BBC news

from BBC Wednesday, 16 January 2008

Italian justice minister resigns

Mr Mastella wants to be "more free" personally and politically Italy's Justice Minister Clemente Mastella has said he is stepping down after his wife was put under house arrest over a corruption scandal.
"I am throwing in the towel," he told the Italian parliament.
His wife, Sandra Lonardo, who leads the council in Italy's Campania region, said she had done nothing wrong.
Mr Mastella said the inquiry was part of a witchhunt against him. It has emerged in a court document that he, too, is under investigation.
'Clear conscience'
Prosecutors are looking into allegations of a corrupt hospital appointment at a state hospital in Caserta near Naples.
I think this is the bitter price my husband and I are paying for our defence of Catholic values
Sandra LonardoClemente Mastella's wife
Neither Mr Mastella nor his party have commented on his own involvement in the inquiry.
Ms Lonardo said she had a "clear conscience" and was quoted as saying that her family was the victim of a campaign.
"I think this is the bitter price my husband and I are paying for our defence of Catholic values," she said.
Mr Mastella's party of Catholic Christian Democrats is a small but important part of Romano Prodi's centre-left government.
Its three seats in the Senate give the prime minister a wafer-thin majority in the upper house, and the party has said it will continue to support him.
In his resignation speech, Mr Mastella said "between the love of my family and power I choose the former".
He said he wanted to be "more free from a political and personal point of view".
In a statement, Prime Minister Prodi said he rejected his justice minister's resignation.
Electoral reform
Mr Mastella had already threatened to resign over possible changes to Italy's electoral law.
The country's constitutional court gave the go-ahead on Wednesday for a referendum on raising the threshold for political parties to enter parliament.
Mr Mastella's party would be one of a number in the coalition which could lose out if the referendum went ahead.
The BBC's David Willey in Rome says that "what started as a small local scandal near Naples could end up forcing the government to resign".

Students' task
- look up for the Italian translation for those words in Italics

Risultati esami

Per informazioni risultati esami appello lingua inglese 16.01.08

Risultati esami

Per informazioni sui risultati appello lingua inglese 19.01.07

Some suggestions

Another way to practise your listening skills is to visit

http://www.legaltalknetwork.com/index.php and download whichever topic you might find interesting.

Have fun!

My favourite is Lawyer2lawyer.

Course Feedback

Graditi leggere vs commenti sul corso

in particolare sull'iniziativa blog e il testo adottato "International Legal English"

Grazie!

Homowork Lesson 17

From ILE text book

Language Focus revision Unit 1 to Unit 10

Lesson 17

01/12/07 Lesson 17
From ILE text book:
p. 143 Listening 2: Buying a house in Spain ex 24-26

p. 144 Reference email

pp. 146-147 Language Focus ex. 146-147

Language notes to buying a house in Italy

red tape = nastro rosso; burocrazia pedanteria burocratica lungaggine burocratica
C18: so named because of the red or pink tape used to bind official documents.
from the red tape formerly used to bind legal documents in England


GAZUMPING = VENDENDO UNA CASA AL MAGGIOR OFFERENTE. IMBROGLIANDO. DELUDENDO
The verb "gazump" means to refuse to formalise a sale agreement at the last minute in order to accept a higher offer. The word is thought to have come from the Yiddish word gazumph meaning to swindle or overcharge, which became gangster slang in the 1920s.
With buoyant property prices in the British residential property market of the late 1980s and early 1990s, gazumping became commonplace in England and Wales because a buyer's offer is not legally binding even after acceptance of the offer by the vendor.
When the owner accepts the offer on a property, the buyer will usually not yet have commissioned a building survey nor will the buyer have yet had the opportunity to perform recommended legal checks. The offer to purchase is made "subject to contract" and thus, until written contracts are exchanged either party can pull out at any time. It can take as long as 10-12 weeks for formalities to be completed, and if the seller is tempted by a higher offer during this period it leaves the buyer disappointed and out-of-pocket.

Cog = tecn. (tooth) dente m. (di ingranaggio); (wheel) ruota f. dentata, rotella f.; a (tiny) cog in the machine fig. una (semplice) rotella nell'ingranaggio. “the cogs of the bureaucratic machine”

Loophole = 1 arch. feritoia f. 2 fig. to close o plug a loophole rimediare a una lacuna; to find a loophole trovare una scappatoia o via d'uscita.

Levy = v. imporre; riscuotere, esigere; (Mil) arruolare, reclutare, chiamare alle armi; muovere, fare; (Dir) agire esecutivamente su

an irrrevocable purchase agreement = a Proposta irrevocabile d'acquisto

The preliminary contract = (Compromesso) commits both parties to the sale. This contract establishes the terms and conditions of the final contract (Rogito) and details price, date for completion, the nature of the property and guarantees from the seller. It may also include any other relevant legal details.

Deposit = (Caparra) You will be expected to pay a deposit at this stage which is usually 1/3 of the purchase price. It is important to note that if you withdraw from the sale after signing the Compromesso, you lose your deposit. However, if the seller withdraws, he must pay you double your deposit.

Rogito = This is the final stage of the process and transfers ownership of the property from the seller to the buyer (usually 1-3 months after the Compromesso). The document is drawn up by the Notary (Notaio), who represents both parties. The buyer, seller and estate agent are all required to be present for the signing of the contract at the Notary's office. You can sign the Rogito in person or we may be able to appoint a Power of Attorney in your absence

Surveyor fee = – This fee is also payable at the signing of the final contract. Some Notaries liaise with a Geometra directly and you will only pay one fee directly to the Notary. The geometra will check all the documents for the house are up-to-date and legal, that buildings have fully registered title and that the house complies with planning regulations.

Purchase tax = – which is either 3% (replaced by 4% VAT if buying from a building company) if the buyer purchases the property as his first residential home in Italy and applies for residency in the local area, or 10% if the foreign buyer already owns property in Italy or does not wish to apply for residency. Please note that the tax is calculated on the declared value of the property and not the purchase price ie. on the value stated in the building registry. The declared value of land is extremely low, unless it is valuable land such as olive groves or building land;

Lesson 16

28/12/07 Lesson 16


From ILE text book

pp. 137-138 A law firm's practice areas: Reading and comprehension
most used tense: present perfect
- our firm has dealt with a wide range of natural resource matters
- our lawyers have handled a broad array of real property/real estates

pp. 139-141 Reading 3 Understanding a lease or tenancy agreement ex. 15-20

- statutory conditions = conditions imposed by the law

-

Homework Lesson 16

- Look up on internet for information regarding all the stages involved in the sale and purchase of realy property in Italy. In other words, what procedures and documents are required?

- From ILE text book pp 142 Reading "Case review" ex. 21-22

Homework Lesson 15

Homework Lesson 15


From ILE text book:

pp. 137-138 Reading 2 A law firm’s practice areas ex 12, 13

See Lesson 15 for some extra vocabulary work

From Grammar book:

contrasting Present Perfece simple and Present Perfect continuous
p. 31 ex. 2-4