Закончите предложения в соответствии с текстом

Why do We Need Law?

Vocabulary

1. rules imposed by morality and custom — правила, предписанные моралью и обычаем

2. rules made by the state or the courts — нормы, создаваемые госу- дарством и судами

3. to control or alter our behaviour — управлять и вносить изменения в наше поведение

4. to safeguard our personal property and our lives — охранять нашу личную собственность и наши жизни

5. a well-ordered society — высокоорганизованное общество

6. to ensure a safe and peaceful society — обеспечивать безопасное и мирное существование

7. to punish people without trial — наказывать людей без суда и след- ствия

8. to respect individual rights — уважать права человека

9. to give effect to social policies — оказывать влияние на социаль- ную политику

10. to protect liberty and equality — защищать свободу и равенство

Almost everything we do is governed by some set of rules. There are rules for games, for social clubs, for sports and for adults in the workplace. There are also rules imposed by morality and custom that play an important role in telling us what we should and should not do. However, some rules — those made by the state or the courts — are called “laws”. Laws resemble morality because they are designed to control or alter our behaviour. But unlike rules of morality, laws are enforced by the courts; if you break a law — whether you like that law or not — you may be forced to pay a fine, pay damages, or go to prison.

Why are some rules so special that they are made into laws? Why do we need rules that everyone must obey? In short, what is the purpose of law?

If we did not live in a structured society with other people, laws would not be necessary. We would simply do as we please, with little regard for others. But ever since individuals began to associate with other people — to live in society — laws have been the glue that has kept society together. For example, the law in our country states that we must drive our cars on the right-hand side of a two-way street. If people were allowed to choose at random which side of the street to drive on, driving would be dangerous and chaotic. Laws regulating our business affairs help to ensure that people keep their promises. Laws against criminal conduct help to safeguard our personal property and our lives.

Even in a well-ordered society, people have disagreements and conflicts arise. The law must provide a way to resolve these disputes peacefully. If two people claim to own the same piece of property, we do not want the matter settled by a duel: we turn to the law and to institutions like the courts to decide who is the real owner and to make sure that the real owner’s rights are respected.

We need law, then, to ensure a safe and peaceful society in which individuals’ rights are respected. But we expect even more from our law. Some totalitarian governments have cruel and arbitrary laws, enforced by police forces free to arrest and punish people without trial. Strongarm tactics may provide a great deal of order, but we reject this form of control. The legal system should respect individual rights while, at the same time, ensuring that society operates in an orderly manner. And society should believe in the Rule of Law, which means that the law applies to every person, including members of the police and other public officials, who must carry out their public duties in accordance with the law.

In our society, laws are not only designed to govern our conduct: they are also intended to give effect to social policies. For example, some laws provide for benefits when workers are injured on the job, for health care, as well as for loans to students who otherwise might not be able to go to university.

Another goal of the law is fairness. This means that the law should recognize and protect certain basic individual rights and freedoms, such as liberty and equality. The law also serves to ensure that strong groups and individuals do not use their powerful positions in society to take unfair advantage of weaker individuals. However, despite the best intentions, laws are sometimes created that people later recognize as being unjust or unfair. In a democratic society, laws are not carved in stone, but must reflect the changing needs of society. In a democracy, anyone who feels that a particular law is flawed has the right to speak out publicly and to seek to change the law by lawful means.

Закончите предложения в соответствии с текстом.

1. Almost everything we do is governed by …

a) rules imposed by morality.

b) the courts.

c) some set of rules.

2. If we didn’t live in a structured society with other people …

a) we would simply do as we please.

b) we would simply do with little regard for others.

c) laws would not be necessary.

3. Laws against criminal conduct help …

a) to protect our property.

b) to take advantage of other individuals.

c) to safeguard our personal property and our lives.

4. We turn to the law …

a) to resolve disputes peacefully.

b) to decide who is the real owner.

c) to force people to keep their promises.

5. Another goal of the law is …

a) to protect certain basic individual rights and freedoms.

b) fairness.

c) to provide for benefits.

Legal Profession

Vocabulary

1. a person learned in law — специалист в области права

2. an individual licensed by the state to engage in the practice of law — человек, получивший государственную лицензию на ведение юриди- ческой практики

3. to do all the legal work — заниматься всеми видами юридической работы

4. solicitors and barristers — солиситоры и барристеры

5. preparing cases to be tried in the civil or criminal courts — подготов- ка дел, которые должны слушаться в судах гражданской и уголовной юрисдикции

6. to have rights of audience — иметь право выступать в суде

7. to pursue a Bachelor (LLB) or a Master (LLM) of Laws degree — добиваться получения степени бакалавра или магистра права

8. a series of advanced examinations — ряд экзаменов повышенной сложности

9. to require extensive clinical training in a form of apprenticeships — требовать прохождения юридической практики широкого профиля в форме ученичества

10. legal education around their chosen specialty — юридическое образование, смежное с выбранным направлением

A lawyer is a person learned in law. A lawyer, also known as an attorney, a counselor, a solicitor, a barrister or an advocate, is an individual licensed by the state to engage in the practice of law and advise clients on legal matters. Lawyers act as both advocates and advisors on behalf of their clients.

The role of the lawyer varies significantly across legal jurisdictions, and therefore can be treated in only the most general terms. Lawyers’ roles vary greatly, depending upon their practice environment and field of specialization.

In most countries there is only one legal profession. This means that all the lawyers have roughly the same professional education leading to the same legal qualifications, and they are permitted to do all the legal work.

In England the system is different. Here the profession is divided into two types of lawyers, called solicitors and barristers. Solicitors and barristers are both qualified lawyers, but they have different legal training; they take different examinations to qualify; and once they have qualified, they usually do different types of legal work.

Many solicitors deal with a range of legal work: preparing cases to be tried in the civil or criminal courts; giving legal advice in the field of business and drawing up contracts; making all the legal arrangements for the buying and selling of land or houses; assisting employees and employers; making wills.

Barristers are mainly “courtroom lawyers” who actually conduct cases in court. Unlike solicitors, they have rights of audience (rights to appear) in any court of the land, and so barristers are those lawyers who appear in the more difficult cases in the higher courts.

The educational requirements to becoming a lawyer vary greatly from country to country. In some countries, law is taught by a faculty of law, which is a department of a university’s general undergraduate college. Law students in those countries pursue a Bachelor (LLB) or a Master (LLM) of Laws degree. In some countries it is common or even required for students to earn another bachelor’s degree at the same time. Besides it is often followed by a series of advanced examinations, apprenticeships, and additional coursework at special government institutes. In other countries, particularly the United States, law is primarily taught at law 30 schools. Most law schools are part of universities but a few are independent institutions. Law schools in the United States (and some in Canada and elsewhere) award graduating students a J.D. (Juris Doctor/Doctor of Jurisprudence) as the practitioner’s law degree (a professional degree). However, like other professional doctorates, the J.D. is not the exact equivalent of the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), a university degree of the highest level, since it does not require the submission of a full dissertation based on original research.

The methods and quality of legal education vary widely. Some countries require extensive clinical training in the form of apprenticeships or special clinical courses. Many others have only lectures on highly abstract legal doctrines, which force young lawyers to figure out how to actually think and write like a lawyer at their first apprenticeship (or job).

In most common law countries lawyers have many options over the course of their careers. Besides private practice, they can always aspire to becoming a prosecutor, government counsel, corporate in-house counsel, judge, arbitrator, law professor, or politician.

In most civil law countries, lawyers generally structure their legal education around their chosen specialty; the boundaries between different types of lawyers are carefully defined and hard to cross. After one earns a law degree, career mobility may be severely constrained.