THE STATE STRUCTURE OF THE UNITED KINGDOM:

The Constitutional Monarchy. Parliament. Government. The Queen

QUESTIONS

1. What does the term ‘constitutional monarchy’ mean?

The term ‘constitutional monarchy’ means that the powers of the monarch are limited
by the country's constitution.
2. What is the British Constitution formed by?
The British constitution, unlike that of most other countries, is an unwritten
constitution, not being contained in any single legal document. It is formed partly by
statute law (Acts of Parliament) and important documents (such as Magna Carta),
partly by common law (a series of laws dating back to the Middle Ages), and partly
by customs and conventions and can be altered by a simple Act of Parliament like
any other law.
3. What are the benefits of the unwritten form of the British Constitution?
The constitution thus is constantly changing in response to the interpretation of laws
in the courts and the introduction of new Acts of Parliament and adapts readily to
changing political conditions and ideas.
4. What principle does the Constitution safeguard?
In theory the Constitution safeguards the separation of powers between the
legislature, the executive and the judiciary.
5. What is the supreme law-making body? What does it consist of?
The legislature, which consists of both Houses of Parliament and formally the
monarch, is the supreme authority, the supreme law-making body.
6. What does the executive power consist of? What is the Government
responsible for?
The executive consists of the Government – the Cabinet and government ministries
(or departments) headed by ministers (or secretaries of state). The government is
responsible for putting laws into effect and directing national policy and acts formally
in the name of the monarch.
7. What is the judiciary composed of? Who recommends the highest judicial
appointments to the Crown? Who is the head of the judiciary?
The judiciary is composed mainly of the judges of the higher courts who determine
the common law and interpret Acts of Parliament and decide on cases arising out of
the laws.
The Prime Minister recommends the highest judicial appointments to the Crown. The
Lord Chancellor is head of the judiciary except in Scotland Lord Chancellor’s
responsibilities include administration of all courts, judicial appointments and
appointment of magistrates.
8. Are the organs of government clearly distinguishable? In what way do their
functions intermingle and overlap?
The organs of government are clearly distinguishable, although their functions often
intermingle and overlap. The monarch is formally the head of the executive, the legislature
and the judiciary. A member of Parliament (MP) in the House of Commons and a member
of the House of Lords may both be in the government of the day. A Law Lord in the
House of Lords also serves the House of Lords as the highest appeal court.
9. What elements does Parliament of the United Kingdom consist of?
Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative authority and consists of
three separate elements: the Queen, the House of Lords and the elected House of
Commons. These are outwardly separate, constituted on different principles, and
meet together only on occasions of symbolic significance such as the state opening of
Parliament.
10.What are the functions of Parliament?
The main functions of British Parliament today are as follows:
• to pass laws
• to vote on financial bills so that the government could carry on his work
• to discuss the government's administrative policies — foreign affairs, the state of
agriculture, educational problems, etc.
• to debate important political issues of the day.
11.How long does Parliament hold the office?
A Parliament has a maximum duration of five years, but it is not fixed, and the
government of the day may dissolve it and call for a general election at any time
during the term. This is done by the monarch on the advice of the Prime Minister.
12.Describe the ‘life’ of a Parliament.
The life of a Parliament is divided into periods, called sessions. Each usually lasts for
one year — normally beginning and ending most often in October or November.
Each session is ended by prorogation. Parliament then 'stands prorogued', until the
new session begins. Prorogation terminates nearly all parliamentary business: in
particular, bills which have not been passed by the end of the session are lost, and
every new session begins with a clean slate.
At weekends, at Christmas, Easter and the late Spring Bank Holiday as well as during
a long summer 'recess' (usually late July until October) Parliament is adjourned.
13.What is delegated legislation?
Every year, Parliament passes about a hundred laws directly, by making Acts of
Parliament. As this can be a long process, Parliament sometimes passes a very
general law and then leaves a minister (or a civil servant) to fill in the details (these
usually involve Orders and Regulations). This procedure, called delegated legislation,
is designed to save parliamentary time and increase the number of laws and
regulations to about 2,000.
14.Name the types of parliamentary bills and explain the difference between
them
A draft law takes the form of a parliamentary bill. There are two main types of bills
— Private Bills and Public Bills. Private Bills are intended to give powers or benefits
to individuals or to particular bodies and thus can affect only one particular area or
organisation and not the whole country.
Public Bills are intended to change the general law and thus to affect the public as a
whole. Public bills are introduced into either House, by a government minister and
are known as 'Government Bills'.
15.What are a ‘Green Paper’ and a “White Paper”?
The government proposals, documents and consultation papers are usually collected
and published in what is called 'Green Papers'. The purpose of a Green Paper is to
acquaint the public with them and, consequently, invite views and comments from
those interested in government proposals while they are still taking shape. The
following preliminary document stating the details of what the government plans is
called a 'White Paper' and is circulated around and possibly debated in Parliament
before a bill is introduced.
16.Describe the process of passing a public bill.
Public Bills must normally be passed by both Houses. The process of passing a public
bill is similar in both Houses. Its publication in printed form is announced in the
chamber, and this announcement is called its first reading.
After an interval ranging from one day to several months, the bill will receive its
second reading, during which the general principles of the bill are discussed.
If the House votes for the bill, it proceeds to the committee stage. This involves a
standing committee examining the bill in detail and suggesting amendments.
If the House so decides the whole House sitting in committee may refer to the bill.
The committee stage is followed by the report stage on the floor of the House, during
which further amendments may be considered. In the Commons, the report stage is
usually followed immediately by the third reading debate.
The third reading considers the revised bill in its final form, usually on a purely
formal basis.
After the third reading, a Commons bill will be sent to the House of Lords; this
