lecture Four The government of UK.ppt

1、The Society Judicial System; The Political Parties Introduction to the UKs Government; The Parliament.,I. The Government,The Political System of the UK The United Kingdom is a constitutional monarchy, which has been practised since the Glorious revolution of 1688; The head of state is a king or quee

2、n; The Sovereign reigns, but does not rule (统而不治).,I. The Government,Constitutional Monarchy According to this system, the Constitution is superior to the Monarch； The monarch actually has no real power, doing what the Parliament and the Prime Minister want him/her to do. In law, the Monarch has man

3、y supreme powers, but in practice, the real power of monarchy has been greatly reduced It is made up of statute law, common law and conventions, etc.,I. The Government,Three Tiers of UKs Government The Central Government; The County Government; The District government.,I. The Government,Structure of

4、 Central Government The Monarch Parliament The Cabinet,“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.上帝神佑，大布列颠及北爱尔兰联合王国以及她的其他领土和领地的女王，英联邦元首，国教保护者伊莉莎白二

5、世。”,Elizabeth II,I. The Government,The Roles of the Monarchy The symbol of the whole nation; Head of the executive, and integral part of the legislature; Head of the judiciary; The commander-in-chief of all the armed forces; The “Supreme Governor” of the established Church of England.,I. The Governm

6、ent,Main Authorities under Constitutional Monarchy Summons, prorogues (休会), Represents Britain at home If the 1st son dies young without descendants, one of his brothers or sisters will be chosen according to established rule.,I. The Government,The Succession of the Monarchy The principle: Sons of t

7、he Sovereign and their descendants have precedence over daughters; While daughters take precedence over the sovereigns brothers. The Coronation Ceremony is conducted by the Archbishop of Canterbury at Westminster Abbey in London. Elizabeth II was crowned on June 2, 1953.,I. The Government,The Privy

8、Council (枢密院) A consultative body of the British monarch, whose origin can be traced back to the times of the Norman Kings; The Privy Council was formerly the chief source of executive power in the state and gave private advice to the King. So the Privy Council was also called the Kings Council in h

9、istory. Today its role is largely formal, advising the sovereign to approve certain government decrees.,I. The Government,The Privy Council (枢密院) After the Glorious Revolution of 1688, its importance was gradually diminished and replaced by the Cabinet; Its membership is about 400, including all Cab

10、inet ministers, the speaker of the House of Common, the Archbishops of Canterbury and York, as well as senior British and Commonwealth statesmen.,I. The Government,The Cabinet The Core of the government, headed by the Prime Minister; The Prime Minister presides over the Cabinet; Ministers are respon

11、sible collectively to Parliament for all Cabinet decisions; Confidential meetings in No. 10 Downing Street each week to decide Government policy on major issues.,I. The Government,Shadow Cabinet The party which wins the second largest number of seats in the Parliament becomes the Official Opposition

12、, with its own leader and “shadow cabinet ”; The rule of Opposition is to help the formulation of policy, to criticizes the Government The parliament is the supreme legislative organ, which determines the revenue and expenditures of the government; Since the first Reform Bill passed in 1832, the hou

13、se of Commons has become more important than the House of Lords.,I. The Government,The Parliament Components of the Parliament: The Monarch House of Lords (the Upper House) House of Commons (the Lower House) Term of a Parliament: a maximum duration of 5 years.,I. The Government,The Origin of the Par

14、liament The Great Council of 13th century is known to be the prototype of the current British Parliament; Its main role was to offer advice; There were no elections or parties at that time, and the most important part of Parliament was the House of Lords.,I. The Government,The Main Functions of the

15、Parliament To pass laws; To provide, by voting for taxation, the means of carrying on the work of government; To examine government Policy and administrations, including proposal for expenditure; To debate the major issues of the day.,I. The Government,The House of Lords (Non-Elected) The House of L

