UNIVERSITATEA SPIRU HARET Departamentul de Limbaje specializate

DREPT – Limba Engleză, Anul I

Denumirea cursului: English for Law Students

Tip curs: obligatoriu pentru Facultatea de Drept şi Administraţie Publică, Anul I (semestrul I), Zi/ID/FR.

Manuale: Rădulescu Adina – A Practical English Handbook for Law Students, Ed. Fundaţiei România de

Mâine, Bucureşti, 2006

Lavinia Nădrag, Manuela Stroescu – English for Law Students, Ed. Fundaţiei România de Mâine,

Bucureşti, 2002/6.

Prezentarea cursului/Rezumatul cursului: This practical English course is designed as an ESP course (English for Specific Purposes) and its main purpose is to make students familiar with the basic

specialized vocabulary necessary in the law field. The practical handbook used during the seminars - A

Practical English Handbook for Law Students – is divided into 7 Units (in Part I), each consisting of

specialized texts, vocabulary exercises (multiple choice, matching, derivational exercises) and of grammar

exercises (multiple choice, gap filling, etc.). The grammatical elements that are covered in this first year of

study are: verbal tenses, modal verbs, passive voice, prepositions and the noun. In their study, students

need to use Dictionaries of Law (English-Romanian and Romanian-English).

Starting form the texts and the vocabulary exercises, students will be encouraged to use the new juridical

terminology in their own contexts, to initiate conversations on a certain topic and even have debates on

different juridical matters. Comparing the British and American legal systems with the Romanian one is a

stimulating topic for discussions. Reading and getting information about the European System of Justice

also proves to be a very useful activity. A writing task that students have to accomplish before their exam

is writing an essay on an issue related to the law field or to a general theme about civilization.

Lista subiectelor posibile 1. Which are the main differences between the British Law and the US Law?

2. Which are the main forms of punishment in the British legal system?

3. How many judges and advocates - general does the European Court of Justice consist of?

4. What do you know about the chambers of the European Court of Justice?

5. What part does the Commission play in the European legal system?

6. Make a summary of the murder case presented in Daily Telegraph.

7. What is Home Confinement?

Aplicaţii - Teste pentru autoevaluare la tema tratată

1. State whether the following sentences are true or false: a. At present, one prisoner out of four obtain parole. →

b. Prisoners sentenced to five or more years for serious offences are granted parole very often. →

c. A ‘life sentence’ for murder can last for 20 years or more. →

2. Choose the correct meaning of the following expressions selected from your text:

1. ‘To be eligible for a remission’ means: a) to deserve to be punished for a remission.

b) to be unworthy or unfit for a remission.

c) to have the right or proper qualification for a remission.

2. ‘To be liable for punishment’ means: a) to be legally obliged or responsible for something and be punished accordingly.

b) to be suspected of an offence and be punished for it.

c) to deserve a form of punishment.

3. Choose the correct version:

1. He has been released from prison .................... and if he does not behave satisfactorily, he will be sent

back.

a) on probation b) on remission c) into custody d) on testing

2. There was no need for a trial, because the client decided to .................... and forgive the attacker.

a) serve his sentence b) appear in court c) drop all the charges d) commute his

sentence

3. ............... means money paid by or for a person accused of a crime, as security that he will return for

his trial if he is allowed to go free until then.

a) Probation b) Bribe c) Bail d) Fine

4. A .................... is a lawyer who prepares legal documents, advises clients on legal matters and speaks

for them in lower courts.

a) solicitor b) prosecutor c) judge d) barrister

5. A person who takes people hostage for a ransom is called a .......................

a) hijacker b) bandit c) kidnapper d) rapist

4. Put the verbs in brackets into the corresponding verbal tense indicated in italics: 1. I ………….. (see) my solicitor tomorrow. (Present Tense Continuous) 2. What …………you (think) about? (Present Tense Continuous) Why ………. you (not talk) to me

about your problems? (Present Tense Simple)

3. After deliberating for hours, the jury ………….. (decide) to declare the defendant not guilty.

(Present Perfect)

4. Why ………….. you (accept) to take this case if you consider your client to be guilty? (Present

Perfect)

5. Yesterday he ………. (come) into my office and ……… (ask) for my help. I ……… (tell) him that

I would help him but he ………. (not seem) to trust my words. (Past Tense Simple)

