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UNIT 5. CONSTITUTIONS OF THE USA AND THE UK

TEXT 1

The US Constitution

1. Прочитайте текст и ответьте на вопросы.

1. 
   When was the US Constitution adopted?
   
2. 
   What does the US Constitution consist of?
   
3. 
   How are the first 10 amendments to the US Constitution called?
   
4. 
   What rights and liberties are protected under the Bill of Rights?
   
5. 
   What kind of trial is guaranteed by the Bill of Rights?
   
6. 
   What are the key features of the US Constitution?
   
7. 
   What are the three branches of power according to the Constitution?
   
8. 
   Is there a strict separation of powers in the USA?
   
9. 
   Does any branch have more power than the others?
   
10. 
    What duties does every branch have regarding the other branches under the principle of checks and balances?
    

The form of the US government is based on the Constitution of 1787 which was adopted after the War of Independence. The US Constitution consists of 7 articles and 27 amendments. The first 10 amendments are called the Bill of Rights and were adopted in 1791 under popular pressure.

The Bill of Rights is a series of limitations on the power of the United States federal government, protecting the natural rights and liberties, property including freedom of religion, freedom of speech, a free press, free assembly, and free association, as well as the right to keep and carry arms. In federal criminal cases, it requires indictment by a grand jury for any capital crime, guarantees a speedy, public trial with an impartial jury composed of members of the state in which the crime occurred.

A key feature of the US Constitution is federalism – the division of power between the national government and the states. Another major feature of the Constitution is the principle of the separation of powers within the national government. According to this principle the executive, legislative and judicial branches exercise powers that are largely separate and distinct. There is not a strict and complete separation of powers, the powers of the three branches overlap. Each branch has its own responsibilities, but no branch has more power than the other branches. There is the system of checks and balances. Under this principle each branch has certain duties to check the powers of the other branches. This system was meant to protect against the extremes since it makes compromise and consensus necessary.

The legislative branch is called the Congress which consists of the Senate and the House of Representatives. It is the responsibility of the Congress to propose and pass laws. In the system of checks and balances, Congress can refuse to approve Presidential appointments and can override presidential veto.

The executive branch consists of the President, the Vice President, the Cabinet and the 13 Departments, and also the independent agencies. Its responsibility is to enforce laws. According to the principle of checks and balances, the President has the power of veto to reject the bill of the Congress. He also appoints all Supreme Court Justices.

The judicial branch consists of the Supreme Court, 11 Circuit Courts of Appeals and 94 District Courts. This branch explains and interprets laws and makes decisions in lawsuits. It has the power over the other two branches and according to the principle of checks and balances can declare their actions and laws unconstitutional in case they violate the principles of the Constitution.
2. Выразите согласие/несогласие со следующими утверждениями, используя следующие речевые модели.

Model: a) I think it is true. The text tells us that …

b) To my mind, it is false because …

1. 
   The US Constitution was adopted in 1918 after the World War I.
   
2. 
   The first 10 amendments are called the Bill of Rights.
   
3. 
   The Bill of Rights sets forth the structure of the Federal Government.
   
4. 
   The key features of the US Constitution are federalism, the separation of powers and the system of checks and balances.
   
5. 
   The legislative branch has more powers then the others.
   
6. 
   The powers of the three branches don't overlap.
   
7. 
   The system of checks and balances was meant to protect against the extremes.
   
8. 
   The responsibilities of the Congress are to protect the rights of citizens and enforce laws.
   
9. 
   The executive branch consists of the President, the Vice President, the Cabinet and the 13 Departments, and also the independent agencies.
   
10. 
    The judicial branch explains and interprets laws and makes decisions in lawsuits.
    

TEXT 2

The British Constitution

3. Прочитайте текст и ответьте на вопросы.

1. 
   What makes the UK Constitution different from other constitutions?
   
2. 
   What are the sources of the UK Constitution?
   
3. 
   What is the core principle of the UK Constitution?
   
4. 
   What bodies represent the three branches of power (executive, legislative and judiciary)?
   

The British Constitution is unwritten unlike the constitution in America or the proposed European Constitution, and as such, is referred to as an uncodified constitution in the sense that there is no single document that can be identified as Britain's constitution. The British Constitution can be found in a variety of documents. The main ones are: Statutes (the Magna Carta of 1215 and the Act of Settlement of 1701), Acts of Parliament; customs and traditions, political conventions, case law; constitutional matters decided in a court of law.

