: pros and cons.

4) Judicial Reform: what should be done to improve justice?

5) Protection of Judges from Interference in their Work.

 

IV. WRITING

Write a letter to your friend in the UK or the USA about

a) the judicial system of Ukraine; or

b)judges in Ukraine.

V. OVER TO YOU

QUIZ

1. How many of these questions can you answer?

1. What are the two main areas of jurisdiction in the English judicial system?

2. Ordinary people play two important roles in the administration of justice in the UK and the USA. What are their roles?

3. What was the role of the House of Lords in the British judicial system?

4. Can a precedent be too old to be a binding precedent today?

5. You ask Mr Cole’s job and he tells you he is an attorney. Is he American or British?

6. If the US House of Representatives is equivalent to the British Commons, what is the British equivalent to the Senate?

7. What is the Old Bailey?

8. Do British judges always wear wigs in court?

 

2. Find 28 legal terms hidden in the square below: 16 read across and 12

Read down.

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Unit 2 Judiciary in the UK and USA Section 1 Judicial System in the USA

I. WARMING-UP

1. Which nouns related to courts that you already know can be used with the following adjectives?

Judicial, appellate, federal, original, civil, criminal.

 

2. Match the English words and phrases with their Ukrainian equivalents:

1) judicial review 2) error of law 3) county 4) claim 5) legal issues 6) to override 7) overlapping jurisdiction 8) under the authority of

a) позов b) частково збіжна юрисдикція c) на підставі, в силу d) судовий перегляд e) відхиляти, не брати до уваги f) помилка у праві g) правові спори h) округ

Group the following words according to the stress on the first or second syllable. Two words can be both a noun and a verb and it depends on the stress (in a noun on the first and in a verb on the second syllable).

Senate, authority, permit, justice, judicial, approve, appellate, power, review, dispute, error, supreme, issue, conflict.

 

Read the text to find the following information:

a) Six names of federal courts.

b) Three names of state courts.

c) The number of federal circuits.

d) The number of federal districts.

e) The name of the person who appoints federal judges.

f) All abbreviations and give their meanings.

TEXT 1