5. Match the English expresions in column A with their equivalent Romanian translations in column

B:

A B

to serve a sentence = a executa o sentinţă

1. to pronounce a sentence a. a comuta o pedeapsă

2. to be released on probation b. cu domiciliu forţat

3. to be taken into custody c. a fi eliberat pe cauţiune

4. to drop all the charges d. a suspenda o sentinţă

5. to commute a sentence e. a depune un jurământ

6. to be released on bail f. a renunţa la toate acuzaţiile

7. to take an oath g. a pronunţa o sentinţă

8. to suspend a sentence h. a urmări în justiţie

9. under house arrest i. a fi arestat

10. to bring to court j. a fi pus în libertate sub supraveghere

6. Choose the correct version: 1. The members of the jury ................. for hours when they finally reached a verdict.

a) were deliberating b) deliberated c) have been deliberating d) had been deliberating

2. She told me that she ..................... filing for divorce for a long time.

a) considered b) had been considering c) would consider d) has been considering

3. I ......................... in a court of law since my parents filed for a divorce.

a) wasn’t b) haven’t been c) won’t be d) hadn’t been

4. As soon as the search warrant ..................... they will be allowed to look for the documents.

a) has been issued b) will be issued c) was issued d) had been issued

5. The suspect ............... under investigation long before the police found irrefutable evidence.

a) was placed b) has been placed c) had been placed d) will be placed

7. Put the verbs in brackets into the passive voice of the tense indicated: 1. This case …………………. (decide – Present Perfect) against Belgium.

2. The notion of protection ………………… (illustrate – Future Tense Simple) in the next paragraph.

3. A charge that ……………. (catch – Present Tense Simple) by Article 12 is unlawful.

4. The matter ……………. (judge – Past Tense Simple) in the light of Article 95.

5. The repayment to an exporter of a sum exceeding the internal duty ……………… (prohibit –

Present Tense Simple) by Article 96.

8. Choose the correct passive form of the following active sentence: The Commission has just appointed the new President of the European Court of Justice.

a) The new President of the European Court of Justice had just been appointed by the Commission.

b) The new President has just been appointed by the European Court of Justice.

c) The Commission has just been appointed to vote the new President of the European Court of

Justice. d) The new President of the European Court of Justice has just been appointed by the Commission.

9. Choose the correct English translation for the following Romanian passive sentence: Nu s-a ajuns încă la nici o concluzie cu privire la noua lege a adopţiei.

a) No conclusion hasn’t yet been reached regarding the new adoption law.

b) No conclusion has yet been reached regarding the new adoption law.

c) No conclusion was reached yet regarding the new adoption law.

d) Yet, no conclusion is reached regarding the new adoption law.

10. Choose the correct preposition:

1.Terrorists resort ….. violence as a political weapon.

a) at b) to c) on d) into

2. The unknown foreigner carried …. a bombing in the centre of Paris.

a) out b) in c) round d) on

3. How should Governments deal …… terrorist attacks?

a) on b) without c) with d) about

4. The Iraqi citizen had been suspected …. many offences before.

a) about b) in c) with d) of

5. Who was held responsible …. the journalist’s death?

a) for b) of c) about d) on

Rezolvări şi răspunsuri 1. a. False; b. False; c. True.

2. 1. c; 2. a.

3. 1. a; 2. c; 3. c; 4. a; 5. c.

4. 1. am seeing; 2. are you thinking, don’t you talk; 3. has decided; 4. have you accepted; 5. came, asked,

told, didn’t seem.

5. 1. g; 2. j; 3. i; 4. f; 5. a; 6. c; 7. e; 8. d; 9. b; 10. h.

6. 1. d; 2.b; 3. b; 4.a; 5. c.

7. 1. has been decided; 2. will be illustrated; 3. is caught; 4. was judged; 5. is prohibited.

8. d.

9. b. 10. 1. b; 2. a; 3. c; 4. d; 5. a.

Teme de casă

• Translate the texts of Units 1-7 in writing.

• Write your own sentences using the new words and expressions in Units 1-7.

• Extract 10 words or expression from a Dictionary of Law (English-English) and translate their definitions into Romanian.