What kinds of judges are protected to a larger extent

Judges In Great Britain

In Britain, the vast majority of judges (that is, the people who decide what should be done with people who commit crimes are unpaid. They are called «Magistrates», or «Justices of the Peace» (JPs). They are ordinary citizens who are selected not because they have any legal training but because they have «sound common sense» and understand their fellow human beings. They give up time voluntarily.

A small proportion of judges are not Magistrates. They are called «High Court Judges» and 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.

Magistrates are selected by special committees in every town and district. Nobody, not even the Magistrates themselves, knows who is on the special committee in their area. The committee tries to draw Magistrates from as wide variety of professions and social classes as possible.

Task 6. Answer the questions.

1. What kind of people are Magistrates?

2. Why are they selected?

3. Who would judge a person who had committed a crime like murder?

4. Who selects Magistrates and what is unusual about the system?

Solicitors

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. Solicitors operate mainly in large partnerships.

The solicitors’ profession is regulated by the Law Society which deals with matters such as training, qualifications and complaints.

Barristers

Related to this advocacy work, barristers also deal with advice on litigation and the drafting of documents («pleadings») related to litigation.

Most barristers are law graduates and they likewise undergo professional training through a Bar Vocational Course and through a pupillage with a qualified barrister. More senior barristers can apply to become a Queen’s Counsel («take silk»).

Barristers are all sole practitioners, but they often share premises («chambers») and administrative staff.

The Bar Council regulates the work of barristers.

Other

Though many legal tasks can only be provided by properly qualified individuals such as solicitors and barristers, preliminary legal advice or information is available from a wide range of other sources.

For example, the government itself gives some funding to the Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB). This is a national organisation which has hundreds of branches throughout the country. The CAB consists of a core of professional, full-time staff (some lawyers, some not) but also involves many volunteers, some of whom are again selected to ensure the availability of legal expertise.

Judges in Great Britain

Read the following text and answer the questions.

In Britain, the vast majority of judges (that is, the people who decide what should be done with people who commit crimes) are unpaid. They are called «Magistrates», or «Justices of the Peace» (JPs). They are ordinary citizens who are selected not because they have any legal training but because they have «sound common sense» and understand their fellow human beings. They give up time voluntarily.

A small proportion of judges are not Magistrates. They are called «High Court Judges» and 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.

Magistrates are selected by special committees in every town and district. Nobody, not even the Magistrates themselves, knows who is on the special committee in their area. The committee tries to draw Magistrates from as wide a variety of professions and social classes as possible.

1. What kind of people are Magistrates?

2. Why are they selected?

3. Who would judge a person who had committed a crime like murder?

4. Who selects Magistrates and what is unusual about the system?

US Attorneys

The Justice Department is responsible for faithful execution of the laws under the president’s authority. The main administrators of federal law enforcement are the ninety-four US attorneys, appointed by the president with the advice and consent of the Senate. Unlike federal judges, these appointees serve at the pleasure of the president and are expected to relinquish their positions when the reins of government change hands.

There is a US attorney in each federal judicial district. Their staffs of assistant attorneys vary in size with the amount of litigation in the district. US attorneys have considerable discretion, which makes them powerful political figures in any community. Their decision to prosecute or not affects the wealth, freedom, rights, and reputation of individuals and organizations in the district.

US attorneys are political appointees who often harbour political ambitions. Their position commands media attention and can serve political goals. In 1983 President Reagan appointed Rudolph Giuliani as US attorney for the Southern District of New York (covering a large portion of the New York metropolitan area). Over the next five years, Giuliani notched his briefcase with dozens of successful prosecutions of elected officials, judges, organized crime figures, and Wall Street inside traders. Giuliani’s activities generated reels and reams of favourable press coverage, he even appeared on a Newsweek cover. This kind of public exposure can help a US attorney launch a successful career in elected office. As a powerful prosecutor or potential opponent, Giuliani’s name must make some politicians shudder.

Judges in Great Britain.

In Britain, the vast majority of judges (that is, the people who decide what should be done with people who commit crimes) are unpaid. They are called “Magistrates”, or “Justices of the Peace” (JPs).

They are ordinary citizens who are selected not because they have any legal training but because they have “common sense” and understand their fellow human beings. They work voluntarily. They are appointed by the Lord Chancellor on the recommendation of local advisory committees.

