СПЕЦИАЛЬНОСТИ «МЕЖДУНАРОДНОЕ ПРАВО»
ЗАОЧНОЙ ФОРМЫОБУЧЕНИЯ
| Наименование темы | ||
| Лексическая | Грамматическая | |
| 3 курс 5 семестр Форма контроля – дифференцированный зачет | ||
| 1. Понятие конституции. Конституция США. 2. Государственное устройство США. Законодательная и исполнительная власть. 3. Государственное устройство Великобритании. 4 Государственное устройство Республики Беларусь. . | 1. Сослагательное наклонение (3 типа условных предложений). 2. Словообразование (существительные от глаголов, существительные от прилагательных, прилагательные от существительных и глаголов). 3. Отрицательные формы различных частей речи. | |
| 3 курс 6 семестр Форма контроля - экзамен | ||
| 1. Судебная система США. 2. Гражданский процесс в судах первой инстанции. 3. Уголовный процесс в судах первой инстанции. | 1. Неличные формы глагола (инфинитив, причастие, герундий). 2. Связующие слова (союзы). | |
CONVERSATIONAL TOPICS
3rd Year 5th Term
UNIT 1
THE CONSTITUTION
1. BRAIN STORMING. Think about the subject of this Unit in general.
1) What is a constitution?
2) What does it establish and guarantee?
3) What does it mean that a constitution is the supreme law of the land?
4) What do you know about written and unwritten constitutions?
5) Which do you think is better, a written or an unwritten constitution?
1.1 Read the extract below to check your predictions.
A constitution is a set of fundamental rules (principles) which organize, distribute and regulate state power. They set out the structure of the state, the major state institutions and their relations with each other and with the state’s citizens. A constitution may also indicate the basic rights and freedoms of citizens.
A constitution is the supreme law of the land in any given country and no law may conflict with it, nor may the government do anything that violates it. In most countries it will be a ‘written’ or codified document, like the Constitution of the United States. The United Kingdom is one of only three countries in the world with an uncodified or ‘unwritten’ constitution (Israel and New Zealand are the other two).
A ‘written’ constitution is one contained in a single document.
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An ‘unwritten’ constitution cannot be found in a single legal document.What Britain has instead is an accumulation of various statutes (laws passed by Parliament), conventions (unwritten traditions which have developed over time), judicial decisions (law developed by the courts), and treaties (agreements between states) which are collectively called the British Constitution. It is, therefore, more accurate to refer to Britain’s constitution as an uncodified constitution, rather than an ‘unwritten’ one.
Codified constitutions are inflexible and can be changed only by means of a special procedure such as a referendum. This denies freedom for the next generation to make changes that suit their lives rather than the lives of their ancestors. For example, the 2nd Amendment to the American Constitution, the right to keep and bear arms, many would argue, is no longer a good idea. In contrast, an unwritten constitution can be altered by an ordinary law to reflect the needs of society.
A written constitution often includes a bill of rights – part of the constitution that protects people’s individual rights and freedoms. However, the granting of constitutional rights does not mean they will be properly respected. The passage of the 15th Amendment to the US Constitution in 1870 gave equal rights to African Americans. However, these rights were not respected for another century. On the other hand, all three of the countries that do not have a written constitution are all progressive western style countries. It cannot be said that the lack of a written constitution brings about dictatorship or lack of freedom for the people of a country.
2. FIRST READING OF THE TEXT. Skim (read quickly) the text to understand the general contents.
The Constitution of the United States
The Constitution of the United States was written in May 1787 at the ‘Constitutional Convention’, held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The 55 men at the Convention (the delegates from the 12 out of 13 original states) are called the ‘Founding Fathers’ of the USA, and are also known as the ‘Framers of the Constitution’. Some of the more famous of the framers are George Washington (the first President of the USA), James Madison, Benjamin Franklin, and Alexander Hamilton.
The Constitution was ratified by nine states in 1788. It replaced the earlier set of government rules, the Articles of Confederation, which were the law of the country from 1781 until 1788. This document was an agreement between 13 semi-independent states with a weak national Congress as a central government.
The Constitution contains the preamble, seven basic articles and twenty seven amendments.
The Preamble is a short, one-sentence introduction to the Constitution which explains that the document is written on behalf of the people to establish a more perfect government.
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The Articles establish the United States with a federal (central) government plus state governments. However, the US Constitution specifies only the powers and duties of the federal government with three separate branches: the legislative (Article I), the executive (Article II), and the judicial (Article III).The supreme power under the Constitution is not given to any of the branches. Nor does it belong, as in many other countries, to a political group or party. It belongs to the people, in fact and in spirit.
