2015-04-01
693
В действительности, в Великобритании не существует Министерства юстиции. Обязанности, которые возложены на Министерство юстиции в других странах, разделены между несколькими ветвями власти. В частности, Министерство внутренних дел отвечает за содержание тюрем и осуществляет надзор за полицией. На офис Лорда-Канцлера возложены обязанности по назначению судей.
Законодательная система в Шотландии
В Шотландии существует собственная законодательная система, отдельная от Великобритании. Она опирается на Римское и Голландское законодательства. Заметным отличием является то, что суд может вынести не два, а три решения. Помимо вердиктов «виновен» и «невиновен», суд присяжных может вынести решение «не доказано». Это означает, что обвиняемый не может быть приговорен к какому-либо наказанию, но и не оправдан полностью.
25. Write or discuss the answers to these questions:
1. Which aspects of the law seem unsatisfactory to you?
2. How have criminals been portrayed in films you have seen recently? Were the criminals portrayed as heroes, idiots or evil individuals?
3. What - in detail - would happen to you in your country if you were caught:
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a. speeding in your car?
b. in possession of soft drugs?
c. with a gun in your pocket?
d. breaking into a house?
4. It is one of the principles of the British legal system that you are innocent until proven guilty. However, miscarriages of justice do occur. What cases of miscarriages of justice in your country do you know?
5. What are the main differences between the legal system in your country and that in Britain? Is there anything like the 'right to silence'? Are there any unpaid 'amateur' legal officers similar to Justices of the Peace? What kind of training do lawyers undergo? Compared with the system in your country, what do you see as the strengths and weaknesses of the British system?
6. British people believe that there is more crime in Britain than there used to be. What reasons could there be for this? Is it true? Do you think of Britain as a 'safe' or 'dangerous' place? What about your own country - has crime increased there, or do people think that it has?
7. Many people in Britain argue that imprisonment is an ineffective and expensive form of punishment. Do you agree with this view? What alternative forms of punishment in use in Britain or in your country do you think are better, if any?
8. You have just read an article supporting corporal punishment with the headline 'A short, sharp shock is the only answer for most of today's criminals'. Write to the newspaper, putting the opposite view and criticising what was probably in this article.
9. Imagine one of you is a TV interviewer; the other is a spokesperson for the Police. The problem is the Government says it intends to cut public expenditures on police. Find out what reasons the Government presents. Challenge your partner’s statements by your questions.
10. A woman is to appear in court charged with murdering a man who had killed her husband and baby daughter in a drink-driving accident. The man had been allowed to go free, with a five-year driving ban and a fine of 250. The woman, shocked by the light punishment, went to the man’s house and, after an argument, shot him dead. She then went to the police and admitted killing him. Dramatize the dialogue in pairs. Try to think of as many reasons as possible why the woman should be found guilty or not guilty of murder. Decide what you think the result of the trial should be. Then discuss your ideas with the rest of the group.
11. The Government is going to hold a national poll on the problem of abolishing prisons and death penalty. Divide into two groups and try to discuss as many reasons as possible why death penalty and prisons should or should not be abolished. Try to come to the unanimous agreement.
UNIT 8
