ENGLEZA-JURIDICA

CONTENTS

1. 1. MAGISTRATES IN THE UNITED KINGDOM GRAMMAR: SEQUENCE OF TENSES …………..

2. POLICE POWERSGRAMMAR: MODAL VERBS I …………………..

3. TRIBUNALS PASSIVE VOICE …………………………………..

4. COMMON LAWGRAMMAR: MODAL VERBS II …………………

5. EQUITYGRAMMAR: REPORTED SPEECH ………………

6. THE SOURCES OF THE ENGLISH LAWGRAMMAR: CONDITIONALS …………………

7. THE BRITISH CONSTITUTIONGRAMMAR: UNCOUNTABLE NOUNS …………

8. THE ACTORS OF THE CONSTITUTIONGRAMMAR: RELATIVE PRONOUNS …………

9. LEGAL PROFESSIONSGRAMMAR: DETERMINERS …………………….

10 EUROPEAN LAWGRAMMAR: GERUNND OR INFINITIVE? ……

11 JUDICIAL POWER IN THE UNITED STATESGRAMMAR: IRREGULAR COMPARISON OF ADJECTIVES …………………………………….

12 LITIGATIONS AND ADJUSTMENTGRAMMAR: EXPRESSING FUTURE ………….

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UNIT 1

MAGISTRATES IN THE UNITED KINGDOM

In England and Wales there are two types of magistrates: lay magistrates1 known as lay justices, who have the title of “justice of the peace”, and stipendiary magistrates2. The former is a body of men and women which has been in existence since the fourteenth century and is called on to pass judgement on their fellow citizens, without any real legal training. The latter is a body of lawyers, called upon3 to do substantially the same job, which dates from the eighteenth century. They both exercise their powers in a less formal court than the other courts, known as Magistrates’ Courts, and deal with more cases than any other English court of law.

The main job of the magistrates is to deal with4 civil and criminal cases which are too trivial to be tried by the Crown and County Courts. The courts consist of two to seven unpaid lay magistrates, but in some cities professional magistrates may sit alone. The Magistrates’ Courts of civil jurisdiction have limited civil jurisdiction, mainly related to domestic proceedings5.

In terms of their criminal jurisdiction the Magistrates’Courts deal with something over 95% of all cases. The English legal system divides criminal offences into three categories:

- “summary offences”6 is the category of minor crimes such as minor assaults, begging, parking offences and less minor crimes such as drinking and driving which are tried without a jury;

- “indictable offences”7 are more serious offences for which the police are given a power of arrest and which will be tried by jury; murder, manslaughter8 and serious fraud – all come within this category;

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- a number of offences called “either way” offences which may or may not be tried by a jury at the request of the defendant. The best example is theft9 which may involve either very small or very large amounts of money.

The magistrate’s criminal jurisdiction is mainly limited to summary and either way offences (where the defendant may elect not to have a jury trial). Anyway, magistrates have an important role to play in serious criminal proceedings. When a person is charged with are indictable offence, magistrates sit as examining justices to decide whether the prosecution’s case is strong enough to warrant10 committing the accused for trial in the Crown Court. The procedure is known as “committal proceedings”. They also issue arrest and search warrants to the police.

The civil jurisdiction of the magistrate is limited to minor matters including matrimonial and family matters and the granting of licenses.

Justices of the peace are chosen by the Lord Chancellor on the advice of Advisory Boards, that are concerned with recruiting magistrates from amongst the “worthy” members. Many justices of the peace are chosen on the recommendation of an existing magistrate. It seems that others are chosen for their background in voluntary work such as in churches or youth organisations. They are not paid a salary but receive expenses incurred11 in the performance of their judicial duties. They are assisted by “clerks to the justices”, solicitors or barristers of at least seven years’standing, who perform the administrative work of the court.

Stipendiary magistrates are to be found in most of the large towns and cities of England and Wales. They are full-time members of the Court chosen by the Queen on the advice of the Lord Chancellor. They receive wages or a “stipend”12

and unlike lay magistrates they may sit alone.

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VOCABULARY

1) lay magistrate = magistrat nesalariat2) stipendiary magistrate = magistrat salariat3) to call upon = a chema, a mobiliza4) to deal with = a se ocupa de, a trata despre5) domestic proceedings = procedură legată de juris-

dicţia internă6) summary offence = infracţiune judecată în faţa Curţii

Magistraţilor7) indictable offence = infracţiune gravă judecată la

“Crown Court” cu juraţii8) manslaughter = omucidere involuntară9) theft = furt10) to warrant = a autoriza, a mandata11) to incur = a suporta, a asuma

COMPREHENSION CHECK

I. Answer the following questions:

a) How many types of magistrates are there in England and Wales?

b) What do you mean by “lay magistrates”? What about “stipendiary”?

c) Which is the main job of the magistrates?d) What sort of offences do they deal with?e) What does the magistrate’s criminal jurisdiction

consist in?f) What is the civil jurisdiction of the magistrate limited

to?g) Who are the “justices of the peace”?h) Do magistrates play any role in indictable offences?

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II. Give the Romanian equivalents of the following English terms for different types of crimes:

• drunken driving• kidnapping• indecency• assault• arson

• theft• bribery and corruption• armed robbery• rape• parking offence

III. Match each of the terms on the left with the correct explanation on the right:

• attempt

• arson

• burglary

• assault

• criminal damage

• bribery

• extortion

1) any physical attack on the person of another2) entry into any secured, dwelling house, building, warehouse, or any other secured structure for the purpose of committing a crime3) any offence involving the obtaining of something of value using false statements, false documents, counterfeit currency, or representing oneself as an official person.4) an action taken to commit the criminal act intended without success or completion5) the deliberate destruction or damage of another’s property by fire; this may include public property6) the use of force, fear or threat to induce another to perform an action, not perform an action, or to acquire a thing of value from another.7) offering, giving or causing to be offered or given to any official person

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• fraud offence

acting in an official capacity anything of value with the intention to alter or influence the person’s decisions or actions.8) the deliberate destruction or damage of another’s property, not by fire.

IV. Fill in the blanks with the missing words:

A _______ magistrate, otherwise known as a _______ of the _______ deals with _______ and criminal cases that are not serious enough to go as far as the Crown or County Courts. Unlike ______ magistrates, who receive a _______ and are allowed to sit ______, they can claim only _______ that arise in the course of their _______ duties. Magistrates handle all ______ offences as well as some “_______” offences, where the defendant prefers a ______ without ______ . They also decide which cases should be referred to the higher _____, during what is termed _________ proceedings.

V. Translate into Romanian:

The law of criminal procedure regulates the modes of apprehending, charging and trying suspected offenders; the imposition of penalties on convicted offenders; and the methods of challenging the legality of conviction after judgment is entered. Litigation in this area frequently deals with conflicts of fundamental importance for the allocation of power between the state and its citizens

When a criminal offence has been reported, the competent authority commences the criminal process by investigating the circumstances. In this phase, relevant evidence is collected and preserved for a possible trial. The suspect also has the right to collect evidence in this favour.

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VI. Translate into English:

Nu există nici o diferenţă de domeniu, natură şi scop între regula morală şi cea juridică. Regula morală pătrunde în drept prin intermediul concepţiilor etice ale legiuitorului sau judecătorului sau, în cel mai bun caz, rătăceşte la frontierele dreptului pentru a pătrunde atunci când se iveşte prilejul.

Obligaţiile morale legiferate sunt: responsabilitatea civilă, interzicerea îmbogăţirii fără justă cauză, executarea contractelor, exercitarea neabuzivă a drepturilor conferite de lege. Când legea nu mai e conformă cu principiile morale va cădea în desuetudine.

VII. Discussion:

• What are the major differences between this system and that of your country with regard, for example, to the handling of criminal cases at first instance?

FOCUS ON GRAMMAR

SEQUENCE OF TENSES

• In English, the tense of the verb in the subordinate clause is determined by the tense of the verb in the main clause;

• The dependent verb shows time in relation to the main verb. This phenomenon is known as SEQUENCE OF TENSES

TIME RELATION

TENSE IN THE MAIN CLAUSE

TENSE IN THE DIRECT OBJECT CLAUSE

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AT THE SAME TIME

PRESENT TENSEHe says

PAST TENSEJohn knew

PRESENT TENSEhe doesn’t know the truthPAST TENSEeverything was all right

EARLIER PRESENT TENSEI know

PRESENT TENSEThe students don’t rememberPAST TENSEThey didn’t remember

PRESENT PERFECTyou have done your lessons.PAST TENSEwhat I taught them last week.PAST PERFECTwhat I had taught them the week before.

LATER PRESENT TENSEShe hopes

PAST TENSEShe hoped

FUTURE TENSEhe will come soon.FUTURE IN THE PASThe would change the subject.

I. Change the main verb in each sentence to the SIMPLE PAST. Then change the verb in the subordinate clause according to its time relation to the main verb.

a) Mr. Barton claims that he has spoken to those people.b) We know they are tired.c) Bill thinks his brother needs your help.d) I suppose Michael will finish the work next week.e) Edward thinks he won the first prize in the

competition.

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f) We assume the meeting will be over around six o’clock.

g) I remember that the the wind blew very hard the week before last.

h) She hears that Professor Johnson is writing another book.

i) We guess our friends haven’t heard the good news yet.

j) The message indicates Dr. Evans will be back from Bucharest next Saturday.

II. Use past forms for these auxiliaries after a main verb in the past:

For CAN, use COULDFor MAY, use MIGHTFor MUST, use MUST OR HAD TOFor SHALL, WILL, use WOULD

1. Richard regretted that he ________ (not) go with us.2. We are sure that Tom _______ help us with the

homework.3. I regret that we ________ leave now.4. Kate thought she __________ find someone to

explain everything to us.5. They didn’t know that we ________ leave at once.6. Our friend had to promise Mike that we ________

help him.7. We regret that we ________ stay only fifteen

minutes longer.8. Daniel said he ________ send the parcel the next

day.

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III. Put the verbs in brackets into the right tense:

1) Yesterday grandpa ………… (take) a nap from 2.00 to 3.00. I ……….. (get) home at 2.30. When I ……….. (come) in, grandpa …………. (sleep).

2) Tom: I ……. (be) in your native town last month. It ……… (look) like a nice town. I ………… (never, be) there before.

Ann: What ……….. (you, do) in that part of the country?

Tom: My sister and I ……….. (drive) to Braşov to see our grandparents

3) Laura ……….. (start) to read a novel by Mihail Sadoveanu. She ……… (not, finish) reading it yet. She ……… (read) it because her Romanian teacher …………. (ask) her to.

4) The weather ……….. (be) terrible lately. It ……….. (rain) off and on for two days and the temperature ……….. (drop) at least twenty degrees. Just three days ago the sun …………. (shine) and the weather ………….. (be) pleasant. The weather certainly ………….. (change) quickly here. When I ………….. (wake) up tomorrow morning, maybe it ………… (snow).

5) Last night I ………….. (go) to a party. When I …… (get) there, the room ………. (be) full of people. Some of them ………. (dance) and other …………. (talk). One young woman ……… (stand) by herself. I ……….. (never, meet) her, so I ………….. (introduce) myself to her.

IV. Translate into English

a) Zburam de treizeci de minute când mi-am dat seama că am plecat de acasă fără să închid ferestrele.

b) Toţi s-au dus să vadă filmul de îndată ce profesorul le-a povestit romanul.

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c) N-am putut face excursia deoarece ploua de trei de zile.

d) Când am ajuns la cinema, filmul începuse de mult.e) Vânzătorul plecase deja acasă când am ajuns noi la

magazin.f) Ne plimbăm de o jumătate de oră când ne-am întâlnit

cu Frank.g) Mă dusesem deja la culcare când mi-am adus aminte

că nu am încuiat uşa.h) Te vom aştepta în faţa teatrului când se va termina

piesa.i) Când Mary va absolvi facultatea, va fi studiat aici

patru ani.j) Sandra spera că se va putea duce la plimbare cu

Michael dacă îşi va termina lucrarea.k) Ce-ai mai făcut de când nu ne-am mai văzut?l) Nici nu terminase de gătit că a şi sosit soţul ei.m) Se gândea că dacă pleacă imediat o să ajungă acasă

înainte de miezul nopţii.n) Soarele a răsărit, dar bate un vânt rece.

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UNIT 2

POLICE POWERS

Over the past few years, the powers the police have to stop, question, arrest, search and detain1 have undergone major changes in the United Kingdom. The two key pieces of legislation in this field are the “Police and Criminal Evidence Act”, sometimes referred to as PACE, and the “Public Order Act”.

Arrest means the loss of liberty, being subject to restraint2 as to one’s movements. An arrest by the police will only be lawful if the arrested person is informed that he or she is under arrest and told the grounds3 for the arrest.

The police have the power to arrest a person without a warrant in four different sets of circumstances:

- If they suspect that an arrestable offence has been committed is being committed, or is about to be committed.

- If they have a statutory4 power of arrest (most statutory powers of arrest without warrant were repealed5 by the Act).

- If one of the general arrest conditions is satisfied.- If they wish to fingerprint a convicted person.An arrestable offence is one which carries a sentence

of at least five years imprisonment. This includes murder, burglary, theft, criminal damage, rape, and unlawful possession of drugs. The Act also extends arrestable offences to include, for example, taking a motor vehicle, going equipped for theft, indecent assault on a female, corruption and smuggling6.

Specific serious arrestable offences are treason, murder, manslaughter, rape, kidnapping, incest with a girl under the age buggery7 with a boy under the age of 16, and indecent assault which constitutes gross indecency.

In the case of serious arrestable offences the police have the power to: set up road blocks; search for evidence;

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detain a suspect for more than 24 hours and up to a maximum of 96 hours without charge; hold a suspect incommunicado8

and deny access to a solicitor for 36 hours (a juvenile is still entitled9 to have an appropriate adult informed of the detention); take non-intimate samples without the suspect’s consent (eg. hair).

The statutory powers of arrest for certain offences include:

- offences under the Public Order Act 1986;- some offences under the Prevention of Terrorism Act;- trespass10 under the Criminal Law Act 1977;- offences under the Immigration Act 1971.The general arrest conditions give the police the power

to arrest for offences which are not automatically arrestable. If there are reasonable grounds for suspecting a person, the police may arrest him or her if any one of the following conditions applies:

- the suspect’s name is not known and can not be found out;

- the given name is believed to be false;- the suspect has failed to supply an address or has not

supplied an address which is satisfactory for serving a summons11.

- it is believed that arrest is necessary to prevent the person causing injury to self or others, suffering injury, causing loss or damage to property, committing an offence against public decency, unlawful obstruction of the highway, or to protect a child or other vulnerable person from the suspect.

A person can be arrested for fingerprinting if the following conditions apply:

• the person has been convicted of a recordable offence, that is, one defined in regulations;

• the person was never in police detention for the offence and fingerprints were not taken;

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• within one month of conviction the person was asked to go to a police station to be fingerprinted and had not done so within seven days.

The police in all investigations should maintain a schedule12 of all material, meaning not only documents, but also articles and information, including material held on computer. A list of items which are expected to be included in the schedule should consist in:

• interview notes and audio-visual tape recordings;• draft13 witness statements;• statements taken from potential witnesses;• crime reports;• custody records and associated documents;• other documents or other material containing a

description of the suspect;• any other material of information which the police

officer considers to be relevant and helpful.

VOCABULARY

1) to detain = a reţine (în arest)2) restraint = restricţie, limitare, constrângere3) ground = temei, motiv4) statutory = statutar, reglementar; stabilit prin lege, legal5) to repeal = a revoca, a abroga, a anula6) smuggling = activitate de contrabandă7) buggery = sodomie8) incommunicado = privat de posibilitatea de comunicare cu semenii9) to entitle = a da dreptul la, a îndritui10) trespass = încălcare, violare; braconaj11) summons = citaţie pentru a compărea în tribunal; mandat de aducere12) schedule = program; inventar; anexă la un regulament

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13) draft = plan; proiect; schiţă

COMPREHENSION CHECK


a) When can an arrest be considered lawful?b) What do you mean by ”an arrestable offence”?c) What can the police do in the case of serious

arrestable offences?d) Is there any difference between murder and

manslaughter?e) Can you explain what powers do the police have with

regard to the detention of a person suspected of having committed a serious arrestable offence?

f) What is the difference between burglary and theft?g) When can a person be arrested for fingerprinting?h) What is the difference between being charged and

being convicted?

II. Give the Romanian equivalents of the following English terms for different types of punishments:

• imprisonment• probation• fine• community service order

• corporal punishment• suspended sentence• life imprisonment• capital punishment

III. Choose the best word to complete the following sentences, making any necessary changes:

accused, requirement, juror, unconditionally, mistrial,

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incapable, misinterpretation, promises

1) If the words of a contract are not clear and precise, there is a danger of __________ by one or both of the parties.

2) The offeree was pleased to accept the excelent offer ______________

3) The hearing was declared a ___________ because the court didn’t have jurisdiction over the offence.

4) Ms. Grant’s application for shares was not accepted on the grounds that she didn’t fulfil the _________ of residence in the U. K.

5) The 12 _________ were not able to reach a unanimous decision.

6) The defendant said that he would give the car to his cousin for nothing. In consideration his cousin, the _________, was responsible for the transport of the car.

7) A child is considered legally _________ of committing a crime.