16、ords has over 1,000 non-elected members; Consists of the Lords Spiritual (神职议员) and the Lords Temporal (世俗议员); The Chairperson of the House of Lords: It is presided over by the Lord Chancellor (大法官, 上议院议长).,I. The Government,The House of Lords (Non-Elected) The Lords Spiritual: Archbishops of Canter

17、bury and York, and 24 senior Bishops of the Church of England. The Lords Temporal: all hereditary peers and peeresses of five ranks: Duke, Marquis, Earl, Viscount vaikaunt and Baron (公爵，侯爵，伯爵，子爵，男爵); life peers and peeresses.,The main functions: to bring the wide experience of its members into the p

18、rocess of lawmaking, i.e., to act as a chamber of revision, complementing but not rivaling the elected House.,House of Lords,Plays an important judicial function The Major Function of the House of Commons: Law-making The Chairperson of the House of Commons: The Speaker,House of Commons,Britain is di

19、vided 651 constituencies. Each Member of Parliament (MP) represents an area (constituency); Any British man and woman aged over 18 years may vote in parliament elections.,I. The Government,Parliamentary Electoral System They are elected either at a General Election （大选）or at a by-election (补缺选举) hel

20、d when an MP dies or resigns, or is given a peerage. The General Election must be held every 5 years and is often held at more frequent intervals.,I. The Government,Relationship between Government Supervises work of government.,II. Judicial System,Components of Legal System,Law Sovereign Court Polic

21、e,II. Judicial System,Introduction The administration of justice in Britain is independent of both Parliament and the Government; No Ministry of Justice in the UK; Central responsibility: the Lord Chancellor, the Home Secretary(内政大臣), The Home Secretary has overall responsibility for criminal law, t

22、he police service, the prison system and the probation service.,II. Judicial System,Introduction The highest judicial appointments are made by the Queen on the advice of the Prime Minister; Every citizen has the right to equal treatment before the law. People accused of more serious crimes are tried

23、 in open court by a judge and jury; England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland all have their own legal systems.,II. Judicial System,Introduction Fines, probation or imprisonment may be imposed on a convicted person. There is life imprisonment for murder throughout Britain. Life imprisonment i

24、s the maximum sentence of a number of other serious offences; Capital punishment (death penalty) for murder has been abolished in the UK, though proposal for its reinstatement are regularly debated by Parliament, and it remains the penalty for treason and piracy.,II. Judicial System,Primary Sources

25、of British Law Statute Law Acts of Parliament and subordinate legislation made under powers conferred by Parliament. Common Law Conventions: rules and practices which are not legally enforceable but regarded as indispensable to the working of government.,Judicial System,Primary Sources of British La

26、w Equity law (衡平法) A supplementary means to deal with cases not covered by Common Law. European Community Law Derives from Britains membership of the EU The criminal law presumes the innocence of the accused until he/she has been proved guilty beyond reasonable doubt; No accused person has to answer

27、 the questions of the police before trial.,II. Judicial System,Jury The role of Jury: In criminal trials by jury, the judge passes sentence, but the jury decides the Verdict of Guilty or Innocence. The composition of Jury 12 in England, Wales and Northern Ireland; and 15 in Scotland; People between

28、the age of 18-70 (65 in Scotland) whose names appear on the electoral register are liable for jury service and are chosen at random.,II. Judicial System,Law Courts Classification according to the nature of cases： Criminal courts Civil courts 3-tiers of courts in Britain: Supreme Courts County Courts

29、 Magistrates Courts,II. Judicial System,Magistrates Courts (治安法庭) Lowest rank, also known as “police courts”(违警罪法庭), “petty sessions”(简易法庭), or “summary jurisdiction” (即决法庭). Dealing with minor criminal offenses Dealing with minor civil cases. Magistrates Courts have limited civil jurisdiction, whil

30、e the main courts of civil jurisdiction are County Courts.,II. Judicial System,Supreme Court (最高法院) Including: the High Court, Crown Court The Court of Appeal: The House of Lords ( the Lord Chancellor),Judicial System,Police The police service for the UK is organized and controlled under the Home Se

