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Legal Aspect
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Under the federal system of government in the United States, the individual states regulate marriage. Virtually all states require that individuals must be 18 years of age before they can marry. Persons below that age must obtain parental permission. To obtain a marriage license, most states require individuals to undergo a blood test for rubella and syphilis, a sexually transmitted disease. Many states also require a waiting period of one to five days between the issuing of the license and the wedding ceremony. The marriage must be formalized before a qualified official in either a religious ceremony or a civil wedding. The couple must register a marriage certificate with the government after the wedding ceremony.
Virtually all states ban marriages between certain blood relatives, such as between parent and child or brother and sister. All states prohibit bigamy—that is, a marriage in which either partner is already married.
Several countries have passed legislation to recognize homosexual unions. Such legislation generally refers to homosexual unions as civil unions or registered partnerships rather than as marriages. These unions usually do not entail the full array of rights to which heterosexual married couples are entitled. Four countries currently legalize gay marriage. They are Belgium, Canada, the Netherlands, and Spain.
Answer the following questions:
1. What does family law deal with?
2. What is marriage?
3. What does marital relationship involve?
4. What are unconventional forms of marriage?
5. What is marriage age in the USA?
6. What is necessary for a person to obtain a marriage license?
7. What kinds of marriages are banned in the USA?
TASK 2. Render the following text into English
Брак - регулируемая обществом постоянная связь как правило между мужчиной и женщиной, как правило, основанная на личных чувствах и сексуальных отношениях, преследующая цель создания семьи.
Люди, состоящие в браке, называются супругами или супружеской парой. В браке реализуется естественная потребность людей в продолжении рода. Именно этим объясняется запрет на браки, существующий практически во всём мире, — он связан с большой вероятностью получения детьми в таком браке наследственных болезней. Хотя, с другой стороны, браки, в которых детей не может быть ввиду бесплодия одного или обоих супругов, а также браки между мужчинами и женщинами, вышедшими из репродуктивного возраста, не запрещены, что указывает на более широкую функцию брака, далеко выходящую за рамки продолжения рода.
Как правило, брак подразумевает ведение супругами совместного хозяйства и наличие общего имущества, передаваемого по наследству, а также воспитание ими детей. Брак пользуется охраной и покровительством законов лишь при совершении его с соблюдением установленных в законах условий; влечет за собой известные юридические последствия в области личных и имущественных прав и обязанностей супругов по отношению друг к другу и к детям.
Ballou
DEBATE
Give your own ideas on the following problems:
· What do you think about positive and negative aspects of civil marriage?
· How does legislation of different countries refer to homosexual unions?
TASK 3. Study the text below, making sure you fully comprehend it. Where appropriate, consult English-Russian dictionaries and/or other reference & source books on law.
Divorce, or dissolution, as it is increasingly becoming known, a legislatively created, judicially administered process that legally terminates a marriage no longer considered viable by one or both of the spouses and that permits both to remarry.
Aforetime because of the traditional fault-based view of divorce, almost every state divorce law required the plaintiff to prove one of a number of legislatively recognized grounds. Typical grounds had included adultery (almost universally); desertion; habitual drunkenness; conviction of a felony; and, most commonly used by divorcing parties, cruel and inhuman treatment. Because the state’s interest in maintaining stable marriages was assumed, divorce suits could not be treated like other litigation. One spouse, the plaintiff, had to prove grounds even when both spouses wanted the divorce. Thus, divorce trials were filled with charges and countercharges and generally omitted investigation of the actual viability of the marriage.
By the mid-20th century, most state legislatures had recognized one or more no-fault grounds for divorce, usually consisting of a substantial period (from one to five years) during which the spouses had lived “separate and apart”; sometimes insanity or incompatibility were acceptable grounds.
The grounds for divorce differed from one state to another; thus, for example, before 1967 the only grounds for divorce in New York State was adultery. The difficulty of obtaining a divorce in several of the more populous eastern states, such as New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania, eventually led to a substantial amount of “migratory divorce” in so-called divorce havens.
The system of migratory divorces was considered by many as discriminatory against the poor, who could not afford to take up residence in another state or travel to a foreign country in order to get a divorce.
In the mid-1980s, approximately one in three marriages ended in divorce. A growing number of expert observers conclude that this high divorce rate is due to a number of social changes. Among these changes are greater societal acceptance of divorce; greater financial and emotional independence of women; and, paradoxically, a greater belief in the emotional value of marriage, which more readily disposes disappointed spouses to divorce so as to seek a happier subsequent marriage.
In a divorce action, one spouse, usually the wife, may be granted alimony or maintenance payments generally for a limited period of time. The custody of any children may be awarded to either spouse, with equitable regulations made for visiting rights and support of the children. At present, joint-custody arrangements are being worked out more and more frequently by divorcing parents.