IV. Look at the list of legal terms (1-8) and their definitions (A-H). Match each term with its definition.

1. illegal weapon possession

2. kidnapping

3. murder

4. rape

A. an incident involving the manufacture, processing, packing, possession, transportation, sale or receiving of any regulated drug or pharmaceutical product.B. entering onto or remaining on the property of another without permission or after being advised to leave.C. the unauthorised taking of money, goods, property or services by a person or by a device, installed or initiated by a person.D. the possession of any wepon that is illegal, or any weapon in an illegal

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5. robbery

6. theft

7. drug dealing or possession8. trespassing

manner.E. the taking of the life of one human by another human; fatal traffic accidents will not be included.F. the use of force, fear or threat to illegally detain or deprive a person of her/his liberty.G. sexual intercourse against the will of one of the partiesH. the use of force, fear or threat to take the property of another from a person in possession or control of the property.

V. Translate into Romanian:

A trial is conducted most frequently in the following manner. The attorneys for plaintiff and the defendant make opening statements to the jury, outlining what each conceives to be the nature of the case and what each hopes to prove as the trial proceeds. Next, the attorney for the plaintiff presents his case by calling witnesses, questioning them, and permitting them to be cross-examined by the attorney for the defence; when the former has concluded his presentation, the latter frequently will ask for a dismissal of the suit for failure of plaintiff to establish a prima facie case (that is, a case sufficient until contradicted by evidence); if this is unsuccessful, he will call and examine witnesses in order to establish his defences, and these witnesses are subject to cross-examination by the plaintiff’s attorney. The attorneys for each side then make a closing argument to the jury, putting the evidence presented in a light most favourable to their respective clients.

VI. Translate the following sentences into English:

1) El este bănuit de poliţie că face trafic cu droguri.

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2) Puterile poliţiei fac în momentul de faţă obiectul a nenumărate schimbări.

3) Incendierea în scopuri criminale este considerată o infracţiune la fel de gravă ca şi furtul.

4) Textele privitoare la arestările fără mandat urmează a fi modificate.

5) Poliţia îl va interoga pe suspect mâine dimineaţă.6) De fiecare dată când i se pune o întrebare, se face că

n-a auzit şi n-a văzut nimic.7) Acest inspector este veşnic pe cale să ceară

percheziţiile la domiciliu chiar şi când nu este necesar.8) În Anglia, amprentele digitale se iau la comisariat.9) Violul este delict care atrage o pedeapsă de cel puţin

cinci ani.10) Cifra în creştere a delictelor penale în România

începe să îngrijoreze autorităţile.

VII. Discussion/Essay:

• How do police powers of arrest without warrant as presented in the text compare with those available to police in Romania?

FOCUS ON GRAMMAR

MODAL VERBS

can ; could

“can” expresses something possible:Our factory can produce 800 cars a month.Visas can be difficult to obtain sometimes

“could” expresses possibility (ability) in the past:

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We could understand most of what he said.I could speak French quite well when I was at

school. “can not” or “could not” express something

impossible:You can’t get to London on time, there is a strike.You couldn’t go on trips abroad ten years ago.

“could” + “have” + “past participle” expresses unfilled opportunity:

I could have booked an earlier flight, but it left at 7 a. m.

“couldn’t” + “have” + “past participle” expresses a past impossibility:

He couldn’t have had any engine trouble.

II. Fill in the blanks with can, could or be able to. Sometimes you have more than one possibility:

a) Whenever Susan learns the lesson, she ________ give very good answers.

b) He ___________ be at home now.c) They took his passport so that he _________ leave

the country.d) We have been looking for John for two hours, but we

__________ not find him.e) _________ you tell me the entire Commercial Code?

I ________ when I was at school but I _________ not now.f) _________ I speak to Mr. Perkins, please?g) He was very strong; he ___________ work all day

and study all night.h) Your brother _________ play the piano well.i) The police were suspicious at first but I _________

convince them that they were innocent.

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II. Fill in the banks with CAN(’T)/COULD(N’T) + the right infinitive form of the verb:

1) I’m afraid I ……………. (help) you at the moment.2) The negotiations broke down because we ………..

(agree) on the price.3) Mother, you ……………… (cook) a better meal,

everything is delicious.4) Don’t light a match in this chemical factory. It

……………… (cause) an explosion.5) He ……………… (hear) the news on the radio

because be was sleeping then.6) No one ………………… (do) without water.7) He ……………… (solve) the first problem, but the

second one was quite a puzzle to him.8) I’m sorry I ……………… (come) to your talk

yesterday. I had to sort out a problem.9) He ……………… (ski) really well when be was in

his twenties, but now be is out of practice.10) What ……………… (you, do) with the money if

you hadn’t bought yourself a new watch?

III. Rewrite the following sentences using “could” or “could not”:

1) Ten years ago it wasn’t possible to have hard currency on you.

2) She drove a car with the brakes out of order. An accident was possible.

3) It was very difficult to buy a suitable office at a reasonable price, that is why we preferred to rent one.

4) She was able to speak Spanish after only three months on the training course.

5) From our hotel room, it was possible to see Mont Blanc.

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6) Although we tried hard, it was impossible for our company to get that contract signed.

7) He didn’t manage to understand what she meant.8) It wasn’t possible for us to lock the door yesterday

morning; we had lost our keys.

IV. Translate into English:

1) Nu se poate ca el să fi acceptat să vândă casa.2) John avea 12 ani când a izbucbit războiul. El nu ar fi

putut să fie în armată.3) Mi-a spus că s-ar putea să întârzie.4) Peter nu a putut să scrie eseul singur, aşa că a rugat-o

pe sora lui să-l ajute.5) Nu te duce acum la ei, s-ar putea să fie la masă.6) Am văzut-o pe Sarah aseară la concert, dar nu m-a

recunoscut. Nu se poate să fi fost Sarah, pentru că este în spital de două săptămâni.

7) Presupun că aş putea să fac munca asta dacă ar fi necesar.

8) Trebuie să pleci? Nu mai poţi să stai puţin?9) Din fericire, am putut să-mi fac mulţi prieteni de

când am venit în acest oraş.10) E posibil să refuze să te ajute în astfel de

împrejurări?11) Am putut ieşi în grădină după ce a stat ploaia.12) Sandra a spus că o să-şi poată găsi o casă dacă noi o

s-o ajutăm.

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UNIT 3

TRIBUNALS

In the English judicial system two different types of institutions have been set up1 to resolve legal problems: courts and tribunals. The distinction between the two is difficult to make because there is no precise definition of these terms. The word “tribunal” meaning any judicial assembly2 is widely used. This use of the word would include the courts.

There is a narrower use of the word, however, which is of greater interest to the law students. These institutions fall into two, large categories:

• “Domestic tribunals” – are non – state organizations set up as part of the disciplinary procedures of professional or sporting organizations;

• “Administrative tribunals” – are bodies set up by the state in order to perform judicial functions as part of the administration of some government scheme.

A Council on Tribunals was initiated as a consultative and advisory body. Its main task is to advise government departments in setting up administrative tribunals and to review the construction and working of these institutions. The Council has at present almost fifty tribunals under its jurisdiction:

• the Rent3 Tribunals which settle disputes between landlords and tenants;

• the Education Appeals Committees which hear appeals against the allocation of school places by local education authorities;

• the Industrial Tribunals which settle the problems which may arise between employer and employee, such as redundancy payment disputes, questions of unfair dismissal and the problem of equal pay.

The thorny question is whether these tribunals have only an administrative role or if they also have an adjudicative5

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role. However government departments have a general influence over decision making, so administrative tribunals may not be regarded as pure court substitutes. Another question is whether the tribunals should make law. The answer is no, only the decisions of the courts of law may be regarded as binding law. In practice, tribunals have a strong tendency to follow their previous decisions and these decisions are regularly reported.

Essentially, the tribunals have been set up to relieve6 the over-burdened court system of work which may be dealt with in a less formal way by experts in the particular field. Solicitors and barristers are being appointed as chairmen of the tribunals and their work is growing as the public becomes more aware of them. It this way tribunals provide a speedier and more expert alternative to the court system.

VOCABULARY

1) to set up = a înfiinţa2) assembly = adunare3) rent = chirie, închiriere; rentă4) tenant = arendaş; chiriaş, locatar5) adjudicative = de adjudecare6) to relieve = a uşura, a elibera

COMPREHENSION CHECK


1) What do you mean by a ”tribunal”?2) What kind of organizations are the “domestic

tribunals”?3) What are the functions of the “administrative

tribunals”?

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4) Which is the main task of the Council on Tribunals?5) How many kinds of tribunals are there under the

Council’s jurisdiction? Speak about them.6) Why have the tribunals been set up?7) Who are appointed as chairmen of the tribunals?

II. Give the meaning of the following words. Write a sentence with each of them:

• barrister• solicitor• counsel• judge• prosecutor

• notary• to take oath• to outlook• attorney general• litigious advocacy

III. Match each term on the left with the correct explanation on the right:

1. forged currency

2. obstruct justice

3. disturbing public order4. harassment

5. illegal woodcutting

6. customs offence

A. any assault committed with a weapon, or which results in grievous injury to the victim..B. the creation, possession or distribution of any false, forged or altered official document of any country or government agency.C. the cutting of wood without the proper permit or with a forged or altered permit.D. the creation, possession of any false, forged or altered currency of any country.E. delay, hinder or obstruct a law euforcement official by physical act, subterfuge or statement in the execution of their official duties.F. words, gestures or actions that place another in fear or apprehension of death,

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7. counterfeited documents8. grievous assault

injury, damage to property, or interfere with the right of a person to travel freely or be secure from harm.G. any act which does or is likely to cause a breach of peace or public orderH. any offence involving the transportation or possession of goods, with the intent to cross, or having crossed the border or boundary of a province or of a country.

IV. Fill in with a preposition from the list below:

upon, on, by, at, of, in, over, to, under, against, with, for

a) The drunken driver was put ________ arrest.b) Offences _________ the person include murder and

rape.c) The criminal is to tried ________ manslaughter.d) The suspect was held ________ custody before being

relased _________ bail.e) The Court of King’s Bench had first instance

jurisdiction _______ all wrongs.f) A good lawyer must know which rules apply both

_________ common law and _________ equity.g) When a barrister is admitted to the profession, we

say that be is called _________ the bar.h) _________ common law a mistake only prevents the

formation of a contract if it is a fundamental mistake of fact.i) _________ the winding up of a firm a liquidator is

appointed.j) The judges used to sit __________ the Assizes.

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V. Translate into English:

1) În ultimii cinsprezece ani s-au efectuat multe reforme juridice.

2) În iunie 1998 guvernul a supus la vot 12 proiecte de lege cu privire la educaţie.

3) În anii ’60 comisia parlamentară a întocmit un raport asupra sistemului tribunalelor.

4) Avocaţii joacă un rol important în societatea actuală.5) În 1875 – sistemul juridic englez s-a schimbat şi au

fost abolite “common injunctions”.6) Trebuie totuşi să remarcăm că numai o parte a unei

judecăţi este luată în considerare.7) Nu există decât trei circumstanţe în care se poate

face abatere de la judecăţile precedente.8) Pe parcursul acestui text: s-au ridicat multe probleme

juridice.9) Într-adevăr, legea engleză se bazează pe principiul de

stare decisis (ceea ce a fost decis înainte trebuie respectat).10) Judecătorul a fost constrâns să-şi pronunţe verdictul

după modelul unui caz care fusese deja judecat.

VI. Fill in the table below, using a dictionary if necessary:

verb nouncompensation

to settleto foresee

applicationto dismiss

solutionto allege

approvalto injure

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to allow

VII. Translate into Romanian:

Most Bills (Acts of Parliament) are measures relating to public policy. The great majority of these are government measures introduced by a Minister, but certain days are set aside for debating Private Members Bills (public Bills introduced by members of the House not holding office in the Government). In addition, some private Bills relating solely to matters of individual corporate or local interest are promoted in each session by persons or bodies outside Parliament.

Bills may be introduced by either House unless they deal with finance or representation (when they are introduced in the Commons). Those that pass through all the necessary stages in both Houses receive Royal Assent and become law as Acts of Parliament. The House of Lords may not alter a financial measure, nor may it delay for longer than one year any Bill passed by the Commons in two successive sessions.

VIII. Comment on the following proverbs:

“A good judge conceives quickly, judges slowly”.“A fault confessed is half redressed”.

FOCUS ON GRAMMAR

PASSIVE VOICE

To make the passive we have to use a form of the verb to be and a past participle.

ACTIVE PASIVEThe government raised interest rates by 1%

Interest rates were raised by 1% .

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Our supplier is shipping the goods next week

The goods are being shipped next week

We can arrange a loan within six days

A loan can be arranged within six days

Sometimes, the doer of the action is not mentioned. It might be: unimportant, clear from the situation or unknown. Instead, the important information is either the actions or the things affected by the action:

A very large proportion of world oil is generated in the Middle East.

These incentives will be offered to retail investors in EU countries who make an early subscription.

Have/get something done:

When a professional person, a technician or an accountant, does some work for us, we can use have/get something done:

We had our offices redecorated last year.You must have your computers checked for viruses.We got the contract checked by our lawyers.

I. Put the following sentences into the Passive:

1) They have chosen the new design.2) We cannot ship your order until we receive payment.3) They will not finish the project by the end of the

month.4) We are spending more than a million dollars on

advertising this year.5) Somebody damaged the goods in transit.

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6) They have closed fifty retail outlets over the last year.

7) The Accounts Department may not authorise this payment.

8) One of our best young designers created this line.9) Our department has discovered a promising new

drug.10) He was asking me some difficult questions.

II. Offer explanations or reasons for the following. Use the passive voice:

eg: Mother looks happy.She has (just) been offered flowers.

1) I can’t drive my car today.2) There was a long queue in front of the box-office

yesterday.3) When Mr. Johnson returns to his native town next

year, be will not recognize it.4) Alice has got a perfect score on her test.5) Jane likes going to parties.6) When the seven dwarfs returned home they were

very surprised.7) The letters were very urgent but nobody posted them

yesterday.8) Jenny is feeling better today.

III. Change into the Active Voice:

a) A course in Civil Law is delivered once a week.b) The thief was arrested yesterday.c) The burglar will be convicted.d) Courts of Quarter Session are presided over by a

bench of justices.

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e) Cases had been heard by a judge sitting with a jury.f) Appeals may be heard in the High Court.g) All trials at quarter sessions are held with a jury.h) The ordinary civil actions will be heard by the

County Court.i) In England magistrates are appointed by the Lord

Chancellor.j) In Ireland the police have been controlled by an

Inspector General.

IV. Translate into English using Passive constructions:

1) Astăzi este 10 aprilie. Telefonul ar fi trebuit plătit până acum.

2) În multe din oraşele ţării se construiesc biblioteci.3) Ai părul prea lung. Ar trebui să te tunzi.4) Paul a fost externat din spital la două zile după ce a

fost internat.5) S-au făcut multe cercetări pentru a descoperi cauzele

acestei boli molipsitoare.6) Aş dori să-mi fac o fotografie pentru paşaport.7) Publicului nu i se spusese ce se întâmpla în spatele

cortinei.8) Domnul Brown dorea să ştie dacă se serveşte micul

dejun la hotel.9) Mi s-a spus că eşti bolnav.10) Florile acestea ar creşte mai bine dacă ar fi udate

mai des.11) Telegrama va fi înmânată generalului cât mai

repede posibil.12) Ni se dau o mulţime de teme zilnic.

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UNIT 4

COMMON LAW

Common law1, also called Anglo-American law, is the body of customary law, based upon judicial decisions and embodied in reports of decided cases, which has been administered by the common-law courts of England since the Middle Ages. From this has evolved the type of legal system now found also in the United States and in most of the member states of the Commonwealth of Nations. Common law stands in contrast to rules developed by the separate acts of equity2, to statute law (i.e., the acts of legislative bodies), and to the legal system derived from civil law now widespread3 in continental Europe and elsewhere.

The term of “common law” is used in a number of different ways each emphasizing various aspects of this complex idea. There are three basic uses of the term:

• As a description of the general system of law within a national jurisdiction;

• As a specific description of a historical development in England and Wales;

• As a description of a particular set of rules in contrast to the rules of equity and of statute law.

First, common law is used to distinguish one type of general legal system from other legal systems. It is most often used to distinguish ‘common law’ jurisdictions from ‘civil law’ jurisdictions. Those states whose laws are derived from the English system such as the U. S. A., Canada, Australia, Hong Kong, etc. are therefore known as ‘common law’ jurisdictions.

The second way in which the term is often used is to describe a historical situation in which the jurisdiction of the king’s courts of justice was extended throughout all the regions of England and Wales, creating systems of law common to all

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England in contradistinction to local law and custom which varied from area to area.

After the Norman conquest it was William’s successors who managed to diminish4 the opportunity for corruption among their officials by creating a more centralized and specialized form of government. This was achieved in part by the delegation of royal judicative power to itinerant ‘justices’, organized on ‘circuits’, who would travel round the country holding sittings5 (Assizes) to hear and settle6 cases waiting to be tried in the country towns and enforce7 the king’s rights.

