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B) Fill in the gaps with the word-combinations from part a).
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1. There are eighty three……. ….. in the Russian Federation.
2. …… ….. …… of the first instance court are handled by appellate courts.
3. The Constitutional Court can …… …….. at the federal level as to their compliance with the constitution.
4. Commercial courts of the subjects of the Russian Federation ….. …… as trial courts.
Text
Pre-reading task: Scan the text and entitle it.
The basic level of commercial courts comprises “commercial courts of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation”. There are 81 such courts. These courts handle cases as the first instance court.
Appeals against the decisions of the first instance court are handle d by appellate courts. Now there are 20 appellate courts.
The third level courts are the Federal Territorial Commercial Courts. There are 10 such courts. They handle cases as an instance of cassation in relation to the courts.
The highest level of commercial court is the Supreme Commercial Court of the Russian Federation. The most important functions of the court is to issue decisions addressed to lower courts and to review cases by way of supervision.
The structure of the courts of general jurisdiction is provided by the Law on Court Organisation of 1996. The basic level of the system of the courts of general jurisdiction is the district court. In relation to the justices of the peace, district courts are the courts of a higher instance.The second level of courts are supreme courts of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation. The Supreme Court of the Russian Federation is the highest court within the system of courts of general jurisdiction.
The Constitutional Court is the only body that officially interprets the Constitution and can declare that a certain legal act is invalid.
The Court is competent to examine laws and legal acts at federal as well as at the regional level as regards to their compliance with the constitution.
The Constitutional Court can also resolve disputes about competence between state bodies if the dispute cannot be resolve d by other means.
Exercise 17
Find Participle I and Participle II in the text. Translate sentences with them.
Exercise 18
Find in the text all the derivatives of the words below and translate them into Russian:
to comply, to relate, to supervise, high, region, official.
Exercise 19
Find a word or a phrase in the text which is similar in the meaning to the following:
main, subjects, judicial body, to try (cases), to stipulate, to state (officially), to explain
Exercise 20
Find a word or a phrase in the text which is opposite in the meaning to the following:
contradiction, valid, informally, lower court, inessential
Exercise 21
Choose the correct answer.
1. What is the main idea of the text?
a. The Constitutional Court is the only body that officially interprets the Constitution.
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b. The structure of the courts of general jurisdiction is provided by the Law on Court Organisation of 1996.
c. The court system of the Russian Federation consists of the three independent groups of courts.
d. The highest level of commercial court is the Supreme Commercial Court of the Russian Federation.
2. Which statement corresponds to the text?
a. At present, there are 20 Federal Territorial Commercial Courts.
b. The military courts are included into the system of courts of general jurisdiction.
c. The main function of the RF Constitutional Court is to make sure that laws and legal acts comply with the constitution.
d. The Supreme Commercial Court is located in Moscow.
Exercise 22
a) Look at the diagram and describe the system of commercial courts. For more information about the courts, go to http://www.arbitr.ru/eng/.
Use the words:
to consist of; to handle cases (appeals); court of first instance; appellate courts; to review; an instance of cassation; lower courts; by way of supervision
Commercial courts
the Supreme Commercial Court of the Russian Federation
(the Plenum, the Presidium, the Department of Civil Cases, and the Department of Administrative Cases)
↑
Federal Territorial Commercial Courts (10)
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appellate commercial courts (20)
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commercial courts of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation (81)
↑
specialised commercial courts (e.g. courts for intellectual property since June 2013)
Exercise 23
Make a diagram to describe the work of the Constitutional court. Read the text below. For additional information go to http://www.ksrf.ru/en/Info/Pages/default.aspx
Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation is a judicial body of constitutional review. The rules of the operation of the Constitutional Court are determined by the Constitution of the Russian Federation and the Federal Constitutional Law on the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation.
The Constitutional Court consists of 19 judges. They are appointed by the Federation Council upon nomination by the President of the Russian Federation. The court is presided by the President and two Vice-presidents. The Constitutional Court performs its functions if no less than three quarters of the total number of Judges are in office.
The proceeding before the constitutional court can be initiated by the president, parliament or a group of members of parliament comprising a fifth of all members of the State Duma or the Council of the Federation, the Government, the Supreme Court, the Supreme Commercial Court, legislative and executive bodies of the Subjects of the Federation.
Decisions of the Constitutional Court are obligatory throughout the territory of the Russian Federation for all representative, executive and judicial bodies of state power, local self-government, enterprises, organizations, public officials, citizens and their associations.
Exercise 24
Writing. Comparing and Contrasting.
