Political profile of a country
When we speak about the (1) … system of any country we take into consideration three (2) … of power – legislative, executive and judicial irrespective of the head of the state.
The legislative branch is usually (3) … by the Parliament and its main function is to make laws. In most countries the parliament includes two (4) … or houses. The members of the parliament are (5) …for different terms according to the regulations of the sovereign country.
The (6) … branch is, actually, the government or the Cabinet of Ministers. The Prime Minister is often at the head of the executive. The main function of this branch of power is to implement (7) … which are adopted by the Parliament.
The (8)… is empowered to observe and control if the laws are executed according to the Constitution of the country.
The system of adopting the law works as follows. The bill (draft) is introduced by the department of the government or some committee to the lower chamber of the Parliament. If it is (9) … the bill goes to the upper chamber. The bill becomes the law only after it is approved and signed by the head if the state. The way how the law is (10)… is supervised by the Court.
represented, implemented, branches, approved, political, judiciary, laws, chambers, executive, elected
Task 6. Complete the text with the proper word making a derivative from the word on the right.
CHECKS AND BALANCES One of the unique characteristics of the American systems of … is the system of “checks and balances”. The men who wrote the …were afraid that one person or branch of government might get too …. After all, they had just finished fighting a bloody war against the powerful King of England because the king had taken away many of their rights. So they made sure that each branch of government could control the other branches. For example, the … can ‘check’ Congress by … or rejecting laws it passes. On the other hand, Congress can … the President if enough members feel that he is not doing a good job. And the Supreme Court can decide a law is …. |
govern constitute power
preside veto move constitute |
READING 1
Before you start working on the texts, try to do “General Knowledge Quiz” to see if you know a lot about the state structures of the Republic of Belarus, the United Kingdom and the USA.
General knowledge quiz (State Structure of Great Britain, the usa and the Republic of Belarus)
The Constitution of ... a) the United States; b) Great Britain; c) the Republic of Belarus ... grants all the legislative powers of the federal government to the Congress.
The only non-elected second chamber in the parliament in the world is ... a) the Council of the Republic of Belarus; b) the Senate; c) the House of Lords
a) The House of Representatives; b) the House of Lords; c) the Senate ... has 100 members.
One-third of ... a) the House of Lords; b) the Senate; c) the Council of the Republic of Belarus ... is elected every two years.
The Vice President is the presiding officer in the ... a) House of Representatives of the Congress; b) Senate; c) House of Commons.
The House of Commons is presided over by ... a) the Lord Chancellor; b) the Speaker; c) the Prime Minister
The executive power is exercised by the Council of Ministers in ... a) the Republic of Belarus; b) the USA; c) Great Britain
The Council of the Republic of Belarus consists of ... a) 110 deputies; b} 64 deputies; c) 435 deputies
The judicial branch in the USA is headed by ... a) the Constitutional Court; b) the Supreme Court; c) the federal court of appeal.
The judicial system is the most complicated in ... a) the Republic of Belarus; b) the USA; с) Great Britain.
"Front-benchers" are the leading members of ... a) the party in power; b) both parties; c) all existing parties ... in the House of Commons.
The President is elected for a term of four years and can be re-elected for another term but not longer in … a) the Republic of Belarus; b) the United States; c) Great Britain.
The absolute power of the British monarchy has been progressively reduced ... a) in the process of political evolution, b) in the Magna Carta; c) by the Constitution adopted by the Parliament.
The US Constitution was adopted in ... a) 1620; b) 1787; c) 1861
The Prime Minister is the leader of the majority party in ... a) Belarus, b) Great Britain; c) the USA.
There's no universal legal system in ... a) Belarus; b) Great Britain; c) the USA
The President is the chief executive in ... a) Belarus; b) Great Britain; c) the USA
The term of office of the Parliament members of different chambers is the same in ... a) Belarus; b) Great Britain; c) the USA
The Supreme Court determines whether the laws and official enactments correspond to the Constitution in ... a) Belarus; b) Great Britain; c) the USA
The upper chamber of Parliament isn't elected in ... a) Belarus; b) Great Britain; c) the USA
"Convention" means a set of rules and practices which are regarded as vital for the operation of the government in ... a) Belarus; b) Great Britain; c) the USA
"Convention" means the congress of the party's representatives to nominate the candidate for the highest post of the state in ... a) Belarus; b) Great Britain; c) the USA
The ... a) Labor; b) Liberal; c) Conservative party of Great Britain traces its origin back to the Whigs.
The Democratic Party was founded by ... a) George Washington; b) Thomas Jefferson; c) Abraham Lincoln.
Most of Belarusian electorate ... a) don't support any party; b) back the Communist party of Belarus; c) favor the Belarusian Popular Front.
"Union Jack" is the name of the national flag of ... a) Belarus; b) Great Britain; c) the USA
Each part of ... a) Belarus; b) Great Britain; c) the USA ... has its own patron saint and national emblem.
The flower of ... a) shamrock; b) leek; c) flax ... is used in the ornament of the Belarusian national emblem.
The "Stars and Stripes" was adopted as a national flag of the USA in ... a) 1782: b) 1777 c) 1864
Task 1. Read three texts about the political systems of Belarus, the UK and the USA. Make three charts as you see below and fill in the missing information outlining three structures. Be ready to describe the political systems of each country.
Head of the state
legislative branch executive branch judicial branch
head
Text 1
POLITICAL SYSTEM AND STATE STRUCTURE
OF THE REPUBLIC OF BELARUS
Article 1 of the Constitution of the Republic of Belarus says that the Republic of Belarus is a unitary, democratic, social state based on the rule of law.
According to the Constitution the state power in the republic is exercised on the principle of divisions of power between the legislature, executive and judiciary.
The parliament, the National Assembly, is a representative and legislative body of the Republic of Belarus. It consists of two chambers – the House of Representatives and the Council of the Republic. The House of Representatives includes 110 deputies. The elections of deputies is carried out in accordance with the law on the basis of universal, direct electoral suffrage. The Council of the Republic is a chamber of territorial representation. Eight deputies are elected at the meetings of local Councils of deputies, and eight other are appointed by the President of the Republic of Belarus.
The right of legislative initiative belongs to the President, members of the House of Representatives, Council of the Republic, Government.
The executive power in the Republic of Belarus is exercised by the government – the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus. The government in its activity is accountable to the President and to the National Assembly. The head of the government, the Prime Minister, is appointed by the President with the consent of the House of Representatives.
The courts exercise judicial power in the Republic of Belarus. The judicial system is based on the principle of the territorial delineation. In administering justice judges are independent and subordinate to law alone. Supervision of constitutionality of the enforceable enactments of the state is exercised by the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Belarus.
(from Constitution of the Republic of Belarus, 2001)