Examen Engleza

EU LAW
V/103. Which institution is it? Choose between: the European Commission, the European Council, the
European Parliament, the European Court of Justice, the European Central Bank, the Council of
Ministers.

a) it is the executive body of the EU, staffed by European civil servants, located in Brussels, and
headed by a President and College of Commissioners appointed by the Member States with the
consent of the European Parliament; it is responsible for implementing and enforcing European
law; it also exercises legislative powers (the European Commission)
b) it is responsible for the launch of the Euro and European monetary policy (the European Central
Bank)
c) it is the judicial institution of the EU; its job is to monitor the even interpretation of European
law across the Union (the European Court of Justice)
d) it is the only directly elected body in the European Union and the only elected international
assembly in the world (the European Parliament)
e) it is one of the EU’s most powerful institutions and its primary decision-making body (the
Council of Ministers)
f) it began as an occasional series of informal fireside chats among the member states’ heads of
state and government; over the years it climbed to the top of the EU’s decision-making
hierarchy and is now a major agenda-setter (the European Council)

VI. The text below summarizes the main stages in the process of European integration. On the basis of
this information, complete the table below by putting a cross in the corresponding box. – Translate

“Economic integration in Europe1 has proceeded through a number of steps and stages. […] In a free
trade area (FTA) goods travel freely among member states, but these states retain the authority to
establish their own external trade policy (tariffs, quotas, and non-tariff barriers) towards third countries.
By allowing free access to each other’s markets and discriminating favourably towards them, a free
trade area stimulates internal trade and lower consumer costs. […] A customs union requires more
economical and political cooperation than an FTA. In addition to ensuring free trade among its
members, a customs union has a common external tariff and quota system, and a common commercial
policy. No member of a customs union may have a separate preferential trading relationship with a third
country or group of third countries. A supranational institutional framework is required to ensure its
functioning. Customs unions generally create more internal trade and divert more external trade than
do free trade areas. […] A common market represents a further step in economic integration by
providing for the free movement of services, capital, and labour in addition to the free movement of
goods. […] An economic and monetary union (EMU) is far more ambitious. It includes a single currency
and the unification of monetary and fiscal policy. In the EU, plans to introduce EMU, outlined in the
Maastricht Treaty, were successfully implemented in January 1999, with euro notes and coins circulating
by January 2002. No other region in modern times has come close to this level of economic
cooperation.”
X. Fill in the blanks with one of the adverbs from the list below taking into consideration their synonyms
given in brackets at the end of the sentence: approximately, profoundly, purely, politically,
spectacularly, painfully, confusingly, severely, paradoxically, increasingly

1. The treaties designated to the Commission profoundly important tasks. (very)

2. The Commission’s power is exercised most spectacularly in competition policy. (evidently, obviously)

3. The Commission as a term is rather confusingly used to refer to two separate facets of this body: the
College of Commissioners and the bureaucracy. (difficult to understand)

4. The spirit of collegiality was severely tested in March 1999 when the Commission, under President
Santer, was forced to resign en masse following some serious criticism of individual Commissioners. (in a
critical manner)

5. The allocation of portfolios can be politically charged as member states seek to gain control over
portfolios which are important to their state’s particular national interests. (related to politics)

6. Alone or increasingly with the Parliament, the Council of Ministers decides which EU legislation is
adopted, and in what form. (more and more)

7. Approximately15.000 administrators are employed in the administrative Commission. (almost)

8. The most recent change to this voting system, painfully agreed at the Nice European Council in 2000,
made the QMV voting system far more complex. (in a very difficult manner)

9. The bottom line is that a qualified majority is now paradoxically more difficult to achieve. (curiously)

10. Given their core function – representing member states’ interests in the decision-making process – it
would be easy to conclude that the Council of Ministers and Coreper are purely intergovernmental
bodies, interested primarily in protecting national sovereignty and halting attempts for further
integration. (solely, only)

XI. Which is the Romanian equivalent of the following phrases?

- the three pillars of the EU - cei trei piloni ai UE

- enlargement of the EU – extinderea Uniunii Europene

- the single currency – moneda unică

- entry date – data aderării la UE

- the accession negotiations – negocierile în vederea aderării la UE

- European law – drept European

 INTERNATIONAL LAW
TRANSLATE
Article 38. 1. The Court, whose function is to decide in accordance with international law such
disputes as are submitted to it, shall apply:

(a) international conventions, whether general or particular, establishing rules expressly

recognized by the contesting states;

(b) international custom, as evidence of a general practice accepted as law;

(c) the general principles of law recognized by civilized nations;

(d) subject to the provisions of Article 59, judicial decisions and the teaching of the most
highly qualified publicists of the various nations, as subsidiary means for the determination of rules of
law.