Since the English Civil War, the core principle of the British constitution has traditionally been the doctrine of parliamentary sovereignty, according to which the statutes passed by Parliament are the UK's supreme and final source of law. It follows that Parliament can change the constitution simply by passing new Acts of Parliament to be followed by the Royal Assent. There is some debate about whether this principle remains entirely valid today, in part due to the UK’s European Union membership.

According to the doctrine of parliamentary sovereignty, Parliament may pass any legislation that it wishes. There are many Acts of Parliament which themselves have constitutional significance. For example, Parliament has the power to determine the length of its own term. However, the Sovereign retains the power to dissolve Parliament at any time on the advice of the Prime Minister. Parliament also has the power to change the structure of its constituent Houses and the relation between them.

Parliament consists of the Sovereign, the House of Commons and the House of Lords. All the legislation must receive the approval of the Sovereign (the Royal Assent). Following the accession of the UK to European Economic Community (now the European Union) in 1972, the UK became bound by European law and more importantly, the principle of the supremacy of European Union law.

The House of Commons alone possesses the power to pass a motion of no-confidence in the Government, which requires the Government either to resign or seek fresh elections. Such a motion does not require passage by the Lords, or the Royal Assent. Parliament traditionally also has the power to remove individual members of the government by impeachment. By the Constitutional Reform Act2005 it has the power to remove individual judges from office for misconduct.

The executive power in the United Kingdom is exercised by the Sovereign through Her Majesty's Government. The monarch appoints the Prime Minister as the head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister then selects the other Ministers which make up the Government. As in some other parliamentary systems of government, the executive is accountable to Parliament.

The Courts of the United Kingdom are divided into three separate jurisdictions serving England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, since the United Kingdom does not have a single unified judicial system.

The Constitutional Reform Act 2005 created a new Supreme Court of the United Kingdom to take over the judicial functions of the House of Lords and devolution cases from the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council. The Supreme Court began its work in 2009, and serves as the highest court of appeal in England, Wales and in Northern Ireland, and for civil cases in Scotland. The High Court of Justiciary remains the court of last resort in Scotland for criminal cases.

4. Выразите согласие/несогласие со следующими утверждениями.

1. 
   The British Constitution is unwritten unlike the Constitutions of the USA and the proposed European Constitution.
   
2. 
   The British Constitution can be found in a variety of documents.
   
3. 
   Amendments to the British Constitution need the approval of both Houses of Parliament, but they do not need the Royal Assent.
   
4. 
   Parliamentary sovereignty has always been the core principle of the British Constitution.
   
5. 
   The Sovereign has no power to dissolve Parliament.
   
6. 
   Parliament has no power to change the structure of its houses.
   
7. 
   The British Parliament consists of the House of Commons and the House of Lords.
   
8. 
   The European law has priority over the UK law.
   
9. 
   The executive power in the United Kingdom is exercised by the Sovereign.
   
10. 
    The Constitutional Reform Act 2005 created a new Supreme Court of the United Kingdom.
    

5. Прочитайте текст о различных типах конституций и переведите его.

Types of Constitutions
A Constitution is a system which establishes the fundamental rules and principles which a state will use to govern and regulate.

There are several types of constitutions: written/unwritten, rigid/flexible, federal/unitary.

The term written constitution is used to describe a constitution that is entirely written, that is codified in one single document. Written constitutions normally consist of a ceremonial preamble, which sets forth the goals of the state and the motivation for the constitution, and several articles containing the substantive provisions.

The term unwrittenconstitution is used to describe a constitution in which no single, formal document delineates the powers of a government. Instead, an unwritten constitution comprises the body of a country's laws, enacted over time, with an emphasis on political precedent and parliamentary procedure, to create a framework in which a limited government operates. Unwritten constitutions can contain written sources: e.g. constitutional statutes enacted by the Parliament; and also unwritten sources: constitutional conventions, customs and traditions.

Many historians use the term “rigid” to describe the Constitution because in such constitution there are provisions in writing that cannot be legally changed with the same ease and in the same manner as ordinary laws. On the other hand, the Constitution is called “flexible” because it is an unwritten document that can be changed by an act of Parliament or through a process of amendment.

The federal constitution establishes the division of authority between the Federal Government and the component units of the government. In a federal constitution, sovereignty is invested in the central government. It allows a limited amount of government among units.

The unitary constitution relates to the parliament. It follows parliamentary system of power. The unitary constitution establishes a unitary system of government where a central government does exist. Although units are associated with that government, sovereignty is controlled by the central government.