A case is usually heard by a bench of three magistrates who are advised on the law by the clerk of the court. There are about 30,000 magistrates and they hear over 90 per cent of criminal cases.

Besides, there is a small proportion of district judges. These are fulltime paid judges appointed by the Queen on the recommendation of the Lord Chancellor. There are about 100 district judges in England and Wales. They sit in the magistrates’ courts in the larger cities, particularly in

London. A case is usually heard by a single district judge. Barristers or solicitors of seven years’ experience can be appointed district judges. A distinctive feature of the British system in comparison with many continental systems is that it does not have law schools training judges.

Judges are chosen from lawyers who gained considerable experience as legal practitioners before they are appointed to the judiciary.

In continental systems a law graduate can choose to be a judge at the beginning of his/her career. In Great Britain they cannot.

The vast majority of judges are magistrates. A small proportion of judges are not magistrates. They are called “High Court Judges” and they deal with the most serious crimes, such as those for which the criminal must be sent to prison for more than a year. High Court Judges are paid salaries by the state and have considerable legal training.

Судьи в Великобритании.

В Великобритании работа обширного большинства судей (то есть, людей, решающих, что будет с людьми, которые совершают преступления) не оплачивается. Их называют «Магистраты» или «Мировые судьи».

Дело обычно слушается скамьей трех магистратов, которые консультируются по поводу закона с секретарем суда. Существует примерно 30 000 магистратов, и они заслушивают более 90 процентов уголовных дел.

Судьи выбираются из юристов, которые получили значительный опыт как практикующие юристы, перед тем, как они будут назначены на судебную власть.

В континентальных системах выпускник юридического факультета может выбрать быть ли судьей в начале его/ее карьеры. В Великобритании они не могут.

Обширное большинство судей – магистраты. Небольшая часть судей не является магистратами. Они называются «Судьями Высокого суда» и они имеют дело с самыми серьезными преступлениями с такими, как те, за которые преступника нужно посадить в тюрьму более чем на год. Судьи Высокого суда получает зарплату от государства и имеют значительную юридическую подготовку.

Работа судей не легка. Они даже иногда ошибаются. Эти ошибки часто отклоняются апелляционными судами. Люди обычно говорят, что судья имеет «власть над жизнью и средствами существования» всех истцов, которые входят в суд. Решение судьи может часто затрагивать интересы отдельных лиц и групп людей, которые не присутствуют в суде. Вот почему справедливо сказать, что судья имеет обременительные обязанности принимать решения. Вот почему мы говорим, что работа судьи не легка.

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THE POLITICAL SYSTEM: CONSTITUTIONAL MONARCHY

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a constitutional monarchy. It has either a king or a queen — as its Head of State, but the power of the monarch is limited by the country’s constitution. In practice, the monarch reigns but does not rule. The legal authority (the passing of acts) is given to Parliament, and executive authority (the carrying out of laws) to the government. All real power lies with Parliament and the existing government.

The set of rules for governing the country is not contained in any single document. Formed partly by common law and partly by convention, it can be altered by Act of Parliament, or by general agreement to create, vary or abolish a convention. The constitution is thus very flexible and adapts readily to changing political conditions and ideas.

The British form of government, that of a ‘Constitutional Monarchy’, might seem a puzzling notion to many on discovering that Britain does not actually have a written constitution.

The rules for the country have developed by all the laws and decrees that have been made over the centuries, by the way these laws have been interpreted in the Law Courts in the past and are now reinterpreted from time to time. If there is enough pressure from the public for change, it is comparatively easy to change such a constitution.

Great Britain, which likes to consider itself the pioneer of the modern democratic state, is thoroughly undemocratic in the choice of individual to head that state. Many of the British people still regard the monarchy as a very useful and desirable institution. It is a symbol of national identity; by being above party politics, and not subject to election every five years (as British governments are), it provides the State with a sense of continuity in the country, no matter which political party is in power. The Monarch personifies the State.

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THE ROLE OF PARLIAMENT

In 1865 John Bright described England as «the mother of Parliaments». Until the late eighteenth century no other country had succeeded in developing such an institution; indeed, many looked to England to learn and, to a certain extent, to copy.

In the nineteenth century Parliament reached maturity with the huge increase in reforming legislation and the fine oratorical skills of many politicians.

