Render the following in Russian.

In some countries the family is thought to be so important that there is very little legal intervention in family life. In many Islamic countries, for example, fathers, brothers and sons are allowed considerable authority over the females in their family. As late as the 1970s, the male head of the household in Switzerland was deemed to represent the interests of everyone within that household, and, consequently, none of the women could vote in national elections. But in many parts of the world, the law now promotes the rights of individuals within the family unit, and regulates family relations through legislation. Raised from the taxes of the working population as a whole, child benefit is paid directly to the mother, and retirement pensions are paid to grandparents. In Sweden, parents can be prosecuted for physically punishing their children and children have a limited capacity to divorce their parents. In Britain there are special family courts with very strong powers to control and transfer private property in the interests of children. Much of the work of other courts is also directly relevant to family life.

Discussion Points

1. Compare the principles of "proof beyond reasonable doubt" and "proof on the balance of probabilities".

2. Speak about the court system in your country. Draw a plan of the court system in your country showing which courts have civil functions and which have criminal functions.

Extra Activity

1. Complete this questionnaire. If you wouldn't make any of the choices suggested, then add one of your own.

1. You can hear a terrible noise coming from your neighbour's house. It sounds as though he's murdering someone. Would you …… ?

a) do nothing
b) call the police
c) go round yourself and see what was happening
d) .............................................

2. Imagine you are a shop assistant and you notice one of you colleagues stealing from the till (касса). Would you …… ?

a) say nothing
b) tell the person to stop or else
c) inform the boss
d) ...............

3. While you are parking your car, you accidentally scratch the paintwork of a new car next to you. Would you ….. ?

a) leave a note for the owner of the other car
b) hurry off
c) park as though nothing had happened
d) .............................

2. Here is the crime solved by Detective Shadow. What is the solution?

Shadow opened the door to Dr Adam Apple's office and looked around him. Dr Apple's head lay on his desk surrounded by a pool of blood. On the floor to his right lay a small handgun. There were powder burns on his right temple, indicating that he had been shot at close range. On his desk was a suicide note, and his right hand held the pen that had written it. Shadow recorded the time as 3.30 pm and ascertained that death had occurred within the past hour. As Shadow was gathering clues, Dr Apple's wife burst into the office and screamed. "Good lord, my husband's been shot!" She ran toward him, saw the note and cried. "Why would he want to kill himself?"

"This was no suicide" said Shadow. "This was clearly a case of murder." How does he know?

Who was the man?

This Italian professor is regarded as the father of the scientific study of criminals, or criminology. In an enormous book called The Criminal, he set out the idea that there is a definite criminal type, who can be recognized by his or her appearance. Some of what he said is difficult to believe. For example, he said that left-handed persons have a criminal instinct. Among the things he considered important were the shape of the head, colour of the hair, the eyes, the curve of the chin and forehead and if the ears stick out. His ideas were very new at the time and, although not altogether correct, caused a lot of interest and made other people look into the problem of crime in a more scientific way.

Read for Enjoyment

They Both were Mistaken

A man could not find his handkerchief and accused his neighbour of stealing it. After some time the man found the handkerchief in his pocket and apologized for having accused the neighbour.

"Never mind," said the man. "You thought I was a thief and I thought you were a gentleman, and we were both mistaken."

UNIT 5

For Study

Vocabulary.

· burglary n - (ночная) кража со взломом
e.g. The man was accused of burglary and had to pay damages.

· robbery n - грабеж, кража
e.g. There was a bank robbery last night.

· malice n - злой умысел

· e.g. Malice is said to be transferred when someone intends to commit crime against one person but in fact commits the same crime against someone else.
with malice aforethought - с заранее обдуманным (преступным) намерением
e.g. The prosecution must prove malice aforethought to secure a conviction of murder.

· reckless adj - небрежный, неосторожный
recklessness - неосторожность
e.g. He is considered to be a reckless driver.

· Actus Reus - (лат). виновное действие (объективная сторона противоправного деяния)

· Mens Rea - (лат). 1. виновная воля; 2. вина