The Court System of Great Britain

1. Law is a system of rules, which regulates the relations between the individual and the government or between the individuals. If there is a conflict in these relations, law provides institutions, the court system, where the parties can litigate a problem and reach a solution. There are three separate court systems in the United Kingdom: the courts of England and Wales, the courts of Scotland and the courts of Northern Ireland. The court system of England and Wales has two main areas of jurisdiction: civil and criminal. Some courts have both jurisdictions, some only one.

2. A criminal case usually begins in a Magistrates’ Court, which consists of three lay justices of the peace, or a legally trained district judge. As the lowest criminal court, a Magistrates’ Court is empowered to hear minor cases, such as parking violations, involving rather mild punishment. More serious crimes, like bank robbery or murder, must go to the Crown Court. In the Crown Court cases are tried before the jury. The jury is a group of 12 people, who bring a verdict of “guilty” or “not guilty”. The Crown Court also hears appeals from the Magistrates’ Courts.

3. Magistrates’ Courts also deal with some civil matters. They have civil jurisdiction in relation to certain debts, licenses and domestic proceedings. The main civil courts in England are county courts hearing cases in tort and contract or relating to land, trust, divorce, etc. The judges of county courts try cases alone without the jury. Being inferior courts county courts have no appellate jurisdiction. 4. The High Court of Justice functions both as a court of the first instance and as an appellate court for cases from the subordinate courts. The High Court is divided into three divisions: Queen’s Bench Division hears criminal cases, Chancery Division and Family Divisions hear civil cases. The Court of Appeal sits in both civil and criminal divisions. The Civil division hears appeals from the High Court, county courts and certain special courts. The Criminal division deals with appeals by defendants found guilty in the Crown Court.

5. Formerly the House of Lords, the upper house of the British Parliament, was the final court of appeal. The Constitution Reform Act 2005 established the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom and transferred the House of Lords’ judicial functions to that Court. In Britain there are special courts often described as tribunals. They are responsible for making decisions in particular types of disputes. For example, Youth Courts deal with offenders under seventeen. Employment tribunals deal with disputes between employers and employees.

СЛОВА ПО ТЕМЕ

ВОПРОСЫ ДЛЯ КОНТРОЛЯ И САМОКОНТРОЛЯ

1. What is law?

2. What is the court system?

3. What are the jurisdictions of English court system?

4. What kinds of cases do Magistrates’ courts consider?

5. Who tries cases in a Magistrates’ court?

6. What kinds of cases does the Crown Court try?

7. What is the jury?

8. What are the main civil courts in England and Wales?

9. What is the role of the High Court of Justice?

10. What is the function of the Court of Appeal?

11. When was the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom established?

12. Are there any special courts in Britain?

The US Government

1. The USA is the presidential republic. By the Constitution of 1787 and the amendments to it the government of the USA is composed of three branches: the executive one, the legislative one and the judicial one.

2. The highest executive power in the US is vested in the President, who is elected for a term of 4 years. The President of the USA must be a native-born citizen, resident in the country for 14 years and at least 35 years old. The Presidential election is held every four years in November. Anyone who is an American citizen, at least 18 years of age and is registered to vote may vote.

3. The duties and powers of the President are the following: the President is the Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces, he carries out the programmes of the Government, recommends much of the legislation to the Congress, appoints Federal Judges, ambassadors to other countries and heads of various government departments called secretaries, who form the Cabinet. There are a number of executive departments: of State, Treasury, Defence, Justice, Interior, Agriculture, Commerce, Labor, Health and Human Resources, Housing and Urban Development, Transportation, Energy and Education.

4. The legislative power belongs to the Congress of the US consisting of two chambers: the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Senate is composed of two members from each state (100 in a whole) elected for a term of 6 years. The head of the Senate is the Vice-President who is elected for four years. The number of representatives from all states to the House of Representatives is 435, it depends on the number of people in each particular state. They are elected every two years. The head of the House is the Speaker.

5. Any congressman in either house, or the president, may initiate new legislation. The proposed legislation or bill is first introduced in the House of Representatives, then referred to one of the standing committees, which organizes hearings on it and may approve, amend or shelve the draft. If the committee passes the bill, it is considered by the House of Representatives as a whole. If passed there, it goes to the Senate for a similar sequence of committee hearings and general debate. Once passed the bill is signed by the Speaker of the House and by the Vice-President of the Senate. Finally, it must be signed by the president, who has the right to veto it. If the president vetoes a bill, it can still become a law – but only if it is passed by a two-thirds majority in both houses of Congress.

6. Three branches of government are separate from each other, but the powers given to each are carefully balanced by the powers of the other two. Each branch serves as a check on the others. This must keep any branch from gaining too much power or from misusing its powers. This system is called “checks and balances”. For example, the Congress has the power to make laws, but the President may veto any act of the Congress. Besides the legislative function the Congress is entrusted with the power of ratifying or rejecting all treaties made by the President, declaring war, constituting tribunals inferior to the Supreme Court, deciding upon taxes, etc. The courts have the power to determine the constitutionality of all acts of the Congress and of Presidential actions and to strike down those they find unconstitutional.

7. Each state has a constitution similar to the Constitution of the entire nation and all the power in each state is divided into executive, legislative and judicial. The head of each state is the governor of the state.

СЛОВА ПО ТЕМЕ

ВОПРОСЫ ДЛЯ КОНТРОЛЯ И САМОКОНТРОЛЯ

1. What are the three branches of the US government?

2. Who does the highest executive power belong to?

3. Who can become the President of the USA?

4. What are the duties of the President?

5. How often does the Presidential election take place?

1. Who is the US President nowadays?

2. What is the legislative body of the USA?

3. What chambers does the Congress consist of?

4. How many members does the Senate include?

5. Who is the head of the Senate?

6. How many members does the House of Representatives include?

7. Who is the head of the House?

8. What are the duties and rights of the US Congress?

9. What is the aim of “checks and balances”?

10. How is the government of each state organized?

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