Describe Great Britain as a constitutional monarchy, its role and social influence

Two characteristics of the British constitution confuse most foreigners: there is no written constitution, it is not contained in any single document. And those rules of the Constitution which do exist in writing often differ greatly from actual constitutional practice. The explanation of this paradox lies in the diversity of the sources from which the Constitution is drawn.

There are two kinds of rules by which Great Britain is governed: RULES OF LAW and RULES OF CUSTOM.

The rules of law are those set out in such historic declarations as Magna Carta (1215) and the famous Acts of Parliament which mark the course of British history, for example, the Bill of Rights of 1689, the Act of Settlement of 1701, the Reform Act of 1832, the Parliament Act of 1911, the abolition of hereditary Lords in 1999.

A great majority of these acts were passed by Parliament, but a document like Magna Carta is considered to be a part of the Constitution simply because it represents a great landmark in national history: it stated the principle that the king was subject to the law and not above the law. Of major importance was Habeas Corpus Act of 1679 (Habeas Corpus is a Latin expression meaning "You may have the body") which stated that if a person was arrested he/she was to face a trial within 24 hours of arrest. The Act was aimed against illegal arrests and intended to safeguard the rights of the individual.

The Bill of Rights and the Act of Settlement established that the king did not rule by a "divine right" from God, but by approval of Parliament. The 1832 Reform Act admitted the upper middle classes to the franchise (the right to vote) and started a process which inevitably led to democracy. The

Parliament Act of 1911 deprived the Lords of much of their power, so that the House of Lords ceased to be a determining factor in legislation, and the House of Commons governed. In 1999 the hereditary principle in the House of Lords was abolished and thus hereditary lords lost their right to sit in the House of Lords.

Many principles of the British Constitution by which Britain is governed are principles of the common law, or rules of custom.

These are principles which are not established by any law passed by Parliament but established in the courts following the use of decisions in individual cases as precedents for decisions in later cases. In practice many of these rules of custom are just as important as the rules of law and equally binding (obligatory).

These are only two examples to illustrate this statement. The British sovereign cannot marry a Roman Catholic. If he were to do this, it would be breaking the law (it is one of the things forbidden by the Act of Settlement - the RULES OF THE LAW). On the other hand, after a general election the monarch would ask anyone but the leader of the majority party to form a new government, for it is a custom to do this (RULES OF CUSTOM). And a departure from custom in such an important matter would be as serious in its effect as breaking the law would be. These rules of custom, or conventions of the Constitution as they are sometimes called, are immensely important.

The constitutional history of Great Britain shows growth of individual rights and liberties based not so much on law but on the ideas of traditional freedoms and traditional practices (conventions), which have developed organically.

Great Britain is a constitutional monarchy, and the Crown is a permanent and continuous institution. The traditional announcement, "The King is dead, long live the King!" typifies the immortality of royal authority. According to the Constitution, the powers of the Crown are very great. Every action of the government is carried out in its name.

But the Queen cannot act independently. She may exercise these powers only on the advice of her ministers, who are responsible politically to Parliament.

In Britain they look to the Queen not only as their head of State, but also as the "symbol of their nation's unity". The royal title in the United Kingdom is: "Elizabeth the Sccond, by the Grace of God of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of Her other Realms and Territories Queen, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith". The seat of the monarchy is in the United Kingdom. The Queen personifies the State. The Queen reigns but does not rule. She never vetoes bills passed by Parliament.

Although the Queen is deprived of actual power, she has retained many important, though formal, functions. She summons and dissolves Parliament, gives approval to Bills passed by both Houses of Parliament; she appoints government ministers, judges, officers in the armed forces, governors, diplomats and bishops of the Church of England. The Queen appoints the Prime Minister (usually the leader of the political party which has a majority in the House of Commons) to form a government.

As head of State the Queen has, in international affairs, the power to declare war and make peace, to recognize foreign states and governments, to conclude treaties, etc. She gives audiences to her ministers and other officials at home and overseas, receives accounts of Cabinet decisions. She is informed and consulted on every aspect of national life. In June 2002 great celebrations took place in Britain to mark the Queen's Golden Jubilee of 50 years on the throne. They greatly enhanced the monarch's image.

The Queen is Head of the Commonwealth of Nations where she is represented by the Governor-General appointed by her on the advice of the government of the country concerned and completely independent on the British government. The Commonwealth at present is an association of 54 states. Alongside with Britain and such developed countries as Canada, Australia, New Zealand, it includes large developing countries as India, Nigeria and very small states as Nauru (population - 8,000), as well as dependent territories, like Anguilla, Bermuda, Gibraltar and others.

The Commonwealth does not formulate central policies on economic and foreign affairs. However, there is considerable consultation and cooperation between the member states of the Commonwealth.

The Commonwealth is not a federation, because there is no central government, no common defence force, judiciary and no rigid obligations between the members. Nevertheless all the members of the Commonwealth have a broad community of interests. They are bound together by a common sense of ideals and a common interest in the maintenance of peace, freedom and security.