《英语国家概况》Chapter3

《英语国家概况》Chapter3总结，包括Government、Political Parties、Constitution、Election、Commonwealth四个部分。

The United Kingdom of Great Britain

Government

Monarch(non-political）

The Legislature——Parliament(law-making body)

The History of Parliament

14th Century

late 15th Century(Wars of Roses)

decline of the power of nobes and increase in the influence of the monarch

shrinking of the parliament

Tudors

centralized government ruled by monarch

Stuart(1603)

Conflicts

civil war

Charles first beheaded

the lower House became having supreme power theoretically

1660

reopen

decline of monarch

1689 Glorious Revolution

1831(Reform Act)

1911

House of Commons(the Lower House)

State

center of parliamentary power

Functions

to pass laws,bills and acts of Parilament

to scrutinize（审查）,criticize and restrain（约束）,the actions of the government

to influence the future government policy

House of Lords(the Upper House)

Constitution

The Lords Temporal（上议院世俗议员）

hereditary peers and life peers and the Law Lords

The Lords Spiritual（上议院神职议员）

archbishops and prominent bishops of the Church of England

Reforms

Reduce the number of seats

from 705 to 666 (Mar.1,2004)

Final court of appeal——Supreme Court

Crown(regarded as a separate institution)

Monarchy

Theoretically

is officially the head of state

an integral part of the legislature

head of the legislative,executive and judiciary branches

the commander-in-chief of all armed forces of the Crown

"supreme governor" of the Church of England

In reality

role

ceremonial（仪式的）,unpolitical and symbolic

obligation（职责）

State opening of the Parliament（国会开幕大典）

Royal assent to new law

Meeting with the Prime Minister at Buckingham Palace

Pay state visits to Commonwealth countries as head of state and non-Commnwealth countries on behalf of the British government

Functions

effect on public attitude

represents the continuity and adaptability of the whole political system

is a symbol of British unity

an indissoluble（牢不可破的）bond among people who retain many regional and cultural differences

The Executive

The Prime Minister——powerful leader

head of the government

the leader of the majority party in parliament

controls the parliament

The Cabinet

supreme decision-marking body in the British government

Cabinet members are chosen by the Prime Minister from members of his own party in Parliament

works' principle

collective responsibility

individual ministerial responsibility

Ministers responsible for their particular department

Deputy Prime Minister（副相）、Foreign Secretary（外相）、Chancellor of then Exchequer（财政大臣）、Home Secretary（内政大臣）

Resignation（辞职）

Pricy Council

a body of advisors(500 member)

current and former Cabinet members and important public figures

Its main duty is to give advice(serve as a body of advisors)

a powerful institution(formerly),largely ceremonial(now)

The Judiciary

Proceedings

All criminal trials are held in open court because the criminal law presumes the innocence of the accused until he has been approved guilty beyond reasonable doubt

In criminal trials by jury, the judge passes sentence but the jury decides the issue of guilt and innocence

Two branches of law

Civil law（民法）

defines and enforces the duties or obligations of persons to one another

Criminal law（刑法）

by contrast, defines and enforces the obligations of persons to society as a whole

The court System

House of Lords

Civil branch

Court of Appeal（上诉法院）

High Court(QBD、CCD、FD)

County Court（郡法院）

Criminal branch

Court of Appeal（上诉法院）

Crown Court（刑事法庭）

Magistrates' Court（地方法院）(JPs，stpendiary magistrates)

Political Parties

The Parliament operates on a two-party system

The Conservative Party——The Tory Party（托利党）(the late 17th century)

Developed from Tories(a political group which appeared under King Charles Second)

stand for private enterprise and freedom from state control

the "Right wing" party

landowners and businessmen, the middle and upper-middle class

free enterprise and privatization of state-owned firms

the middle of the 19th century (old)

Margert Thatcher(1979-1990)

The Iron Lady

privatized state-owned industries and promoted a more competitive spirit in Britain's economy

reduced old age pensions, shortened the period of unemployment benefits, and cut child benefits

curbed（限制）the power of the trade unions

The Labor Party

By Unionists, liberals, socialists and the Fabian Society 费边社（和平进化）

in 1900 (young)

stand for national and communal（公共的）growth

the "Left wing" party

created by the growing trade union movement at the end of 19th century

After 1945——to establish a welfare state

Recent Prime Ministers from the left

Tony Blair(1997-2006)

"Third Way"

made the Bank of England independent (separate politics and economic policy)

put an emphasis on the minimum wage and supplementing low incomes

Gorden Brown(June 27, 2007)

The Liberal Democrats——The Whig Party（辉格党）(the late 17th century)

an amalgamation of the old Liberal Party and the social Democratic Party(the latter being a breakaway group from the Labor Party, formed in 1981)

advocates policies based on freedom of the individual and supports and the adoption of Propositional Representation at elections

remain a minority party

a party of protest rather than a real alternative for government

Constitution

National Basic Information

Great Britain(UK) is a parliamentary democracy(议会民主制国家） with a constitutional monarch（立宪君主） as the head of state （国家元首）

British Constitution is made up of

Statutory Law(成文法）

the most important and takes precedence(优先） over the others if there is a clash

Common Law（判例法）

precisely（精确的） defined

Conventions（习惯法）

rules and practices which are not legally enforceable（没有法律强制力），but are regarded as vital（至关重要的） to the working of the goverment

Parliamentary democracy

The Constitution can be altered or amended（修订） by normal parliamentary processes.

The Constitution is subject to interpretation（解释） by different bodies（不同主体）, the most important being politicians（政治家）, judges（法官） and scholars（学者）.

The British government is characterized by a division of powers among the legislature（立法机关），the executive（行政部门）and the judiciary（司法部门）.

Election

held every five years in the 646 constituencies

candidate who wins in each constituency becomes a Member of Parliament

The party which holds the majory of "seat"in Parliament forms the government, with its party leader becoming the Prime Minister

Commonwealth

Origine

The Commonwealth of Nation（英联邦） is the successor of British Empire

In 1949,"British" was dropped from the title of "Commonwealth"

In 1949, the London Declaration accepted and recognized India's continued membership as a republic

From 1960 onwards, new members joined the Commonwealth

Characteristics and Functions

a voluntary association of independent sovereign states（主权国家）

to advocate（提倡） democracy, human rights, and to promote economic cooperation and growth of its members

Members of Commonwealth

an organization composed of 54 states in 2005

a population of approximately 2 billion people, some 30 percent of the world's total population

Organizations of the Commonwealth

The headquarter are all located in London

Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM)

Commonwealth Minister's Meeting held annually

The Commonwealth Secretariat

The Commonwealth Foundation（基金会） and other professional associations

Commonwealth Day

the second Monday in March every year

an opportunity to promote understanding of global issues, international cooperation and the efforts to improve the lives of its 2 billion citizen's