English for Polish Students of Law

Legal English for Polish Students

Pizza is Now a Veggie in the US

January 4th, 2012 by · 9 Comments · legislation, USA

This post has been prepared by Katarzyna Mietlińska, Kozminski University.

Is pizza a vegetable? What warp/curve of a cucumber is appropriate? Is carrot a fruit? With such extraordinary reflections we had to deal with. However, if someone thought that this was the end-was wrong. Now the time has come for the pizza!

In November, this year, the US Congress determined that the pizza is a vegetable. This resulted from the fact that politicians did not agree to implement the provisions of the new law that would make children struggling with obesity eat healthy food.

Congressional guidelines provide that the pizza is the recommended portion of vegetables in a meal with just two tablespoons of tomato sauce. Sounds unreal?
It’s not at all! Moreover, this is incompatible with previous guidelines of the U.S. Department of Agriculture [USDA], whose voice, as you can see, no longer counts.

As it has been nicely said by USDA spokeswoman Courtney Rowe: Unfortunately, some members of the Congress put the interests of certain groups over the health of American children.

Let us hope that this type of thinking will not come to us and the position of the people against the huge businesses will not get worse.

Have your say!

Record High Financial Compensation for Polish Doctor in UK

December 22nd, 2011 by · 3 Comments · discrimination, Employment Law

Source: www.thenews.pl

A Polish doctor, who worked as an obstetrician (pol. położnik) in Leeds, England, has been awarded almost 4.5 million pounds in compensation for discrimination by her employers.

 Doctor Ewa Michalak, now 53 year-old, won claimed for sex and race discrimination and unfair dismissal (pol. niezgodne z prawem zwolnienie z pracy).

She lost her job after a five-year campaign against her, which started when she was pregnant. The tribunal in Leeds heard that Dr Michalak had been left unable to accomplish the simplest of tasks due to the stress and that senior staff members at Pontefract General Infirmary began a plan to get rid of her at a secret meeting in March 2003, when she was seven months pregnant.

She began to receive complaints and criticism, being accused of bullying (pol. zastraszanie) junior doctors.

In 2006 she was subjected to a lengthy and unauthorised period of suspension.

In May 2007 disciplinary proceedings (pol. postępowanie dyscyplinarne) began against her, leading to her dismissal in July 2008.

The Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust and three senior staff members have been ordered to pay Dr Michalak 4,452,206.60 pounds for the sex and race discrimination. Of this sum, the doctor was awarded £30,000 for injury to feelings and £56,000 for psychiatric damage.

In their judgment, the tribunal panel wrote: “As a consequence of that dismissal the claimant has lost her role and status as a hospital consultant, as we will ultimately find, she is never going to return to work as a doctor, a profession which she, in common with both of her parents, cherished together with all the status that that brings with it.”

Medical experts had told the tribunal that Dr Michalak had suffered chronic post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and anxiety, which had led to an “enduring personality change”.

In a statement for the press following the tribunal’s preliminary verdict, Doctor Michalak said that she had been psychologically tortured for years.

“They destroyed my life, health and career because I had a child,” she said.

Her husband, who is also a physician, turned down a job opportunity in Singapore in order to take care of his wife and child.

 

Many women fear to become pregnant because very often they may lose their job as a result.

Such cases as the above one bring hope that sex descrimination should be penalized and fought with.

Have your say!

 

Britain to Introduce a Ban on Smoking in Cars

November 23rd, 2011 by · 8 Comments · Uncategorized

Britain is about to introduce a new law which will ban smoking in cars. There are many opponents as well as proponents of this law.

Like mobile phones used for talkin and texting while driving, cigarettes distract from the primary task of driving and are a safety hazard.

The second reason is the toxicity the smoke, and the doctor’s concern is particularly for children’s health and the risks of being exposed to the fumes.

But we shouldn’t be interfering in peoples private lives, should we?

Have your say!

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-2062267/Car-smoking-ban-Freedom-license-behave-way-like.html#ixzz1eXO8NRc8

Pole Says ‘dziękuję’ after Winning Borat Discrimination Case in UK

September 7th, 2011 by · 15 Comments · discrimination, Employment Law

A Polish engineer working in the UK was awarded damages, Wednesday,  when a tribunal found that he suffered racial discrimination after being called ‘Borat’ by a workmate.

Adrian Ruda, who works in Wakefield in the northern English county of Yorkshire, was regularly called “Borat” by one of the welders (pol. spawacz) in his team.

The nickname was inspired by the controversial comedy of the same title which features an eccentric and tactless Kazakhstani TV host, created by British comedian Sacha Baron-Cohen.

When the film, from the successful TV series, was initially released, Kazakhstan’s foreign ministry threatened to sue Baron-Cohen.

Though meant to be a Kazakh,  Borat often sprinkles Polish expressions  such as  ‘dziękuję’ (thank you) and ‘jak się masz’ (how are you) among his pigeon English.

Yesterday, UK judge Jonathan Whittaker noted that while other employees at the company had nicknames, these “were not in any way associated with the racial or national origins of the persons in question.”

Concluding that the Borat tag “violated Mr Ruda’s dignity” and created a “degrading, humiliating and defensive work environment,” the judge awarded the plaintiff 2250 pounds (2550 euro).

Was the judge’s decision right?

