Unit 3

Political Aspect
Constitution Britain has no written constitution in any one document. Instead, the Constitution consists of: State Law (acts of Parliament) Common Law (jurisprudence) Conventions (Magna Carta) New addition to the European Law This makes the system flexible. British membership to the European Union means that the European Union Law is now superior to British National Law in certain areas. Government The governmental model is a constitutional Monarchy or Parliamentary system. It is divided into 3 branches: Judicial: Composed of judges and a higher court. Legislative: Divided into House of Lords and House of Commons. It posses the supreme legislative power in most UK matters. Executive: Governs by passing its policies through the Westminster Parliament in the form of acts of parliament. It operates through ministries or departments headed by ministers (secretaries of State) Monarchy Royal Executive power has disappeared but the Monarch has still formal constitutional roles and serves as head of the state, supreme governor of the Church of England and Commander-in-chief of the armed forces. The Monarch is: Symbol of National Unity. Expected to be politically neutral. Supposed to reign but not rule. If the Monarch is absent or unable to carry out public tasks there are provisions for the appointment of Counselors of States to perform royal duties, such as: Opening and dissolving of Parliament. Giving royal assents to bills. Appointing Government ministers. Granting honors. Fulfilling International duties. Choice of the prime minister (conventionally leader of the political party in the House of Commons) Cabinet (formally: the Privy Council) Cabinet ministers automatically become members on taking government office. It is a Constitutional forum: they meet once a week to discuss new and existing policies and the running of government departments. They share a collective responsibility.

Parliament It passes laws. It votes on financial bills. It examines government policies and administration. It debates political issues. It comprises: House of Lords: Composed by Lords temporal (archbishops of York and Canterbury, bishops of Church of England and lords of appeal or Law Lords, who serve the House of Lords as the ultimate court of appeal) and Lords spiritual. Peers receive no salary, but attendant and travel expenses. They are unelected Works as an experienced forum. It is the safe-guard against over-hasty legislation by the commons. It has a number of cross-benchers who do not belong to any political party. House of Commons: Composed by members of parliament elected and to represent citizens. Each country has a number of seats. MPs are paid expenses and a salary. The Monarch Electoral System Britain is divided for electoral purposes into constituencies (geographical area of the country containing voters); each returns one MP to the House of Commons. Voting is no compulsory (minimum age 18), but members of the House of Lords do not have the right to vote. Parliamentary Procedure Based on (in both Hs): Custom, convention, precedent and detailed rules. The Speaker: Is the chief officer of the House of Commons and chosen by MPs. Ceases to be a political representative and becomes neutral, whose role is to interpret the rules of the House with the assistance of 3 deputies speakers. When tide results, the speaker has the casting vote. Debates begin with a motion/ proposal. The matter is decided by a simple majority at the end of the discussion. In the House of Commons, the MPs enter the yes or no lobbies (corridors running along the chamber) or abstain.

 In the House of Commons, transactions are published daily in the Hansard (parliamentary newspaper)

Legislative Proceeding A draft law is drawn up by parliamentary civil servants and takes the form of a bill. Bills can be: Private: they relate to matters such as local government issues. Public: they involve state business. Both must pass through both Houses and receive the royal assent. Steps: First reading: formal announcement, with no debate. Second reading: the House debates the general principles of the bill and takes a vote. Committee stage: A committee of MPs examines the details of the bill and votes on amendments. Report stage: The House considers the amendments. Third reading: The amended bill is voted as a whole. The bill is sent to the House of lords, where it goes through the same stages. (If the lords make new amendments those will be considered by the Commons) After both Houses reach agreement, the bill receives the royal assent and becomes Act of Parliament which can be applied as part of the law. Party political system A traditional division continues in Britain: Labour: historically, left-of-centre (linked to socialism) Former leader: Blair. Actual leader: Brown. Conservative: right-of-centre. Still, there are some other parties such as: Liberal democratic: it was formed when the liberal party ended and social democratic merged. Centre or centre-left position. The party that wins most seats in the House of Commons usually forms the new Government. The largest minority party becomes the official opposition and shadow Government (role based on adversial politics)
Press Gallery

Speakers chair

Civil servants

Local Government. Parish: smallest unit of local government. 2 types: Rural (still elect councils) and Urban (serve only as church units). Borough: next largest local government entity. The status of Borough was granted to large towns by the monarch. Such status gave the entity independence to: Organize its local government Have its own law courts, by laws, agricultural markets Send representatives to Parliament. If the town is big enough, its given the title of City County: largest unit of local government, responsible for large-scale functions in its area. London Reforms Greater London was created because population grew and moved outside the old county of London (Inner London). Greater London is divided into 32 boroughs for more effective supervision purposes. Greater London Council: abolished in 1986. Its functions were transferred to the boroughs by the Conservatives. The Labour party intends to change this. The Ancient city of London was not affected by the London reforms. Local Government Structure: England: 36 metropolitan district councils Wales: 22 unitary authorities Scotland: 29 new unitary authorities Northern Ireland: 26 district councils Functions of Local Government Counties, Districts and Unitary authorities have their own councils Elections of Councilors take place every 4 years. Theyre not paid for their

