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Civil courts.
The most important civil
courts are the county courts, which deal with minor cases, and the
High Court, before which more serious matters are brought.
Most appeals go to the
Court of Appeal (Civil Division) in London.
The Civil Division can
provide legal remedy against judgements of the High Court and the
county courts.
More than 500 county
courts are grouped into over 50 circuits with at least one judge for
each such circuit.
The judges called
'circuit judges' since the Court Act of 1971 are appointed by the
Crown on the advice of the Lord Chancellor.
They must be barristers
with at least seven years of experience.
The High Court of
Justice is above the county courts.
It has several
divisions.
The Chancery Division
consists of the Lord Chancellor and ten judges, and deals with
questions of company law, bankruptcy, trusts, the administration of
the estates of people who have died, tax and some other matters
affecting finance and property.
The Family Division
deals with divorce and questions arising out of wills
well as questions affecting children
(adoption, or guardianship, for example).
There are about 30
judges in the Chancery and Family Divisions of the High Court of
Justice, who deal only with civil cases, almost all in London.
The Queen's Bench
Division consists of the Lord Chief Justice
and about fifty other judges.
They divide their time
between civil work in London, the Central Criminal Court (or “Old
Bailey"), also in London, and visits to the provincial Crown
Courts.
The High Court judges
still wear robes and big wigs in court.
They are appointed by
the Queen on the recommendation of the Lord Chancellor, and retire
at age 75.
The Queen's Bench
Division with the widest jurisdiction is both the main civil court
for disputes involving more than 5,000 pounds, and the main criminal
court.
It also deals with suits
for libel.
The Division also takes
appeals from lower courts, mostly the Magistrates' Courts.
The Queen's Bench
Division includes a Commercial Court that specializes in large
commercial disputes, and an Admiralty Court for shipping cases.
These three divisions
were unified into one High Court in a major judicial reform in 1875,
but they are still in many respects separate.
High Court judges try
civil cases alone, except for a few cases like defamation
false imprisonment or fraud.
Courts of Appeal.
The intermediate
appellate tribunal is the Court of Appeal.
The
Master of the Rolls
and fourteen Lords
Justices constitute
this court.
The
Lord Chief Justice, who presides over the Queen's Bench Division of
the High Court, normally sits when criminal appeals are tried.
The
appointments are for life, subject to mandatory retirement at age
75.
The
Court of Appeal has two divisions - Civil and Criminal.
The
Civil Division hears appeals from the High Court as well as from
county courts and a few more specialized
courts.
The Criminal Division of
the Court of Appeal is competent to deal with appeals against
decisions of the first instance made by the Crown Court.
Criminal appeals are
usually heard by three judges.
The Lord Chief Justice
frequently presides in the Criminal Division.
In
the Civil Division senior Lord Justice ( or the Master of the Rolls)
normally presides over the other two Lords Justices.
The decisions are based
on documents supplemented by the arguments of barristers.
Appeals
against decisions of the Court of Appeal can be lodged with the
House of Lords.
The House of Lords, in
addition to being a part of the legislature, is the highest court in
the land.
The judges of the House
of Lords are Lords of Appeal in Ordinary.
They are ten in number.
The president of the
House of Lords as a court is the Lord Chancellor.
So, he is the highest
judge in the kingdom.
The
other Law Lords are judges from English courts or from Scottish or
Northern Irish judiciary.
Five Lords of Appeal in
Ordinary normally deal with any particular case.
They sit in a small room
in Westminster Palace. The Lords express their opinion on the case
and vote at hand.
A
person accused of an offence is sure of a fair and open trial, and
enjoys good protection against the
possibility of an unfair decision.
Justice, both civil and
criminal, operates with reasonable speed, and the excellent system
of free legal aid and advice to people with low income is of great
benefit.
Magistrates' Courts
Magistrates'
Courts are the people's
courts, formerly
known as police courts, the lowest tier in the criminal justice
system.
There are around 28,000
lay magistrates sitting in the 700 or so courts in England and Wales
(the system is different in Scotland and Northern Ireland). They deal
with more than two million
cases a year, and perform a variety of other functions as well.
Their main job is to
deliver 'summary
justice'
to people
charged with less serious crimes (grave offences are dealt with at
the Crown Court).
8 Crown Courts
Crown
Courts have existed only since 1972.
When there is a jury, the
judge's role is limited to deciding matters of law and summing-up to
the jury. The jury decides whether the defendant is guilty or not
guilty.
There are 94 Crown Court
centres in England and Wales, many of them consisting of several
courtrooms.
The most famous Crown
Court in England, and perhaps, the most famous court in the world, is
the Old Bailey. Officially
the Central Criminal
Court, it stands on the site of Newgate
prison, and was completed in 1907.
The Crown Court acts also
as the appeal court against both convictions and sentences by
magistrates. When the appeal is against conviction, the Crown Court
judge re-hears all the evidence that witnesses have already given in
the lower court, but there is no jury. For all
appeals the judge sits with two, three or four lay magistrates.
