4. English Court System

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The court system of England and Wales 

The most common type of law court in England and Wales is the magistrates’ court. There are 700 magistrates courts and about 30000 magistrates

More serious criminal cases then go to the Crown Court, which has 90 branches in different towns and cities. Civil cases (for example, divorce or bankruptcy cases) are dealt with in County courts.

Appeals are heard by higher courts. For example, appeals from magistrates courts are heard in the Crown Court, unless they are appeals on points of law. The highest court of appeal in England and Wales is the House of Lords. (Scotland has its own High Court in Edinburgh, which hears all appeals from Scottish courts.) Certain cases may be referred to the European Court of Justice in Luxemburg. In addition, individuals have made the British Government change its practices in a number of areas as a result of petitions to the European Court of Human Rights.

The legal system also includes juvenile courts (which deal with offenders under seventeen) and coroners courts (which investigate violent, sudden or unnatural deaths). There are administrative tribunals which make quick, cheap and fair decisions with much less formality. Tribunals deal with professional standards, disputes between individuals, and disputes between individuals and government departments (for example, over taxation).

TASK 2. Find in the text the English equivalents for the words below

• общее право;
  
• решение суда;
  
• уголовный кодекс;
  
• гражданский кодекс;
  
• мировой судья;
  
• Суд Короны;
  
• гражданское дело;
  
• суды графств;
  
• Европейский суд по правам человека;
  
• правовая система;
  
• суд по делам несовершеннолетних;
  
• правонарушитель;
  
• насильственная смерть;
  
• уголовное дело.

TASK 3. Use the information given above to answer the questions

1. Who is responsible for making laws in Britain?
   
2. In the United Kingdom, what is the difference between criminal and civil law?
   
3. What is the most common type of law court in England and Wales ?
   
4. Name three other types of British courts.
   

TASK 4. Work in pairs and discuss the following.Which courts do you think would deal with:

1. a bank robbery?
2. a divorce case?
3. a burglary committed by a fifteen-year-old?
4. a case of driving too fast?