英语国家概况Chapter 3.ppt

1、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,Political Parties,Constitution,Government,Election,The Commonwealth,CONTENT,Constitutio

2、n,I,Great Britain (UK) is a parliamentary democracy with a constitutional monarch king or queen : the head of state, symbolic power,British Constitution is made up of: Statutory Law (成文法，制定法) Common Law (判例法，普通法) Conventions (习惯法，衡平法),Constitution,I,1.1 Statutory Law passed by Parliament example the

3、 Magna Carta (1215) the Bill of Rights (1689) 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 whi

4、ch do not exist legally, but are regarded as vital to the working of government,1. Constitution,Division of power Legislature 立法机关 Executive 行政部门 Judiciary 司法部门,1. Constitution,Government,2.1 The Legislature,2.2 The Executive,2.3 The Judiciary,2.1 The Legislature,Basic Structure of UK Central Govern

5、ment,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,2.1.1 Parliament,Parliament the law-makin

6、g 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 mo

7、narch” 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,Queen Elizabeth II,2.1.2 Queