CIVIL AND PUBLIC LAW

One important distinction is between private - or civil - law and public-
law. Civil law concerns disputes among citizens within a country, and public

law concerns disputes between citizens and the state, or between one state
and another. The main categories of English civil laws are:

Contracts: binding agreements between people (or companies):

Torts: wrongs committed by one individual against another individual's

person, property or reputation;
Trusts: arrangements whereby a person administers property for another

person's benefit rather than his own Land Law;
Probate: arrangements for dealing with property after the owner's death:

Family Law.

The-main categories of public law are:

Crimes: wrongs which, even when commuted against an individual, can harm

the well-being of society in general;
Constitutional Law : regulation of how the law itself operates and of the relation between private citizen and government;

International Law: regulation of relations between governments and also between private citizens of one country and those of another

In codified systems there are codes that correspond to these categories.
Roman codes covered contracts, property, inheritance, torts, etc. but said
nothing about criminal law. So most criminal codes are quite modern invention.

Most countries make a rather clear distinction between civil and criminal
procedures. For example, an English criminal court may force a defendant
to pay a line as punishment for his с rime and he may sometimes have to pay
the costs of the prosecution. But the victim of the crime pursues his claims
for compensation in a civil, not a criminal, action.

The standards of proof are higher in a criminal action than in a civil
our since the loser risks not only financial penalties but also can be sent
to prison. In English law the prosecution must prove the guilt of a criminal
“ beyond reasonable doubt". Thus, in a civil case a crime cannot be proven
if the person or persons judging it doubt the guilt of the suspect and have
a reason (not just a feeling or intuition) for this doubt. But in a civil
case, the court will consider all the evidence and decide what is most
probable.

Criminal and civil procedure are different. Criminal actions are nearly
always started by the state. Civil actions, on the other hand, are usually started
by individuals.

In Anglo-American law, the party bringing a criminal action (that is, in
most cases, the state) is called the prosecution, but the party bringing a civil
action is the plaintiff. In both kinds of action the other party is known as the
defendant.

Ex. 4. Исправьте неправильные утверждения, используя приводимые
ниже выражения.

а)

it is wrong
it is false
it is not right это неправильно
it is not true

b)

on the contrary наоборот

c)

it contradicts reality это противоречит действительности
d)

in my opinion по моему мнению
to my mind
my understanding is that

1. Both damages and fines are sums of money.

2. Both damages and fines may benefit the victim of the accident.

3. Damages are part of the civil law.

4. Public law includes Contract Law, Constitutional law and
Family law.

5. In a civil case a crime is proven even if people's judgment is based
on intuition or feeling.

Ex. 5. Составьте возможные сочетания и переведите их на русский

язык.

to commit
to bring
to lose
to doubt
to prove
to win
to require

an action

a crime

a case

a guilt

an evidence

a criminal

a prosecution

Ex. 6. Закончите предложения.

1. Constitutional law regulates…

2. International law regulates…

3. Torts deal with…

4. Probate deals with…

Ex 7. Переведите на русский язык, обращая внимание на слово

"sincе".

1. Не was arrested since he was found guilty of murdering a man.
2. This case should be a civil action since it is a wrong committed

against property.
3. The punishment was clear since the trial began.

4. He has been afraid of the police since childhood.
5. Since he refused to pay money for the damages, the case was

brought to court.

Ex. 8.Переведитена русский язык, обращая внимание на слова-за-
менители.

1. I've got only one important question to solve.

2. One should always remember the difference between civil and
criminal law.

3. The standards of proof are lower in a civil action than in a criminal
one.

4. Since the political regime of the country has changed, the law

codes are to be changed to a new one.
5. The climate of the Crimea is better than that of the Caucasus.
6. The International law also regulates relations between private citizens

of one country and those of another.

Ex. 9. Переведите письменно со словарём

Civil Justice

The civil law of England, Wales and Northern Ireland covers business
related to the family, property, contracts and torts (non-contractual wrongful
acts suffered by one person at the hands of another). It also includes
constitutional, administrative, industrial and other laws.

Civil proceedings, as a private matter, can usually be abandoned or ended
by settlement between the parties at any time. Actions brought to court are
usually tried without a jury. Higher courts deal with more complicated civil
cases. Most judgments are for sums of money, and the costs of an action are generally paid by the party losing it.

Ex. 10. Прочитайте текст без словаря и скажите по-английски

1) какие нарушения совершила Аннет,

2) виды этих нарушений.

3) возможные нарушения за них.

Annette Forbes is head of the marketing division (отдел) of the computer
company. She went to the University, has a good job and a good family
She has always been a law-abiding citizen.

One day she arrived a little late for work, and had to park her car in a
non-parking zone. Later she look a client out for a business lunch and
drank jin and tonic and half a bottle of wine to celebrate (отметить) an
important new contract. When driving back to work she was stopped by
a policeman who tested her for alcohol. He told her she would be
disqualified from driving for a year. Annette who needed a car for her
work asked him to forget (забыть) about it in return (взамен) for newest
home computer.

Ex. 11. Заполните предлагаемую схему и, пользуясь ею, перескажите
текст.