国家概况chapter3

Chapter 3 Government and the Commonwealth 1 I. Constitution • Britain is both a parliamentary democracy (议会民主制) and a constitutional monarchy. The King or Queen is the head of...

Chapter 3 Government and the Commonwealth

• Constitution
  • Statutory Law
    • passed by Parliament
    • example
      • the Magna Carta (1215) the Bill of Rights (1689) the Reform Act (1832) the European Communities Act (1972) the European Communities (Amendment) Act (1986）
  • Common Law
    • deduced from custom or legal precedents and interpreted in court cases by judges
  • Conventions
    • rules and practices which do not exist legally, but are regarded as vital to the working of government
      • rules and practices which do not exist legally, but are regarded as vital to the working of government
      • rules and practices which do not exist legally, but are regarded as vital to the working of government
• Government
  • The Legislature
    • Parliament
      • the law-making body of Britain
      • one of the oldest representative assemblies in the world
      • Strictly speaking, the parliament consists of the King or Queen, the House of Lords , the House of Commons
    • Queen
      • Queen Elizabeth II
      • Queen Elizabeth II is a “constitutional monarch”
    • The House of Lords
      • often referred to as “the Upper House”
      • The Lords Spiritual (archbishops and prominent bishops of the Church of England)
      • The Lords Temporal (hereditary peers and life peers and the Law Lords)
      • The Upper House Reforms
    • The House of Commons
      • Often referred to as “the Lower House” (center of parliamentary power)
      • Three major functions to pass laws, bills and acts of Parliament to scrutinize, criticize and restrain the actions of the government to influence the future government policy
      • 646 Members of Parliament, known as “MPs” for short, who represent the 646 geographical areas / constituencies
  • The Executive
    • The Prime Minister—powerful leader
    • The Cabinet supreme decision-making body in the British government
  • The Judiciary
    • Two branches of law
      • Civil law—defines and enforces the duties or obligations of persons to one another
      • Criminal law—by contrast, defines and enforces the obligations of persons to society as a whole
• Political Parties
  • The Conservative Party
    • From Tories (a political group which appeared under King Charles II)
  • The Labor Party
    • By Unionists, liberals, socialists and the Fabian Society
  • The Liberal Democrats
    • advocates policies based on freedom of the individual and supports the adoption of Propositional Representation at elections
• 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 majority of “seats” in Parliament forms the government, with its party leader becoming the Prime Minister.
• The Commonwealth
  • The Origin of the Commonwealth
  • Characteristics and Functions
    • a voluntary association of independent sovereign states to advocate (提倡) democracy, human rights, and to promote economic cooperation and growth of its members
  • Members of the Commonwealth
    • an organization composed of 53 states in 2005 a population of approximately 1.8 billion people, some 30 percent of the world’s total population
  • Organizations of the Commonwealth
    • The headquarters are all located in London. Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) Commonwealth Ministers’ Meeting held annually The Commonwealth Secretariat The Commonwealth Foundation and other professional associations
  • Commonwealth Day
    • the second Monday in March every year