Human Rights and Humanitarian Assistance

Vocabulary

1. the pursuit of human rights — соблюдение прав человека

2. atrocities — злодеяния, зверства

3. human rights violations — нарушение прав человека

4. to that end — для достижения этой цели

5. to take up human rights issues — рассматривать вопросы прав че- ловка

6. high-profile positions — высокие посты

7. indigenous peoples — коренное население

8. populace — население

9. to be afflicted by — пострадать от

The pursuit of human rights was the central reason for creating the UN, World War II atrocities and genocide led to a ready consensus that the new organization must work to prevent any similar tragedies in the future. An early objective was creating a legal framework for considering and acting on complaints about human rights violations. The UN Charter obliges all member nations to promote “universal respect for, and observance of “human rights” and to take “joint and separate action” to that end. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, though not legally binding, was adopted by the General Assembly in 1948. The Assembly regularly takes up human rights issues.

The UN and its agencies are implementing the principles enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. A case in point is support by the UN for countries in transition to democracy, technical assistance in providing free and fair elections, improving judicial structures, drafting constitutions, training human rights officials. The UN has helped run elections in countries with little democratic history, including recently in Afghanistan and East Timor. The UN is also a forum to support the right of women to participate fully in the political, economic, and social life of their countries. The UN contributes to raising consciousness of the concept of human rights through its covenants and its attention to specific abuses through its General Assembly, Security Council resolutions, or International Court of Justice rulings.

The purpose of the United Nations Human Rights Council, established in 2006, is to address human rights violations. The Council is the successor to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, which was often criticised for the high-profile positions it gave to member states that did not guarantee the human rights of their own citizens. The council has 47 members distributed by region, each serve a three year term, and may not serve three consecutive terms. A candidate to the body must be approved by a majority of the General Assembly.

The rights of some 370 million indigenous peoples around the world is also a focus for the UN, with the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples being approved by the General Assembly in 2007. The declaration outlines the individual and collective rights to culture, language, education, identity, employment and health, thereby addressing post-colonial issues which have confronted indigenous peoples for centuries. The declaration aims to maintain, strengthen and encourage the growth of indigenous institutions, cultures and traditions. It also prohibits discrimination against indigenous peoples and promotes their active participation in matters which concern their past, present and future.

In conjunction with other organizations such as the Red Cross, the UN provides food, drinking water, shelter and other humanitarian services to populaces suffering from famine, displaced by war, or afflicted by other disasters. Major humanitarian branches of the UN are World Food Programme (which helps feed more than 100 million people a year in 80 countries), the office of the High Commissioner for Refugees with projects in over 116 countries, as well as peacekeeping projects in over 24 countries

Прочитайте текст и ответьте на вопросы

1. What was the central reason for creating the UN?

2. When was the Universal Declaration of Human rights adopted?

3. What principles enshrined in the Declaration are being implemented by the UN and its agencies? 4. What is the purpose of the United Nations Human Rights Council?

5. What does the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples outline?

6. What does the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples prohibit?

THE SYSTEM AND CLASSIFICATIONS OF LAW

TEXT

Vocabulary

1. public law — публичное право

2. private law — частное право

3. substantive law — материальное право

4. procedural law — процессуальное право

5. an administrative unit — административная единица

6. to impose punishment — назначить наказание

7. an offence against the public — преступление против общества

8. parties to a contract — стороны договора

9. a binding agreement — соглашение, имеющее обязательную силу

10. tort law — деликтное право

11. defamation — клевета; syn: slander, libel

12. product liability — ответственность производителя за качество товара

13. employment law/labour law — трудовое право

14. trade union — профсоюз

15. to file an appeal — подавать апелляцию

16. to breach a contract — нарушить договор

17. to be entitled to damages — иметь право на возмещение ущерба

18. enforceable agreement — соглашение, имеющее исковую силу (может быть принудительно исполнено в судебном порядке)

Every country has its own historically developing system of norms, legal institutions and branches of law, which regulates different types of social relations. In order to understand different aspects of a system of law it is necessary to look at various classifications of law, as branches of law are traditionally considered to be the most important elements of this system. Numerous classifications that vary from country to country usually reflect the peculiarities of different systems of law. Nevertheless there are the most common divisions singled out by contemporary jurists. Thus law is frequently classified into public and private and substantive and procedural.

The distinction is often made between public and private law. Public law governs the relationship between the state and an individual, who is either a company or a citizen. Public law covers three subdivisions: constitutional, administrative and criminal law

Administrative law deals with the decision-making of administrative units of government (for example, tribunals, boards or commissions) in such areas as police law, international trade, manufacturing, the environment, taxation, immigration and transport.

Criminal law, or penal law, is the body of law that relates to crime, i.e. illegal conduct that is prohibited by the state and sets out the punishment to be imposed on those who break these laws. A crime is considered to be an offence against the public, although the actual victim may be an individual. This is because the state considers anti-social behaviour not simply as a matter between two individuals but as a danger to the well-being and order of society as a whole.

Private law is also known as civil law. It involves relationships between individuals, or private relationships between citizens and companies. The main branches of private law are contract, tort, family, employment and land law.

Contract law deals with legally binding agreements between people or companies that are called parties to a contract.

Tort law deals with civil wrongs which result in physical, emotional or financial harm to a person or property. Tort cases comprise road accidents, defamation, product liability (for defective consumer products), copyright infringement, environmental pollution (toxic torts), etc

Family law is an area of the law that deals with family-related issues such as marriage and divorce, adoption, custody of children, child abuse and alimony.

Employment law is law relating to the employment of workers, their contracts, conditions of work, trade unions and legal aspects of industrial relations. Employment law is also called labour law.

Land law is the law which deals with rights and interests related to owning and using land. Land is the most important form of property, so the name land law is often used for the law of property.

The next classification which is widely used is subdivision of law into substantive and procedural. There are many laws and legal rules found in statutes, cases decided by courts (legal precedents) and other sources that are applied by courts in order to decide lawsuits. These rules and principles of law are classified as substantive law. On the other hand, the legal procedures that provide how lawsuit is begun, how the trial is conducted, how appeals are filed, and how a judgment is enforced are called procedural law. In other words, substantive law is the part of the law that defines rights, and procedural law establishes the procedures which enforce and protect these rights. For example, two parties entered into a contract, but then one of the parties breached this contract. The rules of bringing the breaching party into court and the conduct of the trial are rather mechanical and constitute procedural law. Whether the agreement was enforceable and whether the other party is entitled to damages are matters of substance and will be determined on the basis of the substantive law of contract.

Подберите русские эквиваленты к следующим словам и выраже- ниям из текста.

1) reflect the peculiarities of different systems of law

2) common division

3) subdivision of public law

4) contemporary jurists

5) legally binding agreement

6) product liability

7) child abuse

8) custody of children

9) to enforce a judgment

10) to enter into a contract