5. Используя текст, охарактеризуйте конституции Российской Федерации, США и Великобритании.

Повторение грамматики. Прямая и косвенная речь (Direct and Indirect Speech).



При изменении прямой речи в косвенную соблюдаются следующие правила.

1. 
   Запятая и кавычки опускаются. Возможен союз “that”.
   

Example: Прямая речь: The judge says, “The defendant is guilty”.

Косвенная речь:The judge says (that) the defendant is guilty.

2. 
   Все личные и притяжательные местоимения изменяются по смыслу в зависимости от лица, от которого ведется речь. (1-е лицо меняется на 3-е лицо; 2-е лицо меняется на1-е лицо или на 3-е лицо).
   

Example: Citizen B. says, “My human rights and freedoms are violated.” – Citizen B. says that his rights and freedoms are violated.

3. 
   а) В утвердительном предложении глагол в повелительном наклонении заменяется инфинитивом.
   

Example: “Call the police immediately!” the robbed woman cried. – The robbed woman cried to call the police immediately.

б) В отрицательном предложении 1-я форма глагола изменяется на “not” + инфинитив.

Example: “Don’t threaten my key witness!” the lawyer shouted. – The lawyer shouted not to threaten his key witness.

4. 
   Если в прямой речи глагол главного предложения стоит в прошедшем времени, то при преобразовании прямой речи в косвенную речь время глагола придаточного предложения меняется в соответствии с правилами последовательности употребления времён (the Sequence of Tenses). Именно в этом основное различие между русским и английским языками в употреблении косвенной речи.
   

Таким образом, в косвенной речи вместоPresentIndefiniteупотребляетсявремяPastIndefinite:

Example: A police officer said, “I investigate serious crimes.” – A police officer said he investigated serious crimes.

вместоPresentContinuous употребляетсявремяPastContinuous:

Example: A police officer said, “I am investigating serious crimes.” – A police officer said he was investigating serious crimes.

вместоPresentPerfectупотребляетсявремяPastPerfect:

Example: A police officer said, “I have investigated serious crimes.” – A police officer said he had investigated serious crimes.

вместоPresentPerfectContinuous употребляется времяPastPerfect Continuous:

Example: A police officer said, “I have been investigating serious crimes.” – A police officer said he had been investigating serious crimes.

вместоPastIndefiniteупотребляетсяPastPerfect:

Example: A police officer said, “I investigated serious crimes.” – A police officer said he had investigated serious crimes.

вместоPastContinuousупотребляетсяPastPerfectContinuous:

Example: A police officer said, “I was investigating serious crimes.” – A police officer said he had been investigating serious crimes.

вместоFutureIndefiniteупотребляетсясоответствующаяформаFutureinthePast:

Example: A police officer said, “I will investigate serious crimes.” – A police officer said he would investigate serious crimes.

вместоFutureContinuous употребляетсяформа FutureContinuousinthe Past:

Example: A police officer said, “I will be investigating serious crimes.”– A police officer said he would be investigating serious crimes.

ВместоFuturePerfectупотребляетсясоответствующаяформаFuturePerfectinthe

Past:

Example: A police officer said, “I will have investigated serious crimes.” – A police officer

said he would have investigated serious crimes.

ВременаPastPerfect и PastPerfectContinuousостаются безизменений.

Example: A police officer said, “I had investigated serious crimes.” – A police officer said he had investigated serious crimes.

Example: A police officer said, “I had been investigating serious crimes.” – A police officer said he had been investigating serious crimes.

5. 
   Past Indefinite и Past Continuous могут оставаться без изменений при обращении прямой речи в косвенную, когда указано точное время совершения действия.
   

Example: The Foreign Minister said, “The International agreement on cooperation was signed on October 9, 2003.”– The Foreign Minister said that the International agreement on cooperation was signed on October 9, 2003”.

6. 
   Если содержание прямой речи представляет собой неоспоримую истину (universal truth), грамматическое время глагола не меняется.
   

Example: Delivering a lecture on the intellectual property the professor said, “Copyright is the body of law that deals with the ownership and use of works of literature, music and art.” – Delivering a lecture on the intellectual property the professor said that copyright is the body of law that deals with the ownership and use of works of literature, music and art.

7. 
   Указательные местоимения и наречия времени и места, употребляемые в прямой речи, заменяются в косвенной речи соответствующими им по смыслу словами и выражениями.
   