The relationships between the states and the federal government are set up in Article IV which also describes how to admit new states to the Union. The Founding Fathers did not intend to establish a static system which could not be changed. They referred to the Constitution as a ‘living’ document which should be changed or interpreted to meet the changing needs of society – and they did just that. Article V of the Constitution specifies the procedure to amend the Constitution and ratify amendments. Article VI establishes the Constitution as the supreme law of the USA. And Article VII lists the requirements for ratification of the Constitution.
The US Constitution has been formally amended only 27 times in more than two centuries. To all Americans, the first 10 Constitutional Amendments are known together as the Bill of Rights, adopted in 1791.
In the Bill of Rights, Americans are guaranteed freedom of religion, of speech and of the press. They have the right to assemble in public places, to protest government actions and to demand change. They have the right to own weapons if they wish. Because of the Bill of Rights, neither police nor soldiers can stop and search a person without good reason. They also cannot search a person’s home without legal permission to do so.
The Bill of Rights guarantees Americans the right to a speedy trial if accused of a crime. The trial must be by a jury and the accused person must be allowed representation by a lawyer and must be able to call in witnesses to speak for him or her. Cruel and unusual punishment is forbidden.
There were 17 other amendments to the Constitution as of 1991. Indeed, that is not many changes considering that the Constitution was written in 1787. Only a few of those 17 amendments need to be mentioned here. One abolishes slavery and three others guarantee citizenship and full rights of citizenship to all people regardless of race. Another gives women the right to vote and another lowers the national voting age to 18 years.
This Constitution was not perfect; it is not perfect today even with amendments, but it has continued longer than any other written form of government. The US Constitution is the oldest national constitution and the shortest. It has been the model for many national constitutions around the world.
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3. SCANNING READING. Quickly scan the text to find the following information.
1) When was the United States Constitution written (ratified)?
2) How many original states were there in the United States?
3) How many delegates (states) were present at the Convention?
4) Who are the more famous of the framers of the Constitution?
5) What parts does the Constitution consist of?
6) What are the three branches of the US government?
7) What Article specifies the procedure to amend the Constitution?
8) When was the Constitution amended last time?
4. READING FOR GENERAL UNDERSTANDING. Choose a), b), or c) to complete the following sentences.
1. The Constitutional Convention is a(n) …
a) international agreement between the original states
b) meeting of delegates
c) tradition
2. The US Constitution specifies the powers and duties of each branch …
a) of the federal and state governments
b) of the federal government
c) of state governments
3. The supreme power under the Constitution belongs to …
a) a political party
b) the people
c) the government
4. The American Bill of Rights is …
a) a separate document
b) 27 Constitutional Amendments
c) the first 10 Amendments to the Constitution
5. The Bill of Rights was added to the Constitution in …
a) 1781
b) 1791
c) 1991
6. The Bill of Rights guarantees …
a) the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness
b) freedom from slavery
c) basic rights and freedoms
5.WORD STUDY.
5.1 Find a word or a phrase in the text that has a similar meaning. Suggest the Russian.
| Paragraph 1 1 supreme law of the land c... 2 meeting of delegates c… 3 union of states by an agreement or treaty c… 4 partly independent s… 5 organized political and administrative parts of the United States s… Paragraph 2 1 introduction to a formal document p… 2 change proposed or made to a formal document a… 3 separate clause or item in a document a… 4 group of people governing a country g… | Paragraph 3 1 violation of law c… 2 group of persons who decide on issues of fact in a law court j… 3 examination in a court before a judge t… 4 act of allowing or permitting p… 5 persons who give evidence under oath in court w… 6full rights (either by birth or by gaining such rights) of a person in a State c… |
5.2 Study the following verbs from the text.
| 1to hold (a meeting, etc.) 2to ratify 3 to refer to sb/sth as 4 to establish 5 to specify 6to belong 7 to admit 8 to intend 9 to amend 10to adopt 11 to assemble 12 to demand 13 to own 14 to search 15to accuse of 16 to forbid 17 to meet sth 18 to fulfill 19to abolish | -проводить (собрание и т.д.) -ратифицировать -обращаться к кому-либо/чему-либо как; называть кого-либо/что-либо как -устанавливать, учреждать -точно определять, специфицировать -принадлежать -принимать (в состав), признавать -намереваться -вносить поправки -принимать (одобрять формально) -собираться -требовать -владеть -обыскивать -обвинять -запрещать -соответствовать -выполнять -отменять |
5.3 Fill in the synonyms from the list. Use a dictionary if necessary.
To prohibit, to ensure; to meet; to possess; to carry out; to repeal; to require; to adopt; to permit;
| to ratify = to own = to abolish = | to guarantee = to assemble = to forbid = | to demand = to allow = to fulfill = |
5.4 Word families: suffixes - (a)tion and - ment are used to form nouns from verbs.