INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE

GLOSSARY

1. to arbitrate the dispute– розглядати суперечку в арбітражному порядку

2. to pass judgment –виносити судове рішення

3. compulsory jurisdiction –обов’язкова юрисдикція

4. on condition of reciprocity –на умовах взаємності

5. deliver a verdict –виносити вирок/ виголошувати вердикт

6. maritime boundary –морський кордон

7. right of asylum –право на притулок

8. bilateral/multilateral treaty –двосторонній/багатосторонній договір

9. enforcement –забезпечення виконання

10. counterclaim/counteraction –зустрічний позов

11. party to a case –сторона у судовому процесі

12. incumbent –покладений

13. perpetrator –правопорушник

14. embezzlement –розтрата, привласнення чужого майна

15. conspiracy –злочинна змова

16. obstruction of justice -перешкоджання здійсненню правосуддя

17. perjury – хибне свідчення

18. money laundering – відмивання грошей

19. price collusion – цінова змова, домовленість про підтримання єдиного рівня цін

20. bogus entity– фіктивна юридична особа

21. to incarcerate – ув’язнювати, позбавляти волі

22. criminal liability– кримінальна відповідальність

23. defendant – відповідач, підзахисний

24. to perpetrate a fraud – піти на шахрайство, піти на обман

25. purveyor– постачальник

26. counterfeit currency –фальшива валюта

27. witness tampering – вчинення тиску на свідків

28. extortion – вимагання хабара

29. criminal intent – злочинний намір

30. to be subject to administrative penalty– нести адміністративну відповідальність

31. conciliation– примирення

32. legal resolution– правове вирішення справи

33. judicial backing– правова/судова підтримка

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INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE

The International Court of Justice (ICJ)is the principal judicial organ of the United Nations (UN). The idea for the creation of an international court to arbitrate international disputes first arose during the various conferences that produced the Hague Conventions in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The body subsequently established, the Permanent Court of Arbitration, was the precursor of the Permanent Court of International Justice (PCIJ), which was established by the League of Nations. From 1921 to 1939 the PCIJ issued more than 30 decisions and delivered nearly as many advisory opinions, though none were related to the issues that threatened to engulf Europe in a second world war in 20 years. The ICJ was established in 1945 by the San Francisco Conference, which also created the UN. All members of the UN are parties to the statute of the ICJ, and nonmembers may also become parties. The court’s inaugural sitting was in 1946.

The ICJ is a continuing and autonomous body that is permanently in session. It consists of 15 judges—no two of whom may be nationals of the same state—who are elected to nine-year terms by majority votes in the UN General Assembly and the Security Council. The judges, one-third of whom are elected every three years, are eligible for reelection. The judges elect their own president and vice president, each of whom serves a three-year term, and can appoint administrative personnel as necessary.

The seat of the ICJ is at The Hague, but sessions may be held elsewhere when the court considers it desirable to do so. The official languages of the court are French and English.

The court’s primary function is to pass judgment upon disputes between sovereign states. Only states may be parties in cases before the court, and no state can be sued before the World Court unless it consents to such an action. Under article 36 of the court’s statute, any state may consent to the court’s compulsory jurisdiction in advance by filing a declaration to that effect with the UN secretary-general, and by 2000 more than 60 countries had issued such a declaration. The declaration (the “optional clause”) may be made unconditionally, or it may be made on condition of reciprocity on the part of other states or for a certain time. In proceedings before the court, written and oral arguments are presented, and the court may hear witnesses and appoint commissions of experts to make investigations and reports when necessary.

Cases before the ICJ are resolved in one of three ways: (1) they can be settled by the parties at any time during the proceedings; (2) a state can discontinue the proceedings and withdraw at any point; or (3) the court can deliver a verdict. The ICJ decides disputes in accordance with international law as reflected in international conventions, international custom, general principles of law recognized by civilized nations, judicial decisions, and writings of the most highly qualified experts on international law. Although the judges deliberate in secret, their verdicts - rendered in both English and French - are delivered in open court. Any judge who does not agree in whole or in part with the court’s decision may file a separate opinion, and few decisions represent the unanimous opinion of the judges. The court’s judgment is final and without appeal.

The court’s decisions, numbering approximately 70 from 1946 to 2000, are binding on the parties and have been concerned with issues such as land and maritime boundaries, territorial sovereignty, diplomatic relations, the right of asylum, nationality, and economic rights. The ICJ is also empowered to give advisory opinions on legal questions at the request of other organs of the UN and its specialized agencies when authorized to do so by the General Assembly. Although advisory opinions—numbering about 25 over its first 50 years—are not binding and are only consultative, they are considered important. They have been concerned with issues such as admission to the UN, the expenses of UN operations, and the territorial status of South West Africa (Namibia) and Western Sahara. The court may also be granted jurisdiction over certain cases by treaty or convention. By the late 1990s approximately 400 bilateral and multilateral treaties deposited at the UN conferred compulsory jurisdiction to the ICJ.

The court itself has no powers of enforcement, but according to article 94 of the Charter of the United Nations: If any party to a case fails to perform the obligations incumbent upon it under a judgment rendered by the Court, the other party may have recourse to the Security Council, which may, if it deems necessary, make recommendations or decide upon measures to be taken to give effect to the judgment.