Write a paragraph (200 words), comparing the British court system and the Russian court system.
| COMPARE AND CONTRAST When you compare one subject to another, you show how the two are alike, or similar. If you speak about similarities, you should start, for example, with Both N and N… Like + N, NV For example, Like many European countries, Russia belongs to the continental legal system. When you contrast two subjects, you show how they are different. If you speak about differences, you should start, for example, with In contrast to/ as opposed to/ unlike + N, NV In comparison with/Compared to+ N, NV NV, whereas/ while/but NV For example, Unlike many European countries, Great Britain belongs to the common law system. |
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GLOSSARY
1.adjudicate (v.) - to make a formal judgement on a disputed matter
e.g. The case was adjudicated in the High Court.
2.appoint (v.) – to choose formally for a job or an official position.
e.g. The Prime Minister has appointed a civilian as defence minister.
3.comply with (v.) — to act in accordance with what is required
e.g. We are unable to comply with your request.
4.contradict (v.) — to be in conflict with
e.g. The result seems to contradict a major U.S. study reported last November.
5.court of appeals (n.) — court to which appeals are taken in a federal circuit or a state
e.g. The Court of Appeal has clarified its position.
6.court of first instance (n.) — a court in which legal proceedings are begun or first heard
e.g. Unusual for Russian patent disputes, the court of first instance did not follow the conclusions of the forensic examination.
7.determine (v.) — to ascertain or establish exactly
e.g. The point of our study was to determine what is true, not what is practicable.
8.dispute (n.) — an argument or disagreement between people or groups. e.g. Negotiators failed to resolve the dispute between the European Community and the United States.
9.experience (n.) — the knowledge or skill acquired by such means over time, especially that gained in a particular profession
e.g. He has also had managerial experience on every level.
10. general jurisdiction ( adj.+n. ) – the court's authority to hear all kinds of cases, which arise within its geographic area.
e.g. A court of general jurisdiction is one that can hear different types of cases like a tort case, a contracts law case, or any number of other related cases.
11. govern (v. ) — conduct the policy, actions, and affairs of (a state, organization, or people)
e.g. He was incapable of governing the country.
12. harm (n.) - the damage done to someone.
e.g. The newspaper report has done a lot of harm to the firm's reputation
13. hear (a case) (v. ) – to listen to a case officially in order to make a decision about it
e.g. He had to wait months before his case was heard.
14. interpret ( v. ) – to explain the meaning of (information or actions)
e.g. The evidence is difficult to interpret.
15. invalid (adj. ) — not legally recognized and therefore void because contravening a regulation or law
e.g. The vote was declared invalid due to a technicality.
16. issue (n.) - subject of a dispute.
e.g. Issue arises from a plea in a criminal court.
17. issue ( v.) - to put out or to give out.
e.g. The government issued a report on London's traffic.
18. judgment (n.) — a decision of a court or judge
e.g. The Court is expected to give its judgement within the next ten days.
19. judicial (adj. ) – relating to the legal system and to judgements made in a court of law
e.g. There are many officers of the court, including jurors, but the Prosecutor General remains the most powerful component of the Russian judicial system.
20. judiciary (n. ) – the judicial branch of government, the court system, or judges collectively
e.g. The judiciary must think very hard before jailing non-violent offenders.
21. nomination (n. ) – an official suggestion of someone as a candidate in an election or for a job.
e.g. Women's groups opposed the nomination of the judge.
22. obligatory (adj.) — having binding force
e.g. These laws are obligatory
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23 proceedings (n. ) — legal action taken against someone
e.g. Criminal proceedings were brought against him
24. protect (v.) - to defend something against harm.
e.g. The workers are protected from unfair dismissal by government legislation.
25. prosecutor (n. ) – a person, esp. a public official, who institutes legal proceedings against someone
e.g. The prosecutor is the chief legal representative of the prosecution in countries with the civil law inquisitorial system.
26. provide (v.) – to state
e.g. The Act provides that only the parents of a child have a responsibility for that child's financial support.
27. punish (v.) - to make someone suffer for a crime which he has committed.
e.g. You will be punished for hitting the policeman.
28. resolve (v. ) – to make a decision by a formal vote
e.g. Who has the power to resolve disputes between states?
29. review (cases) (v. ) – to submit (a case, etc.) for reconsideration by a higher court or authority
e.g. The Attorney General asked the court to review the sentence.
30. rule of law ( n. ) – a) a situation in which the people in a society obey its laws and enable it to function properly
e.g. I am confident that we can restore peace, stability and respect for the rule of law.
b) a legal principle
e.g. The European Court has thus established an important legal principle.
31. supervision (n.) – the observing and directing of the execution of (a task or activity)
e.g. First-time license holders have to work under supervision.
32. supreme court (n. ) – the highest court in the country
e.g. The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States.
33. trial court (n. ) — a court of law where cases are tried in the first place, as opposed to an appeal court
e.g. A trial court or court of first instance is a court in which trials take place.
34. veto (v. ) – to exercise a constitutional right to reject a decision or proposal made by a law-making body
e.g. The president vetoed the bill.
UNIT 3
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