UNIVERSITATEA SPIRU HARET

Departamentul de Limbaje specializate

DREPT – Limba engleză, Anul III

Denumirea cursului: English for Law Students

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

Manual: Lavinia Nădrag, Manuela Stroescu – English for Law Students, Ed. Fundaţiei România de Mâine,
Bucureşti, 2002/6.

Prezentarea cursului/Rezumatul cursului: Focusing on reading and translating different types of

legislation, articles and documents represents the main purpose of this course. Students need to become
familiar with the basic conditions that are to be respected in accomplishing a correct and fluent translation
of a legal text. The examples of legal texts that are to be presented during seminar activity will be
analysed in terms of specific terminology, wording, content and particular morphological and syntactical
elements. As a stage of accomplishing a good translation, students will have to read Romanian legal texts
as well, so as to become familiar with the juridical language and thus, to easily find Romanian
correspondents for English legal terms. Using dictionaries at this advanced stage of translation will no
longer be an easy task, since there are few competent and complex Romanian-English Legal Dictionaries
available on the Romanian market. Students will also have to make use of their legal knowledge in order
to maintain an accurate content of their translations. Summarizing articles and laws, commenting upon
their most important components and even drafting/wording new laws and articles will also be important
tasks that will stimulate students’communicational initiative.

Lista subiectelor posibile

1. Do civil law and common law systems have the same approach to criminal procedure?
2. Which are the pretrial events and what is their purpose?
3. Which are the main steps in either a criminal or civil trial?
4. Are Courts classified according to their jurisdiction?
5. Explain the structure of Courts in the United Kingdom.
6. Which are the main types of Court in the United States?
7. Explain the Court System of the United States.
8. The Supreme Court is the “Last Court of Appeal.” What does this mean?
9. Has there ever been a woman Supreme Court justice?
10. How long do Supreme Court justices serve?

Aplicaţii - Teste pentru autoevaluare la tema tratată

I. State whether the following sentences are true or false:

1. Civil law and common law systems have the same approach to criminal procedure.
a) True
b) False
2. England, Canada, and the United States are based on a civil law system.
a) True
b) False

3. In the civil law system, the judge ascertains the applicable law and the jury determines the facts.
a) True
b) False

4. When the judge has discretion to set the sentence at a maximum and minimum term within a broad
range permitted by law this is called indeterminate sentencing.
a) True
b) False

5. A determinate sentence means that the judge grants the convict the possibility of parole.
a) True
b) False

II. Choose the correct answer:

1. The United States Congress, which includes the House of Representatives and the Senate,
represents the ................................ of the government.
a) the executive branch
b) the legislative branch
2. The ................ addresses the rights of freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom of the
press, freedom of assembly and freedom of petition.
a) Third Amendment
b) First Amendment
3. The .................... guarantees a speedy public trial for criminal offenses; it requires trial by a jury,
guarantees the right to legal counsel for the accused, witnesses to testify in the presence of the
accused and the right of the accused to know the charges against him.
a) Sixth Amendment
b) Fifth Amendment
4. The ...................... are mostly interested in establishing social programs for people in need, such as
the poor, the unemployed, the elderly and they oppose military spending.
a) Republicans
b) Democrats
5. The flag of the .................... is also called the Union Flag.
a) United Kingdom of Great Britain
b) United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

III. Choose the correct answer:

1. As he was caught in ................... of a gun, he was immediately considered a suspect.

a) control
b) handling
c) ownership
d) possession

2. The unruly ….. was broken up by the police.

a) collection
b) congregation
c) group
d) mob

3. The detective stood ….. behind the door waiting for the assailant.
a) immovable
b) lifeless
c) motionless
d) static

4. In the sentence: He was booked for driving on the wrong side of the road. to book means:
a) to order or reserve something.
b) to take the name and address of a person guilty of a minor offence with a view to bringing a
prosecution.
c) to check the financial records of a company.
d) to take the name of a player who breaks the rules while playing, three such acts resulting in the
player’s dismissal from the field.

5. The word ............. means a plea that a person charged with a crime was somewhere else when
the crime was committed.
a) apology
b) excuse
c) alibi
d) forgiveness

Rezolvări şi răspunsuri:
I. 1. False; 2. False; 3. False; 4. True; 5. False.
II. 1. b; 2. b; 3. a; 4. b; 5. b;
III. 1. d; 2. d; 3. c; 4. b; 5. c.

Teme de casă
Traduceri de texte de lege din engleză în română