At the same time as this development of the itinerant courts was taking place, the impetus8 for more efficient and effective government created three static, royal courts located at Westminster: the Court of Exchequer9, specialized in royal finance; the Court of Common Pleas, which had jurisdiction in ordinary litigation; and the Court of King’s Bench which had jurisdiction over all ’wrongs’ with the Court of Common Pleas and had an appellate10 and supervisory jurisdiction over all royal justice. The jurisdiction of these courts was extended until what had originally been an exceptional jurisdiction becoming common to the whole kingdom. The law created by this jurisdiction was therefore known as ’the common law’.

The third and most modern use of the term ’common law’ comes into opposition to the notions of ’equity’ and ‘statute law’. The common law means the rules, standards and principles created by the judges which are not equity. Lawyers must simply learn what the rules at common law are and what the rules in equity are. In many situations the rules overlap11

and although the rules in equity will prevail12, it is of great importance that the lawyer be aware of what the positions is both at common law and in equity.

VOCABULARY

1) common law = drept comun, drept cutumier

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2) equity = drept natural; lege nescrisă3) widespread = răspândit; întins4) to diminish = a diminua; a micşora, a slăbi5) sitting = şedinţă, adunare, întrunire6) to settle a case = a soluţiona, a rezolva un caz, o

cauză7) to enforce the rights = a valorifica drepturi8) impetus = imbold, impuls9)Court of Exchequer = Curtea Ministerului de Finanţe

(în Anglia)10) appellate (jurisdiction) = jurisdicţie de apel11) to overlap = a suprapune; a coincide în; a întretăia12) to prevail = a predomina; a triumfa

COMPREHENSION CHECK


a) Describe with your own words what ”common law” means. Write a short composition about it.

b) What are the basic uses of the term “common law”?c) What does the first use consist in?d) What are the ‘itinerant courts’? Did they contribute

to the development of the judicial system?e) What were the Royal Courts that were located at

Westminster?f) What does the third use of the term ‘common law’

come into opposition to?g) What happens if the rules at common law and those

in equity should overlap?

II. Fill in the blanks with the suitable prepositions: 1. Magistrates are appointed __________ behalf of the

Crown, _________ the lord Chancellor.

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2. There is substantial identity ____________ many points ___________ the Scottish system and those of the rest ________ Britain.

3. The sources _________ law also include a large amount ___________ unwritten or common law gathered _________ numerous decisions _________ the courts.

4. Central responsibility ____________ the administration to _________ the judicial system lies partly ________ the Home Secretary.

5. The police system is organized __________ a number ____________ separate forces linked _________ local Government and subject _________ the influence and control ___________ the Home Secretary.

III. Give the Romanian equivalents of the following words; Try to write a sentence with each of them:

• counterespionage• to infringe• poaching• to disclose• to distort

• traffic regulation• to misuse• receiver• proviso• grievance

IV. Try to match the legal terms (1-8) with the proper definitions (A-H):

1. discharge of firearm

2. theft of motor vehicle3. illegal border crossing

A. the recruitment, transportation, transfer or receipt of persons by means of threat, use of force, coercion, fraud or the abuse of authority for the purpose of exploitation.B. crossing the border or boundary of a province without proper documentsC. traffic incidents involving the operation of a motor vehicle while under

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4. trafficking in person5. licensing, permit and local ordinance violations6. speeding

7. improper registration

8. driving under the influence

the influence of any intoxicating substance.D. any offence relating to the speed of operation of a motor vehicle.E. any incident involving the unlawful discharge of a firearm.

F. the theft of a passenger vehicle, truck, bus or other vehicle intended for use transporting persons or goods upon the roadway.G. violation of any local ordinance, permit or licensing requirements established by local authorities.H. any offence relating to false, altered, forged display or exhibition of documents evidencing the registration of a motor vehicle..


1) Tribunalul poate impune o sentinţă care să priveze pe acuzat de libertate.

2) Se iau toate măsurile pentru a respinge orice avantaj al acuzării asupra apărării.

3) După ce o persoană a fost arestată, el/ea este acuzat(ă) şi adus(ă) în faţa instanţei.

4) Intervievarea martorilor acuzării este foarte importantă într-un proces penal.

5) În general, infracţiunile care sunt judecate pe baza unei proceduri sumare sunt pedepsite cu o amendă.

6) Nu trebuie subestimată depoziţia vreunui martor în anchetarea cazului.

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7) La intrarea în Marea Britanie, ofiţerul de la imigrări recomandă ca să nu se depăşească perioada permisă de şedere în ţară.

8) Deşi parlamentul votează legile, judecătorii sunt cei care le aplică, ţinând cont şi de specificul cazurilor.

9) Dacă el ar fi mărturisit totul de la început, vina lui ar fi fost mai mică.

10) În caz că este arestat, suspectul are dreptul să consulte un avocat.

VI. Ask questions to the following statements:

1) Most legislation applies to Great Britain or the United Kingdom as a whole.

2) The great majority of Bills are government measures introduced by a Minister.

3) The main opportunities offered in the House of Commons for detailed examination of government policy are provided through parliamentary questions and answers.

4) Some private Bills relating to matters of individual or corporate interest are promoted in each session.

5) On some matters, separate Acts are passed for England and Wales and for Scotland.

6) Bills may be introduced by either House, unless they deal with finance or representation.


The sovereignity has the duty of prosecuting those who commit crimes; its attorney for the purpose is the prosecutor. The prosecutor, who performs the function of trial lawyer for sovereignity, has extensive resources at his disposal for investigation and preparation purposes. He is not at liberty to distort or misuse this information. He must disclose information tending to relieve the accused of guilt. Any

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conduct of a prosecutor or judge that hinders the fairness of a trial to the extent that the outcome is adversely affected is in violation of the defendant’s right of due process. The efforts of the prosecutor and the court should be directed toward fairness and justice.

VIII. Write a short composition in which to show the phases of a trial in Romania. You can as well discuss a case that you studied about.

FOCUS ON GRAMMAR

MODAL VERBS

“must” is used to express an obligation given by the speaker:You really must come and visit our shop next week.

“must” also expresses a necessity or a deduction:They must go to work every day.That must be Jane, she always comes late..

“mustn’t” expresses an interdiction:Pedestrians mustn’t cross the road when the light is red.

“have to” expresses an obligation given by some external authority:You have to wear this badge, that’s our regulation

“don’t have to” and “needn’t” express the absence of obligation:You don’t have to speak so loudly, I can hear you.

“should” expresses moral obligation or advice, suggestion:She should pay more attention to her spelling.

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I. Patrick and Susan are colleagues attending a conference. Complete the dialogue. Use “must”, “mustn’t” or “have to”:

Patrick: Well, it’s been good talking, but I’m really tired now, and I must go end get some sleep.

Susan: Really? ………… you go so soon? Let’s have another drink at the bar.

Patrick: No, really. I ………… If I stayed for another drink, I know I’d be useless tomorrow. And I ………… start work at 6.00 in the morning.

Susan: At 6.00?! Why do you ………… start so early?Patrick: Because my head of department wants me to run

a breakfast seminar, and I still have some preparation to do – I …………. make any mistakes!

Susan: Why ………… the seminar ………. so early?Patrick: I don’t know. Stupid, isn’t it?Susan: The things we …………… do for this company!

I think we all work far too hard!

II. Fill in the blanks with “must” or the present, future, or past form of “have to”:

1. Little Simon got lost and …………… ask a policeman the way.

2. If you buy a radio set you ………buy a licence for it.3. Passengers ………… be in possession of a travel

ticket.4. I never remember his telephone number; I always

……………... look it up.5. Children ……… take an important exam at sixteen.6. Mr. Brown was in a hurry, so he ……… take a taxi.7. My grandpa is hard of hearing; he ………… wear a

hearing aid all the time.

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8. Mr. Barton …………. cook his own meals next week because his wife will be away.

9. You ………… see this film. It’s really very good.

III. After reading the following sentences, express an impression or an opinion about the ideas they contain, using modal verbs followed by a perfect infinitive:

eg, I didn’t see Harry at the conference (might)He might have been absent.

a) Jenny’s pronunciation has improved considerably (must).

b) Mary didn’t get on with her examination as well as she was expected to (could).

c) The doctor didn’t return yesterday as he had promised his patients (should).

d) They were very tired when they came home (must).e) He seemed terribly excited when I saw him (might).f) Well, I suppose be has failed (should).g) They had an appointment in his office yesterday, but

Mr. Roberts didn’t come (might).h) His journey didn’t last more than an hour (could).i) They looked for the child everywhere except in the

sick man’s room (might).


1) Trebuie să fie destul de târziu, fiindcă străzile sunt pustii.

2) N-am înţeles lecţia, aşa că Dan a trebuit să mi-o explice din nou.

3) Va trebui să stai aici până se întoarce secretara. Cineva trebuie să răspundă la telefon.

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4) Ieri dimineaţă a trebuit să mă duc după cumpărături pentru că aveam musafiri la cină.

5) Nu crezi c-ar trebui să te duci la doctor dacă nu te simţi bine?

6) De ce ai cumpărat fructe? Am luat trei kilograme de mere, nu mai trebuia să cumperi şi tu.

7) E nevoie să arăt legitimaţia de serviciu ori de câte ori vin în această instituţie?

8) Mike nu răspunde la telefon. Probabil că a plecat foarte devreme de acasă.

9) Trebuie să predau proiectul de diplomă înainte de sfârşitul săptămânii.

10) N-a fost nevoie să-i traduc articolul fiindcă ştie bine englezeşte.

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UNIT 5

EQUITY

In Anglo-American law, the custom of courts outside the common law is called equity. In origin equity provided remedies in situations in which precedent or statutory law might not apply or be equitable. By the end of the 13th century the English king’s common-law courts had largely limited the relief available in civil cases to the payment of damages and to the recovery of the possession of property.

The disappointed litigants1 petitioned the king, who was the ‘fountain of justice’. The king, through his Chancellor, eventually set up a special court to deal with these petitions. The rules applied by the Court of Chancery hardened2 into law and became a regular part of the law of the land. The most important branch3 of equity is the law of trusts4, but equitable remedies such as specific performance and injunction5 are also much used. In case of ‘conflict or variance’ between the rules of common law and equity, equity come to prevail.

Equity thus worked ‘behind the scenes’ of the common law action; the common law principles were left intact, but they were superseded6 by equitable rules in all cases.

This system went on until 1875 when the old courts of common law and the Court of Chancery were abolished, and in their place was established a single Supreme Court of Judicature, each branch of which had full power to administer both law and equity.

When one says that a particular rule of modern law is a rule of ‘equity’, one means that it has to be read in the light of a whole complex of rules developed by the Chancellors. One of

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them was (and is) to the effect that “he who comes to equity must come with clean hands”. This rule will apply whenever the plaintiff7 is relying upon an equitable right, but not necessarily when he is relying on a common law right. To say that a particular right is an equitable right means that all the subsidiary rules of equity apply to it. On the other hand, a particular right is to be interpreted in a common law atmosphere, leaving out of account such equitable rules as apply only to equitable rights.

Although the rule is that when law and equity conflict, equity prevails, there is always the possibility that a litigant who relies on an equitable rule may for some reason find himself outside the limits of that equitable rule and when this happens the contradictory common law rule, which may generally seem to be a dead letter, becomes very much alive.

Courts of equity also developed early in the United States, but in the late 19th and early 20th centuries most U. S. courts similarly abolished the distinctions between actions at law and suits in equity and fused8 their administration in one procedural system, with but one civil action, in the same court. Modern equity has been much assisted by legislation. The old notion that equity protects only property rights has been virtually abandoned. Now an employee9, for example, can be barred from competing10 with his employer after discharge or resignation. An injunction may now be had, where other factors of appropriateness permit, against threatened injury to interests of personality, such as civil liberties, privacy, reputation and domestic relations

VOCABULARY

1) litigant =.împricinat, parte litigantă, acuzator2) to harden = a (se) consolida, a (se) întări3) branch = ramură, domeniu; câmp de activitate4) trust = tutelă, procură

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5) injunction = ordonanţă, hotărâre judecătorească6) to supersede = a înlocui; a (se) substitui7) plaintiff = reclamant (într-un proces civil; parte

vătămată într-un litigiu civil)8) to fuse = a se contopi, a fuziona9) employee = angajat, salariat10) to compete with = a concura, a intra în competiţie

COMPREHENSION CHECK

I. Match each of the following words to the correct definition:

1. to sue2. damage3. defender4. case of first instance5. to dismiss an appeal6. to deliver judgement7. to hold8. to be entitled9. plaintiff

A. to have a right to something.B. a person who defends a civil or criminal action.C. money given as a legal compensation.D. to take legal action against someone in a civil case.E. to give a judicial decision.F. to reject, or not accept an appeal.G. a person who brings an action in civil lawH. to decide in legal proceedings.I. the first hearing of a case, not an appeal.

II. Give the Romanian equivalents of the following legal terms; Write a sentence with each of them:

• injunction• forfeiture• appeal• breach of the law

• liable• hereditary peerage• mens rea (lat)• remedy

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• to move a motion • prima facie (lat)

III. Fill in the blanks, using the words in the table below:

arrest, the police, arrestable offence, general, attempting, serious arrestable offences, suspecting, offence, restraint

1) Some offences are considered as _________ in which case the police have additional powers.

2) An __________ is one which carries a sentence of at least five years of _________

3) ___________ means the loss of liberty, being subject to _________ as one movements.

4) The _____________ arrest conditions give _______ the power to arrest for offences which are not automatically arrestable.

5) If the police have reasonable grounds for _________ a person for committing or _______ to commit any ________ they may arrest that person.

IV. Give the Romanian for the following branches of law:

• Criminal law• Law of Tort• Administrative law• Land law• Roman law

• Constitutional law• Property law• Law of contract• Commercial law• Labour law

• Try to explain which branch of our law is concerned with the respective field if there is no exact term

V. Translate the following sentences into English:

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1) Acuzatul trebuie să fie condamnat la închisoare pe viaţă, întrucât a comis un omor.

2) Infractorii sub vârsta de 21 de ani pot fi trimişi la instituţii de reeducare.

3) S-ar putea ca el să fie nevinovat.4) Întrucât el doreşte să mai lase o parte din averea sa şi

unei alte persoane, el trebuie să adauge o clauză în testament.5) Inculpatul trebuie să plătească reclamantului o

amendă mare întrucât i-a avariat grav maşina.6) S-a instituit procedură judiciară împotriva şoferului

vinovat.7) Judecătorul i-a impus inculpatului să plătească

amendă plus cheltuielile de judecată.8) Ca urmare a atacului comis asupra unui om de către

cei doi tineri, s-a emis mandat de aducere în faţa instanţei a celor vinovaţi.

9) După audierea tuturor martorilor, juriul a început deliberările.

10) În Marea Britanie sindicatele protejază interesele angajaţilor prin negocierea salariilor cu organizaţiile patronilor.

VI. Translate into Romanian:

The legal systems rooted in the English common law have diverged from their parent system so greatly over time that in many areas the legal approaches of common-law countries differ as much along themselves as they do with the civil-law countries. Indeed, England and the United States have so many legal differences that they are sometimes described as “two countries separated by a common law”. The most striking differences are found in the area of public law: England has no written constitution and no judicial review, whereas every court in the United States possesses the power to pass judgment

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on the conformity of legislation and on other official actions to constitutional norms.

VII. Put the following statements concerning the service of a writ into chronological order.

1. The court officer stamps the writ and gives it a number.

2. The writ is issued.3. The plaintiff indorses the nature of his claim against

the defendant.4. The defendant decides to contest the claim.5. The writ is sent by first-class post to the defendant.


”The man who goes to law often loses an ox to win a cat.

No physician like a true friend.”

FOCUS ON GRAMMAR

REPORTED SPEECH

When we report what someone else has said or thought we use “reported” (or “indirect”) speech:

Eg. He said that he couldn’t swim. She insisted that she had to see us.

DIRECT SPEECH INDIRECT SPEECHa. Johnny, you’ve passed your exam.

I told Johnny he’d passed his exam.

b. I’ll telephone today this

He said he’d telephone that day

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evening that evening

c. Mr. Smith will be back tomorrow.

They told me Mr. Smith would be back the next/the following day.

d. Your parcel arrived yesterday Jane

I told Jane her parcel had arrived the day before.

e. It happened two hours ago. They told me it had happened two hours before.

I. Rewrite the sentences in Reported Speech:

a) “I’ve read the report and I don’t understand section 4”, he said.

He said ……………………b) “When I finish my presentation, I’m going to have a

drink”, he said. He said ……………………c) “I like playing tennis, but I don’t do it very often”,

she said.She said ……………………d) “I’m preparing the figures but I won’t be long”, she

saidShe said ……………………e) “I’m going to visit our French subsidiary, but I’m

not sure when”, she said.She said ……………………f) “We received your order last week”, they said.They said ……………………g) “I’m sorry about the delay, I’ll deal with this now”,

he said.He said ……………………

II. Turn the statements, questions and orders below into reported speech:

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a) “These shoes are too small. I am returning them to the shop and I hope I will be refunded”, said my aunt.

b) “I have just opened a savings account. I want to go to Bahamas next summer”, my friend said.

c) “You must take out a mortgage. We can no longer share this tiny flat ”, their parents said.

d) “Can I buy oil and sugar on credit? My husband will only get the unemployment benefit next week” asked the house wife.

e) “I won’t pay the bill. It’s simply a rip-off”, said the customer.

f) “Why did they sell this wonderful painting at such a small price? ” asked Mrs. Smith.

