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Great Britain is a constitutional monarchy. The British constitution has evolved over many centuries. Unlike the constitutions of most other countries, it is not set out in any single document. Instead, it is made of statute law, common law and conventions. Conventions are rules and practices which are not legally enforceable but which are regarded as indispensable to the working of government; many are derived from historical events through which the British system of government has evolved. The constitution can be altered by Act of Government, or by general agreement to alter a convention. It is thus adaptable to changing political conditions. The organs of government overlap but can be easily distinguished.
GREAT BRITAIN AND ITS POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS
Great Britain is a constitutional monarchy. The British constitution has evolved over many centuries. Unlike the constitutions of most other countries, it is not set out in any single document. Instead, it is made of statute law, common law and conventions. Conventions are rules and practices which are not legally enforceable but which are regarded as indispensable to the working of government; many are derived from historical events through which the British system of government has evolved. The constitution can be altered by Act of Government, or by general agreement to alter a convention. It is thus adaptable to changing political conditions. The organs of government overlap but can be easily distinguished.
►Parliament is the legislature and the supreme authority.
►The executive consists of:
►The judiciary determines common law and interprets statutes.
The Queen is not only head of State, but also an important symbol of national unity. In law she is:
As a result of a long process of evolution, during which the monarchy's absolute power has been progressively reduced, the Queen acts on the advice of her ministers. Britain is governed by Her Majesty's Government in the name of the Queen.
In spite of a trend during the past hundred years towards giving powers directly to ministers, the Queen still takes part in some important acts of government. These include summoning ('sΛmən), and dissolving Parliament; and giving Royal Assent (a’sent) to Bills passed by Parliament. The Queen also formally appoints many important office holders, including government ministers, judges, officers in the armed forces, diplomats, bishops and some other senior clergy of the Church of England. She is also involved in pardoning people convicted of crimes. An important function is appointing the Prime Minister: by convention the Queen invites the leader of the political party which has a majority in the House of Commons to form a government. In international affairs the Queen, as head of State, has the power to declare war and make peace, to recognise foreign state; and governments, to conclude treaties and to annex or cede territory. The Queen also holds Privy Council meetings, gives audiences to her ministers and officials in Britain and overseas, receives accounts of Cabinet decisions, and signs state papers.
The three elements which make up Parliament - the Queen, the House of Lords and the elected House of Commons - are constituted on different principles. They meet together only on occasions of symbolic significance such as the state opening of Parliament, when the Commons are summoned ('sΛmən) by the Queen to the House of Lords. As there are no legal restraints imposed by a written constitution, Parliament may legislate as it pleases, subject to Britain's obligations as a member of the European Union. It can make or change any law; and can overturn established conventions or turn them into law. It can even prolong its own life beyond the normal period without consulting the electorate. In practice, however, Parliament does not assert its supremacy in this way. Its members bear in mind the common law and normally act in accordance with precedent. The main functions of Parliament are:
A Parliament has a maximum duration of five years, but in practice general elections are usually held before the end of this term. The maximum life has been prolonged by legislation in rare circumstances such as the two world wars.
Parliament has two parts: the House of Commons and the House of Lords. The House of Commons consists of 651 Members of Parliament (MPs) directly elected by voters in each of Britain's 651 parliamentary constituencies. The chief officer of the House of Commons is the Speaker, elected by MPs to preside over the House. The life of a Parliament is divided into sessions. Each usually lasts for one year - normally beginning and ending in October or November. The Commons is by far the more important of two houses.
A unique feature of the British parliamentary system is its hereditary element. Unlike MPs, members of the House of Lords (known as peers) are not elected. Until 1999 they were mostly ‘hereditary peers” because their fathers had been peers before them. Now only 91 out of about 700 peers are hereditary: the rest are “life peers” who cannot pass on their titles, senior judges (Law Lords) and Church of England Archbishops and Bishops (Lords Spiritual). The House of Lords has little, if any, power any more. All proposals must have the agreement of the Lords before they can become law. But the power of the Lords to refuse a proposal for a law which has been agreed by the Commons is now limited. After a period which can be as short as six month the proposal becomes law anyway, whether or not the Lords agree.
Her Majesty's Government is the body of ministers responsible for the ‘conduct of national affairs. The leader of the party which obtains a majority of seats in a general election is named Prime Minister. The Prime Minister is appointed by the Queen, and all other ministers are appointed by the Queen on the recommendation of the Prime Minister. Most ministers are members of the Commons, although the Government is also fully represented by ministers in the Lords. The Lord Chancellor [tζa:nslə]is always a member of the House of Lords.
By modern convention, the Prime Minister always sits in the House of Commons.
The Prime Minister presides over the Cabinet, is responsible for the allocation of functions among ministers and informs the Queen at regular meetings of the general business of the Government. The Cabinet is composed of about 20 ministers, although the number can vary. They are chosen by the Prime Minister and may include departmental and non-departmental ministers. The functions of the Cabinet are to initiate and decide on policy, the supreme control of government and the co-ordination of government departments. It is a political convention for the Cabinet to act as a single man, which means that a minister who cannot accept a Cabinet decision must resign. The main opposition party forms a Shadow Cabinet which is more or less as the Government would be if the party were in power, and the relevant members act as opposition spokesmen on major issues. The wide powers of patronage[‘pǽtronidz] (покровительство) held by the Prime Minister and the strong party system, together with constitutional hangovers (пережток)from the past, have given the Government im’mense power.
