英美文化概况

1、英语国家概况 英语国家概况 The United The United Kingdom of Great Kingdom of Great Britain and Britain and Northern IrelandNorthern Ireland The United Kingdom of Great The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandBritain and Northern Ireland Political Parties Constitution Government Election The Commo

2、nwealth I II III IV V CONTENT ConstitutionI v Great Britain (UK) is a parliamentary democracy with a constitutional monarch as the head of state v British Constitution is made up of: Statutory Law (成文法成文法) Common Law (判例法判例法) Conventions (习惯法习惯法) v1.1 Statutory Law passed by Parliament example the M

3、agna Carta (1215)which protects the rights of the community against the Crown the Bill of Rights (1689) which extends the powers of Parliament the Reform Act (1832) which reforms the parliamentary electoral system the European Communities Act (1972) the European Communities (Amendment) Act (1986) wh

4、ich defines the relationship between Britain and the European Community(欧共体）. Constitution v1.2 Common law （判例法） deduced from custom or legal precedents and interpreted in court cases by judges v1.3 Conventions （习惯法）（习惯法） rules and practices which do not exist legally, but are regarded as vital to t

5、he working of government .(for example: The monarch reigns but does not rule. ) 1. Constitution Government II 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-p

6、olitical) House of Commons (political) House of Lords (semi-political) Prime Minister & Cabinet (political) Ministers & Civil service (non-political) House of Lords Court of Appeal 2.1.1 Parliament v Parliament the law-making body of Britain one of the oldest representative assemblies in the world (

7、in the mid-13th century) Strictly speaking, the parliament consists of the King or Queen, the House of Lords ( 上议院), the House of Commons (下议院) v Queen Elizabeth II Born: April 21, 1926 Queen since June 2, 1953 v Queen Elizabeth II is a “constitutional monarch” Although she is officially the head of

8、 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: an integral part of the legislature head of the execu

9、tive, executive and judiciary branches the commander-in-chief of all armed forces of the Crown “supreme governor” of the Church of England More 2.1.2 Queen In reality, her role is “ceremonial, unpolitical and symbolic”: vState opening of the Parliament(国会开议大典 ) vRoyal assent to new law vMeeting with

10、 the Prime Minister at Buckingham Palace vPay 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 2.1.3 The House

11、of Lords v often referred to as “the Upper House” v The Lords Spiritual (上议院神职议员上议院神职议员) (archbishops and prominent bishops of the Church of England) The House of Lords in the early 19th century vThe Lords Temporal (上议院世俗议员上议院世俗议员) (hereditary peers and life peers and the Law Lords）上议院高级法官）上议院高级法官)

12、v 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 (also called Red Chamber) 2.1.3 The House of Lords 2.1.4 The House of Commons v Often referred

13、to as “the Lower House” (center of parliamentary power) v 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 v 646 Members of Parliament, known as “MPs” for short, who represen

14、t the 646 geographical areas / constituencies 2.1.4 The House of Commons 2.2.1 The Prime Ministerpowerful leader v head of the government v the leader of the majority party in Parliament v controls the Parliament 2.2.2 The Cabinet v supreme decision-making body in the British government v Cabinet me

15、mbers are chosen by the Prime Minister from members of his own party in Parliament. 2.2 The Executive v The Cabinet works on the principle of collective responsibility and individual ministerial responsibility v Ministers responsible for their particular department (most senior members are the Deput

16、y Prime Minister, Foreign Secretary, Chancellor of the Exchequer and Home Secretary) v Collective responsibility or resignation 2.2 The Executive Civil Servants v Members of the Civil Service are called Civil Servants. They staff government departments. Civil Servants are recruited mainly by competi

17、tive examination. Civil servants do not belong to any political party. Changes of Government do not involve changes in departmental staff, There are about 541,800 civil servants in Britain now. v A 140 v B 125 v C 100 v D 85 v E 60 2.2.2 Privy Council v a body of advisors (450 members) v current and

18、 former Cabinet members and important public figures v Its main duty is to give advice 2.2 The Executive 2.3 The Judiciary v 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

19、 In criminal trials by jury, the judge passes sentence but the jury decides the issue of guilt and innocence. v Two branches of law Civil lawdefines and enforces the duties or obligations of persons to one another Criminal lawby contrast, defines and enforces the obligations of persons to society as

20、 a whole English Judges 2.3 The Judiciary County Court Magistrates Court (JPs, stipendiary magistrates) Crown Court High Court (QBD, CCD, FD) Court of AppealCourt of Appeal House of Lords The Court System Civil branch Crimina lbranch 2.3 The Judiciary Political Parties III 3.1 The Conservative Party

21、 3.2 The Labor Party 3.3 The Liberal Democrats 3.0 Overall Introduction 3.0 Overall Introduction v The Parliament operates on a two-party system. v Political parties originated in the late 17th century. the Whig PartyLiberal Party the Tory PartyConservative Party 3.1 The Conservative Party v the “Ri

22、ght” landowners and businessmen, the middle and upper-middle class free enterprise and privatization of state- owned firms Margaret Thatcher (1979-1990) The Iron Lady v privatized state-owned industries and promoted a more competitive spirit in Britains economy v reduced old age pensions, shortened

23、the period of unemployment benefits, and cut child benefits v curbed the power of the trade unions 3.1 The Conservative Party 3.2 The Labor Party v the “Left” created by the growing trade union movement at the end of the 19th century After 1945to establish a welfare state nationalized industries exe

24、rcised control over private industries to revive the primary industries v 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 Gordon Brow

25、n (June 27, 2007) 3.2 The Labor Party 3.3 The Liberal Democrats v 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) v advocates policies based on freedom of the individual v remains a minority party v a

26、party of protest rather than a real alternative for government IV Election v held every five years in the 646 constituencies (unless a Motion of No Confidence is passed by the House of Commons) v candidate who wins in each constituency becomes a Member of Parliament v The party which holds the major

27、ity of “seats” in Parliament forms the government, with its party leader becoming the Prime Minister. The Commonwealth V 5.1 The Origin of the Commonwealth 5.2 Characteristics and Functions 5.3 Members of the Commonwealth 5.4 Organizations of the Commonwealth 5.5 Commonwealth Day 5.1 Origin of the C

28、ommonwealth v The Commonwealth of Nations is the successor of the British Empire. v In 1949, “British” was dropped from the title of “Commonwealth”. v In 1949, the London Declaration (often considered a milestone in the history of the modern Commonwealth) accepted and recognized Indias continued membership as a republic. v From 1960 onwards,