III. Change the following sentences from indirect into direct speech:

1. Linda wanted to know whether George had really shot that bear.

2. Mother asked me whether I had finished my work.3. Doris inquired whether he would bring his brother

along.4. Mike asked his girl-friend whether she liked her new

job.5. Mary wanted to know what she was supposed to do.6. They asked whether Jack had been heard of lately.7. I asked Peter whether be had ever eaten cooked

bananas.8. Jimmy asked me yesterday whether I had returned

the book.


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a) El spunea că dacă pleacă imediat o să ajungă acasă înainte de miezul nopţii.

b) Mi-a spus să-l scuz dacă va întârzia puţin.c) Ea spunea că a trecut o săptămână şi jumătate de

când a venit în oraşul acesta.d) Spera că dacă totul va merge bine va pleca în iunie.e) Mi-a spus ieri că astăzi împlineşte 30 de ani.f) Mi-a scris că se află la Cluj de două săptămâni.g) Ea mi-a spus că vor pleca la mare de îndată ce

discută cu cumnatul lor.h) L-am întâlnit pe stradă, dar n-am putut sta de vorbă

cu el fiindcă mi-a spus că e foarte grăbit.i) El ne-a întrebat de câte ori am fost în străinătate.j) Mi-a spus că dacă va citi cartea până luni mi-o va

înapoia chiar în ziua aceea.

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UNIT 6

THE SOURCES OF THE ENGLISH LAW

According to the solemnity of the form in which they are made, laws are traditionally divided into two main categories: written or unwritten. “Written” law signifies any law that is formally enacted1, whether reduced to writing or not, while “unwritten” law signifies all “enacted” law.

On the Continent the volume of written law tends to preponderate over the volume of unwritten, but in England unwritten law is predominant, for more of their law derives from judicial precedents2 than from legislative enactment. Two main and two subsidiary sources of law are to be mentioned. The principal sources are Legislation and Judicial Precedent; the subsidiary sources are Custom and Books of Authority.

The principle of justice is enforced in English law by the rule of stare decisis (referring to what has been decided previously) and this rule has a coercive3 or binding4 nature in the English system. The rules of common law have been evolved inductively from decision to decision involving similar facts, so that they are firmly grounded upon5 the activities of litigation and the reality of human conduct. New cases lead onwards6 to reach forward new rules. In contrast, the European civil law supposes the task of the courts to be deductive: to subsume the present case under a generalized and codified rule. So, a distinctive feature of the English system is that, because the English judge has – through precedent – power to make new law, his position in the legal system is central.

The judge may be obliged to consider the former decision as part of the material on which his present decision could be based, or he may be obliged to decide it in the same

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way as that in which the previous case was decided. In the latter case the precedent is said to be “binding”. A court which is inferior in authority to another court is obliged to follow a court of superior authority if called upon to decide upon facts similar to facts already tried by the superior court. On the criminal side of the Court of Appeal the Court could depart7

from its previous decisions “in the interest of justice”. On the civil side it may depart from its previous decisions in three situations: when there are two earlier conflicting decisions; when the Court’s earlier decisions cannot stand with a subsequent decision of The House of Lords; and when the Court’s earlier decision was given per incuriam8. These exceptions of the rule of stare decisis underline the fact that, although the rules of precedent are important in English law, they are not as important as the judge’s obligation. The judges have a field of choice in making their decisions, they rest their judgements upon the general principles exercised in case law as a whole.

Customs are social habits, patterns of behaviour, which all societies seem to evolve. Custom is not solely9 important as a source of law, for even today some customary rules are observed in their own right and they command almost as much obedience as rules of law in that their observance10 is not enforced by the organs of the State. In modern times most general customs have either fallen into desuetude or become absorbed in rules of law.

The European writings of legal authors form an important source of law. In England, in accordance with the tradition that the law is to be sought in judicial decisions, their writings have in the past been treated with comparatively little respect. They have been cited in court, rather by way of evidence of what the law is than as independent sources from which it may be derived.

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VOCABULARY

1) to enact a law = a promulga o lege2) precedent = precedent, decizie judecătorească ce face

jurisprudenţă3) coercitive = de constrângere, coercitiv4) binding = obligatoriu5) to ground upon = a (se) baza pe, a (se) întemeia pe, a

(se) sprijini pe (fig.)6) onwards = înainte; mai departe7) to depart = a se abate8) per incuriam (lat) = prin neglijenţă sau omisiune9) solely = numai10) observance = respectare; observanţă; regulă

COMPREHENSION CHECK


a) How many categories of law do you know?b) What are the main sources of law?c) What are the subsidiary sources of law?d) What is the principle of justice in English law

enforced by?e) How have the rules of common law been evolved?f) Which is the judge’s position in the English legal

system?g) Are customs important as sources of law? Why?h) Do the English legal writings have any importance as

a source of law?

II. Match the following terms with the definitions below:

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a) accident personal injuryb) defective equipmentc) dangerous drivingd) impedinge) riotf) road blockg) booting

1) the offences of theft, burglary or criminal damage during time of civil unrest, disturbance or natural disaster

2) the assembly of more than two persons whose malicious actions cause death, injury or property damage

3) the assembly of more than two persons for the purpose of blocking a roadway; the blockage may be by use of an object, group of objects or any substance

4) any motor vehicle accident causing injury, but not death, to a person

5) offences relating to the operation of motor vehicles with altered, broken, defective, damaged or missing equipment.

6) operating a motor vehicle so as to endanger life or property

7) offences relating to the illegal or improper parking, stopping or standing on, in or adjacent to a roadway

III. Add suffixes to form nouns:

to appoint; to assess; to attend; to convict; to defend; to dispose; to establish; to evaluate; to hear; to immigrate; to imprison; to proceed; to propose; to prosecute; to withdraw

IV. Ask questions to the following statements:

a) The basic powers and responsibilities of local authorities shall be prescribed by the constitution or statute.

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b) The principle of local self-government shall be recognised in domestic legislation.

c) Public responsibilities shall be exercised by those authorities which are closest to the citizen.

d) Allocation of responsibility to another authority should weigh up the extent and nature of the task and requirements of efficiency.

e) Powers given to local authorities may not be undetermined, or limited by another central or regional authority.

V. Choose the correct answer:

1) In the legal profession, men ___________ women by five to one.

a) outclass c) overcomeb) outnumber d) supersede2) The _________ sentenced the accused to 15 years in

prisona) barrister c) judgeb) counsel d) solicitor3) After a close cross-examination, the barrister was

________ . His client was telling the truth.a) content c) happyb) glad d) satisfied4) I _________ to say anything unless I am allowed to

speak to my solicitor.a) deny c) refuseb) neglect d) resist5) All __________ barristers are expected to study at

the Inns of Court.a) hopeful c) willingb) prospective d) wishful


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1) În Marea Britanie nu există numai un singur organ al legii.

2) În ce priveşte diferenţele dintre sistemul juridic scoţian şi cele din restul Marii Britanii, acestea sunt mai extinse.

3) O trăsătură comună tuturor sistemelor juridice din Marea Britanie este aceea potrivit căreia sursele de drept includ legislaţia,precum şi o mare cantitate de cutumă (unwritten law) care provine din numeroasele hotărâri ale instanţelor de-a lungul timpului sau din alte surse.

4) Majoritatea urmăririlor penale în Anglia sunt conduse de către poliţie, dar punerea sub acuzare este de competenţa procurorului public.

5) Este necesar ca avocaţii să caute toate informaţiile relevante pentru cazul respectiv la poliţie.

6) Fiecare acuzat are dreptul să apeleze la un avocat pentru apărare.

7) Dacă acuzatul nu poate să-şi permită să angajeze un avocat pentru apărare, atunci i se acordă asistenţă juridică pe cheltuiala publică.

8) La începutul secolului curţile de apel au fost obligate să-şi respecte judecăţile precedente.


The plaintiff begins his action by way of a writ of summons, which is a formal document containing details of the parties, the plaintiff’s claim, an instruction to the defendant to acknowledge the writ within a specified time and a warning to the defendant that he must acknowledge and indicate an intention to contest the case or risk the plaintiff proceeding directly to a judgment.

On the back of the writ the plaintiff must set out (’indorse’) the nature of his claim against the defendant either

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in a brief, general statement (a ’general indorsement’) or in a full statement (a ’special indorsement’). If the writ contains only a general indorsement and the defendant wishes to contest the case, a full statement of claim will become a necessary part of the pleadings which will follow in due course.

VIII. Make up your own definition of the doctrine of precedent in about 50-100 words (with your coursebook closed). All the definitions should then be read out in class, and a ”jury” should decide which is the most accurate, complete and grammatically correct.

FOCUS ON GRAMMAR

CONDITIONALS

Type 1a) possible, probable/real condition referring to

something which may or equally may not happen:

If ClausePresent Tense, Present perfect

Main ClauseFuture, Imperative

eg. If it rains, we won’t go to buy the newspaper.b) tentative, possible condition referring to something

which is rather unlikely to happen, but still do so:

If ClauseShould+Infinitive

Main ClauseImperative

eg. If you should be interested, please, let me know. Type 2

- improbable condition referring to something to which the speaker can imagine happening in theory:

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If ClausePast Tense/Past Subjunctive I

Main ClausePresent Conditional

eg. If I were you, I wouldn’t change my job. If she became a reporter, she would work very hard.

Type 3- impossible condition referring to something in the past

which cannot by definition happen:

If ClausePast Perfect Tense/Past Subjunctive II

Main ClausePerfect Conditional

eg. If she had known English, she would have translated the text..

Note: In negative sentences, if not is replaced by unless:

eg. He will not understand the lesson unless he learns the new words.

I. Match the two parts of the following statements:

1) If I were a young manager and I received a number of complaints from my customers about unfriendly service, …..

2) If my supplier’s workforce kept going on strike, …...3) If my employees refused to work overtime, ………4) If I inherited a fortune and opened my own business

and a close relative asked me to give him/her a well paid job, ………………………

a) I would use alternative suppliers and make sure I had emergency stocks.

b) I would offer her/him the job only when the business becomes profitable.

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c) I would think of some ways to encourage my staff to be helpful.

d) I would give them bonuses for extra hours.

II. Underline the correct words:

1) I wouldn’t/won’t worry if I am/were you.2) If you phoned/had phoned me yesterday, I had

told/would have told you.3) If you took/would have taken more exercise, you

might feel/had left better.4) If Tim would have listened/had listened more

carefully, he wouldn’t have made/didn’t make that mistake.5) If we would found/found suitable premises, we

would have moved/had moved earlier.6) If people kept/had kept their offices more tidy, it

might present/presented a better image to our visitors.7) If I had known/would know about their financial

problems, I wouldn’t do/wouldn’t have done business with them.

8) If our side had been/was better prepared, we succeeded/could have succeeded in the negotiations.

III. Translate into English:

1) Dacă nu l-aş fi înţeles, l-aş fi rugat să vorbească mai rar.

2) Aş alege rochia aceasta dacă n-ar fi atât de strâmtă.3) Dacă compania noastră ar fi vrut să vândă sau să

cumpere valută, ar fi putut contacta un agent de bursă.4) Dacă nu pleci imediat, vei pierde în mod sigur trenul.5) Ţi-aş fi recunoscător dacă mi-ai da mai multe

informaţii în legătură cu folosirea cardului.6) Dacă nu te trezeşti devreme, n-o să poţi să ajungi la

serviciu la timp.

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7) Dacă aş fi observat accidentul, aş fi notat numerele maşinilor.

8) Cum ai reacţiona dacă ai afla că firma lui va da faliment?

9) Câinele meu latră întodeauna dacă aude vreun zgomot neobişnuit.

10) Kate ar fi învăţat încă două ore, dacă ar fi ştiut că examenul fusese amânat.

11) Dacă mâine aş avea zi liberă, aş pleca în excursie la munte.

12) Dacă aş fi ştiut că faceţi comerţ cu această firmă de atîţia ani, aş fi luat legătura cu voi imediat.

IV. Put the verbs in brackets into the right form:

a) They (not to be) angry with her if they had known the truth.

b) What you (to do) if you found a burglar in your house?

c) Someone (to steal) your car if you leave it unlocked.d) Jim (to be ruined) if the bought his wife everything

she asked for.e) If she were sent to prison, you (to visit) her?f) He would have forced his way into the house if I (not

to call) for help.g) If I (to change) my job would it affect my pension?h) If father had been at home, he (to answer) the phone.i) Mike wouldn’t have believed it if he (not to see) it

with his own eyes.j) He (to buy) shares in your company if he had some

money.

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UNIT 7

THE BRITISH CONSTITUTION

The British Constitution is not written in a basic document or group of documents. It has evolved over the centuries with several dramatic changes and high degree of historical continuity has been maintained as the constitution has been brought up to date.

The constitution is regulated1 to a large extent by rules which do not belong to the normal legal categories and which are called constitutional conventions. They are rules of political conduct or binding usages, most of which are capable of being varied or of simply disappearing as political conditions and ideas change. Sometimes it is convenient to contrast constitutional convention with ‘strict law’2. This, in strict law (by virtue of the royal prerogative) the Queen can dismiss her Ministers at pleasure. By convention this legal power is exercisable only in very extraordinary circumstances. As the Queen must act in accordance with ministerial advice, Parliament still adopts the form of conferring discretionary powers on Her Majesty. This dichotomy3 of law and convention pervades4 much of the constitutional law.

The absence of a cumbersome5 procedure for altering rules of constitutional importance, the omnicompetence6 of Parliament and the pliability7 of many constitutional conventions tend to make the British constitution flexible and easily adaptable.

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The upper House of Parliament, the House of Lords, still constituted on a hereditary basis, is of minor importance; the lower House, the elected House of Commons, is the focus of political attention. The political arm of the executive branch of government is recruited from and located within Parliament, and the Cabinet is collectively ‘responsible’ to Parliament in general and the House of Commons in particular. A Government would either have to resign or go to the country if it were to forfeit8 the support of a majority in the Commons.

Because of the structure of modern British political parties, and the operation of the electoral system and certain constitutional rules the Government is normally able to command parliamentary support for the implementation of almost any policy that it is in practice likely to adopt. The Government has indeed to be responsive9 to parliamentary opinion, as well as to the weight of opinion in the electorate at large, but one must not imagine that it is in any real sense a delegate or agent of Parliament. Parliamentary government is not governed by Parliament. The Government governs in and through Parliament. At the same time, it would be erroneous to speak in terms of ‘Cabinet dictatorship’. A Government operates within a complex network10 of constraints restricting its freedom of manoeuvre.

The constitutional principles, rules and practices of the United Kingdom have never been codified. They derive from statute law, from common law, and from conventions of the constitution, which are not laws at all, but political practices which have become considered as indispensable to the smooth working of the machinery of government.

VOCABULARY

1) to regulate = a pune la punct, a potrivi; a regla, a ajusta

2) ‘strict’ law = lege necondiţionată, fixă

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3) dichotomy =dihotomie, diviziune cu două părţi4) to pervade = a cuprinde; a pătrunde (în)5) cumbersome = obositor, incomod, greoi6) omnicompetence = împuternicire deplină7) pliability = pliabilitate, flexibilitate8) to forfeit = a pierde prin confiscare9) responsive = înţelegător; corespunzător10) network = reţea

COMPREHENSION CHECK


a) What do you mean by “constitutional conventions”?b) Can you explain the term “strict law”?c) Is the British Constitution a flexible and easily

adaptable one? Why?d) What happens if the Government should forfeit the

support of a majority in the Commons?e) Can one speak about the British Government in

terms of “Cabinet dictatorship”?f) How does a Government really operate? Explain it in

a few words.

II. March the following terms with the definitions below:

1. demonstration2. missing person3. natural or accidental death4. suicide

5. deportation6. civil disputes7. domestic disputes

A. incidents or disputes concerning agreements, property ownership, land use etc.; they are concluded by referring the parties to judicial officers, social department or other agencies

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B. the official government action of expelling a person from a country or from a provinceC. the assembly of more than two with a common purpose without causing death, injury or property damageD. family disputes in which there is absolutely no criminal conductE. cases of persons who intentionally terminate their livesF. the report that a person’s location is unknown and, should reasonably be known; this report must be made by a responsible partyG. deaths reported to the police that are caused by natural body functions or by unintentional but legal actions

III. Choose the right answer:

1) The judge _______ the pedestrian for the accident.a) accused c) chargedb) blamed d) sued.

2) A _______ is a trial lawyer or litigator.a) barrister c) solicitorb) judge d) coroner

3) The judge will hear the next _______ after lunch.a) case c) lawsuitb) charge d) trial.

4) His legal training enables him to put his case ______ very convincingly.

a) down c) overb) out d) up

5) The ________ sentenced the convicted man.a) judge c) barristerb) counsel d) prosecutor

IV. Give the Romanian equivalents of the following legal terms. Write a sentence with each of them:

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• assent• to hold office• adjournment• to reverse a sentence• liability

• to take precedence• misconduct• to be empowered• to vest• retirement

V. Reduce each of the following complex sentences to make a more condensed one:

1) Passengers must go through the Customs before they embark.

2) He promised he would buy me a present.3)Don’t forget you must deposit your key at the

reception desk when you leave the hotel.4) We are sorry we are so late.5) I regret I spoke to the boy so rudely.6) The meeting that was arranged for tomorrow will

now be held a week from tomorrow.7) Can you find something that will stop the door

banging?8) I hope I shall hall see you on Tuesday.


