THE POLITICAL PROFILE OF BELARUS

Communication: Belarusian political system

Grammar Focus: Modal Verbs

Language use: Expressing agreement / disagreement

Part A

READING AND SPEAKING

Think ahead

Talk about the political profile of Belarus with your group mates. Answer the following questions.

1. How would you characterize the political profile of Belarus?

2. Can one say that Belarus is a socially-oriented state?

3. How do you understand the notion of ‘social responsibility’?

4. What kind of policy, foreign and domestic, does our country pursue?

5. In which way do you think our political system will develop?

Ex.1. Study the description of our country’s state system. Point out its most important aspects.

STATE SYSTEM OF THE REPUBLIC OF BELARUS

I. PRE-READING TASKS

l.Go through the following words and make sure you know them.

executive (а) исполнительный

judicial (а) судебный, законный

legislative (а) законодательный

suffrage (n) право голоса, избирательное право

court (n) суд

Prosecutor General (n) генеральный прокурор

precise (а) точный, аккуратный, четкий

II. Match the words on the left with their synonyms or definitions on the right.

1 .unitary a) according to

2.objective b) having one purpose

3 .in conformity with c) goal, purpose, aim

4.to exercise d) control

5 .supervision e) to carry out, to execute

II. READING

1 .Read the text carefully and assimilate its information.

The Republic of Belarus is a unitary democratic social law-governed state. The fundamental law of the country is its Constitution. The Constitution of the Republic of Belarus was adopted in 1994, with the subsequent amendments and additions adopted at the national referenda on November 24, 1996 and October 17, 2006.

In conformity with the Constitution of the Republic of Belarus the only source of the state power is the people who exercise it directly and through representative bodies. Assuring the rights and freedoms of the citizens is the supreme objective of the state.

The constitution approved the principle of division of power into legislative, executive and judicial powers. The supreme representative and legislative body is the Parliament, the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus. The Parliament consists of two chambers, the House of Representatives (110 deputies) and the Council of the Republic (64 members). The Chamber of Representatives is formed on the basis of universal, free, equal and direct suffrage by secret ballot. The Council of the Republic is the chamber of territorial representation.

Belarus is a presidential republic. The President of the Republic of Belarus is the head of state and of executive power. Executive power is exercised in the Republic by the Government, i.e., the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus headed by the Prime Minister.

Local government and self-government is exercised by citizens through local Councils of Deputies, executive and administrative bodies, bodies of territorial civil self-government, local referendums, meetings and other forms of direct participation in state and public affairs.

The judicial power in the Republic of Belarus belongs to courts. Control over the constitutionality of regulatory acts in the state is exercised by the Constitutional Court.

Supervision over precise and uniform execution of laws by all bodies of state government, local representative and executive bodies and artificial and natural persons is executed by the Prosecutor General of the Republic of Belarus.

State bodies are independent within the limits of their powers and they co-operate following the principle of checks and balances.

Date: 2015-01-11; view: 1543