Legal English
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FREE INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF MOLDOVA INSTITUTE OF LINGUISTIC AND INTERCULTURAL STUDIES CHAIR OF APPLIED FOREIGN LANGUAGES
A Guide to Legal English Natalia URSUL, Olga DIMO
Chişinău - 2010
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FREE INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF MOLDOVA INSTITUTE OF LINGUISTIC AND INTERCULTURAL STUDIES CHAIR OF APPLIED FOREIGN LANGUAGES
Natalia URSUL, Olga DIMO
A Guide to Legal English
Chişinău - 2010
3
A Guide to Legal English The Guide has been written for everyone working or training to work in the legal profession. It provides basic knowledge of legal words and terms. The various exercises throughout the Guide focus on the key legal vocabulary that must be known by law learners.
Recomandat pentru publicare de către Senatul ULIM (proces verbal nr. din 2010)
Descrierea CIP a Camerei Naţionale a Cărţii Ursul, Natalia
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TABLE OF CONTENTS Instead of an Introduction………………………………………………………... 1. The Law……………………………………………………..…….……… 2. Sources of Law…………………………………………………………… 3. Courts in England and Wales…………………………..………………… 4. Overview of the Legal Professions……….……………………………… 5. Judges in the United Kingdom…………………………………………… 6. Truth As the Fundamental Principle of the Judicial Pleading…………… 7. Branches of Law……………………………………………….………… 8. Kinds of Law: Criminal and Civil………………………………………... 9. Family Law…………………………………………………………….… 10. Commercial Law………………………………………………………… 11. International Law…………………………………………………………
Supplementary Readings…………………………………………………………………………….. Bibliography
INSTEAD OF AN INTRODUCTION Language is the only instrument of science, and words are but the signs of ideas. ~ Samuel Johnson Legal English is the style of English used by lawyers and other legal professionals in the course of their work. Legal English has traditionally been the preserve of lawyers from English-speaking countries (such as the USA, UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand) which have shared common law traditions. However, due to the spread of English as the predominant language of international business, as well as its role as a legal language within the European Union, legal English is now a global phenomenon. Modern legal English is based on Standard English. However, it contains a number of unusual features. The English language can be said to have begun around 450 A.D., when boatloads of Angles, Jutes, Saxons and Frisians arrived from the Continent. These Germanic invaders spoke closely related languages, which came to form what we call Anglo-Saxon or Old English. Although the Anglo-Saxons seem to have had no distinct legal profession, they developed a type of legal language, remnants of which have survived until today. Examples include words like goods, guilt, manslaughter, murder, oath, right, sheriff, steal, swear, theft, thief, and witness. The Anglo-Saxons used not only Old English as a legal language, but also Latin. Although Latin was introduced to England during the Roman occupation around the time of Christ, it became a major force only after the arrival of Christian missionaries in 597. Latin was important for English law mainly as the language of court records. English lawyers and judges liked to express sayings or maxims about the law in Latin. An example that has survived is caveat emptor, dura lex sed lex, etc. Following the Norman conquest in 1066 the official legal language was French. By 1310 almost all acts of Parliament were in the French language. A similar evolution took place with the idiom of the courts. A vast amount of legal vocabulary is French in origin, including such basic words as appeal, attorney, court, defendant, evidence, judge, jury, justice, party, plaintiff, verdict and voir dire. The French language of lawyers became increasingly corrupt. The language of that time is often called “dog Latin” meaning a corrupted form of Latin, which consisted of a mixture of Latin, French and English words used in English sentence structures. It also contained many words which had nothing to do with Latin, but were framed from the English by merely adding a Latin termination, as merdrum for murder. In 1730, Parliament abolished Law Latin and French in legal proceedings, but many Latin and French phrases had already entered common use in legal language, and have survived to this day.
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1. Here are some Latin words and expressions used in the legal profession. How many of the meanings on the left can you match with the expressions on the right? 1. ab initio 2. actus reus 3. consensus ad idem 4. de facto 5. de novo 6. inter alia 7. pro rata 8. modus operandi 9. et seq. 10. e.g. 11. i.e.
a. in fact (taken as a matter of fact, even though the legal status may not be certain) b. an act forbidden by criminal law c. abbreviation for “exempli gratia” meaning “for example” d. a real agreement to a contract by both parties e. from the beginning f. way/method of performance g. among/ in addition to other things h. in proportion i. abbreviation for “et sequentes” meaning “and what follows” j. starting again k. abbreviation for “id est” meaning “that is”
2. The words in this exercise are used a lot in the legal profession, and appear at various stages throughout this course, so it is important you understand what they mean. Match the definitions on the left with the words on the right. Term
Definition
1. law 2. lawyer 3. legal case 4. civil 5. criminal 6. crime 7. defence 8. defendant 9. court 10. judge 11. contract 12. sentence 13. prosecute 14. prosecutor 15. appeal
a. someone who is accused of a crime in a criminal case b. to ask a high court to change its decision or sentence c. to bring someone to court to answer a criminal charge d. an adjective referring to crime e. an adjective referring to the rights and duties of private persons or organizations f. a dispute between opposing parties, being resolved by a court of law g. the arguments used when fighting a case h. body of enacted rules recognized by a community as binding; one of these rules i. an institution of dispute resolution j. an illegal activity which is punishable by law (e.g. killing, robbery) k. to give a punishment to; an order given by a judge, a punishment for a criminal declared to be guilty in a court of law l. an official who presides over a court m. a legal agreement between two or more parties n. a person who prosecutes in a trial o. a person who had studied law and can practise it
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Translation
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THE LAW Dura lex sed lex. Generally speaking, by law we understand any normative act issued by a legislative body of a state, following a pre-established procedure. But, what we understand by law is only the normative act passed in Parliament, following, of course, a pre-established procedure. Legislative initiative in the Republic of Moldova lies with the members of Parliament, the President of Moldova, the Government, and the People’s Assembly of the autonomous territorial unit of Gagauzia. Legislation is passed by the Parliament in the form of constitutional laws, organic laws and ordinary laws. The constitutional laws are aimed at revising the Constitution, they establish the organization of the political powers and the principles of government of the state, regulate the rules, the fundamental civil liberties and some important social relations, which are the juridical basis of the other laws. The constitutional laws have to be adopted with a majority of at least two thirds from the total number of the Parliament members and it is approved by referendum. The constitution is the fundamental law of a state, consisting of a system of juridical standards invested with a superior juridical force. The Constitution is the mirror of the economic structures, forms of property and state organization. The organic laws have the second juridical force after the Constitution and the constitutional laws. The purpose of the organic laws is to direct and control the electoral system, the organization of referendums, the organization of Parliament and Government and of the local administration, the organization and functioning of political parties, the general organization of the educational system, the granting of amnesty and pardon, etc. The organic laws in the Republic of Moldova shall be passed by majority vote based on at least two ballots. In the UK they are adopted with the absolute majority of the members of the two Houses of Parliament. The ordinary laws establish the most various social relations except for those which are regulated by the constitutional and organic laws. In the Republic of Moldova they shall be passed by the majority of the votes by the members present in session (in the UK they are adopted by the absolute majority of the members who are present in each House of Parliament). Problems of utmost gravity or urgency confronting the Moldovan society or State shall be resolved by referendum. The decisions of the republican referendum have supreme judicial power. Laws have three major characteristics: they are general, compulsory and permanent. The law is a conscious act of will, which is made to reach certain aims and to realise some social ideals. It is general because it is valid for all the members of a society (an exception is represented by the individual laws, which are adopted for certain specific acts). The law is compulsory because its observance does not depend on the option of those asked to conform themselves to its disposals. As a rule, the law is permanent; it is in operation until it is abrogated. The only exception is represented by the temporary laws, which are in operation up to a certain established date or an event foreseen by that law itself. BASIC VOCABULARY Law
the combination of the rules and principles of conduct promulgated
Legislative body Parliament Government Autonomous
Legislation Constitution Referendum Amnesty Pardon Ballot Utmost Will
To abrogate
by legislative authority, derived from court decisions and established by an act of Parliament, local custom or practice official authorities who make or amend or abrogate laws a national representative body having supreme legislative powers within a state body of people that sets and administers public policy, and exercises executive, political, and sovereign power through customs, institutions, and laws within a state - not controlled by others or by outside forces; independent; - independent in mind or judgment; self-directed; - independent of the laws of another state or government; selfgoverning - the act or process of making laws; - a proposed or enacted law or group of laws the system of fundamental laws and principles that prescribes the nature, functions, and limits of a government or another institution and according to which a state is governed a vote in which the people in a particular country are all asked to say whether they agree or disagree with a particular policy an act of forgiveness granted to a large group of individuals by a government, especially for political offences the release of a convicted person from punishment of an offence or crime; exempt from penalty the act, process, or method of voting, especially in secret of the highest or greatest degree, amount, or intensity; most extreme - the faculty of conscious and deliberate choice of action; volition; - a document in which you declare what you want to happen to your money and property after you die to cancel or annul especially by authority (to abrogate a law or custom)
1. Answer the following questions: l. What do we understand by law? 2. Which are the three types of laws? 3. What are the constitutional laws? 4. What is the Constitution? 5. What are the main purposes of the organic laws? 5. Who votes the ordinary laws? 6. Talk about the characteristics of the law.
2. Join pairs of synonyms. 1. purpose 2. ordinary 3. state 4. compulsory 5. liberty 6. to approve 7. conscious 8. property 9. amnesty 10. ballot 11. utmost 12. permanent 13. body
a. binding b. institution c. pardon d. maximum e. common f. aim g. freedom h. to adopt i. possession j. aware k. country l. vote m. constant
3. Fill in the blank spaces with the missing words: a) A law is passed in Parliament following a .................... procedure. b) There are three types of laws:.................... laws, ................... laws and ..............laws. c) Constitution is the .................. law of a state, is the ................. of the organization of a state. d) The ordinary laws are adopted with the ……………… majority of the members ……........ in each House of Parliament. e) The law is the conscious act of …………………. f) The law is valid for all the members of the ………………... 4 Consult your dictionary and find as many synonyms as possible for the following words: a state, legislative body,
to adopt,
purpose,
to regulate,
gravity,
to abrogate
5. What are the differences between the following words? law
the law
amnesty
pardon
6. What do you call the laws which: a) establish the organization of the political powers? b) establish the referendum? c) represent the development of the principles of the constitutional laws, but cannot confute them?
7. How many word partnerships can you form by combining the two lists below? To pass To give To pronounce Actual Contrary to To elaborate To issue To grant Absolute
(a) sentence over a veto (a) law pardon a mandate banknotes orders property
8. Read an abstract from the Constitution of the Republic of Moldova and fill in the gaps with the words in the box: members, initiated, referendum,
citizens, war, independence, law projects, freedoms
TITLE VI - REVISING THE CONSTITUTION Article 141. Initiatives for Constitutional Revision (1) A revision of the Constitution may be _________ by: a) a number of at least 200,000 voting _________ of the Republic of Moldova. The citizens initiating a revision of the Constitution must cover with the number of their listed residences at least a half of the nation's districts and municipalities, and in their turn each of those districts and municipalities must be represented by at least 5,000 registered signers in support of said initiative; b) no less than a third of the __________ of Parliament; c) the President of the Republic of Moldova; d) the Government. (2) Constitutional _______ shall be submitted to Parliament on condition that the Constitutional Court issues the appropriate recommendation supported by at least 4 judges. Article 142. Limits of Revision (1) The provisions regarding the sovereignty, ________________ and unity of the state, as well as those regarding the permanent neutrality of the state may be revised only by ____________ based on a majority vote of registered voting citizens. (2) No revision shall be allowed if it results in the suppression of the fundamental rights and ______________ of citizens, or of the guarantees of those rights and freedoms. (3) The Constitution may not be revised under a state of national emergency, martial law or __________.
9. Comment on the statements below: Laws haven’t changed since primeval times. However hard people try, laws are always insufficient. There is some eternal law. It is good for all times and places. The more laws, the less justice. The strictest law sometimes becomes the severest injustice. Good people do not need laws to tell them to act responsibly, while bad people will find a way around the laws. Nobody has a more sacred obligation to obey the law than those who make the law.
2. SOURCES OF LAW A Constitution should be short and obscure. ~ Napoleon Bonaparte Sources of law are the materials and processes out of which law is developed. In modern nation states, the basic sources of law include a Constitution, statutes, case law, and regulations issued by government agencies. The main sources of law can be classified in the following way: theoretical (philosophical), documentary, historical, formal and literary sources of law. • The historical sources of law are the acts and events in past time, which have given rise to particular principles and rules of law. In the United Kingdom and Continental European legal systems, these include the Roman law, the canon law, the feudal customs, the law merchant and the general maritime law of Western Europe. One of the basic historical sources of law in the United Kingdom is the Magna Carta, it is a charter granted by the King John in 1215, recognizing the rights and privileges of the barons, church and freemen. • The formal sources of law represent legal acts accepted by the official authourities. These are declarations by Parliament in the form of legislation, statements of law by superior courts, etc. • The term “sources” is sometimes applied to those philosophical (theoretical) principles which have influenced law, motivated legislation or prompted change. E.g., the philosophy of Marxism-Leninism has been the source of whole legal systems. • The term is used of the documentary sources refer to the documents containing the athoritative statemennts of rules of law. In the United Kingdom, these are the volumes of states, statutory instruments and of reports of case law. • The literary sources of law represent legal literature, the books to which one turns for information. These include encyclopedias, treaties, textbooks which are based on the material sources but have no authority and validity as rules of law, and no judge is bound to accept the rules stated there. Notice that the continental countries have codified their laws (reduced them to statutes). Statutes and constitutions are classified as “written or statutory law”. The English-speaking countries are based on common or case (sometimes unwritten) law. The basic characteristic of the common law is that a case once decided establishes a precedent that will be followed by the courts when similar controversies are later presented. BASIC VOCABULARY Statute
Canon law Custom Declaration
an enactment of a legislative body expressed in a formal document; - a permanent rule made by a body or institution for the government of its internal affairs the law governing the affairs of a Christian Church, esp. the law created or recognized by papal authority in the Roman Catholic Church the long-established habits or traditions of a society; convention - a formal statement or announcement; proclamation; -
-
To prompt To codify Precedent Controversy
the ruling of a judge or court on a question of law, esp in the chancery division of the High Court to give rise to by suggestion to organize or collect together (laws, rules, procedures, etc.) into a system or code a judicial decision that serves as an authority for deciding a later case dispute, argument, or debate, esp. one concerning a matter about which there is strong disagreement and esp. one carried on in public or in the press
1. Answer the following questions: 1. What are the main sources of law? 2. What are the historical sources of law that have shaped the legal system of the UK? 3. What are the formal sources of law? 4. What is the name used for writings by jurists? 5. Are legal treaties and encyclopedias accepted as binding in courts of law? 6. What have the continental countries done with their laws? 7. Is case law written or unwritten? 8. What is the basic characteristic of the common law? 9. What is the main source of law in the Republic of Moldova? 2. Join pairs of synonyms: 1. basic 2. legal 3. maritime law 4. authorities 5. case law 6. validity 7. statutory law
a. common law b. admiralty law c. main d. legality e. licit f. written law g. officials
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
3. Make sentences using the antonyms of the following words: controversy common law modern to give rise freeman 4. How many meanings can you find to these words? Custom Law Source
5. In the text, find English equivalents for the following: organ guvernamental drept canonic сarta (a drepturilor, etc.) a codifica precedent judiciar cutumă legislaţie
-
-
правительственный (государственный) орган церковное (каноническое) право хартия кодифицировать юридический прецедент общее право законодательство
6. Translate the following word combinations containing the word ‘source’ into your mother tongue: confidential source illegitimate source legal source of crime legal source legitimate source original source source of increased danger source of law sources of evidence
7. Complete the following table with the corresponding verb(s), noun(s) or adjective(s) where appropriate. Noun
Verb -----
Law
Adjective legal
To regulate Code Resolution To approve Provision ----
binding
Statute
--authoritative To declare
8. Solve the crossword to find the mystery phrase. The first word has been done for you. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1 0 1 1 1 2
l
e g m
i
s
l
a
t
i
o
t p n n r u m d t a
n
1. The act or process of making laws. 2. Of or relating to the minority; below the age of legal majority. 3. An enactment of a legislative body expressed in a formal document. 4. Justice has __________, the guilty man has been punished. (infinitive) 5. A judgment, conclusion, or resolution reached or given; verdict. 6. This intervention in another nation’s affairs has set
a _____________ which we hope other countries will not follow. 7. A demand, condition (of a contract), or stipulation formally incorporated in a document. 8. The Moldovan Constitution is the main _________ of law in the Republic of Moldova followed by codes and parliamentary statutes, and executive laws. 9. An improvement or change for the better, esp. as a result of correction of legal or political abuses or malpractices. 10. ___________ legislation (also referred to as secondary legislation or subordinate legislation) is law made by an executive authority under powers given to them by primary legislation in order to implement and administer the requirements of that primary legislation. 11. Prescribed or authorized by statute. 12. Law established by following judicial decisions given in earlier cases (2 words). 9. Fill in the blanks with the appropriate words from the box: written, important, from, laws, rules, documents, courts, to, embodied The British Constitution is just as ___________ to the British as the US Constitution is to the Americans. Nevertheless, it is not ____________; that is to say, it has never been wholly reduced ________ writing. This does not mean, however, that the British possess no important constitutional ___________. It merely means that the constitution is not ____________ in any single document, or series of documents, containing their essential constitutional _____________. Many constitutional rules are ‘laws’ in the ordinary sense, so they will be recognized and enforced by the ___________. But there are certain other ____________ which govern the
working of the constitution, which are not laws in this sense. They are called ‘conventions’, because they arise _________ usage, or agreement. 3. COURTS IN ENGLAND AND WALES There is no such thing as justice, in or out of court. ~ Clarence Darrow The United Kingdom does not have a single unified judicial system - England and Wales have one system, Scotland another, and Northern Ireland a third. However, all types of courts in the United Kingdom are administered by Her Majesty's Courts Service, an executive agency of the Ministry of Justice. There are the following types of courts in England and Wales: • The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom is the court of last resort in all matters under English law, Welsh law, Northern Irish law and Scottish civil law. The Supreme Court was established by Part 3 of the Constitutional Reform Act 2005 and started work on 1 October 2009. Until 2009 the House of Lords served as the court of last instance for most instances of UK law. It was presided over by the Lord Chancellor and consisted of three to seven Lords of Appeal in Ordinary (appointed as life peers) and peers who held high judicial office. • Court of Appeal (Criminal and Civil Division): hears appeals from the High Court and the Crown Court. • High Court of Justice: original and appellate jurisdiction in all civil and some criminal cases. It has three subdivisions: Family Division, Chancery Division (administration of estates and interpretation of wills) and the Queen’s Bench (all cases not dealt with by the other two divisions). • Crown Court: responsible for all criminal cases above the level of magistrates’ courts. All trials are held with one judge (and maybe a jury). • County Courts (300 in England and Wales): cover all types of civil suits including complaints of race and sex discrimination. Trials are conducted by a professional circuit judge and might be assisted by a jury. • Magistrates’ Courts: consist of three unpaid lay magistrates (known as ’justices of the peace’) who try minor offences without a jury. They have limited civil jurisdiction, mainly in domestic matters. About 90% of criminal investigations begin here. The legal system also includes juvenile courts (which deal with offenders under seventeen) and coroners’ courts (which investigate violent, sudden or unnatural deaths). There are administrative tribunals which make quick, cheap and fair decisions with much less formality. Tribunals deal with professional standards, disputes between individuals, and disputes between individuals and government departments (e.g., over taxation). Nota bene: Scotland has its own legal system, which has more similarities with the law system of Continental countries, civil law being based on the principles of Roman rather than English Common Law. BASIC VOCABULARY Executive
having the function or purpose of carrying plans, orders, laws, etc.,
Lord Chancellor Peer Appeal
Estate Trial
Suit Complaint Lay magistrate
Minor offence Domestic Tribunal
into practical effect the cabinet minister who is head of the judiciary in England and Wales and Speaker of the House of Lords a person who holds any of the five grades of the British nobility: duke, marquis, earl, viscount, and baron - the judicial review by a superior court of the decision of a lower tribunal; - a request for such review ; - the right to such review; - to apply to a superior court to review (a case or particular issue decided by a lower tribunal) - property or possessions; - the total extent of the real and personal property of a deceased person or bankrupt the judicial examination of the issues in a civil or criminal cause by a competent tribunal and the determination of these issues in accordance with the law of the land - a civil proceeding; lawsuit; - the act or process of suing in a court of law a statement by which a civil proceeding in a magistrates' court is commenced a member of the public who voluntarily gives up his/her time to preside over magistrates' courts. They need have no formal legal qualifications, although they are trained in court procedures. petty or less serious act of breaking the law of or involving the home or family - a court of justice or any place where justice is administered; - (in Britain) a special court, convened by the government to inquire into a specific matter; - a raised platform containing the seat of a judge or magistrate, originally that in a Roman basilica
1. Answer the following questions: 1. What is the difference between criminal and civil law in the United Kingdom? 2. Who administers courts of law in the UK? 3. What types of courts exist in the UK? 4. What is the most common type of British courts? 5. What is the ‘supreme’ court in the UK? 6. Who are lay magistrates? 7. What type of courts deals with offenders under seventeen years old?