31、cretary (内政大臣) Police are not allowed to join a trade union or go on strike.,The Scotland Yard the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of London Police (Londons Metropolitan Police Force is directly under the control of Home Secretary),Ranger,随后的皇家护卫队相当于我国仪仗队,III. The Political Parties Two-party

32、 systems; One-party systems.,III. The Political Parties Britain has a number of parties, but there are only two major parties: the Conservative Party The Tories (托利党) were those who supported hereditary monarchy and were reluctant to remove kings. The Tories were the forerunners of the Conservative

33、Party.,III. The Political Parties The Labor Party had its origin in the Independent Labor Party (ILP), which was formed in January, 1893; In 1900, representatives of trade unions, the ILP, and a number of small socialist societies set up the Labor Representation Committee (LRC). The LRC changed its

34、name to the Labor Party for the general election in 1906.,III. The Political Parties Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. The first and only woman to hold both positions in the UK.,Iron Lady,III. The Political Parties The leader of the majority party is appointed Prime Minister by the

35、 Sovereign. The leading members of the party are chosen by the Prime Minister to form the Cabinet; In the General Election, the party which wins the second largest number of seats becomes the official Opposition, with its own leader and “shadow cabinet”.,Elections,Rules: aged 18 or over; voting for

36、one; one,Parliament member elected in each,constituency (651),Canvassing,: campaign speech (cheap,promises),Procedure: a voting card; names printed on,the ballot paper; taking to a private booth;,folding the ballot and putting into a sealed box;,votes counted in the presence of all the,candidates,Th

37、ank You!,Thatcher with her close ally and friend, President of the USA, Ronald Reagan, 1981,The Prime Minister presides over the Cabinet, is responsible for the allocation of functions among ministers and informs the Queen at regular meetings of general business of the Government. Cabinet members ho

38、ld meetings under the chairmanship of the Prime Minister for a few hours each week to decide Government policy on major issues.,The present heir: The eldest son of Queen Elizabeth IIPrince Charles, Prince of Walesis the heir to the throne. But when Prince Charles and Princess Diana were divorced, ma

39、ny people suggested that he should stand aside from the succession in favor of his eldest son, Prince William.,The common features of all systems of law in Britain: A feature common to all systems of law in the UK: there is no complete code; Another common feature: the distinction between criminal l

40、aw and civil law.,Arrest It is the law throughout UK that as soon as anyone is arrested, he/she must be charged and brought before the court with the least possible delay. Unless the case with which an arrested person is charged is very serious, he will usually be granted bail (保释) if he cannot be b

41、rought before the court within a day.,I.,The police must caution the suspect before charging about his/her legal rights: “You have the right to keep silent. Nobody will force you to tell anything. But what you say will be used as evidence before the court.”,If the accused does make a statement, this

42、 cannot be used in evidence at his trial unless he has been cautioned properly. Not compelled to give evidence or submit to cross-examination in court. Every accused person has the right to employ a legal adviser to conduct his defense. If he cannot afford to pay, he may be granted aid at public exp

43、ense.,Verdict：裁决,If the verdict of the jury cannot be unanimous, it must be by a majority. In England, Wales and Northern Ireland a majority verdict means not more than 2 dissenters out of the normal jury of 12 people; In Scotland the jurys verdict of “guilty” can only be reached if 8 out of 15 memb

44、ers are in favor. A verdict of “ not guilt” means acquittal (无罪、开释) for the accused, who can never again be charged with that specific crime.,Criminal Courts,Criminal Courts in England and Wales Magistrates Courts try summary offences and “either way” offences, open to the public and the media, usually consisting of three magistratesknown as Justices of the Peace. A Magistrates court sits without a jury.,Magistrates Courts usually try：,Summary offences & “Either way” offences Summary offences: less serious offences and the vast majority of cr