Text 3. The Bodies of Government of the United Kingdom

Text 1. The Constitution of the Russian Federation

The Constitution of any state is the Supreme law of a State. The Constitution determines the nature of political authority and it sets up a strict division of powers into executive, legislative and judicial.

The constitution defines the composition and powers of organs of the State and regulates the relations of the various State organs to one another and to private citizens.

Five Constitutions were adopted in our country. The first Constitution was adopted in 1918. The second Constitution was adopted in 1924. It was the Constitution of the USSR. The third Constitution was adopted in 1936. The fourth Constitution was adopted in 1977. The last Russian Constitution was adopted on the 12^th of December 1993. It consists of 137 articles.

The national flag of Russia consists of 3 stripes: white, blue, red.

The Constitution proclaims democratic freedoms: freedom of speech, freedom of press, freedom of assembly. The Constitution guarantees all citizens of the Russian Federation equal rights.

According to this Constitution the citizens of Russia have the right to work, to rest, to education, to health protection, to housing, to maintenance in old age. All citizens have the right to elect and to be elected. As for the duties the citizens of Russia must observe all the laws. The sacred duty of every citizen is to defend his Motherland.

 

Text 2. The Higher Bodies of State Authority,

Administration and Justice in Russia

Russia is a democratic federative law-governed state with a republican form of government. The population of Russia is about 140 million people and the territory is 17 million square kilometers. The president is the head of the state. The president is elected every 4 years by the general direct equal vote. He must be a native born citizen, at least 35 years old, and a resident in the country for not less than 10 years. He is a commander-in-chief of the Russian Army.

There are three branches of state authority in Russia: the executive one, the legislative one, the judicial one.

The executive power belongs to the government which is headed by the Prime Minister. The Cabinet of Ministers is an executive body of state authority.

Legislative power is exercised by the Federal Assembly (the Parliament). It consists of two chambers. The Upper chamber is the Soviet of Federation. The Lower chamber is the State Duma. Members of the State Duma are elected every 4 years by the people. It consists of 450 members.

Judicial power belongs to the system of courts. The highest judicial body is the Supreme Court. The lowest judicial body is a district court. The Constitutional Court controls accordance of the laws with the Constitution of Russia. The laws are adopted by the President and the Federal Assembly.

There are many political parties in Russia. They are the Unified Russia, the Communist party, the Liberal Democratic party and some others.

The 12^th of June is celebrated as the Day of Russia.

 

Text 3. The Bodies of Government of the United Kingdom

Great Britain is a monarchy, but the Queen of Great Britain is not absolute but constitutional. Her powers are limited by Parliament. But the power is hereditary, and not elective. The bodies of government of the United Kingdom are legislature (the Queen and Parliament); executive body, judiciary.

The executive power belongs to the Cabinet which is headed by the Prime Minister. The executive bodies consist of 1) the Cabinet and other ministers of the Crown, who are responsible for directing national policy; 2) government departments, who are responsible for administration at the national level; 3) local authorities who administer and control many services at the local level; and 4) statutory boards, who are responsible for the operation of nationalized industries.

The Prime Minister is usually the leader of the party that has a majority in the House of Commons. Each new Prime Minister may take changes in the Size of his Cabinet and may create new ministries. The Prime Minister holds Cabinet meetings at his (her) house at number 10 Downing street.

The highest judicial body in the English judicial system is the House of Lords.

 

Text 4. Crime

 

A crime is a violation of law and punished by law. A crime is a socially dangerous act (or omission) directed against social and state system, the system of economy, property and other rights of citizens. Combating crime is one of the most important problems in our society nowadays. Quick and accurate solution of a crime depends on professional skills and abilities of a law enforcer.

Each crime consists of a number of individual elements. The sum total elements defining a crime is known as the corpus delicti of a crime. The corpus delicti in any act is ground for establishing criminal responsibility against the offender. Each crime has an immediate object. Thus murder has as its immediate object human life; theft - state, collective or personal property;hooliganism - public law and order etc.

The subject of a crime is a person who commits the crime and is responsible for it.

Crimes may be classified in a number of ways. Crimes are classified as

1) crimes against person; 2) crimes against property; 3) crimes against the State.

Crimes against person include, murder, manslaughter, assault, homicide, rape, mugging, kidnapping,

Crimes against property consist of theft, shop-lifting, larceny, burglary, robbery, extortion, property destruction, property damage, arson.

Crimes against the State include treason (betrayal), vandalism, hijacking, terrorism, spying, smuggling. New kinds of crimes appear in our society. They are forgery of banknotes, drug trafficking, computer-related crimes, misapplication of funds, tax fraud, illegal enterprise.

Text 5. Militia

Militia is the organization which is responsible for the safety of the public.

The Russian Militia was founded on the 10th of November, 1917. Its tasks are: to maintain public order; to combat, investigate and prevent crime; to protect personal safety of citizens; to protect state, public, municipal, private and other forms of property; to regulate traffic, etc.

The Militia is now divided into the Criminal Militia and the Service of Public Security.

When the information about a crime committed is got, an operative group goes out to the crime scene. The group usually consists of an inspector on duty, an investigator, a field-criminalist, a medical expert and a bobby-handler.

At the crime scene the members of the group find, collect and protect evidence (fingerprints, footprints and other traces of the criminal act) by means of investigative technique. They take pictures of the crime scene, make diagrams, etc. They try to reconstruct the happening as to "what, when, how, why and who".

Text 6. Unemployment

 

We say that unemployment exists where people capable and willing to work are unable to find suitable paid employment. But where an economy is adapting to changing conditions, there will always be some persons unemployed as they change jobs or as seasonal work come to an end.

Unemployment may occur for many different reasons. There will always be some people changing jobs. In certain occupations, e.g. unskilled labor in the construction industry, workers are not employed regularly by one employer. When a contract is completed labor is not required. Occasionally workers are discharged when a factory is being reorganized.

Unemployed workers usually register at the local employment exchange from which employers can hire them. The unemployed are paid certain benefits.

Employment in some industries, e.g. building, fruit picking is seasonal in character.

Unemployment may also be caused by important changes in the structure of consumer demand and in technology. As a result some workers find that their skills and experience are unwanted by these changes.