1) El ar fi putut obţine o notă mai mare la Drept Civil, dar nu a studiat îndeajuns.

2) El ar fi trebuit să plătească o amendă mai mare pentru avarierea destul de serioasă a maşinii reclamantului.

3) Nu putea să fure el ceasul, toată lumea îl consideră un om onest.

4) Este necesar ca această lege să fie votată în parlament.

5) Avocatul insistă ca inculpatul să fie eliberat pe cauţiune.

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6) Judecătorul a hotărât că tânărul infractor să fie trimis la o şcoală de reeducare.

7) Pot fi jurisconsulţi absolvenţii facultăţilor de ştiinţe juridice.

8) Funcţia juraţilor este de a declara dacă acuzatul este vinovat sau nevinovat.

VII. Translate in to Romanian:

When the government’s manifesto commitment to introduce compulsory trade union recognition is finally implemented, an increasing number of employers may come under pressure to reach collective agreements on such matters as the procedure for selection in the event of redundancy. The Court of Session’s decision in the case assumes particular significance against that backcloth. The employer had agreed with the GMB a selection procedure on the basis of ‘last in, first out’, but decided instead to apply an alternative scheme. An employee who was thereby placed in the firing line sought an order prohibiting the employer from making a selection on any basis other than ‘last in, first out’.


“Much law, but little justice.”“Of two disputants, the warmer is generally in the

wrong.”

FOCUS ON GRAMMAR

UNCOUNTABLE NOUNS

An uncountable noun has only one form. We cannot use numbers with it:

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Eg. - substances, materials: water, air, oil, coffee, money, steel, food, electricity.

- abstract ideas: freedom, progress, health, trouble, fun.

- activities: sleep, music, work, football, research

- human qualities/feelings: sadness, respect, courage, honesty, patience. The following nouns are uncountable in English:

advice, business, cash, furniture, health, homework, luggage, machinery, money, accommodation, traffic, weather.

A few uncountable nouns and in –s: athletics, diabetes, economics, gymnastics, measles, news, politics.

Uncountable nouns cannot be counted directly; however, we can count them using phrases like: a piece of, a bit of, an item of, a cup of, a glass of, a bottle of, a kilo of, a barrel of etc:

eg. a piece/two pieces of advice a bottle/two bottles of watera bit/two bits of informationa kilo/two kilos of ricean item/two items of newsa barrel/two barrels of oil.

Singular or Plural? Some singular nouns can be followed by either a

singular verb or a plural verb: army, audience, board, committee, family, group, management, staff, team, union:

eg. The company is/are doing very well at the moment.

Some nouns have only a plural form and take a plural verb:

eg. clothes, contents, earnings, expenses, feelings, goods, police, scissors, remains, surroundings, trousers.

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I. Underline the correct words:

a) How much/How many pages are there on your website?

b) Is/Are there many/much traffic in Geneva?c) How much/How many information have we got

about this company?d) Where is/are the goods we ordered?e) There is/are some people waiting for you in

reception.f) We bought some new equipment/equipments last

month.g) He gave me an/some advice which was/were really

useful.h) I’m afraid we haven’t got much/many time.i) The news is/are on at nine. They may be an/some

information about Davos.j) You can choose some/any colour you want.

II. Fill in the blanks with the correct form, singular or plural, of the verb (use simple present or past tense):

1) The United States ……………….. a great political and economic power.

2) The youth everywhere ……………….. eager to live an interesting life.

3) The headquarters …………………… located in a developed area.

4) A lot of information ……………….. necessary for the new project.

5) The equipment that we ordered ………………. here.6) Economics …………studied in all business schools.7) The ecological farm produce …………… in great

demand.

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8) The news about the closure of the company …………… really depressing.

9) How much money …………… left in your account?

III. Singular or plural? Underline the correct form of the words in italics – in each pair there is one singular and one plural:

a) 1. The large content/contents of the lorry made it possible to carry all those goods.

2. The content/contents of the book seemed interesting enough.

b) 1. The premise/premises may have been good, but the final result was a failure.

2. The company’s premise/premises had to be redecorated.

c) 1. They had to wait a lot before they passed the custom/customs.

2. They admired the unique custom/customs people keep in that village.

d) 1. The sales targets for the first term/terms could not be achieved.

2. The term/terms of the contract will be drawn up by the lawyers.

e) 1. The compass/compasses broke, so that the explorer lost himself in the rain forest.

2. I borrowed his compass/compasses to finish my diploma design.

f) 1. I need the minute/minutes of the last meeting.

2. They didn’t find out the result of the contest until the last minute/minutes.

g) 1. The girls tried on a lot of cloths/clothes for their holidays.

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2.She bought some cloths/clothes to have a few dresses made.

h) 1. The manager has asked us to collect the figures and submit him the statistic/statistics.

2. Students have passed their exams in statistic/statistics.

IV. Translate into Romanian:

a) All Dacians rose in arms when the Romans invaded Dacia. b) The letter burnt to ashes. c) Clothes do not make the man. d) Have a look at the table of contents. d) Goods are usually transported in goods trains. e) They couldn’t finish the project for lack of funds. f) He is a man of means, he can afford it. g) You’ll find the information you need in the minutes of the meeting. h) We are all at pains to please her. i) There is a suspect on the premises. j) I’ve put all my savings in the savings bank. k) She is always in good spirits. l) I can’t drink spirits. m) She is sitting on the stairs n) The standard of living in the Middle Ages was very low.


1) Etajera aceasta poate ţine multe cărţi. 2) Sunt mulţi clienţi în magazinul din colţ. 3) Pojarul este o boală contagioasă. 4) Cine ţi-a adus ştirea? 5) Tâmplarul, pe care l-ai cunoscut la mine, face mobilă frumoasă. 6) Am văzut mulţi peşti înotând sub pod. 7) Mărfurile acestea au venit din China. 8) Vrei să-mi dai foarfecele o secundă? 9) A tăiat două pâini şi a pus feliile pe masă. 10) Cu mintea ta şi cu puţină hărnicie poţi să reuşeşti. 11) Au mâncat orez în loc de cartofi. 12) Oamenii aceştia s-au adunat pentru a rezolva o problemă importantă. 13) Trebuie să te duci în oraş să cumperi nişte pahare. 14)

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Acoperişurile caselor erau acoperite cu zăpadă. 15) A cumpărat câteva gâşte. Îţi place carnea de gâscă? 16) Turiştii au întâlnit câteva căprioare. 17) De ce se pune petrol în lampă? 18) Pâinea aceasta este proaspătă, aceea este veche. 19) Dacă încălzeşti ceara, ea se înmoaie. 20) Oamenii aceştia sunt din nord.

UNIT 8

THE ACTORS OF THE CONSTITUTION

The British monarchy must seem to outsiders a caricature of the traditional conceits: the participants are trusted to play the game, though its rules are undefined, and, if they do not abide1 by the rules, nobody knows what the sanctions might be.

Most political business in Britain is conducted in the name of the Crown. Parliament does not govern; the Queen in Parliament governs. When Parliament reassembles2 at the beginning of a session, the Queen herself reads out the list of laws the government hopes to pass. Every bill that passes through Parliament needs to have royal assent3 before it passes into law. The Queen appoints bishops, judges and the top brass4

of the army, but always on the advice of the Prime minister. When one party wins a majority in the House of Commons, the monarch has no difficulty in nominating the leader of the party to be prime minister. The Queen has to work on two principles: she must appear impartial, and must find a government capable of surviving in the House of Commons.

The House of Lords is made up of hereditary and life peers5 and peeresses, including the law lords appointed to undertake the judicial duties of the House, the archbishops of Canterbury and York, the bishops of London, Durham and

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Winchester and 21 senior bishops of the Church of England. The main function of the House of Lords is to bring the wide experience of its members into the process of law-making.

The House of Commons is elected by universal adult suffrage and consists of 650 members of Parliament (MPs). General elections are held after a Parliament has been dissolved and a new one summoned6 by the Queen. When an MP dies or resigns or is given a peerage7, a by-election8 takes place.

For electoral purposes the United Kingdom is divided into constituencies9, each of which returns one member to the House of Commons. Elections are by secret ballot. British citizens and citizens of other Commonwealth10 countries, together with citizens of the Irish Republic, may vote provided they are aged 18 or over, resident in the United Kingdom, registered in the annual register of electors for the constituency and not subject to any disqualification.

People not entitled to vote include members of the House of Lords, patients detained under mental health legislation, sentenced prisoners and people convicted within the previous five years of corrupt or illegal election practices.

The Representation of the People Act 1985 extends the franchise11 to British citizens abroad for a period of five years after leaving the United Kingdom and extends the right to apply for an absent vote to all those who cannot reasonably be expected to vote in person at the polling12 station. A candidate’s nomination for election must be signed by two electors as proposer and seconder, and by eight other electors registered in the constituency. He or she does not require any party backing. A candidate must also deposit £ 500, which is forfeited if his or her votes do not exceed 5 per cent of those validly cast.

VOCABULARY

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1) to abide by = a respecta, a se conforma (unei legi, unui regulament)

2) to reassemble = a re-convoca o întrunire3) royal assent = acordul regal; consimţământul4) brass = ofiţeri superiori5) peer = pair, nobil6) to summon = a convoca7) peerage = rang de pair; pairii, Lorzii Regatului8) by-election = alegere locală/parţială9) constituency = circumscripţie electorală; corp

electoral10) Commonwealth = republica engleză, statul englez11) franchise = privilegiu, scutire; concesiune12) polling station = centru de votare

COMPREHENSION CHECK

I. Find the meaning of the following words and phrases:

• member of the House of Lords• to conclude a debate• repugnance• to supply• to put off

• schedule• hereditary peer• to eradicate• to plunge• spokesman

II. Answer the following questions:

a) What role does the Queen play in the process of legislation?

b) What are the two principles the Queen has to work on?

c) Who are the members of the House of Lords?

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d) Who undertake the judicial duties of the House?e) What does the House of Commons consist of?f) When does a by-election usually take place?g) What are the basic requirements for someone

wishing to vote in a United Kingdom election?h) Is the system different from the one in our country?

III. Match the English terms on the left (1-14) with their equivalent Romanian expressions (A-N) on the right:

1. ballot2. by-election3. constituency4. to be entitled to vote5. franchise6. to lose/forfeit one’s deposit7. party baking8. to poll9. polling station10. by proxi11. to resign12. seat13. sentence14. suffrage

A. sufragiuB. loc, fotoliuC. a demisionaD. alegeri (legislative) parţialeE. circumscripţie electoralăF. scrutinG. a avea drept de votH. a condamnaI. birou electoralJ. prin procurăK. drept de sufragiuL. a obţine/primi voturiM. a-şi pierde cauţiunea/garanţiaN. susţinerea unui partid

IV. Do not begin sentences with and, so, or but. Which words can be used to replace them? Complete the following table:

Romanian Englishtotuşi, cu toate acestea

howevermoreover

aşadar, în consecinţă

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thereforepe când, în timp ce

unlessîn consecinţă, prin urmareaşa încât

in order to

V. Make up sentences using the following legal phrases used in law courts:

• to bring an action against smb. – a acţiona în judecată pe cineva

• to bring a prosecution – a pune sub acuzare• to comply with a decision – a se supune unei hotărâri• to commit an offence – a comite o infracţiune• to conduct an enquiry – a conduce o anchetă• to deprive smb. of liberty – a priva pe cineva de

libertate• to discharge a defendant – a pune în libertate un

acuzat• to give evidence – a depune mărturie• to grant legal aid – a acorda asistenţă juridică


1) Dreptul european devine din ce în ce mai operant datorită Curţii de Justiţie.

2) Curtea de Justiţie rezolvă cazuri litigioase în Europa.3) Uniunea economică şi monetară a Europei este un

progres imens.4) Judecătorii fac totul pentru ca dreptul britanic să

rămână conform cu dreptul european.

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5) Tribunalul Primei Instanţe, care va trata cazurile minore, nu există decât de câteva luni.

6) Guvernele verifică deja legislaţia europeană şi sunt suspicioase cu privire la modul de scrutin.

7) Parlamentul va vota luna viitoare amendamentele la Actul din 1987.

8) Patrioţii pretind că Marea Britanie nu ar trebui să se plieze în faţa legilor europene şi nici în faţa exigenţelor Curţii Europene.


After a regulation has been adopted, there will be an ex post assessment of whether the regulation actually realizes its objectives. This may be a formalized assessment, but most often it is an informal process through public discussion, press comments, court decisions, etc. The result may be that one initiate a revision process, which generally will take the form of a report that concludes whether amendments should be introduced, and which is subject to a political decision. If the decision is positive, a draft of the new regulation is developed and is made subject to an ex ante review, both with respect to whether political objectives will be realized and to the more legal technical details of the drafting. The draft be then adopted.

VIII. Discussion:

• Use the following quotation as a basis for discussion

“Modern societies still need myth and ritual. A monarch and his family supply it; there is no magic about a mud-stained politician”

(Sir Ian Gilmour)

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FOCUS ON GRAMMAR

RELATIVE PRONOUNS

The words who, which, that, whom and whose can begin a relative clause. They are called relative pronouns.

For people both who and that are used, but who is more common.

eg: The candidate who they chose for the job has a finance background.

For things or ideas both which and that are used, but that is more common, especially in speech.The products that you ordered were sent today.They won the contest which made us quite happy.

The relative pronoun whose shows that something belongs to someone or some thing.The European Union is an organization whose policies change quite slowly.

In formal English it is possible to use whom instead of who where who is the object of the sentence. But in modern English most speakers only use who.The candidate who/whom we chose has a finance background.

We must keep the relative pronoun in non-defining clauses. We can not leave it out (it makes no difference whether it is followed by a noun or a verb).The technician, who my colleagues know well, said the network was working fine.The salad, which had avocado in it, was superb.

That is never used in a non-defining relative clause.

I. Complete the sentences with who, whose or that:

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1) They promoted the manager …………………... sales team was most successful.

2) Do you know ……………… Catherine works for?3) The consultant, ……………... seems very young, is

speaking to Martin.4) I can’t remember …………. I invited to the meeting.5) The contract ……………. you showed me before

was different to this one.6) Your colleague, …………… I met this morning, had

the same opinion.7) I don’t remember …………….. I spoke to when I

called yesterday.8) It’s difficult to say ……………. this fax was sent by.9) The manual ……………….. they sent explains

everything.10) The customer ……………… company I visited is

phoning this afternoon.

II. Decide whether the words in italics are defining or non-defining relative clauses:

1) The train, which leaves at 8 a. m., doesn’t stop at Bath.

2) The train which leaves at 8 a. m., doesn’t stop at Bath.

3) The projector which has a new bulb is over there.4) The projector, which has a new bulb is over there.5) The food, which was very nice, was served at the

bar.6) The man who is in reception has been waiting for

ten minutes.7) The technician who spoke to Tony was our

neighbour.8) The technician who spent over on hour here, said

the network was working fine.

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III. Combine the following pairs of sentences by means of relative pronouns: who, what, which, whose, that making any necessary changes. Some relative pronouns can be omitted.

1) You sent us a letter. Thank you very much for it.………………………………………………………………

2) A receptionist answered the phone. She said the finance manager was not available.………………………………………………………………

3) The office clerk introduced me to the visitors. Most of them were from abroad.…………………………………………………………………

4) The lecturer announced he would arrive sooner. This didn’t suit me at all.………………………………………………………………

5) This is Mr. Roberts, His company was among the most successful businesses last year.………………………………………………………………

6) Our company has recently launched a range of new products last month. Many of them are already in great demand.………………………………………………………………

7) The firm is sending me to New York. I work for this firm.…………………………………………………………………

8) She wanted to be shown around the new mall. She had been told about the mall.………………………………………………………………


1) De la cine a cumpărat George maşina?2) De obicei nu spune cu cine se întâlneşte.

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3) Cui dorea să-i plătească Petre?4) Mi-a spus cui a dat cartea.5) Tot ceea ce mi-a spus m-a impresionat profund.6) El este un scriitor ale cărui opere sunt bine

cunoscute.7) Tom poartă o haină care este prea largă pentru el.8) Revista pe care mi-ai împrumutat-o este foarte

interesantă.9) Fata pe care tocmai aţi întâlnit-o este nepoata mea.10) Băiatul care a aruncat piatra va fi pedepsit.11) Acesta este omul căruia i-am dat pachetul.12) E acelaşi volum pe care mi l-ai dat săptămâna

trecută.13) Bibliografia pe care mi-ai recomandat-o m-a ajutat

mult să-mi fac lucrarea singur.14) Înotul, care este un sport minunat, face oamenii

puternici şi sănătoşi.

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UNIT 9

LEGAL PROFESSIONS

Of the public roles played by members of the legal profession, that of judge is most visible, but the status of judge and the mode of entry into this branch vary considerably from country to country. The traditional independence, prestige and creativity of the Anglo-American judge contrasts with the rather ordinary civil servant status of most continental judges.

The English judiciary consists of judges of the High Court and appellate1 courts and comprises the Lord Chancellor, the lord Chief Justice, the Master of the Rolls2, 11 Lords of Appeal, 18 lords justices of appeal, the Vice-Chancellor, the President of the Family Division of the High Court and 80 other judges of the High Court. The Circuit3 judges try criminal cases in the Crown Courts and civil cases in the County Courts and they are less than 400. By contrast, the American judiciary is enormous: the federal judiciary (over 700), District judges, who are trial judges (over 545) and the judges of the state court systems exceeding 7, 500 though many of these may have limited jurisdiction. Besides, American judges operate in a far less centralized system. Not only does each state have its own judicial system within its own borders, distinct from the federal

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system which covers the whole country, but even the federal system itself is decentralized to a significant degree.

