English: mod 3+4
PART ONE: LEGAL TOPICS
1.In trouble with the law – Britain’s courts are in
a mess
Study both the vocabulary and the answers to the content questions
1.1 Key vocabulary
EXERCISE 1
1. Expressionless
Impassively (onbewogen)
The defendant sat impassively in the dock while evidence was given against him.
2. To be swindled
Be stiffed (belazerd, opgelicht worden)
3. An official in charge of a government department or other organisation
Commissioner
The EU’s budget commissioner said the behaviour of member states had to change.
4. The legal right or duty to care for someone
Custody (voogdij)
The parents were given joint custody of the child.
5. Relating to the belief that wealth and power should be shared between all parts of
society
Left-wing
Her views are fairly left-wing.
6. Stellingen/steigers
Scaffolding
Scaffolding has been erected around the tower and repair work will start next week.
7. Constantly changing
In a state of flux
Measures to cope with Covid-19 have been in a state of flux.
8. Very serious, extreme
Dire
The people are in dire need of help.
9. Knelpunt
Pinch point
, A pinch point is a point in a process where there are difficulties and the process slows
down or stops.
10. Stating that something bad is a fact without giving proof
Alleging (beweren)
School districts are alleging the state has not continued to finance schools
adequately.
11. Values this good quality of his
Prides himself on
He prides himself on his loyalty to his friends.
12. Official action by a government to reduce the amount of money it spends
Austerity measures
The legislature tried to reduce the budget deficit with austerity measures that raised
the retirement age and cut pension benefits.
13. An accumulation of uncompleted work
Backlog (achterstand)
I’ve got a huge backlog of work to do.
14. To prevent something from happening
To stifle
15. Gezamenlijk vermogen
Shared assets
If you get a divorce, you’ll get half of you shared assets.
EXERCISE 2
Synonyms / meanings
1. Outstanding
Pending, unsettled
2. A wreck
Ruins
3. To resolve
To settle
4. Dispute
Argument
5. Remotely
Distantly
6. To undo
To reverse
7. Former
Previous
8. Fuzzy
Vague
,EXERCISE 3
Antonyms
Freezing
Sweltering (snikheet)
Generosity
Stinginess
Peaceful
Warring
To increase
To cut
EXERCISE 4
Translate into Dutch.
1. It has been a long time coming.
Het heeft lang geduurd.
2. Routine administration has not been in such a dire state for years.
Routinebeheer is in Jaren niet zo een slechte staat geweest.
3. The outside of the grand Victorian building is covered in scaffolding.
De buitenzijde van het indrukwekkende Victoriaanse gebouw staat in de steigers.
4. There is a large judicial backlog.
Er is een grote achterstand in de rechtspraak.
5. In the 1980s barristers were living the life of Riley.
In de Jaren 80 leidden advocaten een leven als God in Frankrijk.
6. The case burned through most of the couple’s shared assets.
Bijna al het gemeenschappelijk vermogen van het Koppel ging naar de rechtszaak.
, 1.2 Reading comprehension
In trouble with the law – Britain’s courts are in a mess
Covid-19 has made a bad situation much worse – The Economist Aug. 14 th 2021
At Snaresbrook crown court, in suburban east London, a trial is coming to an end. The
barristers, replete in gowns and wigs, have presented their cases; the jury watches as the
judge sums up the evidence. The defendant, a young man accused of raping a child, sits
impassively in the dock, his face covered by a mask.
Justice is being done. But it has been a long time coming. The alleged offences happened
several years ago. The case took over a year to investigate and the trial was then delayed five
month more by England’s covid-19 lockdown. It has only now reached a court. When the jury
leaves, the judge calls in a different set of barristers. They must decide whether a man
accused of burglary can be kept in prison for longer than would normally be legal, because of
a failure to find a slot for a trial in time.
Britain prides itself on its legal system. Its commercial courts are favoured by firms all over
the world for their efficiency and impartiality. But the routine administration of justice has
not been in such a dire state for decades. At the end of the fist quarter of 2021, there were
nearly 60,000 outstanding cases at crown courts, which deal with the most serious cases.
That is 45% more than a year previously, and the highest level ever recorded. At Snaresbrook,
even the grand Victorian building is a wreck. The outside is covered in scaffolding; the air
conditioning frequently fails, leaving everyone sweltering.
The family courts are in a similar state. Divorces where there is no dispute over money or
custody of children are being resolved online, often faster than before. Tougher cases are
not. The average time taken to resolve a private dispute involving children is a third greater
than a year ago, at 40 weeks. Financial disputes are barely seen at all. “Lots of warring
couples are in a state of flux”, says Aysen Soyer, a solicitor in north London. The courts
service reckons it could take until 2023 for the backlog to return to pre-pandemic levels.
Some of the blame lies with covid-19. Many hearings, particularly in civil cases, were moved
online. But in England and Wales, jury trials were not conducted remotely (in Scotland, which
has its own system, a few were). So while some justice was able to continue – cases with a
guilty plea, for example – a backlog quickly built up.
The bigger problem is that the virus burdened a system that was already under serious
strain. “There was nowhere to hide,” says Max Hardy, a criminal barrister. In 2019 spending
on the courts was 18% lower than it was in 2011; spending on the Crown Prosecution Service
(cps) was 32% lower. There is now little capacity to undo the backlog.
Legal aid, which pays most defence lawyers, is a particular pinch point. Rates were last
increased last century, and were cut by nearly 10% in 2014. “Maybe in the 1980s barristers
were living the life of Riley” says one at Snaresbrook. “Now, not so much.” He complains
about being stiffed for his work on a drugs trial, where a “lorryload” of cannabis went
unweighed, depriving him of a higher rate for a more serious offence. The number of legal-