2. This provision shall not prejudice the power of the Court to decide a case ex aequo et
bono, if the parties agree thereto. (…)
Ex. VI Work with a colleague and find out….

IBRD = International Bank for Reconstruction and Development

HRC = (United Nations) Human Rights Committee (= a United Nations body of 18 experts that meets
three times a year for four-week sessions)

EEC = European Economic Community

ECSC = European Coal and Steel Community 3

ICJ = International Court of Justice ICC = International Criminal Court

IMF = International Monetary Fund ILO = International Labour Organization

NATO = The North Atlantic Treaty Organization

UN = The United Nations

ICTY = The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia

UNESCO = The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization

Ex. VII Write one acronym in each gap…

NATO, ICC, ECSC, IBRD, EEC, UN, IM, UNESCO, HRC, ICTY

o The NATO is an international organisation for collective security established in 1949, in

support of the North Atlantic Treaty signed in Washington, DC, on 4 April 1949.
o The ICC was established in 2002 as a permanent tribunal to prosecute individuals for
genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes, as defined by several international
agreements.
o The EESC represented the fulfillment of a plan developed by a French economist Jean
Monnet and publicized by the French foreign minister Robert Schuman.
o The IBRD is an international organization whose original mission was to finance the
reconstruction of nations devastated by WWII.
o The European Community was originally founded on March 25, 1957 by the signing of
the Treaty of Rome under the name of EEC .
o The UN was founded after the end of World War II, in 1945, by the victorious allied
powers with the hope that it would act to prevent and intervene in conflicts between
nations and make future wars impossible or limited.
o The IMF is an international organization that oversees the global financial system by
monitoring exchange rates and balance of payments, as well as offering technical and
financial assistance when asked.
o UNESCO’s purpose is to contribute to peace and security by promoting international
collaboration through education, science, and culture in order to further universal respect
for justice, the rule of law, and the human rights and fundamental freedoms proclaimed in
the UN Charter.
o The HRC is a group of 18 experts who meet three times a year to consider the five-yearly
reports submitted by United Nations member states on their compliance with the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
o The ICTY has jurisdiction over certain types of crime committed on the territory of the
former Yugoslavia since 1991: grave breaches of the 1949 Geneva Conventions,
violations of the laws or customs of war, genocide, and crime against humanity.
FAMILY LAW
II. 1. Do you know these Latin tags: caveat, ex parte, in camera, nisi, prima facie, et seq, pro rata, sine
die? Work with a colleague and try to provide as many answers as you can.

Caveat (emptor) - Latin for "let the buyer beware." A doctrine that often places on buyers the burden to
reasonably examine property before purchase and take responsibility for its condition.

Ex parte is Latin for 'from one party.' In the law, ex parte is used in several contexts. In legal ethics, ex
parte refers to improper contact with a party or a judge. Ethical rules typically forbid a lawyer from
contacting the judge or the opposing party without the other party's lawyer also being present. A breach
of these rules is referred to as improper ex parte contact. In civil procedure, ex parte is used to refer to
motions for orders that can be granted without waiting for a response from the other side. Generally,
these are orders that are only in place until further hearings can be held, such as a temporary restraining
order. Typically, a court will be hesitant to make an ex parte motion, because such motions - due to their
exclusion of one party -risk violating the excluded party's right to due process.

Nisi - a court order coming into effect on a specified date unless cause is shown within a certain period
why it should not. This word is frequently used in legal proceedings to denote that something has been
done, which is to be valid unless something else shall be done within a certain time to defeat it. Prima
facie - Latin for "at first sight."

Prima facie may be used as an adjective meaning "sufficient to establish a fact or raise a presumption
unless disproved or rebutted" – for example, "prima facie evidence" It may also be used as an adverb
meaning "on first appearance but subject to further evidence or information" – for example, "prima
facie valid." A prima facie case is a cause of action or defense that is sufficiently established by a party's
evidence to justify a verdict in his or her favor, provided such evidence is not rebutted by the other
party.