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Poland’s War on Swearing

September 7th, 2011 by · 13 Comments · Uncategorized

The Justice Ministry intends to wage a war against the promiscuous use of swear words in public places. 

The amended law on abusive language envisages (pol. przewidywać) fines of up to 3,000 zloty (750 euro), twice as much as current regulations allow for.There is no official list of banned abusive words or phrases, however, and the law depends largely on the intention of the speaker and the situation where the phrase is used.

For the speaker of swear words to be fined it has to be evident that the words spoken were meant to humiliate or insult the addressee, though it is unclear how the police will react if a person expresses  indignation (pol. oburzenie) or emotions with the use of vulgar language without the intention of insulting anyone.

The new regulation also envisages larger fines for destroying lawns, for loitering on the streets, for setting a dog on someone and for calling emergency services on wild goose chases. (source: www.thenews.pl)

Don’t you think that the things have gone too far, swear words have become so ominpresent in some circles, that it might be too late for introducing such a law?

Have your say!

 

Official European Joke

February 21st, 2011 by · 4 Comments · Uncategorized

Please read the Official European Joke and see how it illustrates the European stereotypes.

Do you find it funny, interesting, boring?

Shouldn’t the EU debunk (pol. obalać) myths and streotypes instead of strengthening them?

Have your say!

One in Three Poles Doesn’t Want Children

January 14th, 2011 by · 21 Comments · Uncategorized

One third of Poles do not plan to have any children at all, shows a report by the Labour Ministry.

The reason why so many Poles decide not to have children are connected to low salaries and unstable labour market, a lack of help from the state and lack of help from a partner in bringing up children and sharing domestic duties.

The report shows that man spend twice less time with children than women (223 minutes a week compared to 403 minutes).

According to the Central Statistical Office, population growth in Poland has been slowing down year by year since 1984. Between 2003 and 2005 more people died in Poland than were born.

Recently the birth rate in Poland increased owing to baby boom generation setting up families. It is estimated that by 2030 the number of Poles will decrease by two million, which will dramatically impair (pol. nekorzystnie wpływać) the pension system (pol. system emerytalny).

Poland has one of the lowest birth rates in the EU. (Source: thenews.pl)

I wonder what your opinions about setting up a family, having children and bringing them up are.

Have your say!

Should Transsexuals Be Allowed in Polish Army?

January 5th, 2011 by · 18 Comments · Uncategorized

The Trans-Fusion Foundation wants to repeal (pol. uchylić) a regulation preventing transsexuals from joining the armed forces in Poland.

The Defence Ministry is reportedly considering the demand.

At present, a transsexual who wants to join the army, navy or air force is rejected as ‘category E’, which is a status marking them unfit to serve.  This applies to both those who have had a sex change operation and those who have not but reject the gender they were born into.

“This regulation is discriminatory,” Trans-Fusion’s Anna Grodzka told the TVP public broadcaster.

The foundation has joined forces with the Campaign Against Homophobia in calling for Defence Minister Bogdan Klich to repeal the ban (pol. uchylić zakaz).

If Poland does allow transsexuals into the armed forces it will be in keeping with recent moves by the nation’s NATO allies.

Late last year, the Canadian Ministry of Defence issued a directive allowing military transsexuals to dress according to gender identity, regardless of whether they had undergone surgery.

Spain changed its regulations in 2009 after the high-profile case of someone known only as ‘Aitor G R’ – born a woman who had a mastectomy – who was refused entry to the military because he did not have a penis.

In the United States, President Barack Obama signed a bill last year abolishing the “Don‘t ask, don’t tell” policy of gays and lesbians being able to serve in the armed forces but only if they were not openly homosexual. (Source: www.thenews.pl)

How do you feel about this delicate issue?

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Start a New Year with a Quiz!

January 3rd, 2011 by · 8 Comments · Uncategorized

Go to www.thenews.pl website and do the 2010 quiz.

What were the most spectacular events of the previous year? What do you consider Polish biggest success or failure?

Have your say!

Polish Workers in Britain Not Allowed to Speak Mother Tongue

December 13th, 2010 by · 20 Comments · Uncategorized

Polish workers from the Delphi Diesel Systems factory in Stonehouse, South West England, have been banned from speaking their mother tongue at work.

The factory authorities introduced the ban in order to maintain staff team spirit and for health and safety reasons.

“It does not make sense in general that somebody is required to talk only in English, because in an emergency you would speak your native language. It is just humiliating. It is some kind of discrimination,” Jan Zakrzewski, Gloucestershire Polish Club chairman told the news web site thisisgloucestershire.co.uk.

The factory spokesman Richard Gotch argues that Delphi employs people who speak eleven languages and so it happens a lot that some workers do not understand their colleagues, which is not safe. Besides, it can make some employees feel isolated, which is against the company’s policy of building team spirit. Gotch added that cultural diversity is considered a great value at Delphi and employees can speak their language when on breaks.

Delphi’s factory in Stonehouse employs 600 people. It has not been revealed how many of them are Poles. According to Gloucestershire County Council, in 2006 there were about 17,000 Polish workers in the county. (Source: thenews.pl)

Don’t you think that this regulation is a sign of discrimination? It is not al all natural for speakers of the same language to communicate in a foreign language. After all we are in the European Union and all 23 languages have got status of the official languages.

Have your say!