County
Courts
Just as the Magistrates'
Courts deal with the vast majority of criminal.
cases, county courts take on most of the
smaller
civil cases. In general, they deal with breach of contract or tort
cases involving
up to 5,000 pounds. They also have jurisdiction over most matrimonial
matters. They can grant divorces and make a range of orders relating
to money, property and children. There are county courts all over
England and Wales, around 270 altogether. The judges have the rank
of circuit judge, the same level as those who
sit in the Crown Court.
The High Court
The 81 High Court judges
are distributed between the three divisions, which have their home in
London's Royal Courts of Justice, an eccentric Victorian Gothic
building on the Strand, with outposts in some 25 large
provincial towns
and cities.
The biggest of the
divisions, with the widest jurisdiction, is the Queen's Bench (King's
Bench). Its most important function is as the main civil court for
disputes involving more than 5,000 pounds. Claims for money owing,
and actions for damages arising from motor and work accidents are the
High Court's main folder. It also deals with suits for libel. The
division also includes a Commercial Court, which specialises in large
commercial disputes, and an Admiralty Court for shipping cases.
The Family Division deals
with divorce; disputes between warring spouses involving children,
property or money; adoption, wardship, and other questions affecting
children.
The Chancery Division
deals
with tax, interpretation of wills, companies, settlements, trusts,
and various other issues affecting finance and property.
The Court Of Appeal
The Court of Appeal
is the main repository of dissatisfaction with the decisions of lower
courts. Above it is the House of Lords.
There are two divisions
of the appeal court: the head of the Criminal Division is no less
than the Lord Chief Justice, the country's
top judge. The Civil
Division is led by the Master of the Rolls. It is yet another oddity
of the system that these, the two most senior judges, do not sit in
the most senior court, the House of Lords.
The Civil Division hears
appeals from the High Court as well as from county courts and a few
more specialised courts.
The House Of Lords
The House of Lords is the
final arbiter not only of all
English law, but also of Scottish civil, though not criminal, law.
The Law Lords do not deliver judgements like all other judges, they
make speeches. They do not come to a decision, they take a vote on a
motion that the appeal be dismissed or allowed.
Some Other Courts
The Judicial
Committee of the Privy
Council.
Its jurisdiction is now
confined to hearing appeals from the remaining colonies, and from
those former British
territories which have chosen to retain it as their final appeal
court. The judges of the Privy Council are predominantly the same
Law Lords that normally sit in the House of Lords, with the addition,
every now and again, of eminent judges from Commonwealth countries,
The Employment
Appeal
Tribunal was set up following the
great increase in recent years of
disputes arising from employment, especially involving unfair
dismissal or discrimination. The court hears appeals from industrial
tribunals. Every case is heard by a High
Court judge and two lay members chosen for their knowledge and
experience of industrial relations: trade union officials, for
instance, and representatives of employers' organizations.
The Restrictive
Practices Court which is of the level of
the High Court, has various powers to stop or control restrictive or
monopolistic
practices in the supply of goods and services - for example,
agreements between ostensibly competitive companies to charge a
minimum price for their products, against the interests of the
consumer.
Coroners' Courts.
Coroners, who must be qualified lawyers or doctors, have a duty to
hold public inquests into any violent, unnatural or suspicious death,
or in the case of a person dying suddenly without any obvious cause,
or in prison or in police custody. Coroners' inquests are not trials,
but witnesses
are called, and there is often a jury who decide on the manner of
death - suicide, unlawful killing, misadventure or accident - or
(where they are not sure) return an open verdict.
Tribunals.
Outside the normal hierarchy of the courts, flourishes a parallel
structure of administrative and judicial bodies lumped together
under the genera!
description of tribunals. Some of them have been in existence for a
century or more, but they have proliferated especially in the last
thirty years, since the creation of the welfare state. The sixty or
so tribunals cover a wide range of subjects, from tax to mental
health, from forestry to patents. Some of the most important and
widely used are the industrial tribunals,
where workers can claim compensation for unfair dismissal; the
supplementary benefit appeals tribunal; rent tribunal; and the
immigration appeals tribunal.
The tribunals differ in
their membership and rules of procedure, but they
all conduct themselves according to the principles of justice used by
the courts.
Two Foreign Courts
Two
courts outside Britain's boundaries have recently come to play a big
part in her affairs.
The two deal with completely different
issues, and belong to different regional institutions,
The European Court
(more properly, the Court of Justice of the European Community,
called the European Union - EU
- since 1993) sits in Luxembourg. It is the court of the EU, and
therefore Britain, as its member, is under its jurisdiction on
matters affecting the EU.
The European Court
of Human Rights sits in Strasbourg
(France) and operates under the umbrella of the Council of Europe.
Criminal courts.
Magistrates'
Courts.
Every person charged,
with an offence is summoned
to appear before a local Magistrates' Court, which may impose a fine
up to a general limit of 2,000 pounds or six
months' imprisonment.
With 98 per cent of
cases the magistrates on the bench decide on guilty or innocence,
and if necessary, what penalty to impose.