• • • • •
2. Pair work. Which of the courts do you think would deal with: a bank robbery? a divorce case? a burglary committed by a fifteen-year-old? a drowning? a case of driving too fast? 3. Find common collocations (sometimes more than one solution is possible):
to hear to break to deliver to charge to recover to cross-examine to reverse putere executivă to return to cite lord cancelar to instruct sistem judecătoresc Ministerul Justiţiei curte de justiţie criminală (în Anglia) magistrat Camera Lorzilor delict curtea juvenilă contravenient moarte violentă proces penal proces civil a judeca un proces
damages a decision a case 4. Find in the text the an opinion English equivalents for the words a witness below: a verdict the law орган исполнительной a fee власти the jury лорд-канцлер a case судебная система Министерство юстиции Суд Короны мировой судья Палата лордов мелкое правонарушение, деликт суд по делам несовершеннолетних правонарушитель насильственная смерть уголовное дело гражданское дело слушать дело
5. Analyze the court structures in the UK, USA and RM a) The United Kingdom This figure shows a top-down representation of how the court system is structured in the United Kingdom. Test your knowledge of the system by rearranging the letters in bold to make words. 1.
Court of cuJsiet of the nEuaepor
umCosniimet
soHeu of rodsL 2.
4. Court of pAalpe (vCili
3. Court of pAlpe (amiCriln
viiinosd)
viiinosd)
5. wCnro Court
6. gHhi Court
gastaitresM'
8. tonCyu Court
7.
Court
b) The United States of America This figure shows a top-down representation of how the courts are structured in the USA. Test your knowledge of the system by rearranging the letters in bold to make words.
1.
Supreme Court
2. Courts of
5. 94 stDtiric viRwee
6. xaT Court
4. Court of
3. Court of pAplae (realdeF Circuit)
Appeal (12 cuitCris)
8.
teInrnalation edraT Court
9.
sliCma Court
italyiMr spAplae
10. Court of
Vanstere'
7. Courts of
italyiMr Courts
c) The Republic of Moldova Constitutional Court The Supreme Court of Justice Adstraminveiti adn Cilvi Colgele oomnEcic Colgele Criinaml leColge
iSx Crtous of Apapel
Cinahisu
aBtil
enBrde
huCal
Cmaort
16
15
9
4
3
Courts of justice of the first level
The Spializeecd (nomEcoic) ortusC of sticueJ
4. OVERVIEW OF THE LEGAL PROFESSIONS A good lawyer is a great liar. ~Jean Giradoux The legal profession in the United Kingdom may be roughly classified in the following way: Solicitors By the mid-1500s in England two types of lawyers had appeared: solicitors and barristers. Solicitors make up the largest branch of the legal profession in England and Wales. They are found in every town, where they deal with all the day-to-day work of preparing legal documents for buying and selling houses, making wills, etc. They are involved in commercial work relating to business e.g. dealing with commercial transactions, corporate matters, land, share and other property dealings. Solicitors also work on court cases for their clients in magistrate’s and county courts, prepare cases for barristers to present in the higher courts. Most solicitors are graduates with a law degree. They must also undertake professional training both by a one-year Legal Practice Course and then by two years under a training contract with a solicitor in practice. The controlling body is the Law Society. Barristers The traditional work of barristers is advocacy - they present cases in court, where their ability to speak and to think quickly "on their feet" is important. The barrister will be "briefed" (instructed) by a solicitor - it is the solicitor who first contacts the client and has initial conduct of the The Bar Council regulates the work of barristers case. However, the barrister is to a fair extent independent of the solicitor and can take an independent judgment as to how to conduct the case. Barristers are occasionally advocates in magistrates’ courts (more commonly in London than elsewhere), but they mainly work in the Crown Court (it is possible to have a solicitor advocate but this is still rare), the High Court or in appeal courts. Most barristers are law graduates and they undergo professional training through a Bar Vocational Course and through a pupillage with a qualified barrister. The highest level of barristers have the title QC (Queen’s Counsel) or "take silk". In court, barristers wear wigs and gowns in keeping the extreme formality of the proceedings. Judges A judge, or arbiter of justice, is a lead official who presides over a court of law. They are trained as barristers, as there is no separate training for judges. The judge hears all the witnesses and any other evidence presented by the prosecution and the defence. If the accused is convicted, then the judge pronounces the sentence. They also wear wigs and black gowns. They are usually addressed as "My Lord" or "My Lady", "Your Honour", "Your Worship".
Jury JUROR’S OATH A jury consists of twelve people (‘jurors’), who are ordinary I do solemnly, sincerely and people, chosen at random from the Electoral Register (the list of truly declare and affirm that people who can vote in elections). The jury listens to the evidence I will faithfully try the given in court in certain criminal cases and decides whether the defendant and give a true defendant is guilty or innocent. If the person is found guilty, the verdict according to the punishment is passed by the presiding judge. The jury is rarely evidence. used in civil cases. Magistrates Magistrates (also known as Justices of the Peace or JPs) judge cases in the lower courts. They are usually unpaid and have no formal legal qualifications, but they are respectable people who are given some training. Coroners A coroner is a public official responsible for the investigation of violent, sudden, or suspicious deaths and inquiries into treasure-trove. They have medical or legal training (or both). Clerks of the Court Clerks look after administrative and legal matters in the courtroom. BASIC VOCABULARY Transaction Law Society
Advocacy To contact Bar Council Pupillage Proceedings Witness Evidence
-
something that is transacted, esp. a business deal or negotiation; - the act of obtaining and paying for an item or service (in England or Scotland) the professional body of solicitors, established in 1825 and entrusted with the registration of solicitors (requiring the passing of certain examinations) and the regulation of professional conduct the act of pleading or arguing in favor of something, such as a cause, idea, or policy; active support to get in touch with; communicate with in a Commonwealth country and in the Republic of Ireland, is a professional body that regulates the profession of barristers together with the Inns of Court. the period spent by a newly called barrister in the chambers of a member of the bar - legal action; litigation. Often used in the plural; - the instituting or conducting of legal action a person who has seen or can give first-hand evidence of some event esp. in the court of law matter produced before a court of law in an attempt to prove or disprove a point in issue, such as the statements of witnesses, documents, material objects, etc
Treasure-trove
At random
valuable articles, such as coins, bullion, etc., found hidden in the earth or elsewhere and of unknown ownership. In 1996 treasure was defined in the UK as any item over 300 years old and containing more than 5% of precious metal in a purposeless fashion; not following any prearranged order
1. Answer the following questions: 1. What types of legal professions are mentioned in the text? 2. What are the two types of lawyers in the United Kingdom? What is the difference between them? 3. Why barristers are called ‘take silk’? 4. What is the judge’s role in a proceeding? 5. Is there a separate training for judges? 6. Who are JPs? 7. What are coroners’ duties? 8. What are the main branches of the legal profession in the Republic of Moldova? 2. Find synonyms in the text for the following words and expressions: 1. authority having the power to control something _____________________________ 2. information proving something _____________________________ 3. a member of a jury _____________________________ 4. guiding, directing or influencing official _____________________________ 5. to pronounce a sentence _____________________________ 1. 2. 3. 4.
5. 6.
3. Choose the correct term for each legal profession mentioned in the text. an officer acting as a judge in the lower courts; a public official with authority to hear and decide cases in law court; a group of people who swear to give a true decision on issues in a law court; an official who investigates the cause of any death thought to be violent or unnatural; a lawyer who has the right to speak and argue in higher law courts; a lawyer who prepares legal documents, advises clients on legal matters and speaks for them in lower law courts.
4. Complete the following sentences with the correct variant ( a, b or c). (a) as lawyers, solicitors and barristers (b) as solicitors and barristers (c) as solicitors, barristers and judges 2. The controlling body for solicitors is (a) the Law Society (b) the Inns of Court (c) the Bar Council 3. In the case of solicitors the practical training takes the form of: (a) one-year training (b) two-year training (c) three-year training 4. All lawyers undergo an extensive period of education through: (a) practical training (b) formal academic learning (c) both 5. The barrister’s task is: (a) to present the case (b) to express the arguments on the client’s behalf (c) both 1. Lawyers may exercise their profession
6. Solicitors
(a) deal directly with the client (b) ensure that the barrister chosen is properly and fully instructed (c) both 7. Magistrates usually judge cases in (a) County courts (b) lower courts (c) Crown Court 8. Coroners inquire into (a) violent or natural deaths (b) treasure-trove (c) both 5. Study the following table and supply the missing information. SOLICITOR Status and definition A legal practitioner in of the profession the UK. Practising solicitors must possess certificate issued annually by the Law Society. Solicitors form much the larger part of the English legal profession. Controlling body
Education and training
Duties
BARRISTER
JUDGE
6. Label the following as British English (BE) or American English (AE). Some could be both British and American. * lawyer * advocate * solicitor * counsel
_______________ _______________ _______________ _______________
* counselor * attorney * barrister * writer
_______________ _______________ _______________ _______________
7. Circle the words related to law to describe major areas of legal practice. company market target regulation tax
relevant
state
cooperative labour common copyright
corporate finance real development
criminal contract public
8. Underline the appropriate words or phrases to finish these sentences. ►Law forms/firms offer complete legal services for domestic and international clientele/customers. ►Lawyers draw up/decide on documents such as contracts, deeds/drafts and wills/warranties. ►They typically alternate/arbitrate problems and disputes between players/parties. ►Lawyers can fold/file a case of wrong-doing where someone wants to sue/to sew for a cash settlement. ►When a person doesn’t want to talk directly to the other, attorneys often speak in spite of/on behalf of someone.
9. Look at the picture of an American court. Match the numbers in the picture with the words below: jury reporter court
robe gavel jury box
court officer transcript defendant
witness bench judge
prosecuting attorney defence attorney witness stand
10. Fill in the blanks with the appropriate words from the box: THE FIRST WOMEN LAWYERS amendments lawyers
professions legal
practised fight
support degree
equality
Since olden times, __________ profession was considered to be a “gentlemen’s” one. Women first began to enter the legal _____________in the late nineteenth century, at a time when two reform movements were significant. One was the movement for women’s _____________and the emergence of modern professions and of ideas about “professionalism” in law. The first women ____________ appeared in the United States a few years after the Civil War. During the civil war many men left to __________, so universities admitted more women students and teachers. Thus the first women lawyers appeared. They included Arabella Mansfield, who became the first woman formally admitted to a state bar when she gained admission in Iowa in 1869, and Ada Kepley, the first American woman to obtain a university law __________ in 1870. Although admitted to the bar, they never actually __________ law, instead focusing on teaching and other activist work.
A few years later, however, the Illinois legislature enacted amending legislation to permit women’s admission to the bar, and a number of other American states enacted similar ______________. Thus, by the late 1880s there was a sufficient number of American women lawyers to establish the Equity Club, a correspondence club that provided information and ___________ to women lawyers all over the United States for several years. 11. Read the text carefully and comment on the advice given to jurors. Be ready to explain the relevance of each item: Do’s and Don’ts for Jurors
During trial:
1. DO arrive on time and DO return promptly after breaks and lunch. The trial cannot
proceed until all jurors are present. 2. DO pay close attention to witnesses. Concentrate both on what the witness say and on
3. 4. 5. 6.
7. 8.
9.
their manner while testifying. If you cannot hear what is being said, raise your hand and let the judge know. DO keep an open mind all through the trial. DO listen carefully to the instructions read by the judge. Remember, it is your duty to accept what the judge says about the law to be applied to the case. DON'T try to guess what the judge thinks about the case. Remember that rulings from the bench do not reflect the judge's personal views. DON'T talk about the case, or issues raised by the case with anyone – including other jurors – while the trial is going on, and DON'T let others talk about the case in your presence, even family members. If someone insists on talking to you or another juror about the case, please report the matter to a court employee. These rules are designed to help you keep an open mind during the trial. DON'T talk to the lawyers, parties, or witnesses about anything. This will avoid the impression that something unfair is going on. DON'T try to uncover evidence on your own. Never, for example, go to the scene of an event that was part of the case you are hearing. You must decide the case only on the basis of evidence admitted in court. DON'T let yourself get information about the case from the news media or any other outside source. Even if news reports are accurate and complete, they cannot substitute for your own impressions about the case. If you accidentally hear outside information about the case during trial, tell a member of the court staff in private.
During deliberation: 1. DO work out differences between yourself and other jurors through complete and fair
discussions of the evidence and of the judge's instructions. DON'T lose your temper. 2. DON'T mark or write on exhibits (documents). 3. DON'T try to guess what might happen if the case you have heard is appealed.
Appellate courts deal only with legal questions--they will not change your verdict if you decided the facts based on proper evidence and instructions. 4. DON'T play cards, read, or engage in any other diversion. 5. DON'T talk to anyone about your deliberations or about the verdict until the judge discharges the jury. After discharge, you may discuss the verdict and the deliberations with anyone, including the media, the lawyers, or your family. But DON'T feel obligated to do so – no juror can be forced to talk without a court order.
