General features

Generally, every modern written constitution confers specific powers to an organization or institutional entity, established upon the primary condition that it abide by the said constitution's limitations. According to Scott Gordon, a political organization is constitutional to the extent that it "contain[s] institutionalized mechanisms of power control for the protection of the interests and liberties of the citizenry, including those that may be in theminority."^[8]

The Latin term ultra vires describes activities of officials within an organization or polity that fall outside the constitutional or statutory authority of those officials. For example, astudents' union may be prohibited as an organization from engaging in activities not concerning students; if the union becomes involved in non-student activities these activities are considered ultra vires of the union's charter, and nobody would be compelled by the charter to follow them. An example from the constitutional law of sovereign stateswould be a provincial government in a federal state trying to legislate in an area exclusively enumerated to the federal government in the constitution, such as ratifying a treaty. Ultra vires gives a legal justification for the forced cessation of such action, which might be enforced by the people with the support of a decision of the judiciary, in a case of judicial review. A violation of rights by an official would be ultra vires because a (constitutional) right is a restriction on the powers of government, and therefore that official would be exercising powers he doesn't have.

In most but not all modern states the constitution has supremacy over ordinary Statutory law (see Uncodified constitution below); in such states when an official act is unconstitutional, i.e. it is not a power granted to the government by the constitution, that act is null and void, and the nullification is ab initio, that is, from inception, not from the date of the finding. It was never "law", even though, if it had been a statute or statutory provision, it might have been adopted according to the procedures for adopting legislation. Sometimes the problem is not that a statute is unconstitutional, but the application of it is, on a particular occasion, and a court may decide that while there are ways it could be applied that are constitutional, that instance was not allowed or legitimate. In such a case, only the application may be ruled unconstitutional. Historically, the remedy for such violations have been petitions for common law writs, such as quo warranto.

Modern constitutions

The oldest written document still governing a sovereign nation today^[27] is that of San Marino. The Leges Statutae Republicae Sancti Marini was written in Latin and consists of six books. The first book, with 62 articles, establishes councils, courts, various executive officers and the powers assigned to them. The remaining books cover criminal and civil law, judicial procedures and remedies. Written in 1600, the document was based upon the Statuti Comunali (Town Statute) of 1300, itself influenced by the Codex Justinianus, and it remains in force today.

In 1639, the Colony of Connecticut adopted theFundamental Orders, which was the first North Americanconstitution, and is the basis for every new Connecticut constitution since, and is also the reason for Connecticut's nickname, "the Constitution State".

The English Protectorate that was set up by Oliver Cromwell after the English Civil Warpromulgated the first detailed written constitution adopted by a modern state;^[28] it was called the Instrument of Government. This formed the basis of government for the short lived republic from 1653 to 1657 by providing a legal rationale for the increasing power of Cromwell, after Parliament consistently failed to govern effectively.

The constitution set up a state council consisting of 21 members while executive authority was vested in the office of "Lord Protector of the Commonwealth"; this position was designated as a non-hereditary life appointment.

The Instrument had difficulty in gaining widespread acceptance as it was widely rejected by both the radicals and Royalists, and Parliament refused to accept it as the basis of its authority. It was eventually replaced by the even more short-lived "Humble Petition and Advice" in May 1657 which finally met its demise in conjunction with the death of Cromwell and the Restoration.

Agreements and Constitutions of Laws and Freedoms of the Zaporizian Host was the first European constitution in a modern sense.^[29] It was written in 1710 by Pylyp Orlyk, hetmanof the Zaporozhian Host. This "Constitution of Pylyp Orlyk" (as it is widely known) was written to establish a free Zaporozhian-Ukrainian Republic, with the support of Charles XII of Sweden. It is notable in that it established a democratic standard for the separation of powers in government between the legislative, executive, and judiciary branches, well before the publication of Montesquieu's Spirit of the Laws. This Constitution also limited the executive authority of the hetman, and established a democratically elected Cossack parliament called the General Council. However, Orlyk's project for an independentUkrainian State never materialized, and his constitution, written in exile, never went into effect.

Other examples of European constitutions of this era were the Corsican Constitution of 1755 and the Swedish Constitution of 1772.

All of the British colonies in North America that were to become the 13 original United States, adopted their own constitutions in 1776 and 1777, during the American Revolution (and before the later Articles of Confederation and United States Constitution), with the exceptions of Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts adopted its Constitution in 1780, the oldest still-functioning constitution of any U.S. state; while Connecticut and Rhode Island officially continued to operate under their old colonial charters, until they adopted their first state constitutions in 1818 and 1843, respectively.

The oldest written document still governing a sovereign nation today^[27] is that of San Marino. The Leges Statutae Republicae Sancti Marini was written in Latin and consists of six books. The first book, with 62 articles, establishes councils, courts, various executive officers and the powers assigned to them. The remaining books cover criminal and civil law, judicial procedures and remedies. Written in 1600, the document was based upon the Statuti Comunali (Town Statute) of 1300, itself influenced by the Codex Justinianus, and it remains in force today.

