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Elections in GB

   During XIX and XX centuries people of British isles have achieved known democratization of suffrage and significant expansion of a circle of voters due to removal of many electoral qualifications. All persons over 18 years of age may vote in parliamentary elections provided they are British subjects or citizens of the Irish Republic and are registered in the register of electors. The only exception are peers (who already have seats in the House of Lords), and persons who for obvious reasons are not eligible to register as voters, e.g. aliens and persons of unsound mind.

   Every person who is a British subject aged 21 or over and is not otherwise disqualified, has the right to stand for election. Those who are disqualified include members of the House of Lords, clergy of the Church of England, the Church of Scotland, the Church of Ireland and the Roman Catholic Church, civil servants, members of the regular armed forces and the police forces and holders of judicial offices.

The system of registration of candidates is simplified as much as possible: the nomination paper of each candidate must be subscribed (signed) by two electors as proposer and seconder, and by 8 other electors as assenting to the nomination. The candidate must pay a deposit of 500 English pounds, if he fails to obtain .5 per cent of the votes cast, his deposit is forfeited (he loses his deposit).

   In Britain where in political life prevail the system of two leading political parties, independent candidates have little chance of success. However, small political parties prefer to cooperate with leading parties in order to pass common candidates to parliament.

British electoral majority system, based on principle of relative majority, doesn’t suppose the second round in voting: the candidate who wins the most votes is elected, even if he or she does not get as many as the combined votes of the other candidates. Therefore there is a significant difference between amount of votes for candidates from political parties and amount of the places received by them in parliament.

   This notoriously known British rigid electoral majority system quite often leads disproportionate representation of public parties and movements in a legislative body of the country, and sometimes and to the government of minority, for that is fairly criticized by the countries of the European commonwealth using other softer democratic forms.

Legal profession in England (2)

Functions of litigant representatives in civil trial, defense in criminal cases are performed by advocates, who are divided into 2 groups: barristers and solicitors in England.

Barristers – are lawyers, who have the sole right to conduct cases in the higher courts (as solicitors they can also conduct cases in the lower courts). A barrister is required to have reached an accepted educational standard, to have passed the legal examinations conducted by the Council of legal Education and have become a member of the Inns of Court.

Barristers have relations with many traditional authority and restrictions. They must deal with client only through solicitor, wear gown and wig. More experienced and with a substantial junior practice barristers may apply to the Lord Chancellor for a patent appointing him Queen’s Counsel. Corporation of barristers is headed by Senate and Barrister’s Counsel

Solicitors are much larger category of lawyers. They give advice to their clients, prepare hearing civil and criminal cases in their client’s interests, and represent their clients in the lower court.

 Inns of courts are headed by Law Society.    A prospective solicitor (the professional organization of solicitors), must have law education; pass the necessary examinations held by the Law Society and The term of articles lasts for 2 years.  A prospective solicitor must be considered suitable by the appropriate committee of the Law Society and he must enter into “articles of clerkship” with a practicing solicitor of High Court before he can begin his professional career. The Law Society approves the list of solicitors and in order to have the opportunity practice as solicitor, a prospective solicitor must be in that list and have the certificate of practicing solicitor.

Constitutional monarch (functions of “Crown”) (5)

Great Britain is parliament democracy. The official head of the State is the constitutional monarch – the Queen Elizabeth II.

The Monarch – king/queen is head of the state and source of Sovereign power formally. Institute of Monarch often called as the term “Crown”. Functions of Monarch can be divided into 2 groups: prerogative and statute. Each fall the Queen’s speech with which the Queen opens each session of Parliament and which contains an outline of the Government’s programme for the session, is prepared by the Government and read by the Queen. She also can dissolve the House of Common. Queen points the Prime Minister – being leader the party which has the majority in the House of Common. Queen has the power to appoint ministers, judges. Monarch can pardon or show mercy. Monarch is a commander-in-Chief of the armed services: he appoints officers, confers honors to the officers of the army and navy, awards by decorations.  Queen has the power to appoint diplomatic representatives, conclude treaties, to declare war and to make piece.

According to the constitution the Queen is impartial in politics, (which means that her politics are those laid down by the Government) the Queen acts only on the advice of her ministers, who are politically responsible for what she does.