5. JUDGES IN THE UNITED KINGDOM A good judge conceives quickly, judges slowly. ~ Proverb The United Kingdom is almost unique in having not only two different kinds of lawyers but also of judges. The two kinds of judges are Magistrates and High Court Judges. Magistrates in England and Wales may be subdivided into: lay magistrates and legal professionals permanently employed by the Ministry of Justice (United Kingdom). The vast majority of judges are unpaid. They are called Magistrates, Lay Magistrates or Justices of the Peace (JPs). They are about 30 000 in the UK, half of them are women. They are volunteers from all walks of life who deal with about 95 per cent of criminal cases in England and Wales, including many of the crimes that most affect the public, such as antisocial behaviour. In order to become a magistrate you need to be able to commit at least 26 half-days per year to sit in court. Magistrates are not paid for their services, so they give up their time voluntarily. Magistrates can be appointed from the age of 18 and they must retire at 70. However, the Lord Chancellor will not generally appoint anyone aged 65 or over. Selection is based entirely on merit and applications are welcome from all sections of the community regardless of gender, ethnicity, religion or sexual orientation. You don't need legal or academic qualifications to be a magistrate and full training is provided. The initial training will normally last six days (18 hours). As was mentioned, no formal qualifications are required but magistrates need intelligence, common sense and the capacity to act fairly. Police officers, traffic wardens and members of the armed forces, as well as their close relatives will not be appointed. The second group, professional magistrates, are nowadays known as District Judges (Magistrates' Court) or Stipendiary Magistrates (which is to say, magistrates who receive a stipend or payment). Unlike lay magistrates, District Judges sit alone and have the authority to sit in any magistrates' court. Magistrates are selected by special committees in every town and district. Nobody, even the Magistrates themselves, knows who is on the special committee in their area. The committee tries to select Magistrates from as wide a variety of professions and social classes as possible. A small proportion of judges are not Magistrates. They are formally called Justices of Her Majesty's High Court of Justice or simply High Court Judges; they deal with the most serious crimes, such as those for which the criminal might be sent to prison for more than a year. High Court Judges, unlike Magistrates, are paid salaries by the state and have considerable legal training. High Court judges are appointed by The Queen on the advice of the Prime Minister and Lord Chancellor. Under the Constitutional Reform Act (2005) a new Judicial Appointments Commission has removed the appointment of judges from the political arena. Formerly, High Court judges could only be appointed from among barristers of at least 10 years' standing. However, a typical appointee has about of twenty to thirty years'
experience as a lawyer. Until 2009 only four solicitors have been appointed as High Court judges - Michael Sachs in 1993, Lawrence Collins in 2000, Henry Hodge in 2004, and Gary Hickinbottom in 2008. BASIC VOCABULARY Lay Anti-social To retire Ethnicity Common sense Traffic warden Standing Appointee
non-professional or non-specialist; amateur contrary or injurious to the interests of society in general to give up or to cause (a person) to give up his work, a post, etc., esp. on reaching pensionable age (in Britain and Australia usually 65 for men, 60 for women) A social group with a shared history, sense of identity, geography and cultural roots which may occur despite racial difference plain ordinary good judgment; sound practical sense a person who is appointed to supervise road traffic and report traffic offences - length/period of existence, experience, etc. - the right or capacity to initiate a suit one who is appointed to an office or position
1. Answer the following questions: 1. What are the main types of judges in the UK? 2. What kind of people are Magistrates? 3. Why and how are they selected? 4. Who selects Lay Magistrates and what is unusual about this system? 5. What is the difference between Lay and Stipendiary Magistrates? 6. Who would judge a person who committed a crime like murder? 7. Who can be appointed as a High Court Judge? 8. Why are so few solicitors appointed as High Court Judges? 2. Are these statements true or false? T/F 1. In the United Kingdom there are two types of judges called Magistrates and High Court Judges. T/F 2. All magistrates are unpaid. T/F 3. To become a magistrate a person has to devote not less than 1 month per year to sitting in court. T/F 4. People of all professions can be appointed as magistrates. T/F 5. Stipendiary Magistrates sit alone and have the authority to sit in any magistrates' court. T/F 6. The committee tries to draw Magistrates from as minimal variety of professions and social classes as possible. T/F 7. High Court judges could only be appointed from among solicitors of at least 10 years’ standing.
3. In the text, find English equivalents for the following words and expressions: judecător de pace voluntar Lord cancelar ofiţer de poliţie forţe militare magistrat salariat Maiestatea Sa beneficiar, persoană numită într-un post
мировой судья доброволец, волонтёр Лорд-канцлер офицер полиции вооружённые силы магистрат, получающий жалованье Её Величество бенефициарий, назначаемое лицо
4. Read Socrates’ saying. What judge’s qualities are mentioned? Who is a good/successful judge to you? Would you like to become a judge? Why? “Four things belong to a judge: to hear courteously, to answer wisely, to consider soberly, and to decide impartially.” (Socrates) 5. Read the following abstract from the Constitution of the Republic of Moldova. Fill in the blanks with the appropriate words from the box: president tenure
law successfully impartial except
incompatible reaching
expiration may
Status of Judges (1) Judges sitting in the courts of _________ are independent, ___________ and irremovable under the law. (2) Judges sitting in the courts of law shall be appointed, under the law, by the ______________ of the Republic of Moldova upon proposal submitted by the Superior Council of Magistrates. Judges who ________________ passed the contest shall be firstly appointed for a 5-year term of office. After the _____________ of the 5-year term of office, the judges shall be appointed to this position until ____________ the age limit fixed under the law. (3) The Presidents, Vice-Presidents and judges of the Supreme Court of Justice shall be appointed by Parliament following a proposal submitted by the Superior Council of Magistrates. They must have a working _____________ as judge of at least 10 years. (4) Judges shall be promoted and transferred only at their own consent. (5) Judges ___________ be punished as provided for under the rule of law. (6) The office of judge shall be _______________ with the exercise of any other public or private remunerated position, _____________ for the didactic and scientific activity.
6. Study the following table and supply the missing information, comparing judges’ service in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Moldova. UK
RM
Status and definition of judges Controlling body
Education and training
Judges’ appointment
Compatibility with the exercise of other positions
7. Read the following text and answer the questions: 1. What are the main types of judges in the USA? 2. What do the surrogate judges deal with? 3. How are subordinate jurisdiction judges called? 4. Who are referees? 5. What type of judges does not receive the honorific forms of address? Judges in the United States In the United States, a judge is addressed as "Your Honor" or "Judge" when presiding over the court. The judges of the Supreme Court of the United States are called "justices" or "judges of the peace". New York judges who deal with guardianships, trusts and estates are known as "surrogates".
A senior judge, in U.S. practice, is a retired judge who handles selected cases for a governmental entity while in retirement, on a part-time basis. Subordinate or inferior jurisdiction judges in U.S. legal practice are sometimes called magistrates, although in the federal court of the United States, they are called magistrate judges. Subordinate judges in U.S. legal practice appointed on a case-by-case basis, particularly in cases where a great deal of detailed evidence must be reviewed, are often called "masters" or "special masters". Judges of courts of specialized jurisdiction (such as bankruptcy courts or juvenile courts) were sometimes known officially as “referees”, but the use of this title is in decline. Judges sitting in courts of equity in common law systems (such as judges in the equity courts of Delaware) are called "Chancellors". Individuals with judicial responsibilities, who report to an executive branch official, rather than being a part of the judiciary, are often called "administrative law judges" in U.S. practice and commonly make initial determinations regarding matters such as eligibility for government benefits, regulatory matters, and immigration determinations. Judges who derive their authority from a contractual agreement of the parties to a dispute, rather than a governmental body are called arbitrators, and typically do not receive the honorific forms of address, and do not have the symbolic trappings, of a publicly appointed judge.
8. Solve the crossword. ACROSS 3. A group of, usually twelve, people sworn to deliver a true verdict according to the evidence upon a case presented in a court of law. 6. A person or thing that causes annoyance or bother; a monthly meeting that was more ___________ than pleasure. 9. Thieves’ World (abbreviation). 10. An act or omission prohibited and punished by law. 14. A minor official, such as a justice of the peace, having administrative and limited judicial authority. DOWN 1. A person against whom an action or claim is brought in a court of law. 2. A group of, usually twelve, people sworn to deliver a true verdict according to the evidence upon a case presented in a court of law 4. A rule or body of rules made by the legislature. 5. The unlawful premeditated killing of one human being by another. 7. A magistrate who receives stable salary. 8. The place where legal proceedings and trials are heard. 11. The duration of holding a position, standing. 12. Military forces of a nation or nations, including the army, navy, air force, marines, etc.
1
2 3 4
6
5
7 9
8 1 0
1 1 1 2
1 4
6. TRUTH AS THE FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLE OF THE JUDICIAL PLEADING If you tell the truth you don't have to remember anything. ~ Mark Twain The term ‘truth’ has no single definition about which the majority of professional philosophers and scholars agree, and various theories of truth continue to be debated. From the juridical point of view truth represents an accurate reflection of the objective reality in thinking, by comparing what exists with what really happens. There are three kinds of truth: objective, relative and absolute. The objective truth reflects the existing reality, which is independent from the human consciousness. The criterion of truth and its sources are based upon the socialhistorical experience of humankind, that is why finding out the truth is a continuous process unlimited in time one. The relative truth is the reflection of reality, which is just, but approximate. Scientific facts represent examples of relative truth. Using the relative and objective truths, human consciousness permanently aims to the absolute truth. The concept of absolute truth - what it is and whether it exists - has been debated among many different groups of people. Philosophers find themselves in troubles trying to define the absolute truth. For example, Plato believed that absolute truth existed, but that truth on earth was merely a shadow of great forms of the absolute truth existing in the universe. Alternatively, many believe in relative truth, where facts may vary depending on the circumstances. Along the history, all the conceptions, systems and schools were appreciated through their attitude towards the truth. Truth is the key to any lawsuit or juridical proceeding. At the basis of all the branches of the studies of law lies the principle of absolute truth, especially in the procedural law, where complete concordance between the facts regarding the cause and the conclusion of the criminal lawsuit is demanded. A person who has to give evidence in a trial will have to swear an oath that he will tell the truth and nothing but the truth. He is required not to make a false statement or pass the truth over in silence. What we mean by telling the truth is that a person says a true sentence and not a false one. As Aristotle said, “a true statement is the one by which you say that it is what it is and that it is not what it is not". In the Middle Ages, philosophers sustained that truth is the accord between object and intellect. Legally speaking, we have the right to sustain that our opinions are true, but we must be able to motivate them, seriously and firmly. BASIC VOCABULARY Scholar Debate Accurate Just
a learned person, esp. in the humanities a formal discussion, as in a legislative body, in which opposing arguments are put forward; discussion or dispute faithfully representing or describing the truth - fair or impartial in action or judgment; - conforming to high moral standards; honest
Lawsuit Procedural law Oath Accord 1. 2.
3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.
a proceeding in a court of law brought by one party against another, esp. a civil action law that comprises rules and prescribes the procedures and methods according to which a court hears and determines what happens in civil lawsuit or criminal proceedings a solemn pronouncement to affirm the truth of a statement or to pledge a person to some course of action, often involving a sacred being or object as witness agreement or consent of opinion
1. Answer the following questions: What is truth? What kinds of truth did you read about? What does objective truth deal with? What is relative truth? Does absolute truth exist according to Plato’s point of view? Do you think absolute truth exists? What is a true statement in Aristotle’s way of thinking? How did medieval philosophers define truth? 2. In the text, find synonyms to the following words and make sentences with
them: origin indeed
mankind precise
principle scientist standpoint
perfect to express accordance
3. Join pairs of antonyms. 1. truth 2. false 3. objective 4. reality 5. majority 6. absolute 7. disagreement 8. respective
a. fiction b. concordance c. lie d. irrespective e. subjective f. partial g. true h. minority
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
4. Fill in the blank spaces with the missing words: a) Truth demands a complete …………………. of facts. b) The relative truth is the ………………, but ………………. reflection of reality. c) Many believe in relative truths, where facts may …………. depending on the circumstances. d) To say truth means to say a …………….. sentence, not a false one. e) Scientific facts represent ……………… truth.
f) The process of finding out truth is ………………. and ……………….. in time. g) Before giving evidence in a trial, the witness must say the …………., the whole …………….. and nothing but the …………………. 5. In the text, find English equivalents for the following: a depune mărturie conştiinţă umană a trece sub tăcere a depune un jurămînt adevăr relativ cauza a descoperi adevărul afirmaţie falsă
давать свидетельские показания человеческое сознание обходить молчанием, утаивать приносить присягу относительная истина причина выяснить правду ложное утверждение
6. Use the following expressions in sentences of your own: to give evidence to tell the truth to pass something over in silence judicial proceedings 7. How many meanings can you find to these words? sentence
firm cause 8. Role-play: Finding out the truth. a) Provide a term for the following definition. A general pardon, especially for offences against a government; a period during which a law is suspended to allow offenders to admit their crime without fear of prosecution – is called
b) And now examine the cases and be ready to defend your view-point. The phrases in the boxes will help you. … Because of this… … On account of this… … That’s the reason why…
NEW PRESIDENT OFFERS AMNESTY! He has called a meeting of his advisors (you) to decide which prisoners should be released. The president has provided each group of advisors with a list of potential prisoners. He wants his advisors to recommend which SIX prisoners should be released from jail. Examine the facts of nine prisoners carefully and present your decisions in a written formal letter. Memo To: Amnesty Committee Advisors From: The Office of the President Re: List of Prisoners Note: To preserve the prisoner’s identity from the press, names have been withheld from this memo. Here follows a list of the nine prisoners up for a possibility of amnesty. All are considered as very little risk to society. Please inform the President of your final decision. Number 1 is a 20-year-old student. He broke into the police’s computer system and tried to erase his previous criminal record (some parking tickets). He was also charged with fraud after police discovered he had hacked into a pizza company’s computer and ordered himself free pizzas for over a year. He is serving a five-year sentence. Number 2 is a 55-year-old engineer. He was charged with manslaughter after he hit and killed a child while driving drunk. He has no previous criminal record. He is serving a ten-year sentence. Number 3 is a 30-year-old mother of two. She was charged with drug dealing when police found half a kilogram of marijuana in her apartment. She says it was for personal use, but drug laws are very strict in this country. She is serving a five-year sentence. Number 4 is a 24-year-old student and activist. He was arrested during an antiglobalization protest and charged with terrorism. He is a leader of a non-violent social movement and did not participate directly in any violent acts during his protests. He is serving a three-year sentence. Number 5 is a 40-year-old businessman. He was charged with fraud when police discovered that he had stolen over $2 million from his company using a false system of accounting. He is serving a ten-year sentence. Number 6 is an unemployed woman. She was arrested for stealing food from a supermarket. This was not the first time that she had stolen food, and she had been warned. She is serving an eight-year sentence.
Number 7 is a prisoner of war. He was taken prisoner during the last war with the country’s neighbours six years ago. He was a marine and engineer and was responsible for bombing a small village in the mountains. He says he was following orders. The two countries are now at peace. He is serving a twenty-year sentence. Number 8 is a landlord. He was arrested for keeping a block of flats in very dirty, and some cases dangerous conditions. He was also renting the apartments to illegal immigrants and charging a lot of money for them. He is serving a seven-year sentence. Number 9 is a politician. She was a leading member of the Ultra political party, an extreme group who believed that criminals should be executed and immigrants expelled from the country. The Ultra party is very weak now. She was arrested for stealing party funds and is serving a ten-year jail sentence. 9. Comment on the statements below: The lawyer's truth is not Truth, but consistency or a consistent expediency. (Henry David Thoreau) A lawyer will do anything to win a case, sometimes he will even tell the truth. (Barton Holyday) It takes a good shovelful of earth to bury the truth. (Proverb) Children and fools cannot lie. (Proverb)
7. BRANCHES OF LAW Where you find the laws most numerous, there you will find also the greatest injustice. ~ Arcesilaus Stop & Think. What legal subjects do you study this year? In groups brainstorm as many subjects as you can think of which make up a law degree. In order to understand the many different aspects of law it is helpful to look at the various areas or classifications of law. There are many legal principles or rules of law that are found in statutes, cases decided by courts, and other sources that are applied by the courts in order to decide lawsuits. These principles of law are classified as substantive law. On the other hand, the legal procedures that provide how a lawsuit is begun, how the trial is conducted, how appeals are taken, and how a judgment is enforced are called procedural law. In other words, substantive law is that part of law that defines rights, and procedural law establishes the procedures according to which rights are enforced and protected. Law is also frequently classified into areas of public and private law. Public law includes those branches of law that affect the public generally; private law includes the areas of the law that are concerned with the relationship between individuals. Public law may be divided into three general categories: 1. constitutional law, which concerns with the study, interpretation, and application of a state’s constitution, including the issues of governance, the powers of the branches of government, civil liberties, and civil rights. 2. administrative law, which concerns with different governing administrative agencies - that is, the agencies created by Congress or state legislatures. 3. criminal law, which consists of rules and statutes that forbid certain conduct and provides punishment for violation of these laws. Private law is the branch of law that deals with the relationships between individuals in an organized society. Private law considers the subjects of contracts, torts and property. Each of these subjects includes several branches of law. For example, the law of contracts may be subdivided into the subjects of sales, commercial paper, business organizations. The law of torts is the primary source of litigation in country. A tort is a wrong committed by one person against another person or his property. In a civilized society people who injure other persons or their property should compensate them for their loss. The law of property may be thought as a branch of the law of contracts. In any case property is the basic ingredient in our economic system, and the subject matter may be subdivided into several areas such as wills, trusts, and estate in land, personal property and many more. BASIC VOCABULARY To apply To enforce Governance
to put to practical use; to put in an application or request to ensure and impose observance of or obedience to (a law, decision, etc.) the action, manner, or system of governing/controlling
Legislature Sale Wrong (n.) Loss Trust Estate in land
a body of persons vested with power to make, amend, and repeal laws the exchange of goods, property, or services for an agreed sum of money or credit violation of another person's rights, rendering the offender liable to a civil action, as for breach of contract or tort the act or an instance of losing an arrangement whereby a person to whom the legal title to property is conveyed (the trustee) holds such property for the benefit of those entitled to the beneficial interest an interest in land that is provided with certain rights and obligations, and carries a right to occupy or receive the benefit of the land
1. Answer the following questions: 1. What is substantive law according to the classification of law? 2. What is procedural law? 3. Into what areas is law frequently classified? 4. What does public law include? 5. Into what three general categories may public law be divided? 6. What is private law? 7. What is the primary source of litigation? 8. What is property? 2. Are the following statements true or false? Correct the false ones. T/F 1. In order to understand the many different aspects of law it is useful to look at few classifications of law. T/F 2. Law is often classified into areas of public and constitutional law. T/F 3. Public law may be divided into three general categories: constitutional, administrative and penal law. T/F 4. Civil law consists of rules and statutes that forbid certain conduct and provides punishment for the violation of these rules. T/F 5. Private law includes the subjects of contracts, torts and property. T/F 6. A tort is a wrong committed by one person against another one or his property. T/F 7. Property is the main ingredient in any economic system.] 3. Translate the following words and word combinations: procedural law proprietate privată
частная собственность commercial paper to provide punishment for violation of law
drept public şi privat
публичное и частное право to decide lawsuits
prejudiciu sistem economic
деликт/гражданское правонарушение экономический строй legal principles subject of sale
drept contractual
договорное право, договорно-обязательственное право
4. How many meanings can you find to these words? wrong subject body 5. Match the terms with their definitions:
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.