This (этот) меняется на that (тот). These (эти) меняется на those (эти). Now (теперь) меняется на then (тогда).

Today (сегодня) меняется на that day (в тот день).

Tomorrow (завтра) меняется на the next day (на следующий день).

The day after tomorrow (послезавтра) меняется на two days later (два дня спустя). Yesterday (вчера) меняется на the day before (накануне).

The day before yesterday (позавчера) меняется на two days before (двумя днями ранее). Month ago (месяц назад) меняется на month before (за месяц до этого).

Last month (в прошлом месяце) меняется на the previous month (в предыдущем месяце). Here (здесь) меняется на there (там).

7. Замените предложения в прямой речи на предложения в косвенной речи, произведя необходимые изменения.

1. 
   “We are not talking about any kind of censorship on the Internet”, the President says.
   
2. 
   The committee spokesman said a week ago, “The Investigative Committee is forming a department that will investigate crimes committed by police officers.”
   
3. 
   A lawyer said to Mr. Woodworth, “The most severe punishment now for this criminal offence is life imprisonment.”
   
4. 
   “Please, don’t interrupt me”, the associate lawyer said to his client yesterday.
   
5. 
   “We have been providing here the highest quality legal assistance to our clients”, said the in-house lawyer.
   
6. 
   The Interior Minister says, “Russian law should punish police officers more severely than ordinary people for illegal activities”.
   
7. 
   The lawyer speaking about the Graduate Recruitment Programme said, “I will outline what we can offer to these employees.”
   
8. 
   The judge said, “The owner of the Perm night-club where 156 people were killed in a fire has been hiding in Spain before being arrested and extradited to Russia.”
   
9. 
   Moscow’s mayor said, “I will focus on maintaining social stability and solving transportation problems.”
   
10. 
    The President said, “The Internet may increase the quality of state governance”.
    

Вопросительные предложения в косвенной речи. Indirect questions

1. 
   Если прямая речь является вопросительным предложением, то при обращении в косвенную речь, этот вопрос становится придаточным предложением (косвенным вопросом).
   
2. 
   При обращении вопросительного предложения в косвенный вопрос вопросительный знак опускается, а вопросительный порядок слов заменяется на порядок слов в повествовательном предложении (т.е. сказуемое ставится после подлежащего и т.д.) Общие вопросы вводятся словами if, whether.
   

Example: The student of the law academy asks, “Is the Supreme Court the highest judicial organ of the state?” – The student of the law academy asks if the Supreme Court is the highest judicial organ of the state.

Example: “Did the Higher Regional Court uphold the decision on the appeal?” he asked. – He asked whether the Higher Regional Court had upheld the decision on the appeal.

3. 
   Вопросы, начинающиеся с вопросительного слова или группы слов: who, which,whose, when,why,howmany,howmuch,howlong,называются специальными вопросами и при преобразовании в косвенную речь превращаются в придаточные предложения, где данные слова становятся союзами и служат для присоединения придаточного предложения к главному.Остальныеизмененияпроизводятсясогласновышеизложеннымправилам.
   

Example: The deputy minister asked, “What law enforcement bodies will take part in this operation?” –The deputy minister asked what law enforcement bodies would take part in that operation.

Example: Mr. Brown asked, “How many justices of the peace will be trying this case?” – Mr. Brown asked how many justices of the peace would be trying that case.

8. Замените вопросительные предложения в прямой речи на предложения в косвенной речи, произведя необходимые изменения.

1. 
   The professor asked, “Is English law based on common law tradition?”
   
2. 
   The first-year student asked the professor yesterday, “Do barristers give expert opinions on legal matters?”
   
3. 
   Tom Brown asked his groupmate, “Why is it important for judges to be independent of the government?”
   
4. 
   The correspondent asked last week, “How long did it take the FBI experts to perform these scientific examinations?”
   
5. 
   The defence counsel asked the prosecution, “How many defendants were convicted of illegal weapons possession?”
   
6. 
   The clerk of the court asked, “Did the defendant plead guilty to any charges?”
   
7. 
   The head of the court’s press service was asked, “Has the appellate panel found any procedural violations?”
   
8. 
   Tom Brown asked his lawyer, “Who backed a request for bail?”
   
9. 
   The judge was asked at the press conference, “Why was the charge of murder reduced to manslaughter?”
   
10. 
    The Federal Security Service officer was asked, “When was an explosive device found on board a passenger jet flying from Moscow to Grozny?”