 

WHITE-COLLAR CRIME

White-collar crime is a crime committed by persons who, often by virtue of their occupations, exploit social, economic, or technological power for personal or corporate gain. The term, coined in 1949 by the American criminologist Edwin Sutherland, drew attention to the typical attire of the perpetrators, who were generally businesspeople, high-ranking professionals, and politicians. Since Sutherland’s time, however, such crimes have ceased to be the exclusive domain of these groups. Moreover, developments in commerce and technology have broadened the scope of white-collar crime to include cybercrime (computer crime), health-care fraud, and intellectual property crimes, in addition to more-traditional crimes involving bribery, embezzlement, conspiracy, obstruction of justice, perjury, money laundering, antitrust violations, tax crimes, and regulatory violations.

Specific examples of activities that constitute white-collar crimes include price collusion (conspiring with other corporations to fix the prices of goods or services as a means of obtaining artificially high profits or driving a competitor out of the market), falsifying reports of tests on pharmaceutical products to obtain manufacturing licenses, and substituting cheap, defective materials for costlier components specified in the construction of roads or buildings but charging the customer for the full cost of the specified materials. At times such activities can be attributed to individual employees or executives acting on their own initiative, but it is often the case that they represent a collective and organized effort by a corporation to increase its profits at any cost.

White-collar crime that is part of a collective and organized effort to serve the economic interests of a corporation is known as corporate crime. In some cases corporate crimes are conducted by bogus entities that pose as legal corporations or partnerships. Although corporations cannot be incarcerated, they can be criminally punished with fines and other sanctions. Criminal liability in these cases is based on the acts or omissions of the company’s employees and executives.

Although white-collar crimes are quite varied, most have several characteristics in common. First, they involve the use of deceit and concealment, rather than the application of force or violence, for the illegitimate gain of money, property, or services. A defendant convicted of making false statements in order to obtain a government contract, for example, is considered a white-collar criminal.

Next, white-collar crimes typically involve abuse of positions of trust and power. Public officials who solicit and accept bribes, or corporate officers who fix prices to drive competitors out of business, are engaging in such abuse of their positions. White-collar crime is also often more difficult to detect than other types of crime, in part because losses may not be immediately apparent to victims but also because the crimes can involve sophisticated schemes and cover-ups. Many white-collar crimes require concerted criminal activity by coconspirators. For example, a case of real-estate fraudmay involve the knowing participation of an escrow officer, a buyer, an appraiser, and a bank officer, all of whom were willing to sign false documents to perpetrate a fraud for personal gain.

Fraud, the most common type of white-collar crime, involves obtaining money or services by making false representations or promises. The key question in these cases is ordinarily whether the defendant intended to deceive the victims or merely failed in an honest business venture. One of the most common types of fraud involves telemarketing schemes that misrepresent the value, the terms of sale, or the use of the goods or services being sold.

Perjury, obstruction of justice, false statements, and witness tampering are also considered white-collar crimes. Although the goal is not necessarily to obtain money or services, these crimes are illegal because they interfere with the proper functioning of the justice system. Bribery and extortion are more general, in that they constitute illegal means of influencing persons in power in public or private institutions. Bribery involves the giving of something of value in exchange for an official’s exercise of power. Extortion is a threat made to obtain a benefit from either a public official or a private individual. Money laundering is a relatively new type of white-collar crime that is utilized by criminals wishing to conceal profits gained through illegal activities. Drug dealers and purveyors of counterfeit goods and currencies will create money-laundering schemes to hide the source of their earnings.

A wide variety of regulatory offenses are also considered to be white-collar crimes. These may include violation of tax laws, avoidance of currency-reporting requirements, securities violations, and environmental crimes. In addition to criminal punishment, those convicted of regulatory violations may also be subject to civil and administrative penalties. Such violations, unlike common-law crimes, may not require any criminal intent by the defendant. Instead, they may be seen as “strict liability” crimes for which mere failure to comply with the legal standards is sufficient grounds to establish criminal liability.

 

 

GLOSSARY

1. amendment –поправка

2. to apply sanctions –застосовувати санкції

3. to abstain –утримуватись

4. to impair –послаблювати, погіршувати, порушути

5. validity –юридична чинність

6. headquarters –штаб-квартира

7. peacekeeping forces –миротворчі сили

8. warring party –воююча сторона

9. breach of the peace –порушення миру

10. ad hoc committee –спеціальний комітет

11. legitimacy – легітимність

12. to deploy – розгортати, розміщати (війська)

13. transition– перехід

14. impartiality – неупередженість, справедливість

15. civilian – цивільна особа

16. disarmament – роззброєння

17. combatant – учасник бойових дій

18. mediation – посередництво, медіація

19. peace enforcement – забезпечення миру шляхом військового втручання

20. to reinforce – зміцнювати

21. to jeopardize– наражати на небезпеку

22. piecemeal – фрагментарно

23. to recur – повторюватись, відбуватись знову

24. to escalate – загострюватись (конфлікт, стосунки)

25. preventive deployment – превентивне розміщення військ

26. hostile party – ворожа сторона

27. to inhibit– перешкоджати, забороняти

28. coercive measures – міри примусу

29. national capacity– виробничі можливості держави

30. ceasefire agreement – угода про припинення бойових дій

31. insurrection– повстання

32. guerrilla warfare– партизанська війна

33. to subjugate– підкорити/поневолити