In England there are two distinct kinds of legal advisors: barristers4 and solicitors5

, whereas America has one professional status of lawyer, attorney or counsel. The English bar is exceedingly small profession. There are today about 5,300 practicing barristers which is only about one-tenth the number of practicing solicitors.

An important factor that strengthens the cohesiveness6

of this tightly knit profession is that the majority of barristers practice in London and nearly all have chambers7 in a very limited number of areas. The English bar is almost the apprenticeship8 for becoming a judge. Senior barristers appearing daily in court become so acquainted with the role of the judge that they can move from bar to bench9 overnight, doffing10 the role of advocate and adopting that of judge.

The disappearance of the civil jury means that oral argument in English Courts tends today to encourage skill in arguing strict points of law in a way which matches the approach of English judges. The English barrister acts as a filter through whom assertions and arguments have to be made. In this respect, he is not just a hired retainer11, but a public official with important responsibilities for the working of the legal system as a whole.

According to the American Bar Foundation Research Study released in 1985, there are more than 675,000 lawyers in America. About two thirds of all American lawyers are in private practice, with some ten per cent in government service. Unlike an English barrister who is a specialist in advocacy but a generalist in law, many American lawyers are likely to specialize in a narrow area, and may have little sense of the general values and ideas influencing judges in other areas. Unlike English barristers, most American lawyers do not regularly appear before judges anyhow, and those who do, found themselves before a wide variety of judges, state and

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federal, trial and appellate. Like judges, lawyers in America are often more political than awyers in England, and in a variety of ways they play a larger role in the formulation of policy.

The prosecutor, who performs the function of trial lawyer for sovereignity has extensive resources at his disposal for investigation and preparation purposes. He is not at liberty to distort or misuse this information. He must disclose information tending to relieve the accused of guilt. The efforts of the prosecutor and the court should be directed toward fairness and justice. But it is as much his duty to refrain from improper methods calculated to produce a wrongful conviction as it is to use every legitimate means to bring about a just one.

VOCABULARY

1) appellate court = curte de apel2) Master of the Rolls = şeful baroului3) circuit judges = judecători de circumscripţie4) barrister = avocat pledant5) solicitor = avocat, consilier juridic6) cohesiveness = coeziune7) chamber = sediu profesional al avocaţilor pledanţi8) apprenticeship = ucenicie9) bench = scaun judecătoresc10) to doff = a scoate, a schimba11) retainer = angajat, consilier

COMPREHENSION CHECK


a) What representatives does the English judiciary consist of?

b) What does the American judiciary consist in?

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c) How do the American judges operate?d) What factor really strengthens the cohesiveness of

the English legal advisors?e) How does the English barrister act like?f) What is the difference between an English barrister

and an American lawyer?g) What is a prosecutor?h) What way should a prosecutor’s efforts be directed

towards?

II. Give the Romanian equivalents of the following legal terms; write a sentence with each of them:

• to caution• bail• to submit• adviser• under arrest

• treason• tax evasion• to squash a decision• levy• chattels

III. Try to match the legal terms (1-10) with their correct definitions (A-J):

1. Intestate succession2. A fine3. Tenants in Chief4. Tenure of land5. The Assizes6. Appellate jurisdiction7. Forfeiture8. An itinerant court9. First instance jurisdiction10. Equity.

A. Ownership of propertyB. A court that moves from town to town

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C. Loss of property or a right as a result of an offence.D. The law concerning the transmission of a dead

person’s estate to the beneficiaries when no will has been drawn up.

E. Norman noblemen given their land directly by the king.

F. The power of a court to hear and judge a new case.G. A system of law complementary to the common law.H. A sum of money that an offender must pay when

ordered to do so by a legal authority as a punishment for the offence.

I. Sittings of courts presided over by judges who would travel around the country.

J. The power of a superior court to review the decisions of an inferior court.

IV. Make up sentences using the following legal phrases used in law courts:

• to grant bail = a acorda cauţiune• to infringe smb’s right = a încălca drepturile

cuiva• to institute proceedings = a introduce o acţiune• to impose a fine = a impune o amendă• to issue a writ for damages = a dispune plata

unor daune• to make an appeal = a face recurs• to pass sentence = a pronunţa sentinţa• to plead guilty = a pleda pentru vinovăţie• to set aside = a infirma o judecată• to vote down a proposal = a refuza prin vot o

propunere

V. Put the following actions in the correct order:

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tried – committed a crime – accused – interrogated – charged – paroled – arrested – thought about committing a crime – interrogated –sent to prison – convicted – arrested – suspected.


Activitatea avocatului se realizează prin:- consultaţii şi cereri cu caracter juridic, asistenţă şi

reprezentare juridică în faţa organelor de jurisdicţie, de urmărire penală şi de notariat;

- apărarea cu mijloace juridice specifice a drepturilor şi intereselor legitime ale persoanelor fizice şi juridice în raporturile cu autorităţile publice, instituţiile şi orice persoană română sau străină;

- redactarea de acte juridice, cu posibilitatea atestării identităţii părţilor, a conţinutului şi a datei actelor;

- orice alte mijloace şi căi proprii exercitării dreptului de apărare în condiţiile legii.


Practitioners will need to familiarize themselves with the rules about internal appeal procedures. A tribunal will have the power to reduce the compensatory award for unfair dismissal where an employee has, at the time of the dismissal, been told about any appeal procedure provided by the employer but has failed to make use of that procedure. The amount of the reduction shall be such amount (if any) as the tribunal considers ‘just and equitable’. The new rules are not entirely one-sided. A tribunal will also be able to make a supplementary award of compensation where an employer does not allow an employee to use an appeal procedure provided by him. The tribunal must take account of what would have been the likely outcome of any appeal under the procedure in

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assessing the amount of the reduction or supplementary award, but in no case will its amount exceed two weeks pay.

VIII. Comment on the proverbs:

“Adversity makes a man wise, not rich.”“It is not the coat that makes the gentleman.”

FOCUS ON GRAMMAR

DETERMINERS

A determiner is a word used in front of a noun to show which thing you mean, or to show the quantity of something. Determiners include: a/the, my/your, this/that, all/most/some/any, no/none, much/many/a little/a few, each/every, both/either/neither.

no, noneWe can use no with a singular noun, plural noun or

uncountable noun.eg. No employee has more than 25 days’ paid

holiday.No new ideas were put forward at the meeting.There was no useful information in the report.

To emphasize the idea of none we can use none at all or not one or not a:

eg. A: How many people came?B: None at all!/Not one!/Not a single person!

each, every- we use each when we think of the members of a group

as individuals, one by one. It is more usual with smaller groups and can mean only two.

eg. Make sure that each parcel has a label.- we can use each of :

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eg. Each of the parcels needs a label.- each can be used after the subject, or at the end of a

sentence:The parcels each need a label.

or The parcels need a label each. both, either, neither- we use both, either and neither to refer to two things..• both means “the one and the other”:Both emails/Both the emails/Both of the emails/Both of them are important.The emails are both important. I’ve read them both.• either means “the one or the other”. Neither means

“not the one or the other”:Monday or Tuesday? Yes, either day/either of the days is fine.Monday or Tuesday? I’m sorry, but neither day/neither

of the days is convenient.


1) Every option has been/Every options have been explored.

2) The flight and hotel are booked. All/Everything is organized.

3) I can’t see no/any solution to the problem, I’m afraid.

4) All of/Every of the files are corrupted by the virus.5) I can’t come at the week-end. I’m busy both

days/every day.6) Each our customers/Our customers each have a

separate file on the database.7) Sorry, but I can’t hear either/neither of you properly.8) Some of/Some restaurants have service included in

the price.

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9) Not one/Not no question has been answered.10) The key account managers each/every have their

own list of clients.11) There were none/no messages on the answering

machine.12) O K, I think that covers all/everything on that point.

Shall we move on?

II. Complete the sentences with a word or phrase from the list below: all, any, no, not one, none, each, every, both, either, neither.

1) I can’t go There are only two flights, and there are ……………….. seats left on ………….. of them.

2) I can’t go. There are only two flights, and …………………………… of them has any seats left.

3) We sent letters to sixty customers, but …… replied!4) …………………….. I want is a bit of peace and

quiet to finish writing this report.5) I’ve phoned …………………… store in the Yellow

pages and they are ………………………… out of stock.6) We have three models, and …………………….. one

has its own special features.7) I was nervous at the start of my talk, but after that I

enjoyed …………………….. minute.8) I got three letters, but there were …………….. for

you, I’m afraid.9) I got three letters, but there weren’t …………….. for

you, I’m afraid.10) The Trade Fair is important. We need …………..

Sue and Mike on the stand.11) Both roads lead to the city center. You can take

………………….. one

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12) You’ve been six of the best trainees that we’ve ever had on this course. The best of luck to ………………….. of you in your future careers.

III. Rewrite the second sentence so it has a similar meaning to the first sentence and contains the word in brackets:

1) We only have a week left (all). ..................................................... a week.2) All the participants will be sent an agenda (every).....................................................will be sent an agenda.3) This idea won’t work, and the other one also won’t

work (neither).................................................................will work.4) Not one of my colleagues speaks German (none)..................................................... speak German.5) No documents were inside this parcel (any).There ................................................inside this parcel.6) We only want a weaker dollar (all)...................................................... a weaker dollar.7) The hotels were both unsuitable (neither)..................................................... suitable.8) The two proposals are interesting (both)...............................................interesting.9) Not all the audience understood his talk (some)................................................... understand his talk.10) These items aren’t expensive (none).................................................. expensive.


a) El nu este nici atent, nici disciplinat.b) Nici unul dintre noi nu avea idee a cui e vina.

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c) Atât poliţia cât şi ofiţerul de la imigrări pot aresta un suspect care a comis o infracţiune legată de imigrare.

d) Oricine îţi poate da un asemenea sfat.e) Nici şoferul şi nici conducătorul camionului nu au

fost vinovaţi.f) Anul acesta noi studiem atât Dreptul Civil cât şi

Dreptul Penal.g) Mi-a cerut nişte plicuri, dar n-am avut nici unul.h) Infractorul va fi ori amendat, ori condamnat la un an

închisoare.i) Nici Peter şi nici Jane nu au făcut progrese în studiul

limbii engleze.j) Regretăm cu toţii timpul fericit al studenţiei noastre.k) Atât Robert cât şi Dan au obţinut note bune la

examen.l) În vara aceasta el vrea să facă o excursie în Franţa ori

în Italia.

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UNIT 10

EUROPEAN LAW

The European Court of Justice in Luxembourg, the final arbiter of European Economic Community (EEC) law, is inspired by the French Conseil d’État. The system of dividing the court into chambers, and the role of the advocates-general who assist the 13 judges, are derived from the French legal system.

If the court’s model is French, its functions are frequently compared to those of the United States Supreme Court. Just as the supreme court settles disputes1 in the federal structure of the United States, so the Court of Justice settles those in the EEC. Its judgments are final, there is no further appeal. The Court’s task is to see that EEC law is properly applied throughout the Community.

Unlike the Supreme Court, its judgments have to be unanimous. There is no dissenting2 minority, at least outside the judge’s private deliberating chamber. EEC members have no choice but to respect the rulings3 of the court: its powers are set out4 in the Treaty of Rome, which they have all accepted. In this, the European Court of Justice differs from two other courts with which it is sometimes confused, the International Court of Justice in the Hague (the World Court) and the

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European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. EEC member states have no treaty obligation to accept rulings of the World Court or of the European Court of Human Rights. All community countries are also members of the Council of Europe and have chosen to recognise the jurisdiction of its court in human-rights cases.

No member country has refused to accept a ruling of the European Court of Justice on a large issue of principle. In some instances, however, they have dithered5 for a long time before complying. France delayed opening its market to imports of mutton and lamb from Britain to protect its own high-cost producers for several months after a court condemnation. Four years later Britain put into practice a ruling that it should accept imports of long-life milk from the continent (mainly France).

When France delayed applying its ruling, the court came under pressure to issue a second condemnation under its emergency procedures. The court’s refusal to do so was at first seized upon by some British commentators as evidence of the court bowing6 to political pressure. But its reasoning-that to issue a second ruling would devaluate the validity of the first-was widely accepted as wise.

The same reasoning prevailed when the idea of penal sanctions to back up7 court decisions was rejected by EEC legal experts looking into reforms of the Treaty of Rome designed to help speed the 1992 project along. The reforms, in the shape of the 1987 Single European Act, created a junior court, to ease the workload in Luxembourg. This court, called Court of First Instance, will deal with minor cases and is due to begin work later.

The most important cases concern the respect by EEC countries of their treaty obligations and, for private companies-the application of Community competition and trade policy. American multinationals turn to the court if they feel the

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commissions have fined them unfairly for breaches of EEC antitrust8 law.

The new rules resulting from the Single European Act and the 1992 project will add to the court’s work. EEC legal experts complain privately that the act, which was drafted9 in less than six months, contains a number of ambiguities and even contradictions. The court will no doubt have to sort some of them out. It will also be called upon more and more by national courts for rulings on how they should apply the growing number of EEC rules. And it will have to arbitrate in cases where member-states contest some of the Community’s new powers. Governments are carefully checking each major item of 1992 legislation to see whether it requires a majority vote or a unanimous one in the Council of Ministers or whether the EEC is competent to decide at all. Britain is being particularly vigilant.

VOCABULARY

1) to settle a dispute = a soluţiona un diferend2) dissenting = care este în dezacord sau în opoziţie3) ruling = decizie (a unui tribunal), sentinţă4) to set out = a pune în ordine, a stabili5) to dither = a şovăi, a ezita6) bowing = care se supune7) to back up = a face să dea înapoi8) antitrust law = lege antitrust9) to draft = a schiţa, a întocmi un plan/proiect

COMPREHENSION CHECK

I. Find Romanian equivalents to the following words and phrases:

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• to act indecisively• complaint• to yield• punishable• executive

• due process• pursuant to• assault and battery• to threaten• thereby

II. Answer the following questions:

a) Outline the role of the European Court of Justice. How does it differ from the other ’institutions’?

b) Do the EEC member states have any treaty obligation to accept rulings of the World Court?

c) Why do the EEC legal experts complain about the Single European Act?

d) Will the role of the European Court of Justice change in a more united Europe? Why?/Why not?

III. Select the most appropriate answer:

1) The European Court of Justice is widely respected because.

A. unlike the Supreme Court, its judgments have to be unanimous.

B. countries have to deffer to European law should their own legislation be at variance with it.

C. an Italian refused to pay his electricity bill in 1964.D. it is the only court in the Community.2) The European Court of JusticeA. functions in exactly the some way as the French

system.B. conducts all its cases in French.C. has similar powers to the U. S. Supreme Court.D. is modelled on the U. S. Supreme Court.3) Rulings of the European Court of Justice.

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A. have sometimes to be enforced by threatening penal sanctions

B. are always accepted by member countriesC. tend to be biased in favour of the FrenchD. are always implemented immediately and without

question.4) The Court of First InstanceA. was created to take some of the work pressure off

the court in Strasbourg.B. will handle trade policy for private sector companies.C. will deal only with staff disputes among Eurocrats.D. was created because of the growth in the number of

cases.5) The Court of Justice.A. may well have to arbitrate on cases that arise as the

result of a hastily drafted act.B. will have less work now because of Britain.C. has received less criticism recently out of deference

for its growing powers.D. is composed of exactly the same number of judges

from each member country.

IV. Make up sentences using the legal phrases below:

• to plead non-guilty = a pleda pentru nevinovăţie• to quash a decision = a casa o decizie• to resolve a conflict = a soluţiona un conflict• to reverse a sentence = a revoca o sentinţă• to state the cause = a-şi apăra cauza• to sue smb. = a da în judecată pe cineva• to try a case = a judeca un caz/proces• to punish with imprisonment = a pedepsi cu

închisoarea

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• to bring in a verdict of guilty/non guilty = a pronunţa un verdict sau o decizie de achitare/condamnare (de către juriu).

V. Match the sentences on the left with the appropriate sentences on the right:

1) The Department of Employment Productivity in Great Britain provides employment services to help men

a) unless they are guilty of serious misconduct

2) Working conditions in Great Britain are regulated by legislation

b) is available to be disabled

3) Much is done on a voluntary basis by employers

c) which is enforced by public inspectors

4) Special help includes industrial rehabilitation

d) who are seeking suitable work to get suitable jobs

5) Employees are protected by the Contracts of Employment Act 1963 against dismissal without notice

e) who try to maintain good working conditions in places of employment


Martorul: Am văzut acuzatul la locul crimei acum o lună.

Procurorul: Vă înşelaţi, pentru că în acea perioadă vă aflaţi în vacanţă în Italia.

Martorul: Cum puteţi afirma aşa ceva?Procurorul: Este foarte simplu. Am plecat cu două

săptămâni înaintea dumneavoastră pentru a-mi petrece vacanţa în Italia. În ultima zi, în drum spre aeroport, nu-mi găseam

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portofelul şi m-am gândit “Probabil că l-am lăsat în cameră la hotel.” M-am întors la hotel unde noul locatar al camerei de hotel mi-a înapoiat portofelul. Acest domn nu era nimeni altcineva decât dumneavoastră în persoană. Cunoaşteţi pedeapsa pentru mărturie mincinoasă?