common law English law judge-made/case law civil law maritime law business/commercial/trade law 7. law of equity 8. family law 9. patent law 10. penal law 11. Roman law 12. international law 13. labour law
a. the system of jurisprudence of ancient Rome,
codified under Justinian and forming the basis of many modern legal systems b. law established by following judicial decisions given in earlier cases c. the legal system of England and Wales, that is the basis of common law legal systems used in most Commonwealth countries and the United States d. the body of law based on judicial decisions and custom, as distinct from statute law f. the law that consists of the totality of the juridical standards regarding business activity g. law that deals with family relations e. laws and regulations, including international agreements and treaties, which exclusively govern activities at sea or in any navigable waters h. the law of a state relating to private and civilian affairs i. branch of jurisprudence that studies the laws governing patents j. the body of law dealing with the constitution of offences and the punishment of offenders k. the set of legal principles, in jurisdictions following the English common law tradition, which supplement strict rules of law where their application would operate harshly, so as to achieve what is sometimes referred to as "natural justice" l. those areas of law which appertain to the relationship between employers and employees and between employers and trade unions m. the totality of standards and principles that regulates the relationships between states and international organizations
6. Match the elements of the phrases from the text: 1. public law includes bodies of law that 2. relationship between individuals 3. punishment is provided for 4. for injuring people you have to 5. the property law is often thought as 6. subjects of the property law are
a. compensate their loss b. affect the public c. a branch of the law of contracts d. wills, trusts, estates in land, etc. e. violation of law f. are subjects of private law
7. Role-Play. A Telephone Conversation A visiting lecturer from Australia is coming to your law faculty to give a series of lectures. He needs some information about your courses. He is calling the Faculty Office and speaks to a student who is working there part-time. If you are a student, study the following information: You are a student of law, working part-time in the Faculty Office. You receive a phone call from an Australian professor who is coming to your faculty next week for a series of lectures and wants to enquire about courses taught in your faculty. Answer the professor’s questions and offer to send an e-mail message with detailed explanations of the courses that are of particular interest to him. Remember to check the e-mail address If you are a professor, this information will help you: You are a Professor of Civil Law at the University of Canberra, Australia, and are coming to Moldova next week to give a series of lectures to 1st-year students of law. In order to prepare your lectures, you would like some background information on the courses taught in your university. Call the Faculty Office, explaining who you are and asking for the relevant information. Prepare what you are going to enquire about. Ask for details concerning the courses you are interested With a classmate, write an e-mail message to the Australian Professor and give him details about your curriculum.
8. Translate the following text into English. Sistemul legal Ramurile de bază ale sistemului de drept sunt constituite din: dreptul constituţional, dreptul administrativ, dreptul financiar, dreptul funciar, dreptul civil, dreptul familiei, dreptul muncii, dreptul penal, dreptul procedural-civil proceduralpenal, etc. Dreptul statal este cel mai important dintre toate ramurile sistemului legal, deoarece dreptul legal (cîteodata denumindu-se şi constituţional) formează principiile de bază, care de fapt sunt baza altor ramuri legale. Partea de bază a normelor dreptului constituţional al Republicii Moldova sunt stipulate în Constituţia Republicii Moldova, de asemenea şi în alte acte juridice (de exemplu, în drept de cetăţenie). Normele dreptului constituţional consolidează baza constituţională a sistemului social, a drepturilor umane, sistemul puterii de stat şi altor aspecte ale organizării de stat.
Правовая система Правовая система включает в себя следующие основные отрасли: государственное, административное, финансовое, земельное, гражданское, семейное, трудовое, уголовное, гражданское процессуальное и уголовнопроцессуальное и т.п. Ведущее место в системе права занимает государственное право. Это связано с тем, что государственное (иногда оно именуется конституционным) право формирует основные принципы, которые составляют основу для других отраслей права. Значительная часть норм конституционного права Республики Молдова содержится в Конституции Республики Молдова, а также в других законодательных актах (например, в законах о гражданстве). Нормы конституционного права закрепляют основы конституционного строя, правовое положение личности, систему государственной власти и другие вопросы государственного устройства.
8. KINDS OF LAW: CRIMINAL AND CIVIL Good people do not need laws to tell them to act responsibly, while bad people will find a way around the laws. ~Plato There are two main kinds of law: CRIMINAL LAW and CIVIL LAW. Constitutional law affects both of them. Criminal law In a criminal case the state prosecutes the accused person for committing a crime or breaking the law. 'Prosecutes' means the state makes a charge against someone. If the court finds the person guilty, the person can be sent to prison, or fined, or punished in some other way. Examples of different crimes and breaking the law are: • rape • public violence • assault • theft • trespass. Usually the state is not the complainant (the one making a charge). The state prosecutes, but any person or individual can be the complainant and lay a charge against another person or against the state. A criminal case can be brought against anyone who broke the law, including a person who works for the state, such as a member of the police or defence force. So if, for example, you are unlawfully assaulted or shot by a member of the police or defence force you can bring a criminal case against them. Civil law Civil law is the set of rules for your private relationships with other people. The state does not take sides in a dispute between private people. Examples of what civil law deals with are: • marriage and divorce • if someone owes you money • rent agreements • evictions • damage to property • injuries to people • disputes over a hire-purchase agreement. A civil case is usually brought by a person (called the plaintiff) who feels that he or she was wronged by another person (called the defendant). If the plaintiff wins the case, the court usually orders the defendant to pay compensation (money). Sometimes the court may also order a defendant to do, or stop doing, something - for example, to stop damaging the plaintiff's property. The state may be involved in a civil case as a party if it is suing or being sued for a wrongful act - for example, if government property is damaged or a government official injures somebody without good reason.
Criminal and civil actions Sometimes a person's act may lead to both criminal and civil actions. For example, Piet Fick hits one of the workers in his factory. This is a crime of assault. The state will prosecute him in the criminal court if the worker lays a charge against him. If there is enough proof to show that he is guilty, he may be punished by the state. But Piet Fick ALSO causes pain to the worker. This is a damage that one person does to another person. The injured worker could sue Mr Fick for damages and make him pay compensation for medical expenses, lost wages and pain and suffering. This will be a civil claim for damages through the civil court. BASIC VOCABULARY Criminal law Charge Fine Trespass Complainant Plaintiff Civil law To owe Agreement Eviction Defendant To sue Assault Proof
the law that deals with the constitution of offences and the punishment of offenders a formal accusation brought against a person stating the crime that he is alleged to have committed (noun) a certain amount of money exacted as a penalty; (verb) to impose to pay a certain amount of money exacted as a penalty the intentional and wrongful invasion of another's real property a person who makes a formal charge in the court of law a person who brings a civil action in a court of law (also known as claimant) the law of a state relating to private and civilian affairs to be under an obligation to pay (someone) to the amount of; to be in debt a properly executed and legally binding accord or contract (in civil law) deprivation of buyer’s property according to the court decision a person against whom an action or claim is brought in a court of law to institute legal proceedings (against) a violent attack, either physical or verbal - any evidence that establishes or helps to establish the truth, validity, quality, etc., of something; - the whole body of evidence upon which the verdict of a court is based
1. Answer the following questions: 1. 2. 3. 4.
What kinds of law do you know? What do we mean by the term ‘to prosecute’? What can happen with a person if he/she is found guilty by the court of law? Give examples of criminal actions.
5. 6. 7. 8.
What do we mean by ‘civil law’? Give examples of civil actions. Who brings a civil case in the court of law? What are the basic differences between criminal and civil law? 2. Join pairs of antonyms.
1. to be released from prison 2. to sell 3. defendant 4. divorce 5. to observe/follow the law 6. juridical person 7. to lose an action
a. marriage b. to win a case c. individual d. plaintiff e. to break the law f. to be sent to prison g. to purchase
3. Find synonyms for the following words: 1. wages ___________________________________________________________________________ 2. prison ___________________________________________________________________________ 3. to rent ___________________________________________________________________________ 4. to break the law ___________________________________________________________________________ 5. individual ___________________________________________________________________________ 6. case ___________________________________________________________________________ 7. defence ___________________________________________________________________________ 4. Find in the text the English equivalents for the words below: plângere a comite o crimă a încălca legea a plăti despăgubiri /recompensa (pentru) a amenda a trimite pe cineva la închisoare
иск cовершить преступление нарушать закон выплачивать компенсацию налагать штраф сесть в тюрьму/быть приговорённым к тюремному заключению
a aduce cuiva o acuzaţie
предъявлять обвинение против кого-либо
cheltuieli medicale
расходы на медицинское обслуживание изнасилование кража
răpire furt
1 2 3
5. Law breakers. a) Match the definitions on the left with the words on the right. Law Breaker 1. an arsonist 2. a shop-lifter 3. a mugger 4. an offender 5. a vandal 6. a burglar 7. a murderer 8. a kidnapper 9. a pickpocket 10. an accomplice 11. a drug dealer 12. a spy 13. a terrorist 14. an assassin 15. a hooligan 16. a stowaway 17. a thief 18. a hijacker 19. a forger 20. a robber 21. a smuggler 22. a traitor 23. a gangster 24. a deserter 25. a bigamist
Definition Translation a. attacks and robs people, often in the street b. sets fire to property illegally c. is anyone who breaks the law d. breaks into houses or other buildings to steal e. steals from shops while acting as an ordinary customer f. kills someone g. deliberately causes damage to property h. steals things from people’s pockets in crowded places i. gets secret information from another country j. buys and sells drugs illegally k. takes away people by force and demands money for their return l. helps a criminal in a criminal act m. uses violence for political reasons n. causes damage or disturbance in public places o. hides on a ship or plane to get a free journey p. takes control of a plane by force and makes the pilot change course q. murders for political reasons or a reward r. is someone who steals s. makes counterfeit (false) money or signatures t. is a member of a criminal group u. steals money, etc. by force from people or places v. marries illegally, being married already w. is a soldier who runs away from the army x. brings goods into a country illegally without paying tax y. betrays his or her country to another state
b) Group the law-breakers according to the following classification: Law-breakers who commit crimes against the person
Law-breakers who commit crimes against property
Public order offenders
Sexual offenders
Political offenders
Offenders who commit crimes against justice
6. Here is an example of a case where set of events can lead to both criminal and civil actions. Read it and identify the purpose of the action, parties involved, decision taken and sanctions. Strange but True Story of the Cigars A man from Charlotte, North Carolina, having purchased a case of very expensive cigars, insured them, among other things, against fire. Within a month, having smoked his entire stockpile, the man filed a claim against the insurance company, stating that the cigars were lost 'in a series of small fires'. The insurance company refused to pay, citing the obvious reason that the man had consumed the cigars in the normal fashion. The man sued - and won. In delivering the ruling the judge, agreeing that the claim was frivolous, stated nevertheless that the man held a policy from the company in which it had warranted that the cigars were insurable and also guaranteed that it would insure against fire, without defining what it considered to be 'unacceptable fire' , and was obliged to pay the claim. Rather than endure a lengthy and costly appeal the insurance company accepted the ruling and paid the man $15,000 for the rare cigars he had lost 'in the fires'. After he cashed the cheque, however, the company had him arrested on 24 counts of arson. His own insurance claim and testimony from the previous case being used against him, the man was convicted of intentionally burning his insured property and sentenced to 24 months in jail and a $24,000 fine. Can you think of cases related to both civil and criminal law? In pairs prepare to describe such cases to the class.
7. Translate the following article into English. MEDICI DIN CHIŞINĂU RISCĂ SĂ FIE CONDAMNAŢI PENTRU ATITUDINEA INUMANĂ FAŢĂ DE O PACIENTĂ Chişinău. Procuratura Ungheni a deschis un dosar penal pe numele unor lucrători medicali, acuzaţi de ignorarea regulilor şi metodelor de asistenţă medicală, soldată cu decesul Alei Hamureac, în vîrstă de 28 de ani, locuitoarea satului Romanovca. Agenţia INFOTAG transmite cu referire la surse din Procuratura Generală că, pe 4 noiembrie 2006, femeia a născut un copil la spitalul raional din Ungheni. Naşterea a decurs cu complicaţii şi copilul a fost trimis la Centrul Sănătăţii Mamei şi Copilului din Chişinău, dar în ambulanţă nu s-a găsit loc şi pentru mamă. Hamureac, care de asemenea a suportat naşterea cu mare greu, a fost nevoită să ajungă în capitală cu o maşină de ocazie, dar la Centru nu i s-a acordat atenţia şi tratamentul cuvenite. Femeia a leşinat şi nu a putut fi readusă în cunoştinţă nici în secţia de reanimare, unde a intrat în comă. În această stare, peste 40 de zile, ea a fost trimisă înapoi la spitalul din Ungheni, unde a decedat cu o săptămînă mai tîrziu. În cazul în care medicii vor fi găsiţi vinovaţi de deces, ei riscă pînă la 5 ani de închisoare şi interdicţia practicării activităţii medicale pe parcursul următorilor 5 ani.
КИШИНЕВСКИЕ МЕДИКИ МОГУТ БЫТЬ ОСУЖДЕНЫ ЗА БЕССЕРДЕЧНОЕ ОТНОШЕНИЕ К ИНОГОРОДНЕЙ ПАЦИЕНТКЕ Кишинев. Прокуратура города Унгень возбудила уголовное дело по факту пренебрежения правилами и методами оказания медицинской помощи, что привело к смерти 28-летней Аллы Хамуряк. Как сообщили "ИНФОТАГ" в Генеральной прокуратуре, эта жительница села Романовка 4 ноября 2006 г. родила ребёнка в Унгенской райбольнице. Поскольку роды прошли с осложнениями, ребенка отправили в Кишиневский центр матери и ребенка, при этом самой роженице не нашлось места в машине скорой помощи. Хамуряк, тяжело перенесшая роды, вынуждена была добираться в столицу на попутной машине. Однако в центре ей не оказали должного внимания и лечения. Медики спохватились, только когда женщина потеряла сознание. В реанимации ее не удалось привести в сознание, более того, она впала в кому. И в таком состоянии роженицу спустя 40 дней отправили 27 декабря обратно в районную больницу, где через неделю Хамуряк скончалась. Если суд определит, что в ее смерти виновны медики, им грозит до пяти лет лишения свободы и запрет на такой же срок заниматься врачебной деятельностью.
8. Punishments and penalties. Check your knowledge of punishment and penalty vocabulary with this quiz. 1.
Punish is the verb and punishment is the noun, but what is the adjective form of the word? What are the verb and adjective forms of the noun penalty?
2.
3. 4.
5. 6. 7.
8.
9. 10. 11.
12. 13.
14. 15.
Choose the most appropriate word in bold in this sentence: 'The court ordered the defendant to pay purgative / punishing / punitive / pugnacious damages to the claimant for the emotional distress he had caused.' What do we call a punishment which is considered to be strong enough to stop someone from committing a crime? Is it: (a) a detergent (b) a deterrent (c) a detriment (d) a determinant? Some countries still have corporal punishment and some still have capital punishment. What happens to the people who receive these punishments? In Moldova, a man is stopped by the police for driving at 95 in a 50mph zone. What will (probably) happen to him? Next week, the same man is stopped again, and the police discover that he has been drinking alcohol and has over twice the allowed limit of alcohol in his body. What will probably happen to him now? Rearrange the letters in bold to make words. The first and last letters of each word are in the correct place: 'If a defendant is found guilty of an offence in a court of law, he is ciecnotvd. If he is found not guilty, he is ateqciutd.' What's the difference between a custodial sentence, a suspended sentence and probation? What is the maximum penalty allowed for crime in the United Kingdom? Prison is a noun. What is the verb form of this word? A woman is sentenced to 6 months in prison for theft, 4 months in prison for selling drugs, and 1 month in prison for refusing to pay her council tax. The judge tells her that these sentences will be concurrent, or run concurrently. What is the maximum length of time the woman will spend in prison? True or false: If someone receives a community service order, they have to go to prison. Choose the correct word in bold in this sentence: An injection / injunction / injury / injustice is a court order telling someone to stop doing something, or not to do something. What do we call money that is paid from one party to another to cover the cost of damage, loss, injury or hardship? (Clue: it begins with c and ends with n) Mr. Smith goes to the Bahamas to start a new life. While he is there, an English court applies a freezing order to Mr. Smith's assets. Would Mr. Smith be happy or unhappy about this? 9. Debate.