Nowadays the main functions of Parliament are to pass laws regulating the life of the country and to scrutinize government policy and administration. Most of this work is carried on through various kinds of debates in both Houses. Also, Parliament is normally consulted before all important international treaties and agreements are ratified.

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The United Kingdom does not have a single legal system. The law in Scotland was influenced by Roman law and is different from the law of England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

The English legal system is centralisedthrough a court structure which is common to the whole country. The higher courts and judges have more authority than the lower ones. Some important characteristics of English law are:

1. English law is based on the common law tradition. By this we mean a
system of ‘judge made’ law which has developed over the years through the
decisions of judges in the cases brought before them. Common law systems
are different from the civil law systems of Western Europe and Latin America
In these countries the law has been codified or systematically collected to
form a consistent body of legal rules.

2. English judges have an important role in developing case law and stating
the meaning of Acts of Parliament.

3. The judges are independent of the government and the people
appearing before them.

4. Court procedure is accusatorial <относящийся к обвинению, обвини­
тельный). This means that judges do not investigate the cases before them
but reach a decision based only on the evidence presented to them hy the
parties to the dispute.

Answer the questions:

1. Would a codified system of law make the law more certain or flexible
<гибкий)? Give your reasons.

2. Why is it important for judges to be independent? Give your reasons.

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THE LEGAL PROFESSION

A distinctive feature of the legal profession in England and Wales is that it is divided into groups: barristers and solicitors. This division has frequently been the focus of debates and criticism and there have been calls for the fusion of the two branches of the profession.

In the popular mind, the distinction between barristers and solicitors is that the former are concerned with advocacy in court while the latter are concerned with legal work out of court. This is not quite the case. Banisters are primarily concerned with advocacy and they have an exclusive right of audience <право выступать в суде) in the High Court, the Court of Appeal and the House of Lords; but they are not confined to advocacy and may devote much of their time to giving expert opinions on legal matters. Nor are solicitors exclusively concerned with out-of-court work for they have a right of audience in magistrate’s courts, county courts and, in some instances, in the Crown Court.

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SCOTTISH AND IRISH DECISIONS

Decisions of the S.& I. courts are not binding upon English courts, although entitled to the highest respect. On questions of principle it is desirable that the laws of England and Scotland should be uniform and that a decision of the House of Lords when founded on principle should be regarded as applicable to both countries.

There is a well-settled practice that in revenue and taxation matters courts of first instance in England endeavour to keep in line with the courts of Scotland.

Further, an English court ought to follow the unanimous judgement of the higher Scottish and Irish courts when the question turns upon the construction of a statute which extends to those countries as well as to England.

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Interpol is an international corporation founded in 1923. It coordinates actions against international criminals. It is not under control of any government.

Interpol is aimed at finding international criminal, it is also fighting against international terrorism, sky-jacking and narcotics. Interpol, like any other police force is under governmental control to protect the basic rights of an every citizen.Interpol cooperates with the UNO, especially in the area of narcotics, and because of this it is recognized as an intergovernmental organization.

Interpol does not have powers of arrest or investigation. Its function is to disseminate (распространять) information. Today, 80 percent of the staff is French.

Interpol has bureaus in various countries. Information is exchanged among many national bureaus but the police forces themselves are responsible to the laws and policies of their nations.

Interpol is divided into four main bodies — the General Assembly, the Executive Committee, the General Secretariat and the National Central Bureau.

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THE AMERICAN SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT

The United States is a democratic republic (a representative democracy). The national government is a government of all the people and their representatives (elected officials). It is called the federal government because the nation is a federation, or association, of states.

The U.S.Constitution gave the federal government only limited powers, the powers stated in the Constitution. All other powers belong to the individual states.

The Founding Fathers established three branches of government: the legislative, the executive, and the judicial. Each branch has different functions and powers under the principle of separation of powers. There is also a system of checks and balances so that each branch has some control over the other two branches. This way, no one group can have too much power.

The Legislative Branch

The Constitution I—- *^ The Federal Government —^| The Executive Branch

^*l The Judicial Branch

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THE THREE BRANCHES OF GOVERNMENT

The legislative branch is called Congress. It consists of the Senate and the House of Representative. It is the responsibility of Congress to propose

and pass laws. In the system of checks and balances, Congress can refuse to approve Presidential appointments and can override a Presidential veto.

