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THE SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT

The United Kingdom is a constitutional monarchy. The head of the state is Queen Elizabeth II. The queen reigns, but does not rule. A Cabinet of government officials, called ministers, actually rules the country. These ministers normally belong to the political party that has a majority in the House of Commons, which dominates in Parliament, the country’s lawmaking body. They are responsible to Parliament, which, in turn, is responsible to the people.

The Constitution of the United Kingdom is not one document, as are the constitutions of many other countries. Much of it is not ever in writing, and so the country is often said to have an unwritten constitution.

Some of the written parts of the Constitution come from laws passed by Parliament. Some written parts come from such old documents as Magna Carta, which limited the king’s power, other written parts come from common law, a body of laws based on people’s customs and beliefs, and supported in the courts.

The unwritten parts of the Constitution include many important ideas and practices that the people have developed over the years. They include the Cabinet system of government and the relationship between the Cabinet and the monarch. For more than 1000 years, the Constitution has been charming and developing, because it is so flexible. The Constitution can be changed at any time by an act of Parliament or by the people’s acceptance of a new idea or practice.

The monarchy is over 1000 years old. The throne passes from a king or a queen to his or her oldest son or daughter. The crown symbolizes the British monarch’s supreme power. For hundreds of years, the monarch held most authority. But as Parliament’s power grew, monarch’s power declined. Today, almost all the powers of the Crown are used by various government officials in the monarch’s name. The queen can make few decisions on her own. The British call their government “Her Majesty’s Government”, and government officials work “On Her Majesty’s Service”.

The monarch formally opens Parliament, prorogues it (brings one session of Parliament to an end), and dissolves it (brings the existing Parliament to an end). The monarch also completes the process of passing an act by giving the royal assent. The Lord Chancellor and the Speaker normally announce to Parliament that the monarch has given the royal assent to a bill. By tradition, the monarch never acts without the advice of his or her ministers.

Parliament makes the laws of the United Kingdom, Parliament consists of the Queen, the House of Commons and the House of Lords. The Queen must approve all bills passed by Parliament before they can become laws.

Although the Queen may reject a bill, no monarch has done it since the early 1700s.

The House of Lords has no fixed number of members. But four groups of people are entitled to sit in the House of Lords: 2 archbishops, and 24 bishops of the Church of England, the law lords, hereditary peers, and life peers. The monarch formally appoints all bishops and also creates peers on the advice of the Prime Minister.



If the Lord Chancellor, who is a member of the government and head of the judicature (judicial system), presides over the House of Lords both when it sits as a legislative (lawmaking) body and when it sits as a law court.

If the Lords rejects a bill that the Commons has passed, the Commons can pass the bill again in the next session. If the Commons then passes the bill a second time, the bill is not sent back to the Lords, but is submitted to the royal assent. In other words, the final power of the Lords is to impose about a year’s delay on legislation. These rules are contained in the Parliament Acts of 1911 and 1949.

The House of Lords is the final court of appeal in civil lawsuit and, in special circumstances, in criminal cases. When it sits as a law court, only law lords attend.

The House of Commons is made up of 651 elected members known as Members of Parliament (abbreviated to MPs), each of whom represents an area (constituency) of the United Kingdom. They are elected either at a general election, or at a by-election following the death or retirement of an MP. The Speaker of the House of Commons is a member chosen by the whole Commons to preside over meetings of the Commons.

The Queen, Lords and Commons all have to agree to any new law which is passed. In reality, the House of Commons is the only one of the three which has true power. It is here that new bills are introduced and debated. If the majority of the members are in favour of a bill it goes to the House of Lords to be debated and finally to the monarch to be signed.

The Prime minister is usually the leader of the political party that has the most seats in the House of Commons. The monarch appoints the Prime minister after each general election. The monarch asks the Prime minister to form a government – that is, to select ministers to head governmental departments and to hold various offices. The Prime Minister selects about 100 ministers. From them, the Prime Minister picks a special group to make up the Cabinet.

The Cabinet decides what the government shall do and how it shall be done. The Prime Minister chairs the Cabinet, which usually consists of about 20 ministers. Mr. Blair, the leader of the Labour Party, became Prime Minister in May 1997.

The United Kingdom has 110 Ministry of Justice. Responsibility for the administration of the judicial system in England and Wales is divided between the courts themselves. The Lord Chancellor is responsible for the composition of the courts, civil law, parts of criminal procedure and law reform in general. The Home Secretary is responsible for the prevention of criminal offences, trial and treatment of offenders and for the prison service.

 

Exercises

I. Consult a dictionary, transcribe the following words and practice their pronunciation; suggest Ukrainian equivalents:

reign, v submit, v circumstance (s), n

assent, n decline, n., v hereditary, adj

actually, adv dissolve, v peer, n

throne, n reject, v judicial, adj

authority, n archbishop, n executive, adj.

relationship, n monarch, n procedure, n

 

II. 1. State what part of speech the following words are and translate them:

1) constitute – constitutional – unconstitutional – constitutionally – constitutionalism;

2) legislate – legislature – legislator – legislative – legislation;

3) serve – servant – service – servicing – serviceman – serviceable;

4) economy – economic – economist – economize – economical – economically.

 

2. Form derivatives of the following words and translate them:

power – reject – elect –

accept – preside – execute –

approve – submit –

 

3. Make up 6-8 sentences with the above verbs. Review Present Tenses in the Passive Voice.

III. Match the word (word combination) with the corresponding definition:

1) lawsuit a) official agreement to take something that you have been

offered;

2) official b) an area of the country that elects a representative to

a parliament;

3) common law c) a person holding public office;

4) acceptance d) official agreement, e.g. to a proposal;

5) to prorogue e) case in a law court;

6) assent f) a body of laws;

7) to reject a bill g) to choose for a post;

8) to submit h) to refuse to accept an offer, suggestion or request;

9) constituency i) to put forward for opinion, discussion, decision, etc.;

10) to appoint j) to bring (a session) of parliament to an end without

dissolving it.

