大三上学期英美概况government.ppt

Guide to English-Speaking Countries,英语国家概况,英语国家概况,The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland,Chapter 3 Government and the Commonwealth,The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland,英语国家概况,What is “constitutional monarchy” What is “divine right of kings”,Political Parties,Constitution,Government,Election,The Commonwealth,CONTENT,Constitutional monarchy,Britain is a constitutional monarchy, that is, a monarchy in which the sovereign has mainly advisory and ceremonial responsibilities. The other major form of monarchy is the absolute monarchy, in which the monarchy is also the ruler. The constitutional position is summed up in the famous phrase “ The Queen reigns but does not rule”,Divine right of Kings(P38),The power of the monarchy was largely derived from the ancient doctrine of the “divine right of kings”. It is held that the sovereign derived his authority from God, not from his subjects. Because of this divine right, the actual existence of the monarchy has seldom been questioned. Clue: Monarchy the Great Charter Parliament cabinet,The Great Charta (Magna Carta),King John( 1199-1216) the bad reputation ( Robin Hood) John ascended the throne in 1199. He demanded feudal taxes and army service/ bad relationship with the pope. In 1215, King John was forced by a group of feudal barons and the Church to grant them a charter of liberty and political right. Significance: influence on legal system and human rights merchants and craftsmenfor the first time as a new political force townspeoplefreedom of trade and self-government part of the British Constitution today,Beginning of Parliament,the Great Council(大议会） Commoners appeared in the meeting the House of Lords and the House of Commons（exist today and collectively we call them the Parliament) The Puritans and Cavaliers( the Puritans: free farmers, tradesmen, artisans/ the Cavaliers: Catholics and feudal lords) The Civil War reason: the dispute over the power of the king vis-vis(P39),The civil war broke out (16421649) Between the Royalists (the Cavalier 保王党人) and Parliamentarians (Roundheads 圆颅党人) Result: the monarchy was abolished in 1949 England was declared a commonwealth, i.e. a republic,The Civil War,The Commonwealth (16491660)(Cromwell 统治之下的英伦三岛共和国） Cromwell, the head of the Commonwealth Conservative in social reforms and protected property ownership In 1660, Parliament had Charles II as king of England. This put an end to the Commonwealth.,The Civil War,Restoration and the Glorious Revolution,Restoration:(复辟) 1661, Charles II: to restore the old social order 1685, James II: to reestablish Catholicism,Glorious Revolution 1688: joint sovereign of William and Mary 1689: Bill of Rights (limited the power of the monarch and guaranteed the authority of Parliament ) removed the ruling monarch and established Constitutional Monarchy,Constitution(P41),I,Great Britain (UK) is a parliamentary democracy with a constitutional monarch as the head of state British Constitution is made up of: Statutory Law (成文法) Common Law (判例法) Conventions (习惯法),1.1 Statutory Law passed by Parliament example the Magna Charta (1215) petition of Rights(1627) Habeas Corpus Act(1679) the Bill of Rights (1689) Act of Settlement(1701) the Reform Act (1832) the European Communities Act (1972) the European Communities (Amendment) Act (1986),Constitution,1.2 Common law deduced from custom or legal precedents and interpreted in court cases by judges 1.3 Conventions rules and practices which do not exist legally, but are regarded as vital to the working of government,1. Constitution,Government,2.1 The Legislature,2.2 The Executive,2.3 The Judiciary,2.1 The Legislature,Basic Structure of UK Central Government,Monarch (non-political),Legislature Parliament,Executive,Judiciary (non-political),House of Commons (political),House of Lords (semi-political),Prime Minister & Cabinet (political),Ministers & Civil service (non-political),House of Lords,Court of Appeal,Compare,British government vs American government representative democracy unitary government with a federal republic Constitutional monarchy No formal written written constitution Constitution Highly disciplined political undisciplined political parties Parties( party centered) Strong central government weak central government Weak separation powers strict separation of powers UK: a unitary state with constitutional monarchy,Parliament,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 (上议院), the House of Commons (下议院),Queen Elizabeth II Born: April 21, 1926 Queen since June 2, 1953 Queen Elizabeth II is a “constitutional monarch” Although she is officially the head of state, the country is actually run by the government and led by the Prime Minister.,2.1.2 Queen,Buckingham Palace,2.1.2 Queen,Queen Elizabeth II,2.1.2 Queen,She reigns but does not rule! Theoretically, she is the source of all government powers:(P42) an integral part of the legislature head of the executive, executive and judiciary branches the commander-in-chief of all armed forces of the Crown “supreme governor” of the Church of England More ,Q. What powers does the Queen have?,2.1.2 Queen,In reality, her role is “ceremonial, un-political and symbolic”: State opening of the Parliament 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-Commonwealth countries on behalf of the British government,2.1.2 Queen,From Buckingham to Westminster,The State Opening of Parliament Wednesday November 26, 2003,2.1.2 Queen,The House of Lords,often referred to as “the Upper House” The Lords Spiritual (上议院神职议员) (archbishops and prominent bishops of the Church of England),The House of Lords in the early 19th century,The Lords Temporal (上议院世俗议员) (hereditary peers and life peers and the Law Lords),The Upper House Reforms Reduce the number of seats from 705 to 666 (Mar. 1, 2004) Final court of appealSupreme Court,The House of Lords meets in a lavishly decorated chamber in the Palace of Westminster,The House of Lords,Nobility,peer(age):hereditary/life(1958): Duke / Marquess / Earl (Count) /Viscount /Baron Lords / Lady (few: patrilineal lines): Lord + Christian Name +Family Name; Lady + Christian Name + Family Name (Husbands family name instead of her own after marriage) Knight (non-peerage)Sir(500),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,2.1.4 The House of Commons,The Prime Ministerpowerful leader head of the government the leader of the majority party in Parliament controls the Parliament The Cabinet supreme decision-making body in the British government Cabinet members are chosen by the Prime Minister from members of his own party in Parliament.,The Executive,The Cabinet works on the principle of collective responsibility and individual ministerial responsibility Ministers responsible for their particular department (most senior members are the Deputy Prime Minister, Foreign Secretary, Chancellor of the Exchequer and Home Secretary) C