English for Law Students

Vocabulary

1. court [kɔːt] n

– суд

2. authority [ɔː’θɔrɪtɪ] n

– полномочия, права, власть

3. adjudicate [ə’ʤuːdɪkeɪt] v

– рассмотреть спор, разрешить дело, вынести судебное решение или приговор

4. legal disputes

– споры юридического характера

5. party [‘pɑːtɪ] n

– сторона

6. matter [‘mætə] n

– вопрос, дело

7. resolve [rɪ’zɔlv] v

– решать, принимать решение

8. commit a crime

– совершить преступление

9. punishment [‘pʌnɪʃmənt] n

– наказание

10. means [miːnz] n

– средство; способ, метод

11. dispute resolution

– урегулирование споров

12. claim [kleɪm] n

– иск

13. accuse [ə’kjuːz] v

– винить, обвинять

14. defense [dɪ’fens] n

– защита

15. to apply the law

– применять закон

16. venue [‘venjuː] n

– место судебного разбирательства

17. occur [ə’kɜː] v

– происходить, случаться, совершаться

18. courtroom [‘kɔːtrum] n

– зал суда

19. courthouse [‘kɔːthaus] n

– здание суда

20. rural [‘ruər(ə)l] adj

– деревенский, сельский

21. jurisdiction [͵dʒu(ə)rısʹdıkʃ(ə)n] n

– отправление правосудия; юрисдикция

22. petition [pə’tɪʃ(ə)n] n

– петиция; прошение, ходатайство

23. actor [‘æktə] n

– истец

24. plaintiff [‘pleɪntɪf] n

– истец

25. injury [‘ɪnʤ(ə)rɪ] n

– вред; ущерб; нарушение права другого лица

26. reus [ʹri:əs] (rei) n

– ответчик в гражданском процессе

27. defendant [dɪ’fendənt] n

– ответчик; обвиняемый, подсудимый

28. judicial power

– судебная власть

29. ascertain [ˌæsə’teɪn] v

– выяснять, устанавливать

30. barrister [‘bærɪstə] n

– барристер (адвокат, имеющий право выступать в высших судах)

31. attorney [əʹtə:nı] n

– адвокат; поверенный; юрист; чиновник органов юстиции; прокурор, атторней

32. counsel [ʹkauns(ə)l] n

– участвующий в деле адвокат; барристер

33. bailiff [‘beɪlɪf] n

– бейлиф, судебный пристав

34. jury [‘ʤuərɪ] n

– присяжные

35. innocent [‘ɪnəsnt] adj

– невиновный, невинный

36. guilty [‘gɪltɪ] adj

– виновный

37. presiding officer

– председатель, председательствующее лицо

38. panel of judges

– судебная коллегия

39. the bench and the bar

– судьи и адвокаты

40. tribal [‘traɪb(ə)l] court

– племенной суд (американских индейцев)

41. trial court

– суд первой инстанции

42. supreme court [s(j)u:͵pri:mʹkɔ:t]

– верховный суд (страны)

43. last resort

– последнее средство

44. judiciary system

– судебная система

Text

A court is a tribunal, often as governmental institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accordance with the rule of law.

People come to court to resolve their disagreements. Courts decide what really happened and what should be done about it. They decide whether a person committed a crime and what the punishment should be. They also provide a peaceful way to decide private disputes that people can’t resolve themselves.

In both common law and civil law legal systems, courts are the central means for dispute resolution, and it is generally understood that all persons have an ability to bring their claims before a court. Similarly, the rights of those accused of a crime include the right to present a defense before a court.

The system of courts that interprets and applies the law is collectively known as the judiciary. The place where a court sits is known as a venue. The room where court proceedings occur is known as a courtroom, and the building as a courthouse; court facilities range from simple and very small facilities in rural communities to large buildings in cities.

The practical authority given to the court is known as its jurisdiction (Latin jus dicere) – the court’s power to decide certain kinds of questions or petitions put to it.

A court is constituted by a minimum of three parties: the actor or plaintiff, who complains of an injury done; the reus or defendant, who is called upon to make satisfaction for it, and the judex or judicial power, which is to examine the truth of the fact, to determine the law arising upon that fact, and, if any injury appears to have been done, to ascertain and by its officers to apply a legal remedy. It is also usual in the superior courts to have barristers, and attorneys or counsel, as assistants, though, often, courts consist of additional barristers, bailiffs, reporters, and perhaps a jury.

The person charged with the crime (the defendant or accused) must try to prove that they did not commit the crime; in other words prove that they are innocent (not guilty). The jury listens to all the evidence and then makes their decision.

The term “the court” is also used to refer to the presiding officer or officials, usually one or more judges. The judge or panel of judges may also be collectively referred to as “the bench” (in contrast to attorneys and barristers, collectively referred to as “the bar”).

Millions of cases are filed in local, state, tribal, and federal courts each year. Most court systems include trial courts, which hear criminal and civil cases; appellate courts, which review cases decided at the trial court level; and at least one Supreme Court, which is the court of last resort within a judiciary system.

Supplementary text

Jury trial

A jury trial or trial by jury is a legal proceeding in which a jury either makes a decision or makes findings of fact, which then direct the actions of a judge. It is distinguished from a bench trial, in which a judge or panel of judges make all decisions.

Jury trials are used in a significant share of serious criminal cases in almost all common law legal systems, and juries or lay judges have been incorporated into the legal systems of many civil law countries for criminal cases. Only the United States and Canada make routine use of jury trials in a wide variety of non-criminal cases. Other common law legal jurisdictions use jury trials only in a very select class of cases that make up a tiny share of the overall civil docket (e.g. defamation suits in England and Wales), while true civil jury trials are almost entirely absent elsewhere in the world. Some civil law jurisdictions do, however, have arbitration panels where non-legally trained members decide cases in select subject-matter areas relevant to the arbitration panel members’ areas of expertise.

The availability of a trial by jury in American jurisdictions varies. Because the United States system separated from that of the English at the time of the American Revolution, the types of proceedings that use juries depends on whether such cases were tried by jury under English common law at that time, rather than the methods used in English or UK courts in the present. For example, at the time English “courts of law” tried cases of torts or private law for monetary damages but “courts of equity” tried civil cases seeking an injunction or another form of non-monetary relief. As a result, this practice continues in American civil laws, even though in modern English law only criminal proceedings and some inquests are likely to be heard by a jury.

The use of jury trials evolved within common law systems rather than civil law systems, has had a profound impact on the nature of American civil procedure and criminal procedure rules, even in cases where a bench trial is actually contemplated in a particular case. In general, the availability of a jury trial if properly demanded has given rise to a system where fact finding is concentrated in a single trial rather than multiple hearings, and where appellate review of trial court decisions is greatly limited. Jury trials are of far less importance (or of no importance) in countries that do not have a common law system.