 

IV. In group B find Ukrainian equivalents to the word combinations and expressions of group A:

A. Prevention of criminal offences; executive; hereditary; preside; judicial;

Home Secretary; the House of Commons; civil servant; legislation; the House of Lords; constituency; Foreign office; offender; dissolve; to make up the Cabinet; to hold various offices; to chair the Cabinet; in favour of a bill; the composition of the courts.

B. Îá³éìàòè ð³çí³ ïîñàäè; öèâ³ëüíèé ñëóæáîâåöü; âèáîð÷èé îêðóã; ̳í³ñòåðñòâî çàêîðäîííèõ ñïðàâ; ì³í³ñòð âíóòð³øí³õ ñïðàâ; çëî÷èíåöü; ôîðìóâàòè êàá³íåò (óðÿä); ïàëàòà ãðîìàä; ïàëàòà ëîðä³â; âèêîíàâ÷à âëàäà; ñêëàä ñóä³â; ãîëîâóâàòè; ñóäîâèé; çàêîíîäàâñòâî; ðîçïóñêàòè ïàðëàìåíò; íà êîðèñòü çàêîíîïðîåêòó; â³äâåðíåííÿ ïðàâîïîðóøåíü; ñïàäêîâèé; î÷îëþâàòè êàá³íåò óðÿäó.

 

V. Fill in the blanks with a suitable word in the correct form. Translate the sentences into Ukrainian.

To reign, to rule, to introduce, to chair, to hold, to submit, to pick, to impose, delay, to preside.

1. We have decided … sanctions on countries that break the agreement.

2. Students have … three courses from a list of 15.

3. There was a slight … before the show.

4. They could find no clergyman who would agree … at the funeral.

5. George VI … from 1936 to 1952.

6. All applications must be … by Monday.

7. Most of the senior positions are … by men.

8. The commission of inquiry was … by a well-known judge.

9. The teachers’ association wanted … a new kind of test.

10. Queen Victoria … England for 64 years.

 

VI. Read the following sentences and decide if they are true or false.

1. The Prime Minister is the leader of the governing party.

2. The Queen chooses the Cabinet.

3. Mr. Blair’s Cabinet belongs to the Conservative Party.

4. The House of Lords is a hereditary body.

5. The Cabinet are the senior members of the Government chosen by the Prime Minister.

6. Parliament is the executive body of the United Kingdom.

7. The House of Commons is the unelected Chamber in Parliament.

8. The monarchy is hereditary.

9. The House of Lords is a Court of Justice.

VII. Put the words in the following questions in the correct order and answer them.

1. The/ is/ what/ Government?

2. Cabinet/ the/ chooses/ who?

3. House/ the/ what/ Lords/ of/ is?

4. Minister/ who/ Prime/ is/ the?

5. do/ Parliament/ does/ what?

6. Functions/ are/ the/ of/ what/ the/ Queen?

 

VIII. Supply the correct prepositions in the following sentences:

1. The Lord Chancellor and the Speaker announce … Parliament that the monarch has given the royal assent … a bill.

2. Today, almost all the powers of the Crown are used … various governmental officials … the monarch’s name.

3. The Queen, Commons and Lords all have to agree … any new law.

4. The Speaker is a member chosen … the whole Commons to preside … meetings of the Commons.

5. Responsibility … the administration of the judicial system is divided … the courts themselves, the Lord Chancellor and the Home Secretary.

6. I claim this land … the name of the King.

7. I have been living … my own for four years now.

8. … my doctor’s advice. I’m taking early retirements.

9. Senior ministers spoke … favour of the bill.

10. Social charges are responsible … many of our modern problems.

11. In the US. Cabinet members are directly responsible … the president.

 

IX. Put in the suitable conjunctions. Revise the grammar: as long as / provided, so that, until, while, as if / as though.

1. You can go out … you tell us where you’re going.

2. Let’s start now, … we are sure to have enough time.

3. I’m staying here … I get my money back.

4. It was very dark in the passage, … I couldn’t see where I was going.

5. Joe was short and dark, … his sister was the exact opposite.

6. You look … you’ve seen a ghost.

7. He won’t get any money … he finishes the work properly.

8. It looks … it’s going to rain.

9. I’m going to the bank now, … I’ll have enough money for shopping.

10. … I think his novels are good, his poetry isn’t up to much.

11. He went to Britain … he could learn English.

12. … I’m interested in economics, I wouldn’t want to work in a bank.

 

X. 1. Complete the conversation with the correct possessive pronoun. Revise the Grammar:

Yours, his, hers, mine, theirs, ours.

A: Nick, I need to borrow a car this weekend.

B: What’s wrong with … ?

A: It’s at the garage.

B: I’m sorry but I’m using … this weekend.

A: Is Sally using … , do you know?

B: Yes, she is, I’m afraid. But why not ask John?

A: He doesn’t use … very often.

B: Or ask the Browns. They only use … on Sundays.

 

XI. Write a brief account of:

a) the Powers of the Lord Chancellor in Great Britain.

b) the Powers of the Crown in Great Britain.

c) the Powers of (the) Prime Minister in this country.

Are you good at translating the following words, word combinations and expressions into English. Prove it.


Date: 2015-01-29; view: 1797


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