Тема 1. The legal system of the United Kingdom

Lesson 1. The legal system of the United Kingdom
Grammar: The Participle.
The United Kingdom does not have a written constitution. The equivalent body of law is based on statute, common law, and «traditional rights». Changes may come about formally through new acts of parliament, informally through the acceptance of new practices and usage, or by judicial precedents. Although parliament has the theoretical power to make or repeal any law, in actual practice the weight of 700 years of tradition restrains arbitrary actions. The law of England and Wales primarily comes from two sources: Parliament and the courts. In relation to law made by Parliament, as long as a bill is passed by the House of Commons and the House of Lords and receives the royal assent, the resulting Act of Parliament is recognized as law. Equally, cases decided by the courts which interpret Acts of Parliament or develop the common law are recognized as a source of law. Originally, the law made by judges through case law was the most important source of law, as Parliament met infrequently.
However, with the ascendancy of Parliament as the law- maker, legislation increasingly became the main source of law. Executive government rests nominally with the monarch but actually is exercised by a committee of ministers (cabinet) traditionally selected from among the members of the House of Commons and, to a lesser extent, the House of Lords. The prime minister is the leader of the majority party in the Commons, and the government is dependent on its support. Parliament represents the entire country and can legislate for the whole or for any constituent part or combination of parts. The maximum parliamentary term is 5 years, but the prime minister may ask the monarch to dissolve parliament and call a general election at any time. The focus of legislative power is the 650-member House of Commons, which has sole jurisdiction over finance. The House of Lords, although shorn of most of its powers, can still review, amend, or delay temporarily any bills except those relating to the budget. Only a few of the 1,200 members of the House of Lords attend its sessions regularly. The House of Lords has more time than the House of Commons to pursue one of its more important functions - debating public issues.
Morality and the law may coincide, but not necessarily. Using morality as a guide to what should be subject to legal intervention is problematic. The difficulty, of course, lies in defining what is immoral. Religion may give guidance, but not all members of a society will necessarily agree on what is, or what is not, immoral. Attempts have been made to identify criteria against which to judge whether conduct should attract legal intervention. For example, John Stuart Mill in On Liberty said, ‘the only purpose for which power can be rightfully exercised over any member of a civilized community against his will is to prevent harm to others. His own good, either physical or moral, is not a sufficient warrant.’ But this principle in itself calls for judgements as to what constitutes harm and who falls within the category of ‘others.
Morality may underpin law, for example, the law of contract may be seen as based upon the moral principle that a person should fulfill his promises. Theft is considered immoral and is also illegal, being a criminal offence under the Theft Act 1968. However, not every immoral act will constitute a criminal offence or a civil wrong. For example, prostitution may be considered immoral but being a prostitute is not a crime in itself; however, many activities associated with prostitution are criminal, e.g., soliciting. It is arguable that morality is not the key for recognizing law. Indeed, a law which is considered to be immoral may nonetheless be law.
On this view morality does not, therefore, determine what is to be considered law. This may be labelled as a positivist approach.
Перевод:
В Соединенном Королевстве нет писаной конституции. Эквивалентный свод законов основан на статуте, общем праве и "традиционных правах". Изменения могут происходить формально через новые акты парламента, неформально через принятие новых практик и обычаев или через судебные прецеденты. Хотя парламент теоретически имеет право принять или отменить любой закон, на практике вес 700-летних традиций сдерживает произвольные действия. Законодательство Англии и Уэльса в основном формируется из двух источников: Парламент и суды. Что касается законов, принятых парламентом, то если законопроект проходит Палату общин и Палату лордов и получает королевскую санкцию, то принятый в результате акт парламента признается законом. В равной степени источником права признаются дела, решенные судами, которые толкуют акты парламента или развивают общее право. Первоначально закон, созданный судьями на основе прецедентного права, был самым важным источником права, поскольку парламент собирался редко.