Reintegration: a Real Process or a Meaningless Word? Read the statements below attentively and work in groups – pro and con. Prepare your arguments for and against the statements below. Appoint the ‘Chair’ of the debate who will give the floor to the speakers of the both teams. Society is not ready to accept ex-prisoners. They will always be objects of suspicion in the community. Society helps prisoners make the transition from prison to the community. It’s never too late to start
9. FAMILY LAW The family is one of nature's masterpieces. ~ George Santayana Family law is a branch or specialty of law, also known as ‘domestic relations’ law that deals with family relations. It concerns with such subjects as adoption, marriage, divorce, separation, paternity, child custody and visitation, separation agreement, estate planning, support and child care. In the past, family law has been closely connected with the law of property. It has origins in the economic law. In old legal systems, marriage was regarded as the transfer of a woman from the power of her family to that of her husband under terms specified in the marriage contract. And the standard method of dissolving a marriage usually resulted in the return of the woman to the power of her family. The modern idea of marriage, which is becoming almost universal, is a voluntary exchange of promises between the man and the woman. Before getting married couples may be involved in substantial decision to property, these matters now tend to be automatic (when there is no marriage contract) or to be formalized separately. The ceremony itself is normally an exchange of consents accompanied by religious observances or a civil ceremony (or both). The purpose of the legal formalities is to differentiate the relationship from concubinage allowing to legally recognize custody of children, rights under matrimonial regimes, etc. In order to satisfy the requirement of a voluntary consent to a marriage, a party must have reached an age at which he or she is able to give a meaningful consent. Most modern legal systems provide for a legal minimum age of marriage from 15 to 20 years. Some systems require parental consent to marriage when the parties are above the minimum age. Other laws forbid marriage between persons having certain ties of relationship, either of blood or of marriage. A marriage can terminate as a human relationship before it is dissolved by law. Often the court rulings - as to property and the custody of children - will merely confirm arrangements that have already been made by the parties. In the United States and Canada, 80 to 90% of divorce proceedings are undefended. There are various divorce formulas: divorce for fault, such as adultery, cruelty or imprisonment; divorce for contract’s frustration, such as incurable mental diseases or disappearance of the spouse; divorce by mutual agreement; and divorce on the ground that the marriage has broken down. A complicating factor in divorce law is the question of giving recognition to foreign divorces. The divorce laws of countries and states differ. So a person living a jurisdiction in which divorce is difficult to obtain may be able to go to another country in which divorce laws are more liberal. Family law also shares an interest in some social issues with other areas of law (e.g., criminal law). One of the issues that has received much attention is the very difficult problem of violence within the family. This may take the form of physical violence by one adult member on another (in this case the woman is almost always the victim), or by an adult on a child. The problem is one of social importance and some studies indicate that a high proportion of violent crime originates in family units.
BASIC VOCABULARY Adoption
Separation Paternity Custody Estate Consent Concubinage To dissolve Adultery Frustration of a contract Victim
a legal proceeding that creates a parent-child relation between persons not related by blood; the adopted child is entitled to all privileges belonging to a natural child of the adoptive parents (including the right to inherit) the termination of cohabitation (living together) between a man and wife, either by mutual agreement or under a decree of a court the fact or state of being a father the act of keeping safe or guarding, esp. the right of guardianship of a child the whole property or possessions acceptance or approval of what is planned or done by another the act of living together without being married to come or bring to an end sexual unfaithfulness of a husband or wife [Latin adulterium] legal termination of a contract due to unforeseen circumstances that (1) prevent achievement of its objectives, (2) render its performance illegal, or (3) make it practically impossible to execute a person or thing that suffers harm, death, etc., from another or from some adverse (negative) act, circumstance, etc.
1. Answer the following questions: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.
What is family law? What are the origins of family law? What is marriage? What is the minimum age of marriage? Do you think that marriage contract is the best solution of marital-property problems? Why is society interested in legal regulation of familial relationships? What are the most common divorce formulas? What is foreign divorce? Does the problem of family violence exist in Moldova? 2. In the text, find antonyms for the following words and make sentences with them:
maximum forced
adult to allow
unification divorce
3. Join pairs of synonyms: 1. domestic relations law 2. support 3. connected 4. economic law 5. marriage 6. marriage contract 7. voluntary 8. to tend to 9. parental 10. merely 11. disease 12. substantial 13. spouse
a. only b. important c. family law d. matrimony e. freewill f. marital agreement g. paternal h. illness i. to aim at j. business law k. help l. a wife or a husband m. related
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
4. Fill in the blank spaces with the missing words: 1.
In the past, family law has been closely connected with the law of ……………… . 2. In old legal systems, the standard method of dissolving a …………. usually was in the return of the …….… to the power of her family. 3. Some systems require ………… consent to marriage when the parties are ………… the minimum age. 4. The divorce ……….. of countries and states differ. 5. Family violence may take the form of …………. violence by one adult member on another or by an ………. on a child. 6. A high proportion of violent …………. originates in family ………… . 5. Make up sentences out of these words and expressions. They can be found in the text. 1. a branch, Family, deals with, law, is, or, of, law, specialty, relations, that, family. 2. idea of, woman, between, exchange, The modern, marriage, is, of, the man, and, the, a voluntary, promises. 3. observances, itself, is, exchange of, ceremony, an, The ceremony, consents, accompanied, a, civil, by, or, normally, religious. 4. terminate, can, A marriage, as, before, a relationship, human, law, it, by, is, dissolved. 6. Correct mistakes in the sentences given below. You can find the right versions in the text. 1. In old legal sistems, mariage was regarded as the transfer of a woman from the power of her family to that of her husband under term specifyed in the mariage contract. 2. Before geting maried couples may be involved in substantal decision to property, thise matters now tends to be automatic (when there is no mariage contract) or to be formalised separatly.
3. In order to satisfy the requirment of a voluntary consent to a mariage, a party must
have reached an age at which he or she is able to give a meaningfull consent. 7. Find in the text the English equivalents for the words below: drept familial
cемейное право
vizitarea copilului îngrijire de copii concubinaj consimţămînt părintesc desfacerea căsătoriei detenţiune cu închisoarea zădărnicie a unui contract
посещение ребёнка забота о ребёнке внебрачное сожительство родительское благословение расторжение брака тюремное заключение тщетность договора/ недостижимость цели договора насилие в семье
violenţa familială
1. 2.
8. Fill in the gaps with the appropriate verb forms from the table: The marriage law of most Western European nations and of the USA is the product of Roman Catholic law that .................... (1) by the changed cultural and social conditions of modern industrialized and urbanized life. Modern marriage law regards marriage as a civil transaction and allows only monogamous unions. The age limits for marriage, which formely permitted 12-year-olds or even younger persons to marry, ..................... (2) upward in most countries to 15-21 years of age. Islamic law ..................... (3) the practice of polygamy, but polygany was decreasing in almost all Muslim countries by the late 20th century. Polygamous marriages ...................... (4) under customary laws in many African nations, but there is growing tendency toward monogamy. There is no uniform marriage law in many developing African countries. The regulation of marital relations is based ............(5) on religion...............(5) on the customary laws of the territory. This gives rise to complex problems in the case of tribal, ethnic, or religious intermarriage. 1 2 3 4 5
had been modified were revised permitted have been permitted neither ... nor
has been modified have been revised has permitted were permitted or ... either
9. Divorce Case a) Make as many words as they can using these letters: PAITNSHEROLI
was modified had been revised permits are permitted either ... or
b) Look at these expressions about John and Cristina. Which ones indicate that they are in a happy relationship, and which expressions indicate that they are in an unhappy relationship? Write H for happy and U for unhappy next to each sentence. Their relationship is on the rocks. They are still in a honeymoon period. They aren’t getting along very well. They’re going through a rough patch. They can’t see enough of each other. She can’t put up with him any more. They’re going (their) separate ways. They stick together through thick and thin. c) Imagine you are judges. YOU are responsible for divorce cases where the husband and wife cannot agree. Today you have been presented with another difficult case: Ford vs. Ford. Read about the case below. Cristina Ford Cristina Ford is a forty-year-old advertising executive. She works very long hours and earns a lot of money. Since their daughter Olivia was born four years ago, Cristina has worked and supported the family. John Ford John Ford is an unemployed forty-two year old man. He worked for many years in a bookshop. At the moment he is trying to write a novel. He stopped working when their daughter Olivia was born, and has stayed at home to take care of her for the past four years. The Divorce John and Cristina got married ten years ago. They began to have problems in their marriage after Olivia was born. They have decided to get divorced, but are now very angry with one another. Cristina wants: · Full custody of Olivia. · The family house, a three-bedroom house in a nice part of town. · Charlie, the family dog. · Cristina wants to sell the summer beach apartment and share the money. She refuses to give John any money at all. She does not want any money from John. John can see his daughter every two weeks and have her for the summer holidays. John wants: · Full custody of Olivia. · Charlie, the family dog. · The summer beach apartment so he can write there. · John wants to sell the family house in the city and share the money. He also wants Cristina to pay $1000 a month for child support. Cristina can see her daughter every two weeks and have her for the summer holidays. John also wants $25 000 compensation because he feels he sacrificed his work to raise Olivia. d) Now discuss with the other judges in your group. You must come to a decision and make some clear recommendations. Write your recommendations.
10. COMMERCIAL LAW A lawyer’s opinion is worth nothing unless paid for. ~ English proverb Business law (also known as commercial law) consists of the totality of the juridical standards regarding interposing and circulation of merchandise from the producer to the consumer. It includes all aspects of business, including advertising and marketing, collections and bankruptcy, banking, contracts, negotiable instruments, transactions, and trade in general. Other popular areas refer to insurance, wills and estate planning, consumer and creditor protection. From the juridical point of view, commercial law establishes not only the production (industry), but also the circulation (distribution) of wares. The Antiquity In ancient times, the first manifestation of exchange appeared at the same time with the emerging of the idea of property. In order to satisfy their vital needs, people started to exchange their products between themselves. In this way appeared the barter, a primitive form of exchange of goods (services) for other goods (or services) without the use of money. The continuous increase of the people’s needs determined certain forms of organization, in which they assured the conditions for a great number of people to meet in certain periods of time and in places already established. This way appeared the markets. The Greeks were the first who established rules regarding traders’ activity. Thus, the city agoranomos (market supervisor) had to ensure that sellers sell fairly and use the city’s weights and measures. He could not restrict the sellers to volume of sales or time. In the good years of Rome there were juridical institutions regarding traders’ activity. The Middle Ages In the Middle ages, the collapse of Roman Empire determined the division of political power. And instead of a uniform law, there appeared the specific law for the different states that resulted. In order to defend their rights, the tradesmen began to organize themselves in corporations (called universitaria) which significantly obtained the administrative, juridical and even legislative autonomy. A corporation consisted of all commercial men and handicraftsmen from the same field and the leader was a consul, helped around by councillors. The consul issued internal standards, based on customs, in order to solve litigations between the members of a corporation. These norms were collected in statutes. The Modern Period It was the period when the written law of commerce appeared. The first country that passed from common law to written law for the whole territory was France, starting with Charles IX’s edict issued in 1563. In 1807, the French Commercial Code was adopted, representing one of the five codes of Napoleon. The fundamental concepts of the Napoleonic codification are freedom of contract and the assertion of ownership as an absolute right. Under the influence of the French Revolution, a great number of countries (Italy, Holland, Spain, Brazil, Belgium, and Egypt) took over the French Commercial Code as their own. In England and the United States the common law is used, establishing rules both for commercial and non-commercial men.
Nowadays various regulatory schemes control the way commerce is conducted. Privacy laws, safety laws, food and drug laws are some examples. BASIC VOCABULARY Advertising Marketing Bankruptcy Transaction Wares Weight Collapse Tradesman Autonomy Handicraftsma n Assertion Ownership Privacy law Safety law
-
the promotion of goods or services for sale through impersonal media, such as radio or television; - the business that specializes in creating such publicity the science/process of interesting potential customers and clients in products or services, it involves researching, promoting, selling and distributing of goods/services the legal process in which a person or firm declares inability to pay debts the act of obtaining and paying for an item or service articles of manufacture considered as being for sale - a measure of the heaviness of an object; the amount anything weighs; - a system of units used to express the weight of a substance - a sudden large decline of business or the prices of stocks; - a sudden failure or breakdown a man engaged in trade, esp. a retail dealer - the right or state of self-government, esp. when limited; - freedom to determine one's own actions, behaviour, etc. a man skilled in manual work -
a positive statement, usually made without an attempt at furnishing evidence; - the act of affirming or stating something - the state or fact of being an owner; - legal right of possession; proprietorship regulation or statute that protects a person’s right to be left alone, and governs collection and release of his/her financial, medical, and other personal information A law passed by US Congress to prevent employees from being injured or contracting diseases in the coarse of their employment
1. Answer the following questions: 1. What is business law? 2. How did commercial law appear in ancient times? 3. What is barter? Is it still used? 4. How and where did the first markets appear? 5. Which are the first organizations of tradesmen in the Middle Ages? 6. Who was the leader of the medieval organizations of tradesmen? 7. When and where was the first Commercial Code adopted? 8. What are the fundamental principles of the first French Commercial Code?
9. Is there any difference between the Commercial Codes of the states? 2. Find common collocations (sometimes more than one solution is possible): black money illegal commerce advertising absolute goods legal
business consultant circulation in bribe delivery market owner power
3. Fill in the blanks with the missing words: 1. Business law includes all ……………. of business, including advertising and marketing, collections and bankruptcy, banking, contracts, ………………. instruments, transactions, and trade ………… general. 2. A primitive form of exchange was the …………….. . 3. In Ancient Greece market supervisors had to ensure that the sellers sell ………….. and use the city’s weights and …………… . 4. In Medieval times a corporation consisted of all ………….. men and ………………… from the same field and the leader was a ………………., helped around by ………………. . 5. In England the ………….. law is used to establish rules both for commercial and noncommercial men. 4. Find as many synonyms as possible for the following words and make up sentences with them: wares __________________________________________________________________________ bankruptcy __________________________________________________________________________ distribution __________________________________________________________________________ tradesman __________________________________________________________________________ assertion __________________________________________________________________________ ancientness __________________________________________________________________________
to ensure __________________________________________________________________________ uniform __________________________________________________________________________ 5. Consult your dictionary and explain the following terms: collection(s) producer consumer 6. Are these statements true or false? Correct the false ones. T/F 1. Popular areas of business law include insurance, wills, estate planning, consumer and creditor protection. T/F 2. In ancient times, in order to satisfy their vital needs, people started to sell their products between themselves. T/F 3. The Romans were the first who established the rules of traders’ activity. T/F 4. The city agoranomos could restrict the sellers to volume of sales. T/F 5. In order to defend their rights, tradesmen began to organize themselves in corporations which gradually obtained the administrative, juridical and legislative autonomy. T/F 6. The French Commercial Code was adopted in 1907. T/F 7. Under the influence of the French Revolution, a big number of countries took over the French Commercial Code as their own. 7. Translate the following words and word combinations: regulile de securitate asigurare
правила техники безопасности страхование vital needs
(unitate de) măsură vînzare
единица измерения, мера продажа, сбыт collapse
meşteşugar
ремесленник written law ownership food law
8. Match the terms with their definitions: 1. commerce 2. merchandise 3. producer 4. product 5. consumer 6. circulation 7. exchange 8. contract 9. edict 10. barter 11. handicraftsman 12. treaty 13. agreement 14. business law
a. exchange of merchandise; the buying and selling of goods an services; trade b. goods for sale, wares, commodities for commerce c. one who produces articles of consumption d. anything that can be offered to a market that might satisfy a want or need; thing produced by natural process or manufacture e. an individual or a household that purchases and uses goods/services generated within the economy f. transmission, distribution of things, news, coins, books g. act, process of exchanging of goods, prisoners of war, etc. h. a legally binding exchange of promises or agreement between parties that the law will enforce i. order proclaimed by authority, decree j. exchange of goods or immaterial things for other goods k. man skilled in a handicraft l. an agreement under international law entered into by actors in international law, namely states and international organizations m. promise of action, such as one made between people, groups, businesses, or countries n. the body of law which governs business and commerce and is often considered to be a branch of civil law and deals both with issues of private law and public law
9. There are many different kinds of contract for different situations. Look at the following paragraphs, and decide what kind of contract is being described or talked about. loan agreement purchase agreement verbal contract employment contract tenancy (rent) agreement
car-hire agreement, franchise agreement
1. My cousin Bob said he was going to get rid of his computer and buy a new one. I said
that I needed a computer and suggested I bought his old one. Anyway, we agreed on a price, I gave him a £50 deposit, and agreed to pay the balance in installments over the next three months. I'm going round to collect the computer this evening. 2. The property is unfurnished, and the rent is £650, which has to be paid monthly in arrears. Electricity, gas and phone bills are extra. There's a communal garden and a communal parking area, for which I also have to pay a nominal maintenance fee. The
3.
landlord is responsible for any repairs to the property. I've signed this agreement for 18 months. We're opening our own branch in the town centre next week. The deal is simple: we get the right to use the company's name, their trademark, their trade names and products and wear their uniforms. They also provide our staff with all the necessary training, give us managerial assistance and provide advertising materials. In return, we have to meet specific requirements, such as quality of service, maintaining good customer relations, and following the company's standard procedures. Oh, and of course to buy all the products we sell from them. The total amount you are borrowing from a bank is £9,000 at an APR (Annual Percentage Rate) of 6.6%. Repaid in monthly over 3 years, this gives you a monthly repayment figure of £275.46, totalling £9,916.56. If you wish to make an early payment, the sum will be recalculated accordingly. As soon as you sign a form, your funds will be released into your bank account. This appointment is for a period of two years, following a 4-week probationary period. Your salary package includes an annual gross salary of £32,000. Your hours of work are 9 to 5 Monday to Friday, although you may be asked to work overtime during busy periods. The company has its own medical and pension schemes which you may join. The total cost is £2,870, which is payable in full before the goods can be delivered. Alternatively, we can arrange credit terms. All goods are covered by the manufacturer's warranty, which is valid for one year. If you are not happy with your merchandise, it can be returned for an exchange or full refund (but please note that this is valid for 28 days only and we will need to see your cheque or other proof of purchase). The rent of this car is £58 a day. This price includes unlimited kilometrage and fully insurance. A refuelling service charge will be applied if you do not replace the fuel you have used.