The Prime Minister's responsibilities include recommending a number of appointments to the Queen. These include:
THE PRIVY COUNCIL (тайный совет)
The main function of the Privy Council is to advise the Queen on the approval of Orders in Council, including those made under prerogative powers, and those made under statutory powers. Responsibility for each Order, however, rests with the minister answerable for the policy concerned, regardless of whether he or she is present at the meeting where approval is given. The Privy Council also advises the Sovereign on the issue of royal proclamations, such as those summoning or dissolving Parliament.
Elections and Political Parties
The right to vote in elections has gradually been extended to virtually every British subject over 18 who is resident in Britain ( members of the Royal Family and lunatics are not allowed to vote). People vote for any one of the candidates in constituency in which they are registered. The candidate that obtains the most votes in that constituency, irrespective of whether he or she has an overall majority, becomes its Member of Parliament and the other votes are ‘wasted’.
Anyone over 21 who is entitled to vote (except for clergymen, civil servants, felons and bankrupts) can stand as a candidate. Candidates are normally selected by the local party associations, but independent candidates can also stand. Each candidates has to pay a deposit (currently 500), which is returned if a candidate obtains at least 5% of the total number of votes cast in that constituency. It is now a tradition for there to be a few humorous candidates in all general elections (such as the ‘Don’t-Vote-For-Me Party’ in the 1987 election).
General elections must be held at least every five years, but the Prime Minister has the right to call elections before the five-year term has expired. Nowadays, the electorate often votes for a particular party leader rather than the party itself, so Government leaders try to hold elections at moments of particular popularity, e.g. Mrs. Thatcher after her victory in the Falklands War.
The one-candidate (or first-past-the-post) system means that a party can obtain a considerable number of votes nationally but have very few MPs in the Commons, because these votes are distributed evenly among the various constituencies. While no very representative and making it difficult for more than two major parties to co-exist, the system produces stable governments and prevents minority parties from having an undue say in the running of national affairs.
As a result of the electoral system two parties have usually been predominant in Britain, at different times Tories and Whigs, Conservatives and Liberals, and since the 1830s Conservatives and Labour, with one party normally obtaining a majority of seats in the House of Commons and the other having its role limited to criticizing Government policy. The Conservative Party was formed by Robert Peel from what was left of the old Tory party in the 1830s. Originally the party of Church, aristocracy and landed gentry, it has increasingly been supported by large business interests. The Labour Party was formed by James Hardy in 1892 to represent the workers and was more or less the parliamentary wing of the Trades Unions, with whom the party continues to be closely associated. At present, in addition to the Conservative Party and the Labour (Socialist) Party, the recently formed Green Party has begun to threaten the left-of-center Liberal Democratic Party as the nation’s “third’ party.
Since 1945 either the Conservative Party, whose origins go back to the eighteenth century, or the Labour Party, which emerged in the last decade of the nineteenth century, has held power. Originally the раrtу of church, aristocracy and landed gentry, the Conservative Party has increasingly been supported by large business interests. In the 1980s, British policies were dominated by M. Thatcher. Under Thatcher, it was Conservative policy to return state-owned industries to private ownership, cut taxation and control inflation. The party became identified with free-market economic policies.
The Labour Party was formed to represent the workers and was more or less the parliamentary wing of the Trades Unions, with whom the party continues to be closely associated. The party was weakened by divisions within the party over a number of issues: whether to return privatized industries to state ownership or not; over their attitude towards the European Union and accusations of corruption. Anyway, under the Labour government, referendums were run in Scotland, Wales and London. At the same time, some progress was made towards peace in Northern Ireland.
A new party - the Liberal Democrats - was formed in 1988 when the Liberal Party, which traced its origins to the eighteenth century, merged with the Social Democratic Party (formed in 1981).
At present, in addition to the Conservative (Tory) Party and the Labour Socialist Party, the recently-formed Green Party has begun to threaten the left-of-centre Liberal Democratic Party as the nation's 'third' party.
The Legal System
Although Britain is a unitary state, England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland all have their own legal systems, with considerable differences in law, organization and practice. However, a large amount of modern legislation applies throughout Britain. The law is divided into criminal law and civil law; the latter regulates the ‘conduct of people in ordinary relations with one another.
Common law, (общее право, неписанный закон) which is based on custom and interpreted in court cases by judges, has never been defined. Equity law (право справедливости) consists of a body of historic rules and principles which are applied in courts. The English legal system is therefore distinct from many of those of Western Europe, which have codes derived from Roman law. European Community Law is confined mainly to economic and social matters.
The Lord Chancellor is head of the judiciary in England and Wales.
Criminal Courts
Less serious offences which make up the vast majority of criminal cases are tried in England and Wales by unpaid lay magistrates (мировой судья)- justices of the peace, although there are a number of full-time stipendiary (stai’penderi) magistrates. More serious offences are tried by the Crown Court, presided by a judge sitting with a jury of citizens. Appeals from the magistrates’ courts go before the Crown Court or the High Court. Appeals from the Crown Court are made to the Court of Appeal (criminal Division). The House of Lords is the final appeal in all cases.
Civil Courts
Magistrates courts have limited civil jurisdiction. The county courts have a wider jurisdiction. Cases are normally tried by judges sitting alone. The 80 or so judges in the High Court cover civil cases and some criminal cases, and also deal with appeals. Appeals from the High Court are heard in the Court of Appeal (civil Division) and may go on to the House of Lords.
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