Day 11: Rehearsing for the Moot Court
In the kitchen of their shared flat in Heidelberg, law students Lena (A), Jonas (B) and Hannah (C) rehearse for tomorrow's moot court: Lena plays the judge, Jonas the landlord's lawyer and Hannah the tenant's lawyer in a case over a pigeon net on a balcony.
How to study this lesson 3 steps
- Read the situation under the title. It says who is talking and how they know each other, which decides how politely they speak.
- Read the dialogue line by line with its translation, until every line makes sense. Point at (or tap) a German word to see what it means.
- Spend at least 30 minutes listening to native German, for example from the Resources page. It doesn't matter if you don't understand it yet.
Dialogue
Audio recordings are on the way. For now, each lesson is the dialogue with its English translation.
Keys: E hide English · ← → previous / next day · point at a word to see its meaning
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A
Ich eröffne die Verhandlung in Sachen Taubennetz. Die Klägerseite hat das Wort, und zwar in unter drei Minuten.
I declare the hearing open in the matter of the pigeon net. Counsel for the claimant has the floor, and in under three minutes.
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B
Hohes Gericht, entgegen dem Mietvertrag hat die Beklagte mittels zwölf Dübeln ein Taubennetz an der denkmalgeschützten Fassade befestigt.
Your Honour, in breach of the tenancy agreement, the defendant fixed a pigeon net to the listed façade by means of twelve wall plugs.
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C
Einspruch! Bezüglich der Fassade sei angemerkt, dass die Tauben sie seit Jahren gründlicher beschädigen, als zwölf Dübel es je könnten.
Objection! As regards the façade, it should be noted that the pigeons have been damaging it for years more thoroughly than twelve wall plugs ever could.
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A
Hannah, „Einspruch!“ ruft man nur in amerikanischen Serien, bei uns beanstandet man höchstens eine Frage. Also bitte weiter zur Sache.
Hannah, people only shout 'Objection!' in American series; over here the most you can do is challenge a question. So carry on with the matter in hand, please.
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B
Dagegen ist einzuwenden, dass Tauben nicht Partei dieses Verfahrens sind, wohingegen die Beklagte sehr wohl gebohrt hat.
To which it must be objected that pigeons are not a party to these proceedings, whereas the defendant most certainly did drill.
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C
Das Netz war nötig, zumal Taubenbefall nach der Rechtsprechung sogar einen Mangel der Mietsache darstellen kann.
The net was necessary, all the more so since, according to case law, a pigeon infestation can even count as a defect in the rented property.
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B
Befall? Drei Tauben sind noch lange kein Befall, wenngleich die Kollegin das in dieser WG seit Wochen behauptet!
Infestation? Three pigeons are a long way from an infestation, although my learned friend has been claiming so in this flat for weeks!
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C
Drei Tauben, die jeden Morgen um fünf vor meinem Fenster gurren, Jonas! Dein Zimmer geht ja zum Hof raus.
Three pigeons cooing outside my window at five every morning, Jonas! Your room faces the courtyard, after all.
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A
Ruhe im Saal, oder vielmehr in der Küche! Im Namen des Volkes: Das Netz bleibt, und infolge seiner Befangenheit besorgt Jonas ein zweites für unseren Balkon.
Order in court, or rather in the kitchen! In the name of the people: the net stays, and as a consequence of his bias, Jonas will get a second one for our balcony.
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B
Das Urteil ist ein Skandal, ich gehe in Berufung. Was kostet so ein Netz eigentlich?
This judgment is a scandal, I'm appealing. How much does one of those nets cost, anyway?
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