Материал: Гольцева О.Ю. Международное право в официальных документах. Под ред. И.А. Горшеневой

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Exercise 9. Complete these sentences.

1.International law is the system of ________________

2.International law differs from other legal systems in __

3.The term "International Law" can refer to three distinct legal disciplines ______________________________

4.The two traditional branches of International law are __

5.Public International law concerns ________________

6.Private international law is concerned with _________

7.Norms of international law have their source in _____

8.Branches of public international law are ___________

Exercise 10. Guess which branches of public international law these issues refer to.

1.the area of international law that governs permanent and temporary diplomatic missions. Its fundamental concept is that of diplomatic immunity, the inviolability of the diplomatic mission and its grounds, and the security of diplomatic correspondence and diplomatic bags.

2.includes the appropriate rules and customs for handling trade between countries or between private companies across borders.

3.operates to regulate the interaction of humanity and the rest of the biophysical or natural environment, toward the purpose of reducing the impacts of human activity, both on the natural environment and on humanity itself.

4.the branch of law which deals with international crimes and the courts and tribunals set up to adjudicate cases in which persons have incurred international criminal responsibility.

5.the body of International Law designed to promote & protect human rights at the international, regional and domestic levels.

6.often referred to as the laws of war, the laws and customs of war or the law of armed conflict. It defines the conduct and responsibilities of belligerent nations, neutral nations and individuals engaged in warfare, in relation to each other and to protected persons, usually meaning civilians.

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7.the area of the law that encompasses national and international law governing activities in outer space.

8.the branch of law that concerns flight, air travel.

9.defines the rights and responsibilities of nations in their use of the world's oceans, establishing guidelines for businesses, the environment, and the management of marine natural resources.

10.the principles governing when and how a state is held responsible for a breach of an international obligation.

Exercise 11. Answer these questions.

1.What is international law? What does it concern?

2.What does Public International law concern?

3.What questions does Private International law address?

4.What is the difference between Public International law, Private International law and Supranational law?

5.Why has Public international law recently increased in use?

6.What do the norms of international law have their source in?

7.Why shouldn’t Public international law be confused with private international law?

8.Which branch of public international law seems the most interesting for you? Why?

Exercise 12. Study the text and give the answers to the questions below. Debate these questions.

1.Why has the number of people entering the legal profession been increasing?

2.May an English lawyer work in France?

3.What cases are foreign lawyers not allowed to work on in Japan?

4.What is a major barrier to the internationalization of the legal profession?

5.Why are the barriers breaking down these days?

6.Would you like to work for a foreign law firm? Why or why not?

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Internationalizing legal systems

Increasing globalization has provided a great deal of work for lawyers. The number of Europeans entering the legal profession has been increasing, but the demand for lawyers has increased even faster, especially for those who can speak another language. However, although the movement of workforce among European countries has increased a great deal, there are still many restrictions upon the legal profession. An English lawyer, for example, may work in France under the title of "solicitor," but he may not do the same work as a French "conseil juridique" unless he passes French law examinations.

The internationalization of the Japanese legal system has even further to go. Foreign lawyers maybe employed in Japanese law companies, but they are not allowed to work on cases that involve Japanese laws, or to run law firms in partnership with Japanese lawyers. It seems there is nothing to stop them from taking the Japanese law examinations, but these are almost impossible to pass for anyone who is not a native speaker of Japanese.

Differences among legal systems seem to be a major barrier to the internationalization of the legal profession. Nevertheless such barriers are breaking down. International business requires contracts that are internationally valid and lawyers who can argue cases in the courts of different countries. The number of international tort cases is increasing. For example in 1981, workers injured in an American-owned Union Carbide factory in Bhopal, India, took their case to the United States. Individuals take legal action to force their government to obey international agreements, and every year such agreements increase. The 1990s have seen old states disappear (for example, the Soviet Union) and new ones appear (Slovenia). At the same time, civil wars, refugee crises and environmental disasters are demonstrating the need for more laws across frontiers.

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OVER TO YOU

What, in your opinion, is the international problem which would most benefit from greater internationalization of the law? Give your reasons, discuss it with other students.

Exercise 13. Study the following information and list three growing areas of international law.

Since the UN is not a world government but a conference of the world's existing national governments, the limitations of international law become clear whenever there is a dispute between a nation and an ethnic group within its borders. Without a national government, the Tibetans (ruled by China and the Kurds (spread across Iraq, Turkey and Syria) face enormous difficulties in publicizing their social and economic problems.

The increasing tendency of states in Eastern Europe and the Caucasus to fragment into ethnic factions suggests that there will never be enough nations to represent all the citizens of the world. The concept of world citizens directly electing a world government still seems remote. But there are signs that the fundamental rights of national governments are being questioned. In September 1992 the UN made history by expelling a member state – Yugoslavia.

While movement toward an international government continues to be slow, international law is developing rapidly in the form of limited practical agreements to facilitate trade and protect the environment. More and more people are affected by activities in areas that are not under the exclusive control of any one nation. Pilots and air traffic controllers work within guidelines laid down by the 1944 Chicago Convention, when traffic was only a fraction of its present volume. Homeowners can turn to the 1972 Convention on International Liability for Damage Caused by Space Objects when space debris falls on their property (as happened to Canadians in 1979). Even Antarctica and outer

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space are subject to several pieces of legislation to prevent them from becoming as dirty and dangerous as the rest of the world.

International law grows, but not fast enough. Conventions on Environmental Protection have managed to emphasize not only the seriousness of the problems but the political and economic difficulties of doing anything about them. The 1982 Law of the Sea builds upon some of the oldest international law in the world, covering such matters as rights of passage through straits, deep-sea mining, the rights of landlocked states, piracy and collisions. But the number of disputes, hijackings and accidents gets more, not less.

The future of law, the "necessary evil", seems to be one of inevitable expansion.

Exercise 14. Suggest the Russian equivalents for these word combinations.

an ethnic group, to face enormous difficulties, to fragment into factions, to seem remote, to expel a member state, to facilitate trade, to work within guidelines, space debris, outer space, passage through straits, deep-sea mining, landlocked states, inevitable expansion.

Exercise 15. Debate these questions.

1.Is the UN is a world government? What is the difference between them in your opinion?

2.In what cases do the limitations of international law become especially clear?

3.What do ethnic groups face enormous difficulties in?

4.Are there enough nations to represent all the citizens of the world? Why or why not?

5.What fundamental rights of national governments do you think are being questioned?

6.Why was Yugoslavia expelled from the UN?

7.What form is international law developing in nowadays?