Et seq. - (used in page references) And what follows, and following, and in the following [pages,
sections, &c.]. Indicates at least one following page, section…

In camera - A Latin term literally meaning "in chambers" but carrying the meaning "in private". This
refers to portions of a case that are held in private before a judge. The press and the public are not
allowed to take part.
Pro rata – (from Latin for "in proportion") refers to a share to be received or an amount to be paid based
on the fractional share of ownership, responsibility, or time used.

Sine die - [Latin, without day.] Without day; without assigning a day for a further meeting or hearing. A
legislative body adjourns sine die when it adjourns without appointing a day on which to appear or
assemble again

TRANSLATE

The Concepts of Family and Family Law

The concept of the family is at once very easy and very difficult to define. It is easy in the sense that
most people would be able to give a list of those whom they personally regard as ‘family’. But this is also
what makes it so difficult to find a comprehensive definition.

Should family status be determined by marriage, by blood ties, by self-definition or by function?

Establishing a coherent picture of the family for the purpose of family law is quite a difficult task. For
many years, family law was largely concerned with the status of marriage and the consequences of
marital breakdown, leaving aside other equally important issues. Over the past 25 years, the law has
begun to treat cohabitants in the same way as married couples, although developments have proceeded
in a somewhat piecemeal fashion. The present position can perhaps be best summarised by saying that
(heterosexual) cohabitants are treated in the same way as married couples for certain purposes, given
different rights in other contexts and ignored the rest of the time.

A good question to consider is: what do we actually mean by ‘family law’? In answering it, we must take
into account that there is no single legal concept of the family, but rather a set of shifting ideas about
family relationships and about the rights they entail. Thus, a possible definition of family law might be
that it defines family statuses – e.g. through marriage or parenthood or adoption – and stipulates when
the law may intervene to protect family members.

Marriage and Divorce

While the boundaries between marriage and cohabitation are becoming increasingly blurred, both
socially and legally, the institution of marriage remains important. Marriage is a passport to certain
rights that are not extended to cohabiting couples. In addition, marriage can be distinguished from
cohabitation in that entry into, and exit from marriage are regulated by the state. The law defines who
may or not marry and prescribes the form that a ceremony must take in order to create a valid
marriage. Spouses who wish to bring their marriage to an end must also satisfy certain grounds and
formalities.

According to the definition of marriage proffered in Hyde v. Hyde (1866) and still recited at the start of
civil ceremonies, marriage is ‘the voluntary union for life of one man and one woman to the exclusion of
all others’. At a time when it is predicted that one in three marriages will end in divorce, this has the
quality of an aspiration rather than a definition. More importantly, it fails to identify the central legal
difference between married and cohabiting couples, namely that the former have gone through a valid
ceremony of marriage and the latter have not.

In order for a ceremony of marriage to be valid, the parties must have the capacity to marry and comply
with the necessary formalities. This may sound simple enough, but there are a number of difficult social
and moral issues that the law has had to resolve. What exactly do we mean by a ‘man’ and a ‘woman’?
Is a 15-year-old able to marry? Should polygamous marriages be accepted? Should the law require
marriages to be celebrated in a standard form, or should it allow the parties to choose where and how
they marry?

Although virtually all legal systems do have ground rules governing such matters, the content of those
rules differs greatly from country to country, and over time. For example, before 1753 a valid marriage
could be created by a couple agreeing between themselves that they were married. This sufficed to
create what is called a ‘common law marriage’, although the couple might be censured by the
ecclesiastical courts for failing to have the marriage celebrated in church. Living together without
exchanging consent to marry did not create a valid marriage and offenders might be punished for
fornication by the ecclesiastical courts by being forced to do penance before the congregation, dressed
in a white sheet. This of course raised the question as to what the effect of failing to comply with the
formalities should be, an issue which is still current today.

Marriage Formalities. Preliminaries to Marriage

Two aspects need to be considered at this point: first, the requirement that parental consent be
obtained if either party is of marriageable age but under eighteen; secondly, the requirement for
advance publicity to be given to the parties’ intention to marry.

(a) Parental consent

Parental consent is, in theory, required for the marriage of those who have passed their sixteenth
birthday but have not attained the age of eighteen, although the absence does not render the marriage
void. However, the parties may be liable to prosecution for making a false statement. The court can also
override a refusal to give the necessary consent.

A parent with parental responsibility or the child’s guardian may give consent. If the child is in local
authority care, the local authority’s consent is also required.

VOCABULARY FROM FAMILY LAW