With
more serious cases the magistrates can decide only
to send them for trial in
a Crown Court, where the decision on guilt or innocence will be made
by a jury of twelve citizens chosen by chance, and if necessary, the
penalty will be decided by the presiding judge, helped by two
Justices of the Peace (JPs).
A
person accused before a Magistrates' Court may demand to be sent for
trial before a
Crown Court, even if the case is not serious.
A
Magistrates' Court normally consists of three JPs.
The
JPs are ordinary but worthy citizens
have been appointed to their positions by the Lord Chancellor on the
advice of local appointing committees.
JPs receive no payment
for their work.
In
the courts the JPs are advised on points of law by their clerks, who
are professional lawyers; otherwise they decide each case according
to their sense what is fair and reasonable.
Crown
Courts.
When a criminal case is not dealt with finally in a Magistrates'
Court, it goes for trial in a Crown Court.
The
court
is presided over by a judge, but the decision on guilt or innocence
is made by a jury of twelve citizens.
The
judge's functions are, first, to see that the trial is properly
conducted; second, to give guidance to the jury before asking it
for its verdict and
finally, if the jury finds the accused guilty, to decide upon the
penalty and pronounce a sentence.
For
this last decision the judge is helped by two JPs who have been
sitting beside him throughout the proceedings.
Judges
are either practicing
or former barristers who all are qualified, professional and
experienced lawyers and are paid for their work.
Twelve
local citizens serve as
members of the jury.
A person accused cannot
be found to be guilty except by the verdict of at least ten of the
twelve members of the jury.
Normally
the jury do agree, though sometimes only after some hours of
discussion.
If
the jury finds the accused guilty, then it is for the judge to
pronounce a sentence.
The
accused may appeal to the Court of Appeal against conviction or
sentence.
The
Court of Appeal does not hear witnesses other than in exceptional
circumstances.
The Crown Courts act
also as the appeal courts against both conviction and sentences by
magistrates.
When
the appeal is against conviction, a judge re-hears all the evidence
that witnesses have already given in the lower court, but there is
no jury.
GB
– geography.
Great Britain is
situated on the British Isles.
They lie to the west of
the continent of Europe.
The larger of the two
big islands is known as Great Britain.
The smaller island is
Ireland, with Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic.
The
island of Great Britain together with the neighboring
minor islands and the northeastern part of Ireland constitute the
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
The country is usually
called Great Britain (or England).
The total area of Great
Britain is 244,000 square kilometres.
The west coast of the
country is washed by the waters of the Atlantic Ocean and the Irish
Sea, the east coast is washed by the North Sea.
Great Britain is
separated from France by the English Channel which is 32 km. wide in
its narrowest part, and 180 km.
In its widest part.
The seas surrounding
Great Britain are not very deep.
The surface of England
and Ireland is flat, but the surface of Scotland and Wales is
mountainous.
In
Wales, there are the Cambrian Mountains, the highest peak of which
is Snowdon.
It is 3,560 feet high
(nearly 1,000 metres).
In
Scotland, the main chain of mountains is called the Grampians, its
highest peak is Ben Nevis (4,400 feet high).
The
mountainous northern part of Scotland is called the Highlands.
The rivers of Great
Britain are short.
The Thames, the Severn
and the Clyde are the most important.
The Thames on which
London, the capital of Great Britain is situated, flows into the
North Sea and is very deep.
There
are many beautiful lakes in Great Britain, the largest part of them
is in the Lake District in northwestern England.
My
Family
Family
is the most precious thing for me,
because
this is where I find love & understanding, & support.
Our
family is quite large by modern standards.
It
consists of four people - my parents, my younger sister &
me.
My
parents are quite young, about 35, & my sister is four years
younger then me.
My
father is a civil navigator.
He
spends most of his time at work, so the time when he is home in the
evening is something special for my sister & me.
My
mother is a teacher, & she has more time to spare than my
father.
We
share our problems & secrets with them, & they often give
very good advice.
There’
s often a lot to do about the house, but we are always willing to
help with the chores, & everything is done quickly &
efficiently.
Most
of all I like our late dinners or early suppers, when we all gather
round the table, & the light of the kitchen lamp creates a
relaxed & cosy atmosphere.
We
talk,
&
joke,
&
have fun,
because
we
are
all
friends.
Sundays
are also very nice.
If
the weather is fine, we go skiing in the forest in winter, or to
our ‘dacha’ in summer.
In
fact, it’s just a small cottage on a small plot of land, but
we like it a lot, & like to work in the garden, planting,
digging, gathering strawberries & tomatoes.
But,
if I were asked about
our
family
hobby,
I
would
name
reading.
Reading
is a perfect combination of business & pleasure, of intellectual
work & entertainment.
That’s
about all. I’m lucky to have such a loving & friendly
family, & when I have a family of my own, I will try to make it
work on the same lines.
Me
& My plans for the future.
Finishing
school is the beginning of the independent life for millions of
schools leavers.
Many
roads are opened before us:
vocational & technical school, institutes & universities.
But,
it’s not
an
easy thing to choose a profession out of more than 2,000 existing in
the world.
Some
pupils follow the advice of their parents or friends, others can’t
decide even after leaving the school.