Answer the following questions:
1. What is divorce?
2. What was the tradition of divorce aforetime?
3. What did the USA do to maintain stable marriages?
4. What was the procedure for divorce in the mid-20th century?
5. What were the reasons for “migratory divorce”?
6. What are the reasons of growing number of divorces in modern times?
7. What kinds of problems can a divorce entail?
8. What should be done to make marriage more stable?
TASK 4. Render the following text into English:
Развод — формальное окончание (расторжение) брака, кроме случаев, когда брак прекращается в случае кончины одного из супругов. От развода следует отличать признание брака недействительным в судебном порядке.
В современной России в соответствии c Семейным кодексом РФ развод (расторжение брака) может быть произведён по заявлению одного или обоих супругов. Важно заметить, что в современном законодательстве термин «развод» заменен термином «расторжение брака».
Развод через суд производится в двух случаях: при наличии общих несовершеннолетних детей или в случае отсутствия согласия на расторжение брака второй стороны.
Расторжение брака производится в органах ЗАГС (registry office) в случае взаимного согласия супругов, не имеющих общих несовершеннолетних детей. После подачи совместного заявления, заполняемого обоими супругами, назначается дата развода (не раньше чем через месяц со дня подачи заявления). Брак может быть расторгнут в ЗАГСе независимо от наличия общих несовершеннолетних детей в случае, если один из супругов признан судом безвестно отсутствующим; признан судом недееспособным; осуждён за совершение преступления к лишению свободы на срок свыше трёх лет.
Согласно исследованиям некоторых социологов, во время периодических спадов и кризисов в экономике той или иной страны число разводов обычно уменьшается. Это объясняется тем, что совместное ведение хозяйства позволяет супругам сэкономить финансовые ресурсы и, таким образом, в какой-то степени сохранить материальное благополучие. Так, например, в Испании, число разводов в 2008 году уменьшилось на 12 процентов по сравнению с предыдущим годом, что, по мнению социологов, объясняется влиянием мирового экономического кризиса 2008—2009 годов.
TASK 5. Study the text below, making sure you fully comprehend it. Where appropriate, consult English-Russian dictionaries and/or other reference & source books on law.
Parent and Child
Parent and Child, branch of the law of domestic relations that determines the legal rights and obligations of fathers or mothers to their children and of children to their parents. The legal relationship is distinguished from the natural relationship; for example, two persons may have a legal relationship of parent and child although there is no natural relationship, as in the case of an adopted child.
Aforetime, in common law in the United Kingdom and the United States, parents were the legal as well as natural guardians of their child. They had the right to name the child and were entitled to custody. As custodians, they could reasonably chastise the child, but for excessive punishment the parents were criminally liable for assault, or for homicide in case of death. The father was deemed entitled to custody of the child in preference to the mother. A parent was not liable for a tort (wrongful act) of the child unless its commission was incited or authorized by the parent. A parent could recover damages for torts committed against the child. In common law, the parent was not civilly liable to maintain the child, but was criminally responsible in cases of neglect, as when failure to provide food or clothing caused injury or death.
In modern law the legal relationships of parent and child established under common law have been modified by statute in Britain and the U.S. In general, such statutes provide that a married woman is a joint guardian of her children with her husband, with equal powers, rights, and duties. Either parent has the right to custody of the children of the marriage, and in a divorce or separation the court can award custody to the parent best qualified and able to care for the children. Parents must provide for their children such necessities of life as food, clothing, shelter, education, and medical care; if they cannot or will not, state laws authorize intervention by designated authorities to ensure that children's needs are met. Children who are physically or emotionally abused by their parents may be the subject of legal action in order to protect the children. Parents' rights to custody of their children may be limited or, in extreme cases, terminated because of failure to provide adequate care. Laws require a father to support his minor children if he is able to do so, whether or not he has ever been married to their mother. Failure to provide support may result in civil or criminal proceedings against him. If paternity has been admitted or established, laws permit children to inherit from their father's estate unless specifically excluded in his will.
Answer the following questions:
1. What is Parent and Child?
2. What kinds of legal relationships were between parents and child aforetime?
3. What are the rights and duties of parents in modern law?
4. What are children’s rights?
TASK 6. Find in the text above the English equivalents for the following words and expressions:
законные права и обязанности, усыновленный ребенок, в качестве попечителей, гражданское правонарушение, получить компенсацию за убытки, сопопечитель; присудить попечение (опеку) над ребенком родителю, способному в наибольшей степени заботиться о нем; дети, терпящие физическое и эмоциональное насилие со стороны родителей, специально исключенные из завещания.
TASK 7. Study the information below and give your opinion on the problem.
Дата публикования: 2014-10-25; Прочитано: 1140 | Нарушение авторского права страницы | Мы поможем в написании вашей работы!