The Equal Opportunities Commission has published significant proposals to amend the Sex Discrimination and Equal Pay Acts. The main proposal is to replace the two laws by a single statute based on the principle of a fundamental right to equal treatment between men and women. In addition, the EOC proposes a fundamental shift in emphasis from individual to collective remedies. Pregnant workers should, it is argued, enjoy a simplified and enhanced framework of rights and benefits and should be complemented by a pro-active approach to equal pay systems and adopt equal pay policies.

The EOC notes that it would continue to have a crucial role as the unique and independent agency responsible for upholding the principle of equal treatment between the sexes, but acknowledges that a number of its proposals could not be implemented realistically without a corresponding increase in its resources.

VIII. Discussion:

• Use the following quotation as a basis for discussion:

”The Romanian people have no more monarch from 1947, but not only does their elected President live in a palace, he takes virtually no part in the day-today government of the country.”

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FOCUS ON GRAMMAR

GERUND OR INFINITIVE?

After certain verbs, either the infinitive or the gerund may be used with a difference in meaning:

MAIN VERB + INFINITIVE

MAIN VERB + GERUND

The Infinitive refers to an action that happens after the action of the main verb.

The Gerund refers to an action that happens before the action of the main verb.

eg.1. I remembered to lock the door before we left.2. I forgot to take my camera to the mountains last week-end.3. I regret to tell you that you’ve failed the test.4. Jane stopped in the street to talk to Bob.

eg.1. Don’t worry. I remember doing it.

2. I’ll never forget taking those beautiful pictures on our holiday last month.3. I regret telling you the bad news.

4. Well, but she stopped talking to Bob a month ago.

I. Complete these sentences putting the verb in brackets into either the infinitive or gerund:

1. He pretended ………………….. (not/understand) the new regulations.

2. Have you finished ………… (study) those statistics?3. Bank managers tend ……….. (be) cautious when

granting loans to small firms.

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4. Would you mind ……………….. (cover) me while I’m on leave?

5. Susan avoided ………………. (upset) her boss about that issue although she was right.

6. Have you ever considered …………….. (emigrate)?7. The negotiating team threatened ………………..

(break off) talks until December.8. They denied ………… (get) involved in such illegal

transactions.9. We refused ……………… (accept) the terms of the

contract because they were incomplete.10. Mike risked …………….. (borrow) a large sum of

money with the aim of setting up his own business.

II. Rephrase these sentences replacing the words in italics by a gerund or an infinitive construction:

a) I definitely recall that I put the envelope here on my desk.

b) I don’t deny that I haven’t understood that part of the lesson.

c) Fred admitted that he had read very little about the subject

d) The doctor advised Paty that she should take the pills on an empty stomach.

e) Did you forget that you had given Mr. Brad that message?

f) She couldn’t bear that be should think of her in that way.

g) He preferred that I should say nothing about it at present.

h) Can you doubt that he will win the competition?i) I suggested that he should call a specialist

immediately.

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j) The law requires that all the cars should be regularly tested for safety and efficiency.

III. Complete the following sentences with either an infinitive or a gerund:

1. My parents have been married for twenty years; however, my father continues …………………………..

2. For their honeymoon, my father proposed …………3. While my parents were driving to the mountains on

their honeymoon, they stopped ………………………4. They had a nice drive, but when they arrived at the

chalet, they discovered that they had forgotten ………………5. Have your parents ever regretted …………………..?6. Have they ever tried …………………….?

IV. Translate into English using Gerund or Infinitive constructions:

a) Nu-mi pot permite să cumpăr o maşină atât de scumpă.

b) Nu te-am auzit niciodată plângându-te că ai mult de lucru!

c) Poate am să reuşesc să-i contactez săptămâna viitoare.

d) Nu sunt sigură dacă această carte merită să fie citită.e) Ei ne vor permite cu siguranţă să vizităm expoziţia

înainte de deschiderea ei oficială..f) Te-ar deranja să mă aştepţi până la ora 5?g) Să nu uiţi să-l suni pe Mark şi să-i mulţumeşti pentru

cadou.h) Nu am să pierd toată ziua aşteptând sosirea lor!i) Poliţistul a oprit maşina pentru a verifica actele.j) La ce bun să ai un ciocan dacă nu ai cuie?

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k) Aş prefera să nu-i spui lui Jim despre noua mea slujbă.

l) Te-am văzut traversând strada, dar nu te-am văzut urcând în autobuz.

m) Te sfătuiesc să mai aştepţi puţin înainte să accepţi această slujbă.

n) Jane se plânge că nu are pe nimeni cu care să discute.o) El a insistat să mă ajute, deşi îi tot spuneam că mă

descurc.

UNIT 11

JUDICIAL POWER IN THE UNITED STATES

Constitution of the United States of America“We the people of the United States, in order to form a

more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility1, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, to ordain2 and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”

Article 111Section 1 (1) The Judicial Power shall extend to all

cases, in Law and Equity, arising under this Constitution, the Laws of the United States, the Treaties made, or which shall be made, under their authority; - to all cases affecting Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls; - to all cases of Admiralty and maritime Jurisdiction; - to controversies to which the United States shall be a party; - to controversies between two or more states; - between a State and Citizens of

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another State; - between Citizens of different States; - between Citizens of the same State claiming lands under Grants3 of different States, and between a State, or the Citizens thereof4, and Foreign States, Citizens or Subjects.

(2) In all cases affecting Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, and those in which a state shall be a Party, the Supreme Court shall have original jurisdiction. In all the other cases before mentioned, the Supreme Court shall have appellate Jurisdiction, both as law and fact, with such Exceptions, and under such Regulations as the Congress shall make.

(3) The Trial of all Crimes, except in cases of impeachment5, shall be by Jury; and such trial shall be held in the state where the said Crimes shall have been committed; but when not committed within any State, the Trial shall be at such Place or Places as the Congress may by law have directed.

(…) section 3 (1) Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying6 War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid7 and Comfort. No person shall be convicted of Treason unless on the Testimony of two witnesses to the same over Act, or on Confession in open Court.

The Congress shall have Power to declare the Punishment of Treason, but no Attainder8 of Treason shall work Corruption of Blood, or Forfeiture except during the life of the Person attained. Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging9 the freedom of speech, or of the press.

No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime unless on a presentment10 or indictment11 of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia12, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness

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against himself; nor be deprived13 of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.

VOCABULARY

1) tranquility = linişte, pace; calm 2) to ordain = a meni, a soroci, a predestina3) grant = subvenţie, donaţie; dar4) thereof = de aici; din aceasta5) impeachment = punere sub acuzare, acuzaţie6) to levy = a recruta, a înrola, a mobiliza; a percepe a

strânge (impozite)7) aid = sprijin, support, ajutor8) attainder = privare de drepturi civile şi de proprietate

(pentru o crimă deosebit de gravă)9) to abridge = a scurta, a reduce, a limita10) presentment = prezentare, înfăţişare11) indictment = acuzare, punere sub acuzaţie, trimitere

în judecată, incriminare12) Militia = rezervişti (în SUA); armată, oaste13) to deprive = a priva, a lipsi

COMPREHENSION CHECK

I. Find synonyms for the following words:

• expedient• to rely on• to assume• default• vested in• incidental

• appropriate• to appoint• to refrain from• promptly• to occur• duty

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II. Fill in the blanks with the correct word:

1) The House of Commons consists of 650 Members of Parliament who each represents a ………………

a) state b) houseb) county d) constituency2) A Bill becomes on Act of Parliament when it has

received the ……………… of both Houses of Parliament and the Sovereign.

a) enactment c) ratificationb) consent d) assent3) The President of the House of Lords is called the …..a) Speaker c) Prime Ministerb) Lord Chancellor d) peer4) The .................. met urgently at 10 Downing Street

to decide Government policy on the new economic crisis.a) civil service c) Cabinetb) ministries d) Parliament5) The three parts of the Parliament are the monarch,

lords and ...................a) people c) commonsb) government d) bishops6) No .................... can become law until it has been

sanctioned or ”read” three times by both houses and received the royal assent.

a) bill c) codeb) act d) ratification

III. Match the English terms with their Romanian equivalents:

1) bench2) assize3) prosecution4) probation

a) amânare, suspendareb) încuviinţare, aprobarec) vămuire, formalitate vamalăd) provocare, somare, sfidare

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5) clearance6) to trample7) to summon8) adjournment9) assent10) challenge

e) magistratură, instanţă de judecatăf) anchetă, urmărire judiciarăg) libertate supravegheatăh) a încălcai) şedinţă a tribunaluluij) a convoca

IV. Complete the following:

1) If he is guilty, _______________________________2) There would have been a car accident if __________3) He would be sent to prison if ___________________4) If the criminal were caught, ____________________5) He would have been granted bail if ______________6) If the negotiations break down, _________________7) The heat would be unbearable if ________________8) If he had not damaged the man’s car so badly, _____9) The trade unionists will refer the dispute to

arbitration if __________________10) If you had not made so many mistakes, __________

V. Give the nouns corresponding to the verbs below:

• to perceive

• to qualify• to retrieve• to

authorize• to

conclude

• to develop

• to rely• to

specify• to

amend• to

initiate

• to state• to

maintain• to

describe• to quote• to declare


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1) Conform dreptului European o societate ar trebui să aleagă între trei opţiuni.

2) Până în prezent, conducerea şi muncitorii n-au putut să se pună de acord asupra sistemului de adoptat.

3) Comisia europeană a trebuit să modifice articolele cu privire la participarea muncitorilor.

4) Acest proiect de lege ar fi putut fi adoptat în 1970.5) Este posibil ca multe întreprinderi să aleagă dreptul

european mai degrabă decât propriul lor sistem juridic.6) Crearea unei societăţi după normele dreptului

European s-ar putea să devină chiar obligatorie.7) În consecinţă, ar fi necesară o curte constituită din 19

judecători.8) Regatul Unit şi-a modificat mult politica monetară în

cursul ultimelor patru luni.


The individual responsibility of ministers for the work of their departments means that they are answerable to parliament for all their departments’ activities. They bear the consequences of any failure in administration, any injustice to an individual or any aspect of policy which may be criticized in Parliament, whether personally responsible or not. Since most ministers are members of the House of Commons, they must answer questions and defend themselves against criticism in person. Departmental ministers in the House of Lords are represented in the Commons by someone qualified to speak on their behalf, usually a junior minister.

Departmental ministers normally decide all matters within their responsibility. A decision by a departmental minister binds the Government as a whole. On assuming office ministers must resign directorships in private and public

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companies, and must ensure that there is no conflict between their public duties and private interest.

VIII. Comment upon the following proverbs:

“He that will lie will steal”“Laws catch flies but let hornets go free.”

FOCUS ON GRAMMAR

IRREGULAR COMPARISON OF ADJECTIVES

The following adjectives have an irregular comparison.good better the best

bad, ill worse the worstmuch more the mostmany more the mostlittle less the leastfar farther, further the farthest, the furthestold (older), elder (the oldest), the eldestlate (later), the latter (the latest), the lastnear (nearer) (the nearest), the next

Farther means “mai îndepărtat”.Further means “suplimentar, adiţional, în plus”, e. g. a

further question means one more question.Older means 1. “mai bătrân”, 2. “mai vechi”.In referring to comparative ages in a family group, use

elder, eldest, but attributively only.Later means “mai târziu”.The latter means “(cel de) al doilea, acesta din urmă”,

e. g. Dan and Peter are brothers. The former (Dan) is a teacher, the latter (Peter) is a doctor.

The latest means “cel mai recent, cel mai nou”, e. g. This is his latest novel. (speaking of a living writer).

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The last means “ultimul, final” e. g. Shakespeare’s last play was “The Tempest”.

I. Translate into Romanian:

1) He has made a step further in his researches. The latest news I’ve got is that he is drawing near to the end.

2) The manager did not find the report satisfactory; he asked for further information.

3) This street is the least noisy in the district.4) Two boys entered the room, John and Bill. The

former is my brother, the latter is my cousin.5) It has been raining for two days; today the weather is

even worse than yesterday.6) In September the days are not so short than in

December.

II. Translate into English:

1) Casa mea este mai departe de facultate decât a ta.2) Partea proastă este că nu-l pot găsi nicăieri, nici

acasă, nici la slujbă.3) Starea bolnavului a fost mai rea astăzi decât ieri.4) Dintre cei doi martori la accident, primul era un

tânăr, al doilea era un bătrân în jur de 75 de ani.5) Elefantul este mult mai mare decât leul, dar mult mai

puţin sălbatic.6) Cele mai plăcute momente vin pe neaşteptate.7) Se socotea cel mai fericit om din lume când s-a

căsătorit cu ea.8) Străzile capitalei sunt mai largi decât cele din oraşul

nostru.9) Care capitală europeană are cei mai mulţi locuitori?

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10) N-am văzut niciodată un om mai grăbit.

III. Put the adjectives in brackets into the correct form:

a) A personal loan is often a _________ (good) idea because the repayments are structured over a pre-arranged period.

b) Your homework is ________ (bad) than hers.c) Your _______ (old) sister is my ______ (old) friend.d) Yesterday’s weather was ________ (bad) than

today’s.e) These books are not _________ (expensive) as the

other ones.f) _______ (many) people who have a problem with

cash flow phone the bank and ask for on overdraft.g) This car is _____ (good) than mine.h) Certain regions produce _______ (much) petroleum

than they consume _______ (much) than they produce.i) The farmer said that it was the _______ (fat) turkey

he had.j) This is one of the _______ (successful), _______

(cheap) and ________ (practical) products of the century.k) “The more, the ______ (merry)” _____ says an

English proverb.l) This hotel manager was ________ (polite) we had

ever met.

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UNIT 12

LITIGATIONS AND ADJUSTMENT

Complaints1 (UK) or claims (US) to purchases2 may arise from a delay in delivery, lost goods, damaged goods or the delivery of wrong goods. Complaints in connection with purchases may also arise from the non-fulfilment of the clauses in the contract of sale (default3 in carrying out the clauses in the contract of sale) by the supplier or of those in the carriage contract by the carrier.

1. Whatever the cause of your claim you should first refer clearly to the type of the items concerned by referring to your own order number or to that of your supplier’s invoice4

and then state the nature of your complaint in detail.

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2. You may point out what difficulty the mistake has caused to you. A reference to the reputation of the firm may help your complaint in being taken into consideration more sympathetically.

3. You should ask to have your complaint investigated and specify what action you want the supplier to take: you as buyer, are entitled to refuse any goods that are not in accordance with your order, except as the result of alterations5

made in agreement with your supplier.4. You should not use warnings of cancellation or

threats of legal action too liberally. Try to reach an amicable adjustment.

Replies to ComplaintsOn receiving a complaint, you, as vendor, should

decide whether it is well-founded or not. Then you must write a reply to the complaint. If the complaint is well-founded, you will first admit the error and offer a sincere apology assuring your correspondents that you are taking measures to avoid the recurrence of such a mistake. If you feel that the complaint is unfounded you should carefully explain why his complaint cannot be accepted and endeavour to convince him that he is wrong.

Legal ProblemsIn small firms, matters such as legal action to be taken

in the case of non-payment of debt, default in carrying out a contract or a dispute of any kind, are dealt with by the secretary on the instructions of, and after discussion with the directors. In larger firms, they are handled by the Accounts Department6, also after discussion with the directors, who will not act without the advice of the firm’s solicitors.

Non-fulfilment of ContractThe failure by one party to a contract to perform his

part is called a breach of contract. Breach of contract may be by: renunciation, making performance impossible or merely failing to perform his part. The aggrieved7 party may either sue

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for damages or apply to the court for specific performance of contract.

DamagesDamages are the estimated reparation in money for

injury sustained. The court awards nominal damages as an acknowledgement of a breach, even if no loss has been incurred, while for actual loss suffered it awards substantial damages. The party breaching a contract shall be under an obligation to take all required steps to mitigate8 the loss that has taken place, providing that he can do so without undue9

inconvenience or cost.Penalties10

Penalties are round sums which are stated in the contract (penalty clause) and must be paid by any party breaching the contract, but they should not be an attempt to assess the possible damage.

Customarily, they may be stated in the contract by the way of compensation where it is difficult to estimate damages in advance.

BriberyBribery and kickbacks11 have become common practice

in former communist countries. The spread of democracy may itself create new incentives for corruption, given the need to fund political parties and election campaigns.

If Third World countries are often blamed for the spread of corruption, developed nations must take their share of the responsibility and blame, as the corruptors are also corporations fighting for contracts in military supplies, aircraft, civil works and communications.

Today, international bodies are beginning to take steps to curb corruption, and the World Bank has instituted rules that empower it to investigate corruption complaints and to blacklist12 companies and governments guilty of large scale corruption.