As
for me I made my choice long ago.
I
specialize in the humanities.
Social
Sciences & English have always been my favorites, but my chief
interest is law.
My
dream has always been to become a lawyer.
My
choice of this occupation didn’t come as a sudden flash.
As
a child, I listened to my aunt & uncle discussing professional
matters.
Little
by little, I got interested in the subject & began thinking of
law as my prospective occupation.
For
me, choosing a career is not only a matter of future prestige &
wealth.
In
my opinion, a job should be interesting & socially important.
That
is the reason why I have chosen the profession of a lawyer, which
gives plenty of opportunities to help people in trouble.
In
addition I should say, whatever profession I choose to follow, the
greatest pleasure will surely come from feeling that I am useful to
my country.
My
Working Day.
A
person’s schedule depends on his or her type of activity, &
is organised accordingly.
It
is rather flexible, & can be change any time, if necessary.
I
will try to give you a snapshot of a typical day in my life as a
school student.
The
shrill ringing of an alarm-clock wakes me up at half past six.
I
do not jump out of bed, but daydream for about 5 minutes more.
Then
I do jump out, & keep jumping, pushing up, sitting up, &
generally warming up for about 20 minutes.
Then
a quick shower, & a very light breakfast - I just can’t
make myself eat much in the morning.
So,
it’s a soft-boiled egg, a toast, & a cup of tea or coffee.
Then
off to school.
It’s
the usual routine of classes & breaks, a longer break at 11 a.
m. for lunch, & school is over at 1 or 2 p. m., depending on the
number of classes.
Sometimes
I stay at school till 3 p. m. for some optional class or something
extra-curriculum.
Then
I’m home, & it’s dinner, if I may call it so.
My
folks are both at work, so left to my own devices I have what I
manage to find in the fridge.
Then
I fool around for an hour or so browsing in some magazine or a book,
or listening to some quiet music.
After
that I’m ready for the most important part of my day, my work
actually.
I
study, I dig up information, I solve tasks, find answers to question
- do my homework.
By
8 p. m. I feel tired.
Fortunately,
by that time folks have arrived, & we eat.
That
is the only proper meal of the day for me, & the only time to
talk with my parents.
Then
an hour or more of study, some TV, & by 12 p. m. I’m in
bed.
Sometimes
I have to stay up late, if I have some difficult task to solve.
So
this is it, in a nutshell.
Not
very eventful, but it’s a working day, isn’t it?
THE WORK OF THE COURT
In the district courts
cases are heard by the judge alone or by the collegial.
The judge alone has the
right to hear and decide the majority of civil cases and only such
criminal cases punishment for which doesn't exceed 2 years of
imprisonment and if the defendant does not object to such a trial.
The collegial consists
of one judge and two people's assessors.
They have equal rights
in deciding a case.
Decisions are taken by a
majority vote.
People's assessors are
elected at the meetings of working people at the places of their
work or residence by show of hands for a term of 5 years.
The President of the
Russian Federation appoints all judges.
They are appointed for
life, but if a judge misuses his authority and does not perform his
duties properly, or if his conduct is unworthy of a judge, he may be
discharged.
Any citizen of Russia
who has reached the age of 25, graduated from a law higher school,
whose length of legal service is not less than 5 years and who has
passed the qualification exam may be appointed judge of a district
court.
According to the
Constitution judges are independent and subject only to the law.
They must be neutral and
impartial.
All judges enjoy the
principle of inviolability.
People's assessors are
citizens of different professions.
In deciding cases they
are guided by their sense of justice and life experience.
Their work as people's
assessors is not paid.
They
are reserved the right to
keeping the permanent place of work and
getting their wages there.
In deciding a case
judges in the courts of the first instance must examine all the case
evidence, interrogate the defendants, victims and witnesses, hear
the experts' findings, examine all physical evidence and make
public all records and other papers.
The sentence of the
judge must be lawful, grounded and just.
Judicial system.
The
structure of
the
court system in
Britain is many-layered and almost incomprehensible.
There
is no comprehensive law regulating the organization
and competence of the courts.
The
court system in Scotland and also in Northern Ireland differs
some
what from that of England
and Wales.
There
is no written constitution, hence no constitutional court in Great
Britain.
Parliament
is sovereign.
So,
the courts cannot question the authority of the constitutional
validity of the statutes; they can only interpret them.
The
courts in Great Britain are divided into two large groups:
criminal courts and civil
courts.
Besides,
there are many special tribunals, for example, industrial tribunals
dealing with labor
disputes and industrial injury
compensation.
Criminal
courts are
Magistrates'
Courts and
Crown Courts.
Magistrates' Courts are
the courts of first instance.
Cases involving minor
offences begin and end there.
Cases involving more
serious offences normally start in Magistrates' Courts before being
referred to higher courts - Crown Courts - for trial.
Crown Courts have
existed only since 1972.
They
try serious cases such as murder, rape, arson, armed robbery, fraud,
and so on.
Civil
courts include
county courts as the courts of first instance, and the High Court as
a higher court.