Galleries for MPs VIP gallery

Government front bench

Voting

Voting

Opposition front bench

lobbies

Dispatch box

H. of Lords Public Gallery

Galleries for MPs

lobbies

council work. Councils have a presiding officer during the meetings. In boroughs he may have the ancient title of Mayor and in large cities of Lord Mayor. In Scotland, the equivalent titles are Provost and Lord Provost. Councils operate through committees which represent 1 main aspect of the councils work. Committees can make recommendations on important matters to the council. The council is serviced by permanent professional staff (Similar to Civil Service) 80% of local government finance comes from central government. The Civil Service Its a group of non-political civil servants who are unknown to the public. They get a high salary and have absolute job security. Governments come and go but the civil service remains. Its main function is to assist the government of the day as regards administrative matters, by helping them develop and carry out their policies and administer the public services for which they are responsible. Promotion: because of good work. Its selective and based on recommendation. Civil Servants can only be removed for improper conduct. International Relations The British Empire in 1919 consisted of: Canada Ireland Australia New Zealand India Hong Kong African Countries (such as Egypt; South Africa; Rhodesia, Nigeria, etc) Falkland Islands British Guyana Eire (Ireland) and Nothern Ireland After being invaded by the British a number of times, Ireland was partitioned into: Northern Ireland Republic of Ireland (Irish Free state) IRA (Irish Republic Army): Terrorist Group (bombing-shooting-murders) Its commited to the unification of Ireland Its illegal in both EIRE and N. Ireland Theyre against other paramilitary groups such as the Democratic Unionists The level of violence in N. Ireland has fluctuated (since 1968) but emergency legislation and the reduction of legal rights for suspected terrorists continue. Law England and Wales share a single system of law and courts, whereas Scotland has one of its own.

Theres no civil code/criminal code The Court system in England and Wales Its divided into criminal courts and civil courts at various levels. Criminal Courts: 2 levels Magistrates Courts: lower and busiest. Deal with summary (less serious cases) cases and handles 95% of all criminal matters. Cases are heard either by three law magistrates or one District Judge. The lay magistrates, or 'Justices of the Peace', as they are also known, are local people who volunteer their services. They don't have formal legal qualifications, but are given legal and procedural advice by qualified clerks. District Judges are legally qualified, paid, full-time professionals and are usually based in the larger cities. Magistrates decide both verdict and sentence. Crown Courts: more serious (indictable) criminal offences such as murder are tried by the higher courts. Theyre administered by Lord chancellors department in London. Innocence/guilt is decided by a jury of 10 citizens. The judge gives a summing-up, the jury delivers and then the judge pronounces sentence. Everyone accused of a criminal offence must usually appear before a magistrates court. The defendant has the right to choose trial in the crown courts. They can impose fines or imprisonment (not usual). An important function is to decide criminal cases involving young people (under 18) Youth Courts. Also handle civil matters (divorce; road traffic violations). Stipendiary magistrates are qualified lawyers and full time officials who are paid by the state. Scotland: minor criminal cases are tried in District Courts. Criminal appeal courts The crown courts are appeal courts from the magistrates courts and both may appeal on matters of law to a divisional court of the Queens bench division. Appeals may go to the House of Lords as the highest court in England and Wales (only when the matter is of public importance) The Court of Appeal is the highest court within the Supreme Court of Judicature, which also includes the High Court and Crown Court. In the House of Lords, as compared with the Court of Appeal, there are only 12 Lords of Appeal in Ordinary (Law lords) who usually sit in panels of five judjes. Civil Courts Theres a county court for each district of Wales and England. It handles minor matters. (Equivalent to Magistrates courts). Civil procedure: Civil action begins when Plaintiff serves documents (containing the Claim) on the defendant Defendant defends his action Case proceeds to trial Criminal Procedure Crimes are offences against the Law of the State

Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is responsible for prosecuting Criminal cases (staffed by lawyers) Police arrest most criminal offenders. They must act under codes of practice that protect suspects. Once someones been arrested and charged with an offence hes brought before a magistrates court. Prior to a trial, magistrates can grant/refuse bail (freedom from custody) An individual is innocent until proved guilty (in Argentina: ley del debido proceso) and its possible to defend oneself. An English trial is an adversarial contest between defence and prosecution. The trial by jury is an ancient and important feature in English justice.Its the main element in criminal trials in Crown Courts. Its staffed by local electoral registers chosen at random, who listen and give their veredict (12 people). The jury doesnt decide on punishment and sentence. Legal aid: Legal Aid Fund enables those who cant afford legal representation to have their bills paid by the state. (applicants must prove and justify)