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VOCABULARY

1) complaint = plângere, reclamaţie2) purchase = achiziţie, cumpărare3) default = neîndeplinire a unei obligaţii, a unui angajament; neplată4) invoice = factură5) alteration = modificare6) Accounts Department = departamentul de înregistrări contabile7) to aggrieve = a vătăma; a răni8) to mitigate = a atenua, a micşora9) undue = nepotrivit, exagerat10) penalty = penalizare, daună penalizatoare11) kickback = mită, sprijin bănesc12) to blacklist = a trece pe lista neagră

COMPREHENSION CHECK

I. Answer the following questions:a) What do you mean by complaints or claims to

purchases?b) What should one do when making a complaint?c) What is a reply to a complaint?d) What circumstances should legal action be taken in?e) What is a breach of contract? What should the

aggrieved party do?f) What is the party breaching a contract to do?g) What is a penalty? Where may a penalty be stated?h) How do international bodies take steps to curb

corruption?

II. Match the following terms with their definitions below:

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1) malpractice2) plea-bargaining3) to subpoena4) estoppel5) defalcation6) escrow7) due course of law8) case-lawa) course of proceedings that must comply with the law

of the land and allow the defendant to benefit from all the legal procedures and protection aimed at providing a fair trial.

b) the entrusting of money, goods or a document to a third party pending fulfilment of some condition.

c) a legal system – such as the British or US ones – based on rules and principles acted on by judges in giving decisions in previous cases.

d) neglect of professional duty, unethical or illegal professional conduct.

e) changing one’s plea by agreeing to confess to a lesser crime against the promise that the sentence will be lighter than the one for the main crime one is initially prosecuted for, but without clear evidence.

f) a legal principle whereby one is prevented from alleging something he or she has previously denied or vice versa.

g) to order someone to appear in a law court, for instance to summon a witness to court. It is also used in the sense of demanding that documents should be presented or surrendered.

h) the improper appropriation of funds in one’s keeping but does not involve the notion of fraud.

III. Find the meaning of the following words and phrases; then make up sentences with each of them:

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• to adjourn• to bequeth• breach of trust• to bring an action against smb.• claimant• concealment

• extenuating circumstances

• felony• to go to law• jail delivery• maliciously• probate

IV. Use the following translations of “a intenta un proces” in sentences of your own:

• to take legal action• to file a lawsuit• to sue• to bring an action (against)• to go to law• to go to court• to undertake/to institute (legal) proceedings• to institute an action at law

• to prefer a complaint/a charge/charges against someone


1) El va intenta proces dacă nu-şi va încasa banii într-o săptămână.

2) Veţi fi surprinşi când îi veţi vedea pe martorii citaţi de apărare.

3) Va putea el să obţină despăgubire în cazul încălcării contractului?

4) Sperăm că veţi evita neplăcerile şi cheltuielile unei acţiuni în justiţie.

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5) Conform actului de acuzare, ei au conspirat pentru prelungirea acreditivului fără garanţie.

6) Nu există nici o clauză (prevedere) pentru pagubele produse prin foc.

7) El a fost achitat din lipsă de probe.8) El nu este recidivist şi ar fi trebuit eliberat pe

cauţiune.9) Părţile vor încerca să ajungă la o soluţionare

amiabilă a tuturor dificultăţilor care pot apărea din sau în legătură cu prezentul contract.

10) După acest termen, vom înainta problema juriştilor noştri.

VI. Translate into Romanian:

Class-action suits combine many people with the same complaint into a single legal action. A contingency- fee system awards the winning party’s lawyer a share of the damages collected, usually one-third. The Sherman Act provides for awards of three times actual damages.

”If my mother buys a local loaf of bread for 20 cents, and then finds out that all bakers in the country, including hers, have raised their prices to 22 cents, it’s tough to find an attorney to bring an action against the corner bakery for 2 cents ... But an attorney can put together a class-action suit on behalf of all buyers of bread, and then collect a contingency-fee based on treble damages.”

VII. Imagine you have to write a paper in order to inform a client that he has to pay you a sum of money. Write this paper for:

a) a person who can barely readb) a corporation with a sophisticated board of directorsc) a lawyer

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VIII. Comment on the proverbs:“Everybody’s business is nobody’s business.”“Few words to the wise suffice.”

FOCUS ON GRAMMAR

EXPRESSING FUTURE

There are different ways of talking about “future events” in English and they have different meanings:

Predicting future events:It will probably be difficult to evaluate the losses.By next year our costs will have risen by 40%.

Making a promise:I’ll give you the book as soon as I finish reading it.

Describing a plan or an arrangement:She is leaving at noon tomorrow.Mr. Smith will be driving into London next week.

Referring to timetables or schedules:We start for Sinaia tomorrow. The train leaves at 8.30. Saying what you intend to do:I’m going to finish my work next week. Referring to something that is going to happen very soon:He is just about to phone at the office.


a) We will have moved/will be moving to our new premises in July.

b) Tomorrow I’ll interview/I’ll be interviewing candidates all morning.

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c) What time does your train/will your train leave?d) We can’t send the goods until we’ve received/we

will receive a firm order.e) We shall be repaying/shall have repaid the bank

loan by November.f) I was going to write/was writing to them, but I

forgot.g) When the contract is/will be ready, I’ll let you know.h) Will we/Shall we break for coffee now?i) Sorry, I can’t speak now, I’ll just have/I’m just about

to have a meeting.j) Don’t forget to turn off the lights before you are

leaving/ you leave.

II. Fill in the gaps with the correct form of the verbs in the brackets to express future:

1) Mr. Roberts is not at the office right now. I …………… (let) him know you called when he comes back.

2) They ………………….. (start) the meeting. If you do not come in 10 minutes you’ll probably miss it.

3) Please, don’t call after 12.30, Mrs. Johnson ……………….. (have) an interview then.

4) My plane for London ……………… (leave) at 7.30.5) Prices ……….. (rise) if the exchange rate changes.6) They ………………. (take on) temporary new staff

for this project.7) What …… you ……… (do) this time next Monday?8) I …….. probably …… (finish) my paper tomorrow.

III. Choose the appropriate way to express future with the verbs given in brackets:

a) By this time tomorrow I _____ (travel) for ten hours.b) Where you ______ (go) for your winter holidays?

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c) Mary _______ (cook) dinner by the time her husband comes back home.

d) By seven o’clock he _____ (get) home for a half an hour.

e) She said she ______ (not, sing) at the next concert.f) In a fortnight’s time we _____ (take) our exam.g) Peter said he ______ (ski) in the mountains at that

time on Sunday.h) You ______ (listen) to this song this time tomorrow?i) I _______ (finish) may work when you come back

from New York j) Boys _____ (be) boys!

IV. Translate the following into English, paying attention to the verb forms used to express future time:

1) Dacă va întreba cineva de tine îi voi spune să telefoneze mai târziu,

2) Când vei sosi, ne vei găsi lucrând la raport.3) Vom aştepta aici până se întoarce Paul.4) Cerul e întunecat. Ploaia va fi în toi când vom fi gata

de plecare.5) Te vom aştepta în faţa teatrului când se va termina

piesa.6) Anul viitor pe vremea aceasta ei vor locui într-un

apartament nou.7) Profesorul vă va explica din nou lecţia dacă îi veţi

cere acest lucru.8) Ei au de gând să-şi cumpere o maşină nouă anul

viitor.9) Când Robert va absolvi facultatea, va fi studiat aici

cinci ani.10) Peste o lună se vor împlini zece ani de când lucrez

în această fabrică.

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IRREGULAR VERBS

Infinitive Past Tense Past Participle 1. to abide abode abode = a locui, a sta2. to arise arose arisen = a se ridica, sui, aparea, a se ivi3. to awake awoke/awaked awoke = a (se) trezi4. to be was were been = a fi, a exista5. to bear (to be born) bore/borne born = a purta, aduce,produce a da naştere6. to beat beat beaten = a bate a lovi a învinge7. to become became become = a deveni a ajunge8. to begin began begun = a începe9. to bend bent bent =a (se) îndoi10. to bereave bereft/bereaved bereft /bereaved = a lipsi de, a priva de11. to beseech besought besought = a cere cu insistenţă a implora 12. to bid bid/bade bid/bidden = a ordona, porunci,oferi 13. to bind (to be bound) bound bound = a uni, lega, a fi constrâns 14. to bite bit bit /bitten = a muşca, înţepa15. to bleed bled bled =a sângera, a lăsa să curgă, a stoarce 16. to blow blew blown = a sufla a arde

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17. to break broke broken = a sparge, a rupe,a sfarâma18. to breed bred bred = a creşte, a educa, a naşte, a regenera19. to bring brought brought = a aduce, a produce 20. to build built built = a clădi, a construi, a făuri 21. to burn burnt /burned burnt /burned =a arde, a praji, a calcina, a ataca 22. to burst burst burst = a rupe a izbucni, a exploda. 23. to buy bought bought = a cumpăra 24. to cast cast cast = a arunca, a turna, a (se) mula 25. to catch caught caught = a prinde, a capta, a (se) bloca. 26. to chide chid (chidden) chid = a mustra, a certa a se plânge 27. to choose chose chosen = a alege, a selecta 28. to cleave cleft /clove cleft /cloven = a (se)despica, a scinda, a separa.29. to cling clung clung = a se ţine strâns de30. to come came come = a veni, a ajunge 31. to cost cost cost = a costa 32. to creep crept crept = a (se) târâ, a aluneca.33. to cut cut cut = a tăia, a secţiona.34. to dare dared /durst dared /durst = a îndrăzni 35. to deal (with) dealt dealt = a se ocupa (cu) trata, a repartiza36. to dig dug dug = a săpa, a excava. 37. to do did done = a face 38. to draw drew drawn = a desena, a schiţa, a atrage.39. to dream dreamt/dreamed dreamt/dreamed =a visa, a-şi închipui.40. to drink drank drunk = a bea.41. to drive drove driven = a pune în mişcare, a conduce.42. to dwell dwelt dwelt = a locui, a rămâne, a insista.43. to eat ate eaten = a mânca, a coroda.44. to fall fell fallen = a cădea, a da la rebut 45. to feed fed fed = a alimenta, a hrăni, a aprovizion46. to feel felt felt = a (se) simţi, a testa 47. to fight fought fought = a combate, a (se) lupta 48. to find found found = a găsi, a descoperi, a explora / constata49. to flee fled fled = a fugi, a dispărea, a se scurge, a evita 50. to fling flung flung = a lansa, a arunca, a izbucni, a se năpusti51. to fly flew flown = a zbura, a lansa, a se înălţa, a se intinde 52. to forbid forbade forbidden = a interzice, a opri 53. to forget forgot forgotten = a uita 54. to forgive forgave forgiven = a ierta 55. to forsake forsook forsaken = a părăsi 56. to freeze froze frozen =a îngheţa, a congela a refrigera, a solidifica 57. to get got got = a obţine, a primi, a deveni, a ajunge 58. to give gave given = a da, a acorda, a transmite, a aviza, a preda.

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59. to go went gone = a merge, a funcţiona, a circula, a rula 60; to grow grew grown = a se mări / dezvolta. a creşte, a deveni 61. to hang hung hung = a suspenda, a atârna, a aşeza receptorul.62. to have (to have to) had had = a avea, a poseda, a obţine, a trebui să.63. to hear heard heard = a auzi, a asculta, a audia 64. to hew hewed hewed/hewn = a ciopli, a tăia, 65. to hide hid hidden = a ascunde 66. to hit hit hit = a lovi, a ciocni, a izbi, a da o lovitură 67. to hold held held = a ţine,a reţine, a bloca, a opri, a fixa. 68. to hurt hurt hurt = a răni, lovi, a avaria, a strica 69. to keep kept kept = a ţine, a reţine, a menţine a întreţine 70. to kneel knelt knelt = a îngenunchia 71. to knit knit knit = a înnoda, a împleti, a tricota, a îmbina 72. to know knew known = a cunoaşte, a şti 73. to lay laid laid = a pune, a aşeza, a întinde 74. to lead led led = a conduce, a avansa a comanda, 75. to lean leant/leaned leant/leaned = a înclina, a apleca, a se sprijini76. to leap leapt/leaped leapt/leaped = a sări, a sălta 77. to leave left left = a părăsi, a pleca, a ceda, a lăsa în urmă 78. to lend lent lent = a împrumuta, a acorda. a împărtăşi 79. to let let let = a lăsa, a permite 80. to lie lay lain = a consta din, a zace, a se afla, a fi 81. to lose lost lost = a pierde 82. to make made made = a face, a fabrica, a produce, a conecta 83. to mean meant meant = a vrea să spună, a se referi la, a intenţiona.84. to meet met met = a întâlni, a intersecta, a satisface (cerinţe)85. to mow mowed mown = a cosi86. to pay paid paid = a plăti, a achita, a cinsti a onora 87. to put put put = a pune, a aşeza 88. to read read read = a citi, a face lectură 89. to rend rent rent = a sparge, a rupe 90. to rid rid rid = a elibera, a debarasa 91. to ride rode ridden = a călări, a călători 92. to ring rang rung = a suna, a telefona, a încercui 93. to rise rose risen = a (se) ridica/urca, a izvorî, a răsări 94. to run ran run = a alerga, a curge, a rula, a conduce.95. to saw sawed sawn = a tăia cu ferăstrăul 96. to say said said = a spune, a afirma 97. to see saw seen = a vedea, a înţelege, a consulta.98. to seek sought sought = a căuta, a cerceta 99. to sell sold sold = a vinde 100. to send sent sent = a trimite, a emite 101. to set set set = a pune, a stabili, a monta, a regia, a ajusta.102. to sew sewed sewn = a coase 103. to shake shook shaken = a bate, a scutura, a vibra 104. to shear sheared shorn = a tăia, a mărgini, a tivi, a forfeca, a tunde105. to shed shed shed = a arunca, a difuza, vărsa,

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106. to shine shone shone = a sclipi, a străluci107. to shoe shod shod = a potcovi, a încalţa 108. to shoot shot shot = a împuşca, a filma 109. to show showed shown = a arata, a manifesta 110. to shrink shrank shrunk = a se contracta, a se strânge, a intra la apă.111. to shut shut shut = a include 112. to sing sang sung = a cânta, a fluiera, a şuiera 113. to sink sank sunk = a (se) scufunda 114. to sleep slept slept = a dormi 115. to slide slid slid = a aluneca, a glisa 116. to sling slung slung = a arunca, a lansa 117. to smell smelt smelt = a mirosi 118. to smite smote smitten = a izbi 119. to sow sowed sown = a planta, a semăna 120. to speak spoke spoken = a vorbi, a enunţa 121. to speed sped sped = a accelera, a grăbi 122. to spell spelt spelt = a scrie literă cu literă, a silabisi 123. to spend spent spent = a cheltui, a consuma, a petrece, a întrebuinţa 124. to spill spilt spilt = a vîrsa, a împrăştia, a risipi, a turna, 125. to spin spun spun = a centrifuga, a toarce, a roti, a presa 126. to spit spat spat = a rosti, a scuipa 127. to split split split = a scinda, a despica, a frânge, a despărţi.128. to spread spread spread = a întinde, desfăşura, răspândi, acoperi.129. to spring sprang sprung = a sări, a izvorâ, a se arcui, a se trage 130. to stand stood stood = a rezista, a sta (vertical), a suporta, a se ridica 131. to steal stole stolen = a fura, a se strecura 132. to stick stuck stuck = a (se) lipi, a se fixa 133. to sting stung stung = a înţepa, a răni 134. to stink stank stunk = a mirosi urât 135. to strew strewed strewn = a aşterne, a presăra, a împrăştia 136. to stride strode stridden = a păşi cu paşi mari 137. to strike struck struck-stricken = a lovi, a izbi, a atinge.138. to string strung strung = a înşira, a lega, a întinde, a încorda139. to strive strove striven = a se strădui, a se lupta 140. to swear swore sworn = a jura 141. to sweep swept swept = a baleia, a explora, a străbate, a mătura 142. to swell swelled swollen = a (se) umfla, a creşte a (se) ridica 143. to swim swam swum = a înota, a pluti 144. to swing swung swung = a oscila/balansa, a pendula/legăna145. to take took taken = a lua, a capta, a necesita 146. to teach taught taught = a preda, a învaţa pe cineva 147. to tear tore torn = a rupe, a smulge 148. to tell told told = a comunica, a relata, a spune 149. to think thought thought = a reflecta, a gândi, a crede, a socoti.150. to thrive throve thriven = a prospera, a-i merge bine, a reuşi 151. to throw threw thrown = a arunca, a deplasa a devia,

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152. to thrust thrust thrust = a împinge, a înfige a apăsa 153. to tread trod trodden = a călca, a rula, a bate (un drum) 154. to understand understood understood = a înţelege, a deduce 155. to wake waked/woke waked/woken = a (se) trezi, a stârni 156. to wear wore worn = a uza (prin frecare), a toci, a purta 157. to weave wove woven = a ţese, a urzi 158. to weep wept wept = a curge/picura, a plânge.159. to win won won = a tăia, a extrage, a recupera, a câştiga 160. to wind wound wound = a învârti, a răsuci, a bobina 161. to wring wrung wrung = a stoarce, a răsuci, a smulge 162. to write wrote written = a scrie, a înregistra 163. to broadcast broadcast broadcast = a transmite, a difuza 164. to grind ground ground = a măcina 165. to learn learnt learnt = a învăţa (ceva) 166. to light lit lit =a aprinde,a lumina 167. to shed shed shed = a vărsa 168. to shave shaved shaven = a se barbieri, a tunde 169. to sit sat sat = a sta jos, a se aseza 170. to spoil spoilt spoilt = a strica, a alinta

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