The
High Court of
Justice consists of
three separate subdivisions: the Queen's
Bench Division, the
Chancery Division
and the Family
Division.
Appeals
against decisions of the High Court and the Crown Court may be taken
to the Court of Appeal
with its Criminal and Civil divisions.
The
Crown Court, the High Court of Justice and the Court
of Appeal
form the Supreme Court of Judicature.
The highest court in the
country is the House of Lords.
It is the biggest court
of appeal in civil matters for the whole of the United Kingdom and
the final court of appeal in criminal cases.
The President of the
house of Lords as a court is the Lord Chancellor.
London
London is situated upon
both banks of the River Thames.
It is the chief port of
the country and the most important commercial, manufacturing and
cultural center.
There is little heavy
industry in London, but there is a wide range of light industry in
Greater London.
The most characteristic
parts of London are: the City, the West End, the East End, and
Westminster.
The City
is the oldest part of London.
It is the financial
center of the UK with many banks, offices, and Stock
Exchange.
he City, the 'square
mile', as it is often called, stretches along the north bank of the
Thames from Temple Bar
to the Tower of London.
The City has its own
police force and courts of law, and during the working day upward
of half a million people earn their living
there in the commercial heart of the capital.
Among the institutions
in the City are the Mansion House, the Bank
of England, the
Monument to commemorate the Great Fire of
London, the Royal Exchange,
and the Guildhall
where the Lord Mayor and his Sheriffs
are elected.
The West End
is the most fashionable part of London.
It is the area of the
largest department stores, hotels, cinemas, theatres, concert halls,
museums, the best art galleries, historical palaces (including
Buckingham Palace, the Queen's London residence), and famous parks,
such as Hvde Park
with its Speaker's Corner,
and Kensington Gardens.
The main shopping streets are Piccadilly, Regent Street and Oxford
Street.
The East End
of London is unattractive in appearance, but very important to the
country's commerce.
It is situated to the
east of the City.
Here, today we can see
kilometers and kilometers of docks of the Port of London, and the
great industrial areas that depend upon shipping.
London's docklands -
so recently an isolated urban wasteland - is well on the way to
being transformed into the most exciting new international water
city of the 21st
century.
Westminster
is the political center.
The best known streets
here are Whitehall with important government offices, and Downing
Street with the London residence of Prime Minister and the place
where the Cabinet meets.
And here, on the
embankment of the Thames, you can see Houses of Parliament.
When Parliament is
sitting, the fact is confirmed by the Union
Jack flying on the Victoria
Tower during the day, and at night by the
light in the clock tower of Big Ben.
The imposing
clock tower of Big Ben stands as a symbol of London above the
night-time traffic in Whitehall.
Although the world
famous clock is known as Big Ben, this name is a misnomer.
Other
Courts
Other courts are divided
into:
The Judicial
Committee of the Privy Council.
Its jurisdiction is now
confined to hearing appeals from the remaining colonies, and from
those former British territories which have chosen to retain it as
their final appeal court.
The judges of the Privy
Council are predominantly the same Law Lords that normally sit in
the House of Lords, with the addition, every now and again, of
eminent judges from Commonwealth countries,
The Employment
Appeal Tribunal
It was set up following
the great
increase in recent years of disputes arising from employment,
especially involving unfair dismissal or discrimination.
The court hears appeals
from industrial tribunals.
Every case is heard by a
High Court judge and two lay members chosen for their knowledge and
experience of industrial relations: trade union officials, for
instance, and representatives of employers' organizations.
The Restrictive
Practices Court
Which is of the level of
the High Court, has various powers to stop or control restrictive or
monopolistic practices in the supply of goods and services - for
example, agreements between ostensibly competitive companies to
charge a minimum price for their products, against the interests of
the consumer.
Coroners' Courts.
Coroners, who must be
qualified lawyers or doctors, have a duty to hold public inquests
into any violent, unnatural or suspicious death, or in the case of a
person dying suddenly without any obvious cause, or in prison or in
police custody.
Coroners' inquests are
not trials, but witnesses are called, and there is often a jury who
decide on the manner of death - suicide, unlawful killing,
misadventure or accident - or (where they are not sure) return an
open verdict.
Tribunals.
Outside the normal
hierarchy of the courts, flourishes a parallel structure of
administrative and judicial bodies lumped together
under the genera! description of
tribunals.
Some of them have been
in existence for a century or more, but they have proliferated
especially in the last thirty years, since the creation of the
welfare state.
Some of the most
important and widely used are the industrial tribunals, where
workers can claim compensation for unfair dismissal; the
supplementary benefit appeals tribunal; rent tribunal; and the
immigration appeals tribunal.
Two
Foreign Courts
Two courts outside
Britain's boundaries have recently come to play a big part in her
affairs.
The two deal with
completely different issues, and belong to different regional
institutions,
The European Court
(more properly, the
Court of Justice of the European Community, called the European
Union - EU - since 1993) sits in Luxembourg.
It is the court of the
EU, and therefore Britain, as its member, is under its jurisdiction
on matters affecting the EU.
