英国概况第二章提纲

1、Chapter 2 The Monarchy, Politics, and GovernmentThree branches Queen / King1. The legislative branch: the parliament House of Lordsupper House of Commons lower The central government 2. The Executive branch government departments Local governments3. The Judicial branch: independent of the legislativ

2、e and executive branch1. The Monarchy ( Constitutional Monarchy君主立宪制)l The monarchy in Britain can be traced back to the days before the Norman Conquest in 1066.l Religious controversy between James II and the Parliament led to the 1688 palace coup the Glorious Revolution, which marked the establish

3、ment of the limited constitutional monarchy.l Towards the end of the 18th century, the kings power began to dwindle sharply.l There is no written law to define exactly the power of the English Monarch. Theoretically, the monarch embodied supremacy as the head of state. l The British government is ca

4、lled Her (His) Majestys Government. The word Royal is used in place of nationall The Queen summons and dissolves Parliament. l When a new Parliament opens, the Queen gives the opening speech in which she outlines the Governments major polices.l Bills passed by the Parliament must win the Royal Assen

5、t before going into effect. l She appoints minister and other important officials (On the advice of the prime minister). l She is commander-in-Chief of the armed services. l She concludes treaties with foreign countries and declares war. l She confers noble titles and honours.l She is Supreme Govern

6、or of the Church of England. l The Queen seems very powerful, but in reality she is only a figure-head. l The succession to the throne is not decided by the royal family alone. Only the Protestant descendants of the royal family are eligible. l Why do the English choose to maintain the monarchy? To

7、many Englishmen, the monarch is the symbol of English nation. It embodies the development of English history and its continuity. English monarch is a live state emblem. 2. The Nobility and House of Lords(the upper house)l Their noble titles and estates were hereditary. The five titles of nobility in

8、 Britain are Duke, Marquess, Earl, Viscount and Baron. All the people with noble titles are certain members of the House of Lords. They are generally referred to as “Lords”.l Apart from these hereditary titles of nobility, there are a number of other titles of honour whose bearers are not nobles. Th

9、e best known of them is knighthood. A knight is called Sir. The title is not heritable. Another title is baronet which can be passed down to the next generation. But baronet is not a noble.l All the noble title bearers are certain member of the Upper House.l Many Lords are experts in different field

10、s, their opinion and criticism are important for the government. Their debates and discussions are usually of a higher level than those in Lower House. Sometimes the can get a bill amended through their influence.l The president of the Upper House is called the Lord Chancellor who was once the kings

11、 chief advisor and right-hand man.3. The House of Commons (the lower house)* Why it is called “House of Commons?* The house of commons is made up of 650 Members of Parliament (MPs). * Members hold their seats for 5 years.* The party which wins sufficient seats at a general election to command a majo

12、rity of supporters in the House of Commons is asked to form the government by the Queen. As a result, the party itself becomes known as the Government (Party). The party which wins the second largest number of seats becomes known as the Opposition (Party).* The main function of the House of Commons

13、is law-making and the process is characterized by heated debates between the Government and the Opposition.* The life of Parliament is divided into periods called “sessions.” A session normally lasts about a year, from October of one year to about the same date of the next year. * How are laws passe

14、d?1) In Britain, a bill is usually written by government or a member of parliament. It takes quite a time to prepare the bill with a lot of consultations and discussions with the civil servants in different departments. After the bill is written, it is handed to the parliament. It starts its travel

15、in wither house, usually, it starts in the House of Commons.2) The first reading: A member of parliament, an MP from the government reads the name of the bill to the parliament. 3) The second reading: The parliament members talk about it. The writer talks about it, and the MPs ask questions. There a

16、re a lot of debates and discussions on the principles, purposes, etc. Then there is a vote. If the result is “Yes”, then it goes to a committee. If “No”, it can go no further. Usually, most of the bills can go to the committee.4) When the bill arrives at the committee, the committee will take the bi

17、ll for detailed examination, and make possible changes, but every change of the bill has to be voted out. The committee gives a report on the bill. The committee can also change it if they want to. They also vote on every change.5) The third reading: It is actually a final discussion and debate of t

18、he bill. All MPs vote on the bill. By this stage, they can not change it any more. If the answer is “Yes”, it goes to the upper house.6) When it is in the upper house, it goes to the same stages as in the lower house. If they make changes, the bill has to be returned to the lower house. The commons

19、vote on the lords changes. If they disagree, the bill waits for one year. The commons will submit bill directly to the Queen. This time it will not go to the upper house, then it still becomes effective. If the bill is also agreed by the upper house, the bill will be submitted to the Queen. After th

20、e Queen gives her signature on the bill, then it becomes a law. Theoretically speaking, if the Queen disagrees, she will not put her name on it. But for about 300 years, the answer of the Queen has always been “Yes”.4. The British Government* The Privy Council: It was formerly the chief source of ex

21、ecutive power in the state and gave private advice to the King. So the Privy Council was also called the Kings Council in history. Today its role is largely formal, advising the Sovereign to approve certain government decrees.* The British Government, called Her Majestys Government, refers to the va

22、rious departments and their agencies under the leadership of the Prime Minister. The nucleus of the Government is known as the Cabinet which is composed of the Prime Minister and heads of the most important departments. are always included. These ministers are called cabinet ministers.* “Go to the C

23、ountry”(解散议会)举行大选it is used only when the prime minister loses his support fro the lower house.Government Department and the Civil Service: * The principal government departments include: The Treasury, the House of office, the Foreign and Commonwealth office, the Ministry of Defense, etc.* Members o

24、f the Civil Service are called Civil Servants. They are recruited mainly by competitive examination. They do not belong to any political party. Changes of government do not involve changes in departmental staff.Local Government: 5. The Judicial Branch* The UK does not have a written constitution. Th

25、e constitution is not contained in a single book. It is formed by different parts: common law不成文法, statute/act of parliament, convention/equity law衡平法, EU law (rules and regulations of the EU).* The Attorney General检察总长and Solicitor General副检察总长also share some of the duties, because there is no Mini

26、ster of Justice.* In Britain, they have bifurcated bar律师二元制. In UK, when you have trouble with law, you go to a solicitor for help, and if the problem is not serious, the solicitor can help you solve it; but if the problem is very serious, you need to go to the higher court, then the solicitor will

27、hire a barrister for you, and the barrister will speak for you in the higher court. In other words, the barrister represents the client in the higher court. It is the barrister who actually goes to the court to represent the client. The solicitor gives you legal advice, prepare legal cases, but he c

28、an appear in lower court.6. Political Parties* Two major parties in Britain: Conservative party and Labour Party.* The conservative party is the party of the right. The Conservative party developed from Tory which appeared under King Charles after 1660. The Tory party changed its name into Conservative party in the middle of the 19th century. By the 19th century, the conservative party mainly represented the interests of the middle class, and it was usually regarded the pa