Vocabulary Exercises
Vocabulary Exercises
Some of the exercises have been adapted from the following handbooks, published by EJTN:
(1) English for Judicial Cooperation in Criminal Matters. Handbook. 2012/2015. ISBN:
9789081999045.
(2) Handbook. The Language of Cybercrime. 2017. ISBN: 9789081999090.
(3) Handbook. English for Human Rights’ EU Law. 2017. ISBN: 9789081999083.
1. Fill in the gaps with the appropriate term:
1. When you are representing a party in court you say that you are _________ a party.
2. When there’s more than one judge sitting together they sit _________________.
8. When a court does not support the decision of a lower court: _______________.
12. When it is someone’s responsibility to prove a case it is called the ________ of proof.
13. If someone is “accused” of three offences s/he is ____________ with those offences.
14. When a sentence is too “hard”, you say that it is too ______________________.
15. When a sentence is too “soft”, you say that it is too _______________________.
2. Multiple choice.
[Source: adapted from “Language training on the vocabulary of judicial cooperation in criminal matters”. EJTN, 2015]
1. They thought the defendant was responsible for the damage, but no one could ________
anything against him.
a) accuse b) talk c) prove d) charge
2. The new law ___________ into ___________ on June 15.
a) comes … condition b) comes … date c) enters … force d) enters … power
3. The lawyer gave me _________________________.
a) an advice b) some good advice c) some good advices d) good advicing
4. I ____________ to say anything unless I am allowed to speak to my solicitor.
a) deny b) neglect c) refuse d) resist
5. The judge will hand down the ________________ tomorrow.
a) penalty b) punishment c) judgment d) verdict
6. The police don’t have _______________ information about the suspect’s whereabouts.
a) no b) any c) some d) none
7. The man involved in the riot made a(n) _____________ to the police.
a) account b) notice c) statement d) summary
8. The victim ______________ the crime at the local police station.
a) denounced b) reported c) informed d) stated
9. The defendant was finally __________________ for murder.
a) charged b) condemned c) denounced d) convicted
10. Under the civil and criminal procedural codes, judges have to give a __________ judgment.
a) reasoned b) grounded c) justified d) based
11. The court may, _____________ or at the request of a party, issue an order.
a) of its own motion b) of its self motion c) on its own power d) of its authority
12. I solemnly declare that I shall give evidence to the best of my ____________ and belief.
a) wisdom b) capacity c) knowledge d) awareness
13. The defendant, while in __________________ , was interrogated by police officers.
a) custody b) retention c) protection d) imprisonment
14. The confession was admitted into evidence despite the ……………… of defence counsel.
a) protest b) objection c) complaint d) opposition
15. You have the right to remain ____ , and anything you say may be used against you in court.
a) mute b) dumb c) quiet d) silent
16. Everyone has the right to a _____ and public hearing by an independent and impartial court.
a) just b) fair c) correct d) equitable
17. Do the authorities know where ___________________?
a) does the claimant lives b) does the claimant live c) the claimant lives
3. Give the “plain English” equivalent for each of the following expressions and try
to pronounce them in English.
1. HABEAS CORPUS
2. PRIMA FACIE
3. RATIO DECIDENDI
4. AD LITEM
5. A PRIORI
6. AD HOC
7. ALIAS
8. ALIBI
9. DE FACTO
10. DE IURE
11. IN ABSENTIA
14. PER SE
5. Fill in the blanks with the correct option. Some of them are used more than
once.
an offence, the facts, the oath, the evidence, guilty, a verdict, a fine, an enquiry, a
case, sentence, evidence, an action, proceedings, a prison sentence, a crime
1) To try ______________________________________
2) To hear ______________________________________
3) To reach ______________________________________
4) To pass ______________________________________
5) To impose ______________________________________
6) To conduct ______________________________________
7) To assess ______________________________________
8) To bring ______________________________________
9) To institute ______________________________________
10) To punish ______________________________________
11) To commit ______________________________________
12) To plead ______________________________________
13) To give ______________________________________
14) To return ______________________________________
15) To serve ______________________________________
16) To take ______________________________________
6. Basic criminal vocabulary
Complete the following sentences with the verbs in italics (choose the appropriate
tense).