The European Court
of Human Rights
It sits in Strasbourg
(France) and operates under the umbrella of the Council of Europe.
Political system of
GB.
The UK is a
parliamentary monarchy.
Parliament is the
supreme legislative body of the British state.
The British Parliament
is one of the oldest Parliaments in the world.
It has existed since
1265.
It consists of two
chambers known as the House of Commons and the House of Lords, and
the Queen as its head.
The duration of
Parliament is five years.
The life of Parliament
is divided into sessions.
The main functions of
Parliament are: 1) to make laws regulating the life of the
community; 2) to approve Government spending and the means by which
it raises the money required; 3) to control the executive activity
of the Government; 4) to provide a forum for criticism of the
Government, and to extract information about the activities and
intentions of the Government and the institutions under its control.
The House of Commons is
made up of 650 elected members, and it is presided over by the
Speaker.
The House of Lords is a
non-elected hereditary
second chamber of Parliament.
The House of Lords is
composed of lords spiritual
and lords temporal.
The lords spiritual are
the two leaders of the Church of and twenty-four bishops.
The lords temporal are
peers of royal
descent.
The chairman of the
House of Lords is the Lord Chancellor.
The House of Lords has
formally the power only to revise
and amend bills
passed through the House of Commons.
The Government
Executive power in the UK belongs to the
Government, which consists of the Cabinet and other ministers of the
Government.
It includes
about a hundred politicians
under the Prime Minister, appointed to
their offices, as ministers, by the Queen on his advice.
It is a
constitutional convention that the Prime
Minister should be the head of the party with the largest number of
seats in the House of Commons.
A modern government is
arranged in about fifteen departments.
Queen Elizabeth II is
the fourth sovereign of the House of Windsor.
She is a Head of State.
She have signed all new
bills and it becomes an Act of Parliament.
STUDY
WORK
My study
is not
easy so I
have to learn many different subjects which are important for future
occupation: Criminal Law,
Criminal Procedure, Civil Law, Labor
Law, International Law, Criminology and others.
Special
subjects are not the only subjects of the curriculum.
I
learn some humane, theoretical, optional and additional subjects,
such as History of Russia, Philosophy, Theory of State and Law,
History of State and Law, Logics, Foreign Languages and others.
I’m take
tests and exams on each subject included into the curriculum.
As the academic year is
divided into two semesters, terminal tests and exams are held in
January and in June.
And
then when all the tests and exams are passed successfully, I
will have vacation.
At
the end of the whole course of studies I
will take
degree examinations, finals, as they are often called.
The timetable of
lectures, tutorials and seminars is regulated by a study schedule.
It provides me with
lecture halls and tutorial rooms on time.
I have to attend
seminars and not miss lectures.
One of the main
principles of the Russian educational system is to unite theory and
practice.
So, during the course of
studies I’ll have practical training at law enforcement
organs.
Much attention is paid
to the studying of Foreign Languages: English, German or French.
I had classes in English
three times a week, the attendance of which was obligatory.
As English is
heavy-reading subjects, I had to work at them hard and devote much
time to them.
The
High Court
The High Court is a
hotch-potch.
It is a composite
description embracing three separate kinds of courts - called
divisions - each with separate functions (though they occasionally
overlap).
The
81 High Court judges are distributed between the three divisions,
which have their home in London's Royal Courts of Justice, an
eccentric Victorian Gothic building on the Strand, with outposts in
some 25 large provincial towns and cities.
The
biggest of the divisions, with the widest jurisdiction, is the
Queen's Bench (King's Bench).
Its most important
function is as the main civil court for disputes involving more than
5,000 pounds.
Claims for money owing,
and actions for damages arising from motor and work accidents are
the High Court's main folder.
It
also deals with suits, for libel.
The
division also includes a Commercial Court, which specializes
in large commercial disputes, and an Admiralty Court for shipping
cases.
The court can also quash
decisions of Magistrates' Courts where they exceed their powers or
there are irregularities in the proceedings.
It also takes appeals
from lower courts, but only on issues raising points of law.
The court does not hear
witnesses or deal with cases which raise only factual points.
The Family Division
deals with divorce; disputes between warring spouses involving
children, property or money; adoption, wardship, and other questions
affecting children.
The Chancery Division
deals with tax, interpretation of wills, companies, settlements,
trusts, and various other issues affecting finance and property.
THE
WORK OF A PROSECUTOR'S OFFICE
The
Prosecutor's Office was established in our country in May 1922.
It
is a system of bodies exercising general supervision over the strict
and uniform observance of laws by all the ministries, organizations,
officials and also by citizens.
Its
main function is to see that all laws are correctly and uniformly
applied throughout the country.
Its
tasks are also strengthening legality and law and order as well as
protecting personal rights and freedom of citizens, rights and
interests of organizations, etc.
The law on Prosecutor's
Office of the Russian Federation was enacted on January 2, 2000.
Under this law the
Prosecutor's Office is headed by the Prosecutor-General who appoints
prosecutors of oblasts, cities, towns, and districts.
The lower public
prosecutors are subordinated to the higher ones.
