13.Political systems in Great Britain and U.S.A.
POLITICAL SYSTEMS IN THE UK AND USA
The British system of government is the oldest parliamentary democracy in Europe. British parliament was formed in the eleventh century and, after the signing of the Magna Charta by King John in the year 1215, it came to power and became the main part in the system of government. In this way, England set up the base of democracy in the whole Europe.
Britain is a constitutional monarchy: Queen Elizabeth II is the head of state. In practice she reigns, but does not rule. The country is governed, in her name, by the Government, a body of ministers, which is called the Cabinet (consists of 22 leading ministers), who are responsible to Parliament.
Queen Elizabeth II was born on 21 April 1926. She married Prince Phillip, the Duke of Edinburgh and acceded to the throne on 6 February 1953. Her official title is:“Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and her other Realms and Territories Queen, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith.”
But the title is varied for those other member states of the Commonwealth (16 in number), to suit the particular circumstances of each. Other member states are republics or have their own monarchies. The seat of monarchy is in Great Britain. In the other nations of the Commonwealth of which the Queen is head of State, her representative is the Governor-General.
The Queen’s eldest son- Prince Charles, Prince of Wales- is the heir to the throne.
Parliament
Britain’s origins and traditions are to be found in its four countries (England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland). They are represented in the Parliament at Westminster (London), which is the supreme legislative authority in the country.
The Parliament consists of the Sovereign, the House of Lords and House of Commons.
The Sovereign formally summons and dissolves Parliament and generally opens each new annual session with a speech from the throne. The House of Lords is made up of hereditary peers and peeresses, including the law lords appointed to undertake the judicial duties of the House, and the Lords Spiritual (the Archbishops of Canterbury and York and other 24 bishops). The House of Commons is elected by universal adult suffrage and consists of 650 Members of Parliament (MPs). There are approximately 650 seats for them. The chief officer of the House is the Speaker, elected by MPs to preside over the house. It is in the House of Commons that the ultimate authority for lawmaking resides.
A general election must be held every five years. Eighteen is the minimum voting age; candidates for election must be over 21. There are four main political parties: Conservative, Labour, Liberal and Social Democratic parties. The winning party forms the Government. Ministers are chosen by the Prime Minister (leader of winning party). The second party becomes official Opposition and forms the Shadow-Cabinet. MPs who are members of the Opposition are called back-benchers.
The British constitution, unlike that of most of other countries, is not written as a single document. It is formed partly by statute, partly by common law and partly by convention. It can be altered by an Act of Parliament, or by general agreement to change convention.
accede – nastoupit, usednout
dissolves – rozpustit
grace – milost
heir – nástupce, dědic
hereditary – dědičný, odvěký
peer – šlechtic, člen Sněmovny lordů
preside – předsedat
realm – království
reside – usadit, spočívat v moci (~ in)
sovereign – panovník
summon – svolat
The Federal Government represents
the base of the American democratic system and has control over
national and international affairs.
It was established by
Constitution which was ratified in 1788 and it is consist of :
Preambule,
Bill of rights, Amendments to the constitution. The
constitution provides for checks and balances between the three.
Every law is has to be passed by constitution. The Federal Government
is divided into three branches:
Legislative: (-Houses of
Congress)
1. Senate
Each of 50 states elects 2 senators
(that makes100 senators in the senate), which serve for 6 years
terms, however every 2. year one third of the senators is renewed.
The head of the Senate is Vice President. Duties of the Senate are:
approving presidential appointments,
ratifying foreign treaties by
a two-thirds majority, trying a President who has been impeached by
the House
2. House of Representatives
It is composed of
435 Representatives, which are referred to Congressmen. The number of
congressmen influences population. They are elected for two-years
term.
Duties of the House are to be responsible for originating
all bills relating to taxes,
impeaching (charging President with
criminal actions),determining the outcome of a presidential election.
Both parts of parliament also discuss
togethe, for example the question of national finances,
drafting
and passing laws, collecting taxes, defense of the kation, regulation
of commerce admitting new states.
Today the major parties are
Democratic and Republican.
Congress may override a presidential
veto with a two-thirds majority vote in both chambers.
Head of
each state is the governor.
Executive:
President (and the
Vice President):President is elected for 4 years and may serve
maximum of 2 four-year terms in office.
Presidential candidate
must be: at least 35 years old, born in USA,live in USA for 14 years
before elections
Duties of the President are: serves as a
Commander in Chief => head of armed forces, (he has a control over
the defense of the nation , but declaration of war must be made by
the congress), serves as a Chief Executive, he appoints all
ambassadors, ministers and consuls,
he appoints also judges of
the federal bench
In the event of the President’s death,
resignation, or impeachment , the Vice President assumes the
presidency.
President’s personal start is represented by
Executive office divided into 14 cabinet departments (d. of State, d.
of treasury, d. of defense, d. of interior…)
In the USA there
are also Independent agencies like CIA- Central Intelligence Agency,
NSA-National Security Agency, NASA-National Aeronautics and Space
Administration, FBI-Federal Bureau of Investigationand various
Federal regulatory agencie.
Judiciary:
represents the law
of the land an includes 3 level hierarchy: Federal district courts,
US courts of appeal and US Supreme court.
Judges of all three
levels are appointed for life by the President and must be confirmed
by the Senate. The Supreme court is made up of eight associate
justices and a Chief Justice.
(It focuses its attention to cases
that call into question the constitutional nature of existing
laws)
The seat of Federal government is in the nation’s
capital at Washington D.C.
(D.C. refers to the federal District of
Columbia)
The President , Congress and Supreme Court are all
located in Washington.
Here are the headquarters of federal
government departments and agencies and large foreign diplomatic
corps too.