4.
5.
6.
7.
10. Fill in the blanks with the appropriate words from the box: ELECTRONIC COMMERCE signed parties legislative encode
back agreement
growing services
reduced online
Electronic commerce is already _____________ in importance and it will become even more important in future years. It offers businesses the opportunity to reach a wider customer base, enabling consumers and businesses to purchase goods and _____________ from a wide range of suppliers. However, ____________ need to be assured that electronic contracts are as effective as contracts made traditionally.
A number of ______________ instruments have now been adopted by the United Nations (1996), EU (2000) and etc. to secure electronic contracts. Nowadays electronic contracts and electronic signatures are just as legal as traditional paper contracts ____________ in ink. An electronic contract is an _______________ created and “signed” in electronic form – in other words, no paper or other hard copies are used. For example, you write a contract on your computer and email it to a business partner, and the business partner emails it __________ with an electronic signature indicating acceptance. An e-contract can also be in the form of a “Click to Agree” contract, commonly used with downloaded software. The most secure method of signing contracts _____________ is the method known as Public Key Infrastructure (PKI). PKI uses an algorithm to code and __________ online documents. Only people who know the ‘key’ can have access to the information. E-commerce is profitable for companies that conduct business online. This way they save considerable sums of money. For example, one online company estimated that eliminating paperwork fees ____________ costs up to $750. 11. Solve the crossword: 1. A person who is appointed to deal with financial or other matters on behalf of another person. 2. A licence to trade using a brand name and paying a royalty for it. 3. An official who investigates complaints by the public against government departments or other large organizations (especially banks, travel companies, and electricity, gas, water and telecommunications providers). 4. Somebody who gives a guarantee.
5. A failure to carry out the terms of an agreement, a contract, etc. 6. One of the main conditions of a contract, where one party agrees to what is proposed by the other party. Also the act of signing a bill of exchange to show that you agree to pay for it. 7. The notifiable offence of telling lies when you have made an oath to say what is true in court. 8. Somebody who has committed a civil wrong to somebody, entitling the victim to claim damages. 9. A payment made by a person or company to cover the cost of damage or hardship which he / she /it has caused. 10. Attempts by a third party to make the two sides in an argument agree. 11. A document in which a company acknowledges it owes a debt and gives the company's assets as security. 12. The closing of a company and the selling of its assets.
13. Money claimed by a claimant from a defendant because of harm or damage done, or money awarded by a court to a claimant as a result of harm suffered by the claimant (Clue: this word has already appeared elsewhere in this exercise). 14. The legal responsibility for paying someone for loss or damage incurred. 15. A failure to give proper care to something, especially a duty or responsibility, with the result that a person or property is harmed. 16. The good reputation of a business and its contacts with its customers (for example, the name of the product it sells or its popular appeal to customers). 17. A court order telling a person or a company to stop doing something, or telling them not to do it in the first place.
11. INTERNATIONAL LAW Insofar as international law is observed, it provides us with stability and order and with a means of predicting the behavior of those with whom we have reciprocal legal obligations. ~ J. William Fulbright International law can refer to: • public international law; • private international law or conflict of laws; • the law of supranational organizations. Public international law Public international law is the totality of standards and principles that regulates the relations between subjects of international law – states and intergovernmental organizations. It is developed mainly through multilateral conventions, though custom can play an important role too. The fundamental principles of public international law contain general rules of conduct, whose observance is essential to the development and co-operation between states, to the maintaining of international peace and security. Its modern corpus started to be developed in the middle of the 19th сentury. The two World Wars, the League of Nations and other international organizations such as the International Labour Organisation all contributed to accelerate this process and established much of the foundations of modern public international law. After the failure of the Versailles Treaty and World War II, the League of Nations was replaced by the United Nations, founded under the UN Charter. The basic principles of the Charter of the United Nations, adopted in 1970, are as follow: • not to resort to force and to threat by force; • the settlement of international conflicts by peaceful means; • not to intervene in internal affairs of one state; • international co-operation; • equality of rights for all the nations and the right of nations to selfdetermination; • sovereign equality of states; • the good-faith accomplishment of assumed duties. Three more principles were added at the Conference for Security and Cooperation in Europe held at Helsinki in 1975: • the inviolability of frontiers; • the territorial integrity of states; • the observance of human rights and fundamental liberties. These fundamental principles are the peremptory norms of international law. The states cannot depart from these principles in their agreements, in their local or bilateral relations. This proves the importance that all the states confer to these principles in the settlement of their relations. There are some standards which aim at rights concerning all the states, but which are not the object of their sovereignty: the liberty of seas, the interdiction of piracy. There are also
some humanitarian standards, considered by all states indispensable in order to guarantee the respecting of the elementary rights of life and human dignity: the interdiction of slavery, the rules and manners of the war. Conflict of laws Conflict of laws, or "private international law" in civil law jurisdictions, governs conflicts between private persons, rather than states. The rise of international corporations increases the number of disputes among a unified legal framework Increasing numbers of businesses use commercial arbitration under the New York Convention 1958. Supranational law The European Union is the first and only example (so far) of a supranational legal framework, where sovereign nations have joined their authority through a system of courts and political institutions. It constitutes a new legal order in international law for the mutual social and economic benefit of the member states. Multilateral Convention Custom Charter To resort (to) Settlement
To intervene Self-determination
Duties Peremptory Bilateral Dignity Slavery
BASIC VOCABULARY of or involving more than two nations or parties an international agreement second only to a treaty in formality a practice which by long-established usage has come to have the force of law a formal document from the sovereign or state incorporating a city, bank, college, etc., and specifying its purposes and rights the use of something as a means, help, or recourse - the determination of a dispute, etc., by mutual agreement without resorting to legal proceedings; - an adjustment or agreement reached in matters of finance, business, etc to interpose and become a party to a legal action between others, esp. in order to protect one's interests - the power or ability to make a decision for oneself without influence from outside; - the right of a nation or people to determine its own form of government without influence from outside a task or action that a person is bound to perform for moral or legal reasons - admitting of no denial or contradiction; precluding debate; - obligatory rather than permissive affecting or undertaken by two parties; mutual the state or quality of being worthy of honour the state or condition of being a slave; a civil relationship whereby one person has absolute power over another and controls his life, liberty, and fortune
1. Answer the following questions: 1. What are the three types of international law?
2. Define public international law. 3. What are the subjects of public international law? 4. Which are the fundamental UN principles adopted in 1970? 5. Which are the added principles from the 1975 Helsinki Conference? 6. Which are the humanitarian standards related to international laws? 7. What does private international law deal with? 8. What is supranational law? 2. In the text find antonyms for the following words:
private war disagreement
ancient external to diminish
inequality national
3. Join pairs of synonyms: 1. multilateral 2. fundamental 3. conduct 4. essential 5. security 6. to accelerate 7. failure 8. force 9. threat 10. means 11. to intervene 12. frontier 13. duty 14. to guarantee 15. conflict
a. danger b. to quicken c. many-sided d. basic, primary e. method(s) f. safety g. indispensable h. behaviour i. dispute j. misfortune k. obligation l. power m. to interfere n. boundary o. to assure
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
4. Fill in the blank spaces with the missing words: In the …………… of the United Nations there are ………. principles: 1. not to resort to ……………. and to threat by ………………..
2. ……………… of rights and the right of nations to ………………. 3. sovereign …………….. of states 4. the good faith accomplishment of the ……………… duties 5. international ……………….
6. not to ……………. in internal affairs of one state 7. the settlement of international …………….. by peaceful means.
5. Fill in the gaps with the appropriate words from the table: International law is not new. Nations (1)…….. always ……… political and economic treaties with each other. In the Medieval Europe, the Canon Law of the Catholic Church had (2)….. important role. Law Merchant regulated trade across political frontiers. In the fifteenth century, the Church mediated between Spain and Portugal by dividing the world (3)…….. their respective areas of interest. The 1648 Treaty of Westphalia, which called for equal treatment (4)……………….. of Protestants and Catholics, (5)………… be seen as an early international human rights law. Nevertheless, most international law has been created in the twentieth century. The League of Nations was set up after World War I (6)…………… disputes between nations. But it failed to stop the tension that led to World War II, partly because some powerful countries did not join (USA) and others (7)………… when they disagreed with its decisions (Germany, Japan). But it led to important international legislation like the Geneva Convention on the treatment of prisoners of war and the 1951 Convention on the Status of Refugees. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
has made an in anywhere can to have regulated left
have made the to everywhere may to have been regulated had left
had been making a into somewhere must to regulate has left
6. Fill in the blanks with the derivatives of the words in brackets: 1. International organization is any institution drawing its membership from two or
2.
3. 4.
5.
more sovereign states and maintaining ………….. and facilities to promote continuous activities by its members. (arrange) The …………… of international organizations has been ………. a 20th century phenomenon: about 90% of international organizations were organized in the period 1900-1956. (create, most) International organizations differ in function, ………………… and …………………….. criteria. (member – 2 times) Their aims are to preserve peace through conflict …………….. and better international relations, promote international co-operation on matters such as ……………….. ………………., to promote human rights, to render humanitarian aid, and to economic ………………. . (resolute, environment, protect, develop) Common types of international organizations include: a) …………… organizations (this category includes the United Nations and its ……………. agencies, Interpol, World Trade Organization, and the International Monetary Fund); (globe, special) b) ……………. organizations – open to members from a particular region or continent of the world. These categories include the Council of Europe, European Union, Organization of American States and etc. (region) c) …………….., linguistic, ethnic, ………….. or ……………. Organizations – open to members based on the mentioned above links. Examples include the Commonwealth of Nations, La Francophonie, Latin Union, Organization of Islamic Conference. (culture, religion, history). d) economic organizations – dedicated to free trade, the …………….. of trade barriers (The World Trade Organization) and international development. (reduce) 7. Correct grammar and spelling mistakes in the sentences given below.
1. Like presept of international morality, the rules of international law are of a normative
caracter; that is, they proscribe standards of conduct. 2. The basic rules of international customary law can be sumarized in the folowing fundamental principals: sovereinty, recognition, concent, good faith, freedom of the seas, international responsibility, and self-defense. 3. In time of war, permisible interference with enemy and neutral sheeping is regulated by the rules of sea warfare and prise law.
8. Translate orally the following text: Deţinutul a evadat din închisoare centrală. Numele deţinutului este Nicolas Aramis, anul naşterii 1965, brunet, un pic mai înalt decît statura medie (175 cm.), culoarea ochilor – căprui. Semne caracteristice: o cicatrice pe obrazul drept. Cunoaşte engleză şi italiană. A fost în Statele Unite ale Americii şi Italia. Arestat pentru vînzarea armelor şi drogurilor. Alte date şi poze sunt trimise cu poşta specială.
Преступник бежал из Центральной тюрьмы. Имя преступника Николай Армис, 1965 г. рождения, брюнет, немного выше среднего роста (175 см.), глаза карие. Особые приметы: шрам на правой щеке. Владеет английским и итальянским языками. Был в США и Италии. Арестован за продажу оружия и наркотиков. Остальные данные и фото отправлены спецпочтой.
9. Prepare a report (5-10 minutes) on one of the following topics: The Main Categories of Public International Law International Governmental and Non-Governmental Organizations.
SUPPLEMENTARY READINGS
MAN CLEARED BY DNA FREE AFTER 27 YEARS DALLAS, Texas (AP) -- A Dallas man who spent more than 27 years in prison for a murder he didn't commit was freed Tuesday, after being imprisoned longer than any other wrongfully convicted U.S. inmate* cleared by DNA testing. James Lee Woodard stepped out of the courtroom and raised his arms to a throng* of photographers. "No words can express what a tragic story yours is," state District Judge Mark Stoltz told Woodard at a brief hearing before his release. Woodard -- cleared of the 1980 murder of his girlfriend -- became the 18th person in Dallas County to be released from prison. That's a figure unmatched by any county nationally, according to the Innocence Project, a New York-based legal center that specializes in overturning wrongful convictions. "I thank God for the existence of the Innocence Project," Woodard, 55, told the court. "Without that, I wouldn't be here today. I would be wasting away in prison." Woodard was sentenced to life in prison in July 1981 for the murder of a 21-year-old Dallas woman found raped and strangled near the banks of the Trinity River. He was convicted primarily on the basis of testimony from two eyewitnesses. One has since refused from her testimony. As for the other, "we don't believe her testimony was accurate," Roetzel said. Woodard has maintained his innocence throughout his time in prison. But after filing six writs* with an appeals court, plus two requests for DNA testing, his pleas of innocence became so repetitive and routine that "the courthouse doors were eventually closed to him and he was labeled a writ abuser," Roetzel said. "On the first day he was arrested, he told the world he was innocent ... and nobody listened," Jeff Blackburn, chief counsel for the Innocence Project of Texas, said during Tuesday's hearing. He even stopped attending his parole hearings because gaining his release would have meant confessing to a crime he didn't do. "It says a lot about your character that you were more interested in the truth than your freedom," the judge told Woodard after making his ruling. Woodard said his family was "small and scattered," although he pointed out a niece in the courtroom. He said his biggest regret was not being with his mother when she died. "I can tell you what I'd like to do first: breathe fresh, free air," Woodard said during a news conference in the courtroom after the hearing. "I don't know what to expect. I haven't been in Dallas since buses were blue." *inmate – prisoner *throng – crowd, great number *write - claim
DNA CLEARED THEM, BUT THEY'LL NEVER FEEL FREE DALLAS, Texas (CNN) -- Wiley Fountain is homeless just five years after he walked out of prison an innocent man. He is one of the 17 men wrongfully convicted in Dallas County, Texas, then cleared by DNA evidence. He was one of the lucky few to receive financial compensation from the state, but the $190,000 or so that made it into his pocket is long gone. For a while, Fountain wandered the streets of Dallas, looking for aluminum cans to trade in for cash. He earned the occasional meal by cleaning the parking lot of a restaurant. At night he had nowhere to go. Now he's nowhere to be found. Just as the headlines of his release vanished* from the front pages of the newspaper, Fountain, 51, has disappeared. And so have his hopes for a fresh start after spending 15 years in prison for an aggravated sexual assault he did not commit. Clay Graham, a policy director with the Innocence Project of Texas, spends many days worrying about Fountain. In March, he received a phone call with the news that Fountain had been arrested on a theft charge and was sitting in the Dallas County jail. Graham rushed over to talk with him. "He said being homeless isn’t so bad," Graham recalled. "That's when I thought something horrible must have happened to him in prison." A few weeks later, Fountain was released from jail and disappeared. Fountain's story doesn't come as a shock to Jeff Blackburn, one of the lead attorneys with the Innocence Project of Texas, who represents many of the exonerated* former convicts. Blackburn said these wrongly convicted men get "a double-whammy screw job." He said there's little help from the government to transition back into society and they're still viewed as criminals once they're out of prison. "They don't have any services available to them, not even $100 and a cheap suit," Blackburn said. What happens to these men in the months and years after their release is an often overlooked story. These men find themselves starting life at middle age. CNN recently interviewed 15 of the 17 men who have been exonerated by DNA evidence in Dallas County since 2001. Their stories are vastly different, but they do share common themes. There is little talk of bitterness and anger. But there is great mistrust of the world around them and immense frustration. *to vanish – to disappear *to exonerate – to discharge, release, free
PROGRAMMER GUILTY OF WIFE'S MURDER OAKLAND, California (AP) -- A software programmer was convicted Monday of firstdegree murder for killing his wife, whom he affirms may be living elsewhere. Hans Reiser, 44, bowed his head in court as the jury found him guilty of a crime that carries a sentence of 25 years to life in prison. Nina Reiser disappeared more than a year ago after dropping off* the couple's children at Hans Reiser's home. Her body has never been found. Reiser, known in programming circles as creator of the ReiserFS computer file system, testified for several days in the six-month trial, often giving rambling* answers and getting scolded by the judge for arguing with the prosecutor. Tom Orloff, the district attorney for Alameda County, said the verdict "does justice for Nina Reiser and her family." Defense attorney Du Bois argued during the trial that there was no direct evidence linking his client to Nina Reiser's disappearance and suggested the woman may be living in her native Russia or may be the victim of foul play. But prosecutors argued the circumstantial evidence against Reiser was strong: the two were involved in a bitter custody dispute, traces of her blood were found in his home and car and witnesses testified she would never have left her children. When Reiser was arrested in October 2006, he was carrying his passport and thousands of dollars. Du Bois portrayed Reiser as eccentric, but nonviolent, and said there were innocent explanations for his behavior. Reiser testified his wife left his house alive and he had nothing to do with her disappearance. Hora also said Reiser hated his estranged wife, and saw her as "the destroyer." "She destroyed his marriage. She had an affair. He -- although it was never proved -- thinks she embezzled hundreds of thousands of dollars from him," Hora said during the trial. Hora played jurors a tape of an interview with Rory outside of court in which the prosecutor asked the boy if he knew where his mother was. Rory said he didn't, and that made him feel sad. "What did you like best about her?" Hora asked. "Everything," said the boy. *to drop off – to leave, to abandon *rambling – incoherent, without logical connection
BRITISH WOMAN COULD FACE LAOS DEATH PENALTY BANGKOK, Thailand (CNN) -- A pregnant British woman facing possible execution in Laos will go on trial this week, the country's foreign affairs ministry said Monday. Samantha Orobator "is facing death for drug trafficking," said Clare Algar, executive director of Reprieve, a London-based human rights group. Orobator, 20, was arrested on August 5, said Khenthong Nuanthasing, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman. She was alleged to have been carrying just over half a kilogram (1.1 pounds) of heroin, Reprieve lawyer Anna Morris told CNN by phone from Vientiane. "For that amount of heroin the sentence is normally the death penalty," she said. Orobator's mother Jane found out in January her daughter was pregnant -- more than four months after she was arrested. Jane Orobator heard the news from the British Foreign Office, which has been monitoring the case. She cannot believe her daughter was involved in drug trafficking, and was surprised to learn she was in Laos, she said. "I don't know what she was doing there”, she said. "The last time she spoke with me, she said she was on holiday in London and she would come to see us in Dublin before returning to the U.K. in July. "She is not the type of person who would be involved in drugs," she added. Reprieve is worried about her health, especially given her pregnancy, Anna Morris said. "She became pregnant in prison. We are concerned someone who finds herself in prison at 20 is subject to exploitation," she said. The lawyer arrived there on Sunday and is hoping to visit Orobator on Tuesday, her boss at Reprieve said. A British consul has also arrived in the country. "I am the first British lawyer who has asked for access to her," Morris said. "She needs to have a local lawyer appointed to her. We are pressing very hard for the local authorities to appoint one." She said it was normal in the Laotian justice system for a defendant to get a lawyer only days before a trial. The last execution in Laos was in 1990, the foreign affairs spokesman said. There is no British Embassy in Laos. A British vice-consul arrived in the country this weekend, the Foreign Office said Monday. Rammell plans to raise the Orobator case with the Laotian deputy prime minister this week, he said. Samantha Orobator was born in Nigeria and moved to London with her family when she was 8, her mother said.