The executive branch consists of the President, the Voce President, the Cabinet and the thirteen Departments, and the independent agencies. It’s the responsibility of the executive to enforce laws. The President has the power to veto (reject) any bill (law) of Congress. He appoints all Supreme Court Justices.

Types of Legal Professions: Great Britain

Read this classification.

Solicitors

There are about 50,000 solicitors, a number which is rapidly increasing, and they make up by far the largest branch of the legal profession in England and Wales. Solicitors are important figures in the British legal system. They are found in every town, where they deal with all the day-to­day work of preparing legal documents for buying and selling houses, making wills, etc. Solicitors also work on court cases for their clients, prepare cases for barristers to present in the higher courts, and may represent their client in a Magistrates’ court. It is their job to advise you on legal matters of all kinds. If you get into trouble with the police you will probably ask a solicitor to help prepare your defence and, if the offence is to be heard in a Magistrates’ Court, you can ask a solicitor to appear for you and argue your case. If the case goes to a higher Court, the solicitor still advises you, but you must get a barrister to appear for you.

Barristers

There are about 5,000 barristers who defend or prosecute in the higher courts. Although solicitors and barristers work together on cases, barristers specialize in representing clients in court and the training and career structures for the two types of lawyer are quite separate. In court, barristers wear wigs and gowns in keeping with the extreme formality of the proceedings. The highest level of barristers have the title QC (Queen’s Counsel).

Judges

There are a few hundred judges, trained as barristers, who preside in more serious cases. There is no separate training for judges.

Jury

A jury consist of twelve people («jurors»), who are ordinary people chosen at random from the Electoral Register (the list of people who can vote in elections). The jury listen to the evidence given in court in certain criminal cases and decide whether the defendant is guilty or innocent. If the person is found guilty, the punishment is passed by the presiding judge. Juries are rarely used in civil cases.

Magistrates

There are about 30,000 magistrates (Justices of the Peace or JPs), who 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

Coroners have medical or legal training (or both), and inquire into violent or unnatural deaths.

Clerks of the court

Clerks look after administrative and legal matters in the courtroom.

1. Choose the correct definition for each legal profession mentioned in the text.

(a) an officer acting as a judge in the lower courts.

(b) a public official with authority to hear and decide cases in a law court.

(c) a group of people who swear to give a true decision on issues of in a law court.

(d) an official who investigates the cause of any death thought to be violent or unnatural causes.

(e) a lawyer who has the right to speak and argue in higher law courts.

(f) a lawyer who prepares legal documents, advises clients on legal and speaks for them in lower law courts.

2. Complete the following text choosing from the words in the box:

The ____________are perhaps the most prominent amongst those involved in running the court. The largest group of____________are____________, ordinary citizens who are not legal professionals but are appointed to ensure that the local community is involved in the running of the legal system. They sit as a group of three (as a ‘____________’). Magistrates sit with a legally qualified____________, who can advise on points of law. A case is presented by the____________, who takes over the case from the police who have already charged the defendant (or accused) with specified crimes.

Judges in Great Britain

Read the following text and answer the questions.

In Britain, the vast majority of judges (that is, the people who decide what should be done with people who commit crimes) are unpaid. They are called «Magistrates», or «Justices of the Peace» (JPs). They are ordinary citizens who are selected not because they have any legal training but because they have «sound common sense» and understand their fellow human beings. They give up time voluntarily.

A small proportion of judges are not Magistrates. They are called «High Court Judges» and 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.

Magistrates are selected by special committees in every town and district. Nobody, not even the Magistrates themselves, knows who is on the special committee in their area. The committee tries to draw Magistrates from as wide a variety of professions and social classes as possible.

1. What kind of people are Magistrates?

2. Why are they selected?

3. Who would judge a person who had committed a crime like murder?

4. Who selects Magistrates and what is unusual about the system?

3. Work in pairs. Discuss the following.

«Criminals should be punished.» How do you feel about that?

4. Combine the following pairs of sentences into one according to the model.

EXAMPLE: We had a case. A woman stole a post office savings book.

We had a case of a woman who stole a post office savings book.

a) We had a case. Someone attacked a man.

b) I remember having a case. Three men broke into a house.

c) I’ve never had a case. A man robbed a bank.

d) A colleague had a case. A young boy took a motor cycle.

ENTERING THE PROFESSION

What do usually lawyers do? Can you answer at once? If you can’t read the text below and say whether the list of lawyers’ functions is complete.