In 1639, the Colony of Connecticut adopted theFundamental Orders, which was the first North Americanconstitution, and is the basis for every new Connecticut constitution since, and is also the reason for Connecticut's nickname, "the Constitution State".

The English Protectorate that was set up by Oliver Cromwell after the English Civil Warpromulgated the first detailed written constitution adopted by a modern state;^[28] it was called the Instrument of Government. This formed the basis of government for the short lived republic from 1653 to 1657 by providing a legal rationale for the increasing power of Cromwell, after Parliament consistently failed to govern effectively.

The constitution set up a state council consisting of 21 members while executive authority was vested in the office of "Lord Protector of the Commonwealth"; this position was designated as a non-hereditary life appointment.

The Instrument had difficulty in gaining widespread acceptance as it was widely rejected by both the radicals and Royalists, and Parliament refused to accept it as the basis of its authority. It was eventually replaced by the even more short-lived "Humble Petition and Advice" in May 1657 which finally met its demise in conjunction with the death of Cromwell and the Restoration.

Agreements and Constitutions of Laws and Freedoms of the Zaporizian Host was the first European constitution in a modern sense.^[29] It was written in 1710 by Pylyp Orlyk, hetmanof the Zaporozhian Host. This "Constitution of Pylyp Orlyk" (as it is widely known) was written to establish a free Zaporozhian-Ukrainian Republic, with the support of Charles XII of Sweden. It is notable in that it established a democratic standard for the separation of powers in government between the legislative, executive, and judiciary branches, well before the publication of Montesquieu's Spirit of the Laws. This Constitution also limited the executive authority of the hetman, and established a democratically elected Cossack parliament called the General Council. However, Orlyk's project for an independentUkrainian State never materialized, and his constitution, written in exile, never went into effect.

Other examples of European constitutions of this era were the Corsican Constitution of 1755 and the Swedish Constitution of 1772.

All of the British colonies in North America that were to become the 13 original United States, adopted their own constitutions in 1776 and 1777, during the American Revolution (and before the later Articles of Confederation and United States Constitution), with the exceptions of Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts adopted its Constitution in 1780, the oldest still-functioning constitution of any U.S. state; while Connecticut and Rhode Island officially continued to operate under their old colonial charters, until they adopted their first state constitutions in 1818 and 1843, respectively.

22. Mass media:

Ukraine

The media in Ukraine today is a single public structure providing society with up-to-date detailed information concerning sociopolitical, economic, cultural aspects, etc. It is designed to positively influence the general public, from their progressive views, aspirations and ideals.

At present, Ukraine numbers 4,000 editions varying in forms of ownership, genre, type, and periodicity. Periodicals are independent and censorshipfree.

The national radio-and-television network of Ukraine is made up of government-run and non-government radio and TV companies. Ukraine is a member of the International Telecommunication Union and an active participant in the Intervision network. Besides State channel "UT-1" there have appeared several nongoverment TV and radio companes: "1+1", "Inter" "STB" and others.

Among Ukraine's information agencies special popularity enjoy the UKRINFORM (Ukrainian National Information Agency), UNIAR (Ukrainian Independent Information Agency Respublica), and several others. These agencies have correspondents and reporters throughout the country and abroad and disseminate information both within and outside Ukraine.

UK

Media of the United Kingdom consist of several different types of communications media: television,radio, newspapers, magazines, and Web sites. The country also has a strong music industry. The United Kingdom has a diverse range of providers, the most prominent being the state-owned public service broadcaster, the BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation). The BBC's largest competitors are ITV plc, which operates 11 of the 15 regional television broadcasters that make up the ITV Network, and News Corporation, which holds a large stake in satellite broadcaster British Sky Broadcasting and also operate a number of leading national newspapers. Regional media is covered by local radio, television and print newspapers. Trinity Mirroroperate 240 local and regional newspapers in the United Kingdom, as well as national newspapers such as theDaily Mirror and the Sunday Mirror.

USA

Media of the United States consist of several different types of media: television, radio, cinema, newspapers, magazines, and Internet-based Web sites. The U.S. also has a strong music industry. Many of the media are controlled by large for-profit corporations who reap revenue from advertising,subscriptions, and sale of copyrightedmaterial. American media conglomerates tend to be leading global players, generating large revenues as well as large opposition in many parts of the world. With the passage of theTelecommunications Act of 1996, furtherderegulation and convergence are under way, leading to mega-mergers, furtherconcentration of media ownership, and the emergence of multinational media conglomerates. These mergers enable tighter control of information.^[1] Currently, six corporations control roughly 90% of the media.^[2][3][4] Critics allege that localism, local news and other content at the community level, media spending and coverage of news, and diversity of ownership and views have suffered as a result of these processes of media concentration.^[5]

Theories to explain the success of such companies include reliance on certain policies of the Americanfederal government or a tendency to natural monopolies in the industry. See Media bias in the United States.

The organisation Reporters Without Borderscompiles and publishes an annual ranking of countries based upon the organisation's assessment of their press freedom records. In 2013-14 United States was ranked 46th out of 180 countries, a drop of thirteen points from the preceding year.^[6][7]

Date: 2015-01-29; view: 958