arrest, acquit, charge, find, interrogate, plead, quash, seize, sentence, try
d) Once at the police station, he was ________________ in the presence of counsel, but
refused to answer most of the questions.
f) The jury _____________ him guilty, although he had ______________ not guilty.
g) The judge who was __________ the case found the evidence presented by the
prosecution admissible.
h) The youth was __________ at his home, where computer equipment was _________
containing evidence of his illegally tampering with websites.
7. Match the names of offences to the corresponding definitions. The first one has
been done for you.
[Source: Language training on the vocabulary of judicial cooperation in criminal matters. EJTN, 2012]
3 Killing a public figure by sudden or secret attack for political, religious or any
other reason.
7 Intentionally and maliciously setting fire to property with the intent to cause
damage.
9 Entering an inhabited building where people live or work with the express
intention of stealing something.
14 To dishonestly withhold or make use of money or assets which you are looking
after for someone else.
1. Trade of humans, most commonly for the purpose of forced labour, sexual slavery, or
commercial sexual exploitation for the trafficker or others.
2. The use of intentionally indiscriminate violence as a means to create terror or fear, in order
to achieve a political, religious, or ideological aim.
3. Distributing and/or selling substances banned under drug prohibition laws.
4. A type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual
penetration carried out against a person without that person's consent.
5. Forging money; making fake replicas of money.
6. Obtaining money, property, or services from an individual or institution, through coercion.
7. Wounding (or causing serious physical harm) to a person with intent.
8. Selling human organs, tissues or other body parts for the purpose of transplantation.
9. Taking someone, usually by force, in order to compel another party to act, or refrain from
acting, in a particular way, often under threat of serious physical harm to the person(s) after
expiration of an ultimatum.
10. Getting money dishonestly from someone by deceiving or cheating that person.
11. Taking something of value by force, threat of force, using weapons.
12. In very general terms, illegally restricting someone’s liberty.
13. The intentional obstruction of an activity or deliberate destruction of property.
14. Transforming the money obtained from criminal activities into apparently legitimate assets.
15. Unlawfully taking a person away and holding him/her against their will, asking for a ransom
in return.
16. Aircraft or ship hijacking.
17. A form of dishonest or unethical conduct by a person entrusted with a position of authority,
often to acquire personal benefit.
9. Vamvakas vs. Greece
Press release
(Source: Handbook. English for Human Rights’ EU Law. 2017)
Reconcilable:
10. Fill in the gaps with the correct word form, using the clues given.
1) There is room for further …………………..…… (act) on the part of the European Union to
ensure full …………………..…… (implement) and respect of the Convention standards.
2) The …………………..…… (procedure) rights of suspected or accused persons are particularly
important in order to safeguard the right to a fair …………………..…… (try).
3) Whilst various measures have been taken at European Union level to guarantee a high
level of …………………..…… (safe) for citizens, there is an equal need to address specific
problems that can arise when a person is suspected or accused in criminal proceedings.
This calls for specific action on procedural rights, in order to ensure the …………………..……
(fair) of the criminal proceedings.
4) The 2004 Hague Programme states that further realization of mutual …………………..……
(recognise) as the cornerstone of judicial cooperation implies the …………………..……
(develop) of equivalent standards of procedural rights in criminal proceedings.
5) A lot of progress has been made in the area of judicial and police cooperation on measures
that facilitate …………………..…… (prosecute). It is now time to take action to improve the
balance between these measures and the …………………..…… (protect) of procedural rights
of the individual.
6) A suspected or accused person should receive …………………..…… (inform) about the nature
and cause of the …………………..…… (accuse) against him or her. A person who has been
charged should be entitled, at the appropriate time, to the information necessary for the
…………………..…… (prepare) of his or her ………….…… (defend).