second chamber has time to examine bills and make amendments. As in the
Commons, the bills go through the same stages once more: the first reading
introduces the Bill, the second explains it in more detail, then it goes on to the
Committee stage, which is different in that it is conducted in the chamber itself, not in
a committee room.
17.What is the Cabinet? How does it function?
Traditionally, the British government is based on the Cabinet principle which means
that out of one hundred of ministers, the 20 or so senior ministers are invited by the
Prime Minister to form the Cabinet.
Among the 20 Cabinet ministers (the number can vary) there are the Chancellor of
the Exchequer, the Foreign Secretary, the Home Secretary, the Minister of Defence,
Lord Chancellor, the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, the Secretary
of Trade and Industry and the Secretary of the Environment, Transport and the
Regions.
The Cabinet presided by the Prime Minister, usually meets for a few hours once a
week in the Prime Minister's Office at 10 Downing Street. The Cabinet meets in
private and its proceedings are secret.
The Cabinet's functions are to make the main decisions about government policy as
well as to exercise the supreme control over and to coordinate Government
Departments.
18.What are the powers and functions of the Prime Minister?
The Prime Minister decides who is to be in each committee, what each one has to do,
and what matters are included in the full cabinet's agenda; he also has informal
meetings with one or two ministers alone.
 The Prime Minister's other responsibilities include informing the Queen during the
weekly audience of the general policies and business of the government;
recommending a number of appointments to the Queen such as Church of England
archbishops, bishops and deans, senior judges, Privy Councillors and Lord-
Lieutenants and others.
19.When did the British monarchy originate?
Britain's monarchy is the oldest monarchy within Europe, dating back to the 9th
century.
It existed four centuries before Parliament and three centuries before the law courts.
The present monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, is directly descended from Saxon king
Egbert, who united England under his rule in 829.
20.What is the full royal title in Britain?
The full royal title in Britain is Queen, «Elizabeth the Second, by the grace of God, of the
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of Her other Realms and
Territories Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith».
21.When and why did the English royal family name Windsor appear?
The present royal family belonged to the House of Saxe-Cobtirg and Gotha until
1917 when, in the light of the First World War, it was considered more appropriate
for the King to have an English rather than a German name. It was therefore
proclaimed that Queen Victoria's descendants in the male line would adopt the name
Windsor. In 1952 Queen Elizabeth II declared that she and her children should be
known as the House and the Family of Windsor.
22.In what way does the Queen personify the State in law?
The Queen personifies the State in law. She is the head of the executive and of the
judiciary, an integral part of the legislature, the commander-in-chief of all the armed forces
of the Crown and the 'supreme governor' of the established Church of England.
23.Does the Queen reign or rule? Can she act independently? Who is responsible
for royal acts?
As a result of a long process of evolution, especially since 1689, the monarchy's
absolute powers have been progressively reduced, the Queen today is only a formal
ruler and does not actually govern: nowadays monarchs reign but do not rule.
24.What are the Queen’s duties related to the operation of the Parliament and
how does she contribute to the smooth working of government?
The official and state duties of the Queen are numerous. The Queen's involvement is
still required in many important acts of government. It is the Queen who summons,
prorogues and dissolves Parliament. She normally opens each session with a speech
from the throne, which outlines her Government's programme. Before a bill that has
passed all its stages in both Houses of Parliament becomes a law it must receive the
Royal Assent.
The Queen is also active in the smooth working of government: she gives audiences
to her ministers and other officials in Britain and overseas, reads dispatches and signs
numerous state papers. Some are new laws that need her 'assent'. The Queen is visited
by the Prime Minister every Tuesday evening to receive an account of Cabinet
decisions, as she must be informed and consulted on every aspect of national life.
25.What appointments does the Queen make?
It is the Queen's duty to make appointments of many important office holders,
including government ministers, judges, officers in the armed forces, governors,
diplomats, bishops and other senior clergy of the Church of England. She also confers
all peerages, knighthoods and other honours.
An important function of the Queen is appointing the Prime Minister, but when doing
so she is bound to invite the leader of the political party, which has a majority in the
House of Commons.
26.What honours does the Queen confer?
The Queen confers all peerages, knighthoods and other honours.
While the Queen normally does all this on the direction of the government, there are a
few honours conferred on her personal selection — the Order of the Garter, the Order
of the Thistle, the Order of the Merit and the Royal Victorian Order.
27.What are the Queen’s powers in the sphere of international affairs?
In international affairs the Queen, as the head of the state, has the power to declare
war and make peace, to recognise foreign states and governments, to conclude
treaties and to annex or cede territories.
28.Describe the ambassadorial role of the Queen and the other members of the
royal family
The ambassadorial role of the Queen and the other members of the royal family is
very important. On average, Britain's top ten 'royals', spend one month per year on
official foreign tours. When visiting the other countries of the Commonwealth, the
Queen is usually accompanied by the Duke of Edinburgh. Other members of the royal
family also pay official visits overseas, sometimes representing the Queen or often in
connection with an organisation with which they are associated.They are also closely
involved in the work of many charities especially as presidents or patrons. For
example, Princess Ann, among her many patronages and presidencies, is head or
'Chancellor' of London University and President of the Save the Children Fund.
29.What is the Privy Council?
For advice on such matters the Queen has her own Privy Council. In earlier times it
was a body of advisers of English monarchs and was the chief source of executive
power in the State. As the system of Cabinet government developed, the Privy
Council declined in importance. The present-day Privy Council exists mainly to give
effect to policy decisions made elsewhere. The Privy Council consists of members of
the royal family, the Archbishops and all senior ministers and ex-ministers, together
with others to whom membership has been given as an honour. There are about 300
of them altogether.