GROWING UP IS EVEN HARDER WHEN MOM IS IN PRISON (CNN) -- "Get yourself together." Mary Williams repeated those three words often to her 28-year-old daughter, who served three years in a Kansas prison for a 1988 armed robbery. Williams never judged her daughter, Wanda Taylor, for the crime or her cocaine addiction. She does not refer to the past. Instead, Williams looked to the future. The future was her granddaughter, Donnie Belcher, a shy 4-year-old girl with curly hair who cried when she visited her mother in jail for the first time. The little girl's mother was locked up for three years, leaving her in the care of her grandmother. "It was hard on me," said Belcher, now 25. "I never wanted to leave my mother." A recent study by the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics found the number of imprisoned mothers rose 131% from 1991 to 2007, while the number of fathers in prison increased 77 percent during the same period. According to the Sentencing Project, a Washington-based nonprofit project, about 1.7 million children have a parent in prison. "We should be alarmed," said Georgia Lerner, executive director at the Women's Prison Association, a national nonprofit working with imprisoned women. "Even when children have seen their mothers get arrested, they still want to be with their parents," Lerner said. "They still love their mothers and want to be together." While some critics argue that criminals make poor parents, experts said there is no doubt that separation from a parent, particularly a mother, affects a child's psychological development. When a father is imprisoned, the mother typically cares for the children, said Danielle Dallaire, a psychology professor at the College of William and Mary. But her research shows that when a mother is imprisoned, the father often plays no role in raising the children. A growing number of prisons are recognizing the need to preserve mother-child relationships. They have staffed nurseries and day care centers to keep families connected. Bedford Hills Correctional Facility, a maximum security women's prison in New York, provi andes an annual summer camp run by volunteers. At camp, children can play basketball and participate in other activities with their imprisoned mothers.
DEATHS AT THAI RESORT SEATTLE, Washington (CNN) -- What started as a romantic Southeast Asia vacation for a Seattle couple, ended with Ryan Kells preparing Friday to return from Bangkok carrying the ashes of his bride to give to her family in California. "It's such a shock," Robert St. Onge told CNN about the death of his sister, Jill, who had been traveling with the man she planned to marry. "There was no possibility to hear last words or even see her because she has already been cremated." The couple had been visiting Thailand at the end of a three-month journey during which the two had become engaged. On April 26 in her online journal, the 27-year-old woman described the surroundings near where the Leonardo Dicaprio movie, "The Beach," was filmed. "Hey, hey! We're in koh phi phi right now. It's off the west coast of Thailand about a 2 hour boat ride from krabi. So amazing... just drinking, eating and living so cheaply. Food, drink, good books, sun and warm waters... What else do you need?", St. Onge wrote in her blog. But on May 2, Kells found St. Onge, who had told him earlier that she had not been feeling well, vomiting* in their room at the Laleena guesthouse on Phi Phi island. He put her into a shopping cart and searched for help. "She couldn't breathe. She was vomiting," Kells, 31, told CNN. "I tried to run her to a hospital but she died, maybe, 12 hours of being sick." Robert St. Onge said his sister had been healthy and that her sudden death is a mystery. Adding to the mystery is the fact that another tourist, a 22-year-old Norwegian woman, died at the same resort the same weekend, the U.S. Embassy in Thailand said. The manager of the Laleena resourt has said in published reports that he believes the women's deaths came from drinking heavily. Norwegian media reported that the Norweigan woman could have been a victim of food poisoning. In Internet postings on a Web site created to update friends and family on the tragedy, Kells also described feeling ill at the hotel and said that he believed something in their room had made the couple sick. Kells also said he had spent less time in their room than his bride.
NAZI SUSPECT DEMJANJUK ARRIVES IN GERMANY (CNN) -- Germany's Jewish community Tuesday welcomed the deportation from the U.S. of a Nazi war crimes suspect who is charged with the murder of about 29,000 civilians at a death camp during the World War II. Demjanjuk was taken by ambulance to a nearby hospital after landing at Munich airport. An ambulance was also used to take the 89-year-old to a plane at airport in Cleveland, Ohio on Monday evening. Demjanjuk, a native Ukranian who has long claimed is wanted in Germany for his alleged role in the murder of about 29,000 civilians at Sobibor, a Nazi death camp in Poland. "All the living Nazi war criminals should know that there can be no mercy for them, regardless of their age," said Knobloch president of the Central Council of Jews. "They must answer for their inhumane actions because there is no statute of limitations for crimes against humanity." Demjanjuk's deportation closes a chapter in one of the longest-running cases of an alleged Holocaust criminal in history. Demjanjuk's lawyers had asked the high court to consider their claims that he was too ill to be sent overseas. They also raised human rights and other legal issues in their last-minute appeal. U.S. immigration officers previously entered Demjanjuk's home on April 14, and carried him out in his wheelchair to a waiting car. He was held for a few hours and then returned to his residence after a federal appeals court gave verdict in his favor. He was once accused by the United States and Israel of being a notoriously brutal S.S. guard at the Treblinka camp known as "Ivan the Terrible." After appeals, that allegation was eventually dropped by both countries, but later other accusations were made against him.
IRAQI FAMILY SURVIVORS: WE WISH U.S. SOLDIERS HAD ALSO KILLED US PADUCAH, Kentucky (CNN) -- Surviving members of an Iraqi family are still in horror after murder raid committed by U.S. soldiers. They gave evidence on in the trial; one of the soldiers has been convicted and can face the death penalty. Testimony is to continue Tuesday. On Monday, family members said their lives have been ruined and it would be better if the soldiers had also killed them. Defendant Steven Green has been identified as the leader in the murder raid. He was convicted last week in U.S. District Court in Kentucky of murder, rape and conspiracy. He and other soldiers illegally entered the home of an Iraqi family in 2006, raped a 14year-old girl, killed her and her family, and set the home afire, authorities said. Ameena Al-Janabi testified through a translator Monday that her two grandsons were the first to arrive home and see that their family members had been killed. The two boys were great students, but have since refused to attend school, the woman said. They "are lost, as if they are not living in this life," Janabi said. Abid Abu Farras, a cousin, also spoke about the effect of the murders on the surviving brothers. Their "futures are destroyed," Farras said. "If they had died with their family, they would have been better off." The prosecution rested after four witnesses. Four other former soldiers are in prison for their roles in the crimes and the cover-up that followed. They received sentences ranging from 27 months to 110 years -- with the possibility of parole in 10 years in the most severe cases. They were convicted and sentenced in a military court. Green might become the first former U.S. soldier to face the death penalty for war crimes before a civilian court. When the killings became public in 2006, some Iraqi officials demanded that American soldiers accused of crimes against civilians face prosecution in Iraqi courts.
AUSTRIA STUNNED BY SEX ABUSE CASE The news that a man may have imprisoned his daughter in a cellar for 24 years and fathered her seven children has been described as one of the worst cases in Austria's criminal history. Josef Fritzl, aged 73, is in police custody and is still being questioned. Police say he has confessed to the alleged crimes and that his confession is supported by DNA evidence. They do not believe anyone else was involved in his daughter's incarceration. The picture that is beginning to emerge is of a man who led a double life. In public he appeared to be a respectable member of the community, living in Amstetten with his wife Rosemarie, with whom he had seven grown-up children. But the results of DNA tests announced on Tuesday confirm he had a second, secret family with his daughter Elisabeth, whom police say he lured into a cellar, aged 18, in 1984 and repeatedly abused. She is believed to have borne him seven children, three of whom he and Rosemarie adopted. Three children remained in the cellar with their mother. Police say Mr Fritzl has also confessed to burning the body of a seventh child shortly after it died in infancy. 'Very intelligent' Local social services told the Austrian Press Agency that there appeared to be nothing suspicious about the family and that Mr Fritzl managed to explain "very plausibly" how three of his infant grandchildren had turned up on his doorstep. Amstetten's local governor, Hans-Heinz Lenze, told Austria's public broadcaster ORF that the children had had regular visits from social workers, who never heard any complaints or noticed anything to arouse their suspicions. He said they were well-behaved at school and fitted in well with their classmates. Mr Lenze said that initially the disappearance of Elisabeth had given the social services cause for concern, but that their investigations had not revealed any major discrepancies with Mr Fritzl's story that she had run away to join a sect. Mr Lenze told a news conference on Tuesday that neither Mr Fritzl nor his wife had any criminal convictions at the time of the first adoption in 1994. A qualified electrician, the police described Mr Fritzl as "a very intelligent man" who had put electric locks on the cellar rooms which could only be opened with a special code. Mr Fritzl was allegedly able to supply his secret family with clothes and food without arousing suspicion by shopping outside of Amstetten. Police say he had an excuse to travel away from home as he owned some land and could shop in other towns and deliver goods to the cellar dungeon in the evening, unnoticed.
BAILIFFS KILL MAN FIRING GUN IN FLORIDA COURTHOUSE ST. PETERSBURG, Florida (AP) -- A man who was supposed to be returning divorce papers at a courthouse pulled out a gun instead Wednesday, opening fire in the lobby before two bailiffs* fatally shot him. Several people were in the lobby at the time, but only one – a bailiff, who was shot in the shoulder -- was injured. He was treated and released from a hospital. Glen Lee Powell, 30, entered the courthouse wearing a backpack shortly after 1 p.m. and approached a security checkpoint. A deputy ordered him to remove the pack and place it on a conveyor belt, but instead, he threw it on the ground and opened fire with a semiautomatic handgun, Pinellas County Sheriff's Sgt. Jim Bordner said. Deputies B.J. Lyons and Marvin Glover returned fire, seriously wounding Powell, who later died at a St. Petersburg hospital. Lyons, a 58-year-old firearms instructor, was wounded. Detectives were working to determine a motive, Bordner said. He said Powell's wife is safe and had been notified of his death. It is known that Powell hadn't been upset about the divorce. The courthouse was closed after the shooting and is expected to resume normal business Thursday. "It's unfortunate that a life was lost, but the public, employees, judges and others in [the] courthouse were properly protected," said Robert Morris, the chief judge of Florida's Sixth Judicial Circuit. Cassandra Grady, 40, and her 15-year-old daughter went to the courthouse Wednesday for a hearing and saw the man before the shooting. Grady told the St. Petersburg Times that the man asked her where he could file a petition, and that she saw a gun handle in his backpack. "I told my daughter, 'Run for your life.' Then I started running. I was trying to run to warn them. He started shooting. I heard a round of shots: pop-pop-pop, pop-pop-pop." Grady was shocked but grateful. "I just want to say, 'Thank you, God.' It could have been us." * bailiff - officer of justice
SUSPECTED PEDOPHILE HELD AFTER GLOBAL MANHUNT (CNN) -- A suspected pedophile who became the subject of an international manhunt earlier this week after an appeal from Interpol has been detained in the United States, a spokesman for the global police agency told CNN Thursday. Wayne Nelson Corliss, 57, was arrested at his apartment in Union City, New Jersey, about midnight Thursday by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, Interpol said in a written statement. Interpol on Tuesday announced it was attempting to identify the man, who was featured in 100 photographs sexually abusing at least three boys between the ages of 6 and 10, it said. The images came to light in 2006, when Norwegian authorities discovered them in the possession of a man they arrested. They were believed to have been taken in Southeast Asia. Interpol posted six pictures of the suspect on its Web site. "Two days ago, this man's nationality, identity and location were totally unknown," Interpol Secretary General Ronald K. Noble said. "All we had to go by were a series of graphic photographs in which the suspect was seen sexually abusing young children and our confidence that the public and police worldwide would once again respond to Interpol's call for assistance. "That two days later the primary suspect is now in custody is an outstanding achievement and credit to the citizens, media and law enforcement worldwide who responded to Interpol's call." The organization, which facilitates global cooperation among police agencies, said Thursday it received nearly 250,000 visits to its Web site within the first 24 hours after its appeal was launched -- more than 10 times the daily average. Such tactics have proved successful for Interpol in the past. Last October, it disseminated pictures of another man whose face appeared in more than 200 images of sex acts with children, thought to have been taken in Vietnam and Cambodia. Ten days later, Christopher Paul Neil, a 32-year-old Canadian who had been working as an English-language teacher in South Korea, was arrested in Thailand and charged with child abuse after police managed to reverse the photo-masking process. After the success of that operation, Interpol's general assembly approved a resolution allowing Interpol to seek public help in child sex abuse investigations.
BABY-SNATCHING CASE ENDS IN PLEA DEAL UNION, Missouri (AP) -- A woman who assaulted a young mother and kidnapped her newborn entered into a plea deal Friday, and the prosecutor revealed additional details of the 2006 attack. Shannon Torrez, 38, of Lonedell, Missouri, is accused of child kidnapping, armed criminal action and first-degree assault. Under the arrangement, she does not admit guilt but there is sufficient evidence for a guilty verdict. Prosecutors are seeking a 30-year prison sentence. Sentencing testimony is set to begin May 27. Abby Woods was kidnapped September 15, 2006. Authorities said the baby's mother, Stephenie Ochsenbine, then 21, allowed Torrez into the family home, where Abby lived along with her mother, her father, James Woods, and her brother, Connor. The two women lived just a few miles apart in the rural area about 45 miles southwest of St. Louis but did not know each other. Franklin County prosecutor Robert Parks said Friday that Torrez knocked at Ochsenbine's door, said her car broke down and asked to use the phone. Once inside, she asked to use the bathroom, then came out pointing a gun at Ochsenbine and said she was taking the baby. When Ochsenbine got between Torrez and Abby, Torrez threw her down and stabbed her in the back, Parks said. Connor, then 1 year old, began to cry, and Torrez told Ochsenbine to make the child be quiet or she would hurt him, Parks said. Torrez then forced Ochsenbine to hold Connor as she tied them to a chair, Parks said. Moments later, Ochsenbine managed to free herself. Torrez struck her in the head, knocking her to the floor, Parks said. Torrez then choked Ochsenbine until she passed out. Ochsenbine awoke to find herself and Connor tied up in the bathroom, with Abby gone. Five days after the kidnapping, Torrez's sister-in-law alerted police. The baby was unharmed. Officers found a gun wrapped in a shirt at Shannon Torrez's home. DNA tests showed that blood on the shirt and the gun were from Ochsenbine. Torrez's attorney said his client's mental state will be the focus of the sentencing hearing. He declined to elaborate but said Torrez had delivered a stillborn baby just before the kidnapping. Ochsenbine sat in the front row of the courtroom Friday and showed little emotion. Woods kept his arm around her throughout the hearing, and the family declined to comment later. Parks described Abby as "a typical 2-year-old and doing really well."