The Prosecutor's Office
consists of a number of departments: for supervision over lawfulness
of court decisions in civil, criminal and arbitration cases,
and especially in cases of juvenile delinquents: over legality
in the sphere of economy and entrepreneurial activity.
Any citizen can complain
to the Prosecutor's Office against violation of his/her rights.
The Prosecutor's Office
protects the inviolability of a person.
A
public prosecutor in our country is an official who has powers to
exercise the highest supervision over the strict and uniform
observance of laws. In performing their duties public prosecutors
must be free and independent of any local bodies.
All
public prosecutors are appointed for a term of five years.
A
public prosecutor can be a person not younger than 25 years old, who
has the higher legal education and possesses necessary moral and
professional qualities.
The Prosecutor's Office
institutes criminal proceedings.
Investigators
ascertain the circumstances under which crimes were-committed,
collect evidence against the perpetrators of crimes and their
accomplices.
The public prosecutor
brings a charge before the court in the name of the state.
At the trial his task is
to assist the court to pass a just sentence.
After
the trial the public prosecutor checks the sentences and judgements
handed down by, the court as to their legality.
He
has the right to enter any appeal if in his opinion the sentence or
judgement is erroneous.
The
public prosecutor has also the right to appeal against all unlawful
decisions and actions of state organs and officials.
THE WORK OF AN
ADVOCATE
The institution of legal
defense was created in our country in 1864.
They
are to protect the rights and lawful interests of citizens and
organizations, to maintain justice, to
observe and strengthen legality.
The principal task of
the Bar is to grant legal assistance to citizens and
organizations.
The Bar is a
self-governing organization, which brings together the advocates.
It is independent of
bodies of investigation, prosecutor's offices, the courts and
bodies of authority and management.
Constitutional right to
a defense is guaranteed to everyone in Russia.
Our constitution states:
"The defendant in a criminal action shall be guaranteed the
right to legal aid. No one may be adjudged guilty of a crime and
subjected to punishment as a criminal except by the sentence of a
court in conformity with the law”.
After the accusation
always follows a defense.
The role of a defense
counsel in criminal proceedings is of special importance.
His
duties are defined as follows: The defense counsel is obliged to
make use of alt the ways and means of defense indicated in the law
for the purpose of bringing to light the circumstances exonerating
the accused or mitigating his
responsibility, and to render all the necessary legal aid to
the accused.
So
the duty of the advocate is to help to
exonerate the accused.
If an advocate is able
to make a careful and skilful analysis of evidence he can
refute the arguments of the prosecution and establish the innocence
of the accused.
But the advocate is not
obliged to prove the defendant's innocence.
Serious disputes often
arise between the prosecution and the defense where all arguments
and circumstances of the case are brought out in an effort to come
to a just judgement.
The advocate also plays
an especially important role in passing sentences.
In the court procedure
the advocate helps to establish the truth.
He files petitions to
examine the evidence, calls new witnesses, introduces documents
and certificates, states and defends his opinion.
If he introduces
arguments that mitigate the guilt of the defendant he helps the
court pass the correct judgement.
If in advocate's opinion
a sentence handed down by the court is heavy he has the right to
appeal the sentence in a higher court.
A significant part
of the advocate's time is spent in drawing up appeals.
He gets moral
satisfaction when his appeal is redressed.
The advocate who is
convinced of the innocence of his client must fight to the end for
the truth.
THE URALS STATE LAW
ACADEMY
The
Law Academy is one of the biggest leading higher educational
institutions in our country. Its foundation goes back to April 1931.
It
was formed on the basis of the Irkutsk State University as a law
faculty.
Later
It was reorganized into the Siberian Institute of Soviet Law.
In
1934 the Institute moved into Sverdlovsk, got the name of the
Sverdlovsk Institute of Law and bore this name till 1992.
Now
it is called the Urals State Law Academy.
Till
1976 there was only one faculty at the Sverdlovsk Law Institute -
the Law faculty.
In
1976 the following three faculties were set up at the full-time
department: the Judge and Prosecutor Training Faculty, the
Investigator and Criminalist Training Faculty and the Faculty of
Legal Service in the National Economy System.
Later,
two of them were united into the Law Faculty.
And
the Faculty of Legal Service was given a new name - the Business Law
Faculty. Besides, a Customs Department was formed.
At
present, the Academy has five institutes at the day department: the
Institute of the Prosecutor's Office, the Institute of Justice, the
Institute of Business and Law, the Institute of the Bar and the
Institute of External Economic Relations.
Moreover,
within the Academy there is also the Institute of Management and Law
and the Faculty of the Secondary Professional Education.
Besides
the full-time department there is also a part-time department and a
correspondence department.
The
Academy is' housed in three study buildings with libraries and
reading halls where the students are able to get ready for their
classes.
There
are also snack bars and dining halls where the students can have a
snack or dinner during breaks or after classes.
The
Academy possesses a high intellectual potential: over 50 Doctors of
Sciences, more than 150 Candidates of Sciences, many experienced
lecturers work at the Academy.
The
teaching staff is over 300 people.
