Assignments:

1. Which of the Queen’s functions are formal? Which are real?

2. List and discuss the advantages and disadvantages of monarchies and republics.

2. The constitution

Britain is a constitutional monarchy (which doesn't have a written constitution). That means it is a country governed by a king or queen who accepts the advice of parliament. It is also a parliamentary democracy. That is, it is a country whose government is controlled by a parliament, which has been elected by the people. In other words, the basic system is not so different from anywhere else in Europe. But Britain is almost alone among modern states that don’t have a constitution at all. Of course, there are rules, regulations, principles and procedures for the running of the country. But there is no single written document, which can be appealed to as the highest law of the land.

Instead, the principles and procedures, by which the country is governed and from which people's rights are derived, come from a number of different sources. They have been built up, bit by bit, over the centuries. Some of them are written down in laws agreed by Parliament, some of them have been spoken and then written down (judgments made in a court) and some of them have never been written down at all. For example, there is no written law in Britain that says anything about who can be the Prime Minister or what powers of the Prime Minister are, even though He dr she is probably the most powerful person in the country. But there is a possibility that Britain will finally get a written constitution. An unwritten constitution works very well in a society where everybody belongs to the same culture. However, Biritain is now multicultural. This means that some sections of society can sometimes hold radically different ideas about some things. The caese of Salman Rushdie is an excellent example of this situation. Salman Rushdie is a British citizen from a Muslim background, and a respec:ted writer. In early 1989, his book The Satanic Verses’ was published. Many Muslims in Britain were extremely angry about the book’s publication. They regarded it as a terrible insult to Islam. They demanded thaet the book be banned and that the author be taken to court for blasphemy (using language to insult God). To do either of these things would have meant to go against the long-established tradition of free speech and freedom of religious views. In any case, there is nothing in British law to justify doing either. There are censorship laws, but they relate only to obscenity and national security. There is a law against blasphemy, but it refers only to the Christian religion.

Questions

1. Speak about the main principles and the main characteristic of the British Constitution.

• What is the British Constitution based on?

2. Why does Britain not have a written constitution? Does it need one?

2. Parliament

The constitutional safeguard of the separation of powers includes the Legislature (the two Houses of Parliament), which makes laws, the Executive (the Government), which puts laws into effect, and the Judiciary, which decides on cases arising out of the laws.

In Great Britain this separation of powers is only theoretical.

The LEGISLATURE is presented by Parliament, which is the supreme legislative authority and consists of three separate elements: the Sovereign, the House of Lords and the House of Commons.

The activities of Parliament in Britain are more or less the same as those of the Parliament in any western democracy. It makes new laws, gives authority for the government to raise and spend money, keeps a close eye on government activities and discusses these activities.

The British Parliament works in a large building called the Palace of Westminster (popularly known as the Houses of Parliament).

The British Parliament is divided into two 'houses', and its members belong to one or other of them, although only members of the Commons are normally known as MPs. The British Parliament works in a large building called the Palace of Westminster (popularly known as the Houses of Parliament).

THE HOUSE OF COMMONS. The Commons is by far the more important of the two houses. The House of Commons plays the major part in lawmaking. It consists of 650 elected members of Parliament (MPs), each representing an area in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The House of Commons is presided over by the Speaker.

The design and layout of the interior of the House of Commons differ from those of the Parliament buildings in most otter countries. These differences can tell us a lot about what is distinctive about the British Parliament.

First, notice the seating arrangements. There are just two rows of benches facing each other. On the left there are the government benches, where the MPs of the governing party sit. On the right are the Opposition benches. According to where they sit, MPs are seen to either 'for' the government (supporting it) or against it. This physcal division is emphasized by the table on the floor of the House between the two rows of benches. The Speaker's Chair, which is raised some way of the floor, is also here. So the arrangement of the benches in the House suggests a two-party system.

At the end of every debate the Speaker asks the House to vote on the motion that has been debated. If there is disagreement, there is a 'division' and Members vote by walking through the corridors called 'Lobbies’, being counted as they do so. The names of Members voting are recorded and published. The 'Aye' (yes) Lobby runs down one side of the Chamber, the 'No' Lobby - down the other side. Six minutes after the beginning of the division the doors leading into the Lobbies are locked.

FRONTBENCHERS AND BACKBENCHERS. Although MPs do not have their own personal seats in the Commons, there are two seating areas reserved for particular MPs. These areas are the front benches on either side of the House. These benches are where the leading members of the governing party (i. e. ^Ministers) and the leading members of the main opposition part (Her Majesty Loyal Opposition) sit. These people are thus known as 'frontbenchers'. MPs, wlio do npt hold a government post or a post in the Shadow Cabinet, are known as 'backbenchers'.

THE HOUSE OF LORDS. The House of Lords, whiich is presided over by the Lord Speaker (formerly known as Lord Chancellor), is probably the only upper House in the democratic world whose members are not elected. It is made up of the Lords Spiritual and the Lords Temporal; the former consist of the representatives of the Church of England (the Archbishops of York and Canterbury and 255 bishops); the latter comprise all hereditary and life peers (life peers, named by the Sovereign on the advice of the Prime Minister, do not pa:ss on their title when they die).

The life peerage system has established itself a:s a means of finding a place in public life for distinguished retired politiicians. (Four of the last five Prime Ministers, as well as about 300 past ministers and other respected politicians, have accepted the offer of a life peerage).

There are also Law Lords, the twenty or so senior judges in the land. By tradition, the House of Lords is the final court of appeal in the country. In fact, however, when the Lords act in the role, it is only the Law Lords who vote on the matter.