WOMAN PLEADS GUILTY TO KILLING BIGAMIST SPOUSE NORRISTOWN, Pennsylvania -- A woman pleaded guilty Friday to third-degree murder for killing her bigamist husband just hours before he was to leave for Morocco to visit his second wife. Myra Morton, 48, was upset about the new marriage and her husband's plans to have children with the younger woman, authorities have said. She shot her 47-year-old husband, Jereleigh Morton, twice in the head in August while he slept. She faces from five to 20 years in prison, said defense lawyer Brian McMonagle. "I don't think there's any question in anybody's mind that the act was intentional," McMonagle said. "We have always maintained that it was based on a lot of passion, and it was caused by the emotional state that she was going through." Jereleigh Morton met his second wife, 37-year-old Zahra Toural, last year on the Internet, prosecutors said. In keeping with Muslim custom, Myra Morton traveled to Morocco to bless the marriage. Her husband allegedly said that if she didn't like it, she should get a divorce. The Mortons had converted to Islam about 20 years ago. As Myra Morton's resentment about the second marriage grew, she wrote the U.S. State Department a letter in April 2007 in which she said Toural had terrorist ties. She hoped the letter would keep Toural away from the U.S., authorities have said. Toural last month responded with a defamation suit against Myra Morton. Myra Morton spent about 20 years working at Temple University as a secretary before she and her husband received a reported $8 million medical settlement in 2005 over the death of a teenage daughter. They moved with their surviving daughter from a North Philadelphia row house to a $1 million house in the suburbs. "All she (Morton) cares about are that her daughter and her granddaughter get their inheritance, and are provided for," McMonagle said. "That is always a concern, particularly when you have so many hands reaching for this money." SMOKER TRIED TO OPEN PLANE DOOR A French woman has admitted attempting to open airplane door mid-flight so that she could smoke a cigarette. The woman was arrested when the plane landed in Australia. Sandrine Helene Sellies, 34, who has a fear of flying, had drunk alcohol and taken sleeping tablets ahead of the flight from Hong Kong to Brisbane. She was seen on the Cathay Pacific plane walking towards a door with an unlit cigarette and a lighter. She then began tampering with the emergency exit until she was stopped by a flight attendant. Defence lawyer Helen Shilton said her client had no memory of what had happened on the flight on Saturday, and that she had a history of sleepwalking. She pleaded guilty to endangering the safety of an aircraft at Brisbane Magistrates Court and was given a 12-month A$1,000 (£429) good behaviour bond - she will forfeit the money if she commits another offence. The French tourist was at the start of a three-week holiday in Australia with her husband.
DUBAI COURT JAILS BOY'S HIV RAPIST DUBAI (CNN) -- A court in Dubai sentenced two men Wednesday to 15 years in prison for the rape and kidnapping of a 15-year-old French boy. The boy's mother, Veronique Robert, was visibly upset after the sentence was read and promised to appeal. Robert, a French journalist, brought the case to the media's attention in recent months in an effort to shed light on what she deemed to be injustices in the pro-Western emirate of Dubai. She refrained from asking the death penalty for her son's attackers, but said she hoped the sentence would be much longer. A spokesman for the Dubai government, Habib al Mulla, told CNN the sentence was in accordance with international standards and was not lenient. "Today's verdict has proven that the system is efficient and is fair to all parties involved," al Mulla said. The case began in July, when the two men, 36 and 18, kidnapped and raped the French teenager frightining with a knife. Al Mulla said police action was swift and arrests were made within 24 hours. But Robert has said the case was botched from the start, beginning with her son's examination by a doctor who said her son was gay. Homosexuality in Dubai is illegal, and the teen could have faced as much as a year in prison. Robert's son has since returned to France and was not in court for Wednesday's sentencing. Robert has also said Dubai authorities repeatedly hided evidence -- confirmed in court papers -- that one of the attackers was HIV-positive. Robert said her son, who is still awaiting test results to find out whether he has the virus, could have gotten treatment much sooner had they known. Dubai authorities deny any evidence was hiden. The mother has already filed suit in courts in Paris and Geneva, Switzerland seeking compensation from Sheikh Khalifa, president of the United Arab Emirates, and the prime minister and vice president of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed al Maktoum. She is also suing others, including the Dubai police chief. Robert started a Web site over the summer, boycottdubai.com, demanding better treatment for children who suffer sexual assault there. At a press conference last month, she proclaimed, "We are here because I just would like first justice for my son; and second for every girl and boy who was raped and even had no chance to speak." Robert said she will drop all her pending cases if the government sets up rape clinics, recognizes the status of rape victims, and takes precautions after rape against sexuallytransmitted diseases. In the wake of Wednesday's verdict, Robert said a Dubai government official told her the emirate plans to open its first rape clinic, which she said was a small victory
LUCKY LUCIANO Byname of Charles Luciano, original name Salvatore Lucania Lucky Luciano (born Nov. 11, 1896, Lercara Friddi, Sicily, Italy—died Jan. 26, 1962, Capodicino Airport, Naples) the most powerful chief of American organized crime in the early 1930s and a major influence even from prison, 1936–45, and after deportation to Italy in 1946. Luciano emigrated with his parents from Sicily to New York City in 1906 and, at the age of 10, was already involved in mugging, shoplifting, and extortion; in 1916 he spent six months in jail for selling heroin. Out of jail, he teamed up with Frank Costello and Meyer Lansky and other young gangsters; he earned his nickname “Lucky” for success at evading arrest and winning craps games. In 1920 he joined the ranks of New York's rising crime boss, Joe Masseria, and by 1925 had become Masseria's chief lieutenant, directing bootlegging, prostitution, narcotics distribution, and other rackets. In October 1929 he became the rare gangster to survive a “oneway ride”; he was abducted by four men in a car, beaten, stabbed repeatedly with an ice pick, had his throat slit from ear to ear, and was left for dead on a Staten Island beach—but survived. He never named his abductors. Soon after, he changed his name to Luciano. The bloody gang war of 1930–31 between Masseria and rival boss Salvatore Maranzano was anathema to Luciano and other young racketeers who decried the publicity and loss of business, money, and efficiency. On April 15, 1931, Luciano lured Masseria to a Coney Island restaurant and had him assassinated by four loyalists, Vito Genovese, Albert Anastasia, Joe Adonis, and Bugsy Siegel. Six months later, on September 10, he had Maranzano murdered by four Jewish gunmen loaned by Meyer Lansky. Luciano had carefully nurtured his contacts with all the young powers in gangdom and had become capo di tutti capi (“boss of all the bosses”), without ever accepting or claiming the title. By 1934 he and the leaders of other crime “families” had developed the national crime syndicate or cartel. Then, in 1935, New York special prosecutor Thomas E. Dewey bore down on Luciano, gathering evidence of his brothel and call-girl empire and related extortion. In 1936 he was indicted, tried, and convicted and was sentenced to Clinton Prison at Dannemora, N.Y., for a 30- to 50-year term. From his cell Luciano continued to rule and issue orders. In 1942, after the luxury line “Normandie” blew up in New York Harbor, Navy intelligence sought Luciano's help in tightening waterfront security. Luciano gave the orders; sabotage on the docks ended; and in 1946 his sentence was commuted and he was deported to Italy, where he settled in Rome. In 1947 he moved to Cuba, to which all the syndicate heads came to pay homage and cash. But the pressure of public opinion and the U.S. narcotics bureau forced the embarrassed Cuban regime to deport him. He ended up in Naples, where he continued to direct the drug traffic into the United States and the smuggling of aliens to America. He died of a heart attack in Naples in 1962 and was buried in St. John's Cathedral Cemetery, Queens, N.Y.
MATA HARI: A DUTCH DANCER ACCUSED OF SPYING In the fall of 1917, a French military court sentenced the Dutch dancer known as Mata Hari to death. Charged with spying for the German Reich, she was executed on October 15, in Vincennes. Was she guilty or not? While that question has dominated traditional historical debate, it seems less significant than the fact that the cultural image-makers, catering to male fantasies, turned Mata Hari into a legendary figure that fulfilled the stereotype of woman as evil temptress The daughter of a prosperous hatter, she attended a teachers' college in Leiden. In 1895 she married an officer of Scottish origin, Captain Campbell MacLeod, and from 1897 to 1902 they lived in Java and Sumatra. The couple returned to Europe but later separated, and she began to dance professionally in Paris (1905) under the name of Lady MacLeod. She soon called herself Mata Hari, said to be a Malay expression for the sun (literally, “eye of the day”). Tall, extremely attractive, superficially acquainted with East Indian dances, and willing to appear virtually nude in public, she was an instant success in Paris and other large cities. Throughout her life she had numerous lovers, many of them military officers. The facts regarding her espionage activities remain obscure. Because of her international background – and probably also due to her numerous affairs with military officers – she began to associate with various secret services on both sides. On 13 February, 1917, Mata Hari was arrested in her room at the Hotel Plaza Athénée in Paris. She was put on trial, accused of spying for Germany and consequently causing the deaths of at least 50,000 soldiers. She was held in Saint-Lazar prison while awaiting trial and interrogated no less than seventeen times before facing an actual military jury. The prison had no baths so the only way she could clean herself was in a small bowl that was sometimes brought to her cell. The institution itself was generally filthy, something that greatly distressed the fastidious Mata Hari. She was isolated from other prisoners. This may have been for her own protection since her fellow inmates may well have wanted to exact their own justice upon a German spy but it grated on the sensibilities of the extroverted suspect. Since her arrest was kept secret from the public, she was not allowed to write to anyone. She was permitted no clean changes of clothing and allowed only 15 minutes a day for solitary exercise outside of her cell. Mata Hari wrote protests against the severe conditions of her confinement. In one such missive she wrote, "You have made me suffer too much. I am completely mad. I beg of you, put an end to this. I am a woman. I cannot support [what is] above my strength." In another she pleaded, "I beg of you, stop making me suffer in this prison. I am so weakened by this system and the cell is driving me mad. I have not done any espionage in France . . . Let me have provisional liberty. Don’t torture me here." She wrote in vain. Finally she was found guilty and was executed by firing squad on 15 October, 1917, at the age of 41. During World War I, her frequent traveling across international borders and her varied companions caused several countries to wonder if she was a spy or even a double-agent. Many people, who met her, say that she was sociable but just not smart enough to pull off such a feat.
ANDREI CHIKATILO: THE ROSTOV RIPPER Andrei Chikatilo was one of the world's most prolific and barbaric serial killers. Although he was extremely tall and attractive, Chikatilo was always shy with girls and considered himself impotent. However, in 1963 his younger sister Tatiana introduced him to a friend of hers named Faina. Things clicked, and he and Faina married that same year. They had two children, a daughter Ludmila in 1965 and a son Yuri in 1969. They lived an outwardly normal family life. Chikatilo graduated from Rostov University and became a teacher for a brief time, but he was eventually caught molesting some students, which led to his expulsion from the profession. By the end of 1978 Chikatilo had murdered his first victim, Lena Zakotnova, in Shankty, Russia. He didn't kill again for three years, but over the next nine years he tortured, murdered and cannibalized at least 51 more women and children. Russian authorities at first refused to believe that a serial killer could operate in their midst -- that sort of thing only occurred in degenerate capitalist societies -- but Chikatilo's victims began turning up so often and in so many places that the authorities finally were forced to admit that a monster was indeed loose among them. A task force consisting of the best homicide detectives in the country was assigned to hunt down and capture the killer (although they had no idea it was Chikatilo). He was finally captured on November 20, 1990, when a policeman noticed him acting suspiciously at a railroad station, detained him, and further investigation revealed that he had just committed three murders. Chikatilo confessed to 55 killings -- although due to the initial indifference and incompetence of the authorities it's been estimated that he likely committed at least twice that many before he was finally caught -- but was charged with only 53. His trial opened on April 14, 1992, with victims' relatives screaming for retribution. Chikatilo acted like a raving maniac throughout the trial, rolling his eyes, moving back and forth, contorting his face and hurling curses at spectators and the judge, among others. On October 14, 1992, Andrei Chikatilo was convicted of 52 murders -- one charge was dropped for lack of evidence -- and five counts of child molestation. The next day he was given 52 death sentences and taken to Novocherkassk Prison in the Rostov-on-Don region of Russia. Sixteen months later, on February 14, 1994, his death sentence was carried out in the manner prescribed by Russian law -- a single bullet to the back of the head.
THE FORGER WHO FOOLED THE WORLD HANS VAN MEEGEREN Forgers, by nature, prefer anonymity and therefore are rarely remembered. An exception is Van Meegeren (1889-1947). Van Meegeren's story is absolutely unique and may be justly considered the most dramatic art scam of the 20th c. His life of artistic crime began after his work was demeaned by art critics. Motivated by revenge, he set out to embarrass his detractors by "putting one over" on them. His forgeries were so good that his "Vermeers" were accepted as genuine. In May 1945 Van Meegeren was arrested, charged with collaborating with the enemy and imprisoned. His name had been traced to the sale made during the second world war of what was then believed to be an authentic Vermeer to Nazi Field-Marshal Hermann Goering. Shortly after, to general disbelief, Van Meegeren came up with a very original defense against the accusation of collaboration, then punishable by death. He claimed that the painting, The Woman Taken in Adultery, was not a Vermeer but rather a forgery by his own hand. Moreover, since he had traded the false Vermeer for 200 original Dutch paintings seized by Goering in the beginning of the war, Van Meegeren believed that he was in fact a national hero rather than a Nazi collaborator. He also claimed to have painted five other "Vermeer's," as well as two "Pieter de Hoogh's" all of which had surfaced on the art market since 1937. In 1947 the trial took place and in order to demonstrate his case it was arranged that, before the court under police guard, he would paint another "Vermeer," Jesus among the Doctors, using the materials and techniques he had used for the other forgeries. During the incredible two year trial Van Meegeren had confessed that "spurred by the disappointment of receiving no acknowledgements from artists and critics....I determined to prove my worth as a painter by making a perfect 17th century canvas." At the end of the trial collaboration charges were changed to forgery and Van Meegeren was condemned to one year in confinement. Van Meegeren was actually tickled to get only one year in jail. "Two years," he told a reporter "is the maximum punishment for such a thing. I know because I looked it up in our laws twelve years ago, before I started all this. But sir, I'm sure about one thing: if I die in jail they will just forget all about it. My paintings will become original Vermeers once more. I produced them not for money but for art's sake." At the age of 58, he fell ill due to years of drug and alcohol abuse and died of a heart attack in prison. In 1950 household effects were auctioned in his house at 321 Keizersgracht in Amsterdam. n all he made more that seven million guilders, about $2 million then and roughly about twenty times that amount today. In his last years Van Meegeren lived the high life and had purchased a number of houses until he was caught. What van Meegeren did was morally, ethically and legally wrong, but he certainly managed to find a way to achieve lasting fame as a painter.
CESARE LOMBROSO: AN ITALIAN PHYSICIAN AND CRIMINOLOGIST Cesare Lombroso, 1835-1909, was an Italian criminologist and physician. In 1876 he published a pamphlet setting forth his theory of the origin of criminal traits. In the study, later enlarged into the famous L'uomo delinquente he compared anthropological measurements and developed the concept of the atavistic, or born, criminal. Lombroso popularized the notion of the born criminal through biological determinism, claiming that criminals have particular physiognomic attributes or deformities. Physiognomy attempts to estimate character and personality traits from physical features of the face or the body. Whereas most individuals evolve, the violent criminal had devolved, and therefore criminals were societal or evolutionary regressions. If criminality was inherited, then the born criminal could be distinguished by physical atavistic stigmata, such as: • large jaws, forward projection of jaw, low sloping foreheads • high cheekbones, flattened or upturned nose • handle-shaped ears • large chins, very prominent in appearance • hawk-like noses or fleshy lips • hard shifty eyes, scanty beard or baldness • insensitivity to pain, long arms. He attempted to construct a purported scientific methodology in order to predict criminal behavior and isolate individuals capable of the most violent types of criminal activity. Lombroso advocated the study of individuals using measurements and statistical methods in compiling anthropological, social, and economic data . Along with the natural origin of the crime and its social consequences, various remedies can then be provided to the criminal, which would offer the greatest effects. Lombroso claimed that the modern criminal was the savage throwback of "degeneration". Lombroso concluded that skull and facial features were clues to genetic criminality. These features could be measured with craniometers and calipers, and the measurements analyzed by quantitative research. Lombroso assumed that whites were superior to non-whites by heredity, and that Africans were the first human beings that evolved upwards and positively to yellow then white. Racial development was signified by social progress from primitive to modern, "only we white people have reached the ultimate symmetry of bodily form" Lombroso stated in 1871 Lombroso's studies of female criminality began with measurements of females' skulls and photographs in his search for "atavism". He found that female criminals were rare and showed few signs of "degeneration" because they had “evolved less than men due to the inactive nature of their lives”. He asserted that women were lower on the evolutionary scale, more childlike, and less intelligent. Lombroso argued it was the females' natural passivity that withheld them from breaking the law, as they lacked the intelligence and initiative to become criminal. Further, women who commit crimes had different physical characteristics, such as excessive body hair, wrinkles, and an abnormal cranium. However, Lombroso is still credited with turning attention from the legalistic study of crime to the scientific study of the criminal. Lombroso advocated humane treatment of criminals and limitations on the use of the death penalty.
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