Communicative Activities

Task 1.

a) Give your own definition of “law”.

b) In groups of three or four compare and contrast your notes. Discuss and report bask to the class the different points of view.

c) Study the dictionary definitions of "law":

“Rule made by authority for the proper regulation of a community or society or for correct conduct in life; the whole body of laws consid­ered collectively”

Oxford Student's Dictionary of Current English

“A rule that is supported by the power of government and that controls the behaviour of members of a society; the whole set of such rules”

Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English

“Rule of conduct or action, recognized by custom or decreed by formal enactment, considered binding on the members of a nation, communi­ty, or group; a system or body of such rules”

Webster's Dictionary

d) Underline the similarities and circle the differences.

e) Compare your own definition with the dictionary ones.

f) Write your fine-tuned definition. Interview the students of the other group on what their idea of law is. Report back to the class on your findings.

Task 2. Answer the following questions:

a) Why do we study law?

b) Do people always observe law?

c) What can we call people who break law?

d) What law violations do you know?

e) What categories of law are known to you?

Task 3. Sources of British Constitution.

A. The first major source for the law of the constitution comes in the form of legislation or statutes. Each statute deals only with a very limited area of concern. The following is a list of statutes which are of greatest constitutional significance, with brief summary of their contents. Read the text and be ready to discuss the main issues of it.

1297, Re-issue of the Magna Carta (1215)

This is a declaration of certain fundamental principles: no one should lose his life or liberty «except by the lawful judgment of his equals and by the law of the land»; the king should not sell, deny or delay justice; punishment should be in relation to the seriousness of the crime, etc.

1679, The Habeas Corpus Amendment Act

This contains provisions ensuring that persons imprisoned without legal cause, whether by the Crown or by private individuals, should, on obtaining a writ of Habeas Corpus, have the detention examined by a judge within a set per­iod of time.

1689, The Bill of Rights

It declares that the monarch's “pretended” power of suspending or dispensing with laws without the consent of Parliament is illegal, that elections and debate in Parliament should be free, and that Parliament should be summoned frequently, etc. (See the following section in this chapter.)

1701, The Act of Settlement

This deals with the question of succession to the throne (through a specified Protestant line) and with the conditions of tenure, payment and dismissal of judges.

1872, The Ballot Act

This was a vital piece of legislation, setting up the secret ballot at parliamentary elections and thereby doing away with the old system of voting in public that made voters so vulnerable to 'pressure' from over-enthu­siastic candidates.

1911, The Parliament Act

This laid down the reduced powers of the House of Lords with regard to Money Bills in particular - the maxi­mum the House could delay such a bill was limited to 1 month - and Public Bills in general (maximum delay: 2 years). It also shortened the life of a Parliament from 7 to 5 years. (See the section on the Parliament Act later in this chapter.)

Date: 2015-01-02; view: 1339