The
student body of all the departments taken together numbers more than
8,000 people and several tens of post-graduates.
The
Academy is headed by Rector and Vice-Rectors (Pro-Rectors). The
study, methodical and research work is guided by the dean's offices
and by different chairs.
The
Academy trains judges, prosecutors, advocates, jurisconsults,
investigators, customs officials and other lawyers.
After
completing the education our graduates work at courts, prosecutor's
offices.
Militia,
the Bar, notary offices, other law enforcement organs, and also at
state and government bodies of different levels and in legal service
of the national economy system.
My future occupation.
One of the most popular
professions among the young people of our country is the profession
of a lawyer.
The profession of a
lawyer is very interesting and diverse.
The profession of a
lawyer is quite necessary for regulating social relations in the
state.
After my graduating from
the Urals State Law Academy I can work at the Bar, in the organs of
the Prosecutor's Office, in different courts, in notary offices, in
legal advice offices, in organs of tax inspection, in organs of
militia, as well as in different firms, companies, banks,
enterprises, etc.
I can work as advocates,
judges, notaries, investigators, prosecutors, jurisconsults,
inspectors, customs officers, traffic officers, and other workers of
law enforcement agencies.
To
be a good specialist a lawyer should know many laws and his/her
proper application.
Then I will perform my
duties well.
I
have
been studying theory of state and law, civil law, civil procedure,
criminal law, criminal procedure, labor law, criminalistics,
criminology, and many others since 2000.
Besides, any lawyer
is expected to know human psychology as throughout his/her career a
lawyer will meet different people: children and adults, the sick and
the healthy; the poor and the rich; educated and uneducated persons;
people of different nationalities, languages and religions;
victims, witnesses, suspects; first offenders and recidivists;
prisoners and general public.
I will have to deal with
a variety of people and situations.
That's why the
profession of a lawyer may be considered to be very difficult and
noble at the same time.
Lawyers have agreed upon
six basic elements of professionalism.
They are: ethics,
competence combined with independence, professional wisdom and
continuing learning, civility and obligations to the justice
system.
The first element is
enlargement of individual autonomy, good faith in dealings, truth
seeking, full disclosure, reasonable limits on adversarial conduct
and adherence to public interest.
The second element of
professionalism is professional competence, which must include
independence in judgment and advice.
Competence should
also involve an efficient allocation of resources.
There is still another
element of professional competence, and that is practical wisdom. It
calls for a broad comprehension of the role of law and of the values
society cherishes, an understanding of human beings, and a mature
perspective.
In
the context of professionalism, civility covers not only surface
politeness or courteous treatment of opponents.
Civility has a much
deeper meaning than cosmetic courtesy. We mean respect for
individual dignity and worth.
THE
WORK OF AN INVESTIGATOR , MILITIA,
AN OPERATIVE
AND
A field-criminalist
The Russian Militia was
established on November 10th, 1917.
Our Militia is to deal
with many problems and all of them are of great importance.
It
is effective law enforcement, educational and preventive work
that are to be in the center
of activities of militia agencies at our time.
Militia stations are in
continuous operation of crime prevention; crime investigation
and crime solution, day and night patrol service, traffic
safety and problems of juvenile delinquency, organized crime and
racketeering.
One
of the main tasks of our Militia is to improve militia-public
relations; to increase public's trust
and sense of security.
Another
problem of our Militia now is to combat modern crime, i.e. spread of
drugs, drug-related crimes, crimes relating to money and terrorism.
The service in the
Militia is difficult and dangerous, but it is necessary and
honorable, because all the militia officers are to protect life,
work and rest of our people.
Quite
a lot of people work as investigators in the organs of the
Militia or of the Prosecutor's Office.
Investigation means a
search.
That's why the duty of
an investigator is to search for the truth, for the offender,
for witnesses who help to reconstruct the happening and will present
evidence of it in court.
The
investigator must be able to make a searching inquiry into the
facts surrounding the commission of the crime or economic
offence, i.e. what it is, where it was, who the offender was, when,
why and how he was committing the crime.
The duties of the
investigator together with the field-criminalist are to find, to
collect and to protect evidence, such as fingerprints, footprints,
and other traces of the criminal act.
Every
good investigator should be intelligent, competent, patient,
tactful, composed, persistent and sympathetic, but he should be firm
if it is necessary.
He must also possess
special investigative aptitudes and professional instinct.
In English an operative
may be called a "detective", a "plain-clothes man",
a "sleuth", a "CID man".
The main task of an
operative is to prevent crimes and to solve them by using
special means, methods and forms of fighting crimes.
The
quick and accurate solution of crime depends largely on the personal
efforts.
It also depends on his
education, his intelligence and his decision-making judgements.
He tries to function
effectively in combating crime and to act properly under
operative conditions.
After graduating from
the Law Academy some of our students are going to be a
field-criminalists.
It
means that they should know Criminalistics very well because quick
and accurate solution of crime will depend on their education and
practical skills that is why they exert every effort to study well.
They take pictures of
the crime scene, make diagrams and sketches.
The most interesting
work is the work in fingerprinting.
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