2018-01-21
2661
Text 1
THE POLITICAL SYSTEM: CONSTITUTIONAL MONARCHY
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a constitutional monarchy. It has either a king or a queen — as its Head of State, but the power of the monarch is limited by the country's constitution. In practice, the monarch reigns but does not rule. The legal authority (the passing of acts) is given to Parliament, and executive authority (the carrying out of laws) to the government. All real power lies with Parliament and the existing government.
The set of rules for governing the country is not contained in any single document. Formed partly by common law and partly by convention, it can be altered by Act of Parliament, or by general agreement to create, vary or abolish a convention. The constitution is thus very flexible and adapts readily to changing political conditions and ideas.
The British form of government, that of a 'Constitutional Monarchy', might seem a puzzling notion to many on discovering that Britain does not actually have a written constitution.
The rules for the country have developed by all the laws and decrees that have been made over the centuries, by the way these laws have been interpreted in the Law Courts in the past and are now reinterpreted from time to time. If there is enough pressure from the public for change, it is comparatively easy to change such a constitution.
Great Britain, which likes to consider itself the pioneer of the modern democratic state, is thoroughly undemocratic in the choice of individual to head that state. Many of the British people still regard the monarchy as a very useful and desirable institution. It is a symbol of national identity; by being above party politics, and not subject to election every five years (as British governments are), it provides the State with a sense of continuity in the country, no matter which political party is in power. The Monarch personifies the State.
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Text 2
THE ROLE OF PARLIAMENT
In 1865 John Bright described England as "the mother of Parliaments". Until the late eighteenth century no other country had succeeded in developing such an institution; indeed, many looked to England to learn and, to a certain extent, to copy.
In the nineteenth century Parliament reached maturity with the huge increase in reforming legislation and the fine oratorical skills of many politicians.
Nowadays the main functions of Parliament are to pass laws regulating the life of the country and to scrutinize government policy and administration. Most of this work is carried on through various kinds of debates in both Houses. Also, Parliament is normally consulted before all important international treaties and agreements are ratified.
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Text3
The United Kingdom does not have a single legal system. The law in Scotland was influenced by Roman law and is different from the law of England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
The English legal system is centralisedthrough a court structure which is common to the whole country. The higher courts and judges have more authority than the lower ones. Some important characteristics of English law are:
1. English law is based on the common law tradition. By this we mean a
system of 'judge made' law which has developed over the years through the
decisions of judges in the cases brought before them. Common law systems
are different from the civil law systems of Western Europe and Latin America
In these countries the law has been codified or systematically collected to
form a consistent body of legal rules.
2. English judges have an important role in developing case law and stating
the meaning of Acts of Parliament.
3. The judges are independent of the government and the people
appearing before them.
4. Court procedure is accusatorial {относящийся к обвинению, обвини
тельный). This means that judges do not investigate the cases before them
but reach a decision based only on the evidence presented to them hy the
parties to the dispute.
Answer the questions:
1. Would a codified system of law make the law more certain or flexible
{гибкий)? Give your reasons.
2. Why is it important for judges to be independent? Give your reasons.
Переведите письменно со словарем. Text 4
THE LEGAL PROFESSION
A distinctive feature of the legal profession in England and Wales is that it is divided into groups: barristers and solicitors. This division has frequently been the focus of debates and criticism and there have been calls for the fusion of the two branches of the profession.
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In the popular mind, the distinction between barristers and solicitors is that the former are concerned with advocacy in court while the latter are concerned with legal work out of court. This is not quite the case. Banisters are primarily concerned with advocacy and they have an exclusive right of audience {право выступать в суде) in the High Court, the Court of Appeal and the House of Lords; but they are not confined to advocacy and may devote much of their time to giving expert opinions on legal matters. Nor are solicitors exclusively concerned with out-of-court work for they have a right of audience in magistrate's courts, county courts and, in some instances, in the Crown Court.
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Text 5
SCOTTISH AND IRISH DECISIONS
Decisions of the S.& I. courts are not binding upon English courts, although entitled to the highest respect. On questions of principle it is desirable that the laws of England and Scotland should be uniform and that a decision of the House of Lords when founded on principle should be regarded as applicable to both countries.
There is a well-settled practice that in revenue and taxation matters courts of first instance in England endeavour to keep in line with the courts of Scotland.
Further, an English court ought to follow the unanimous judgement of the higher Scottish and Irish courts when the question turns upon the construction of a statute which extends to those countries as well as to England.
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Text 6
Interpol is an international corporation founded in 1923. It coordinates actions against international criminals. It is not under control of any government.
Interpol is aimed at finding international criminal, it is also fighting against international terrorism, sky-jacking and narcotics. Interpol, like any other police force is under governmental control to protect the basic rights of an every citizen.Interpol cooperates with the UNO, especially in the area of narcotics, and because of this it is recognized as an intergovernmental organization.
Interpol does not have powers of arrest or investigation. Its function is to disseminate (распространять) information. Today, 80 percent of the staff is French.
Interpol has bureaus in various countries. Information is exchanged among many national bureaus but the police forces themselves are responsible to the laws and policies of their nations.
Interpol is divided into four main bodies — the General Assembly, the Executive Committee, the General Secretariat and the National Central Bureau.
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Text 7
THE AMERICAN SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT
The United States is a democratic republic (a representative democracy). The national government is a government of all the people and their representatives (elected officials). It is called the federal government because the nation is a federation, or association, of states.
The U.S.Constitution gave the federal government only limited powers, the powers stated in the Constitution. All other powers belong to the individual states.
The Founding Fathers established three branches of government: the legislative, the executive, and the judicial. Each branch has different functions and powers under the principle of separation of powers. There is also a system of checks and balances so that each branch has some control over the other two branches. This way, no one group can have too much power.
| Л |
The Legislative Branch
The Constitution I---- *^ The Federal Government — ^| The Executive Branch
^*l The Judicial Branch
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Text 8
THE THREE BRANCHES OF GOVERNMENT
The legislative branch is called Congress. It consists of the Senate and the House of Representative. It is the responsibility of Congress to propose
and pass laws. In the system of checks and balances, Congress can refuse to approve Presidential appointments and can override a Presidential veto.
The executive branch consists of the President, the Voce President, the Cabinet and the thirteen Departments, and the independent agencies. It's the responsibility of the executive to enforce laws. The President has the power to veto (reject) any bill (law) of Congress. He appoints all Supreme Court Justices.
The judicial branch consists of the Supreme (highest) Court, eleven Circuit Courts of Appeals, and ninety-four District Courts. This branch explains and.interprets laws and makes decisions in lawsuits. It has power over the other two branches because it can declare their laws and actions unconstitutional (against the principles of the Constitution).
| The Legislative | The Executive | The Judicial | |
| 1. What does it consist of? | the Senate the House of Representatives | ||
| 2. What are its responsibilities? | |||
| 3. What powers does it have under the system of checks and balances? |
