The judicial system of Great Britain

At present the English judicial system is basically pyramidal.

At the top of the pyramid is the final appellate tribunal, the House of Lords. Beneath it is the Court of Appeal. It hears both criminal and civil appeals.

Beneath these appellate courts are two separate systems of trial courts, one for criminal cases and the other for civil cases. On the civil side are the High Court and the County Court. On the criminal side are the Crown Court and the Magistrates’ Court.

The High Court justices and the County Court judges are all barristers. Outside of London and a few large cities the magistrates are laymen. They sit only occasionally to try cases. In the largest cities there are full-time stipendiary magistrates. They must have legal training.

III. Do the following exercises:

Exercise 1. Read and translate the following international words:

pyramidal, final, present, criminal, tribunal, separate, stipendiary, system, legal, appeal, training.

Exercise 2. Read and translate the following words and phrases into Russian:

pyramidal, the final appellate tribunal, basically, the High Court, the County Court, the Crown Court, at the top, the Magistrates’ Court, to try cases, full-time, the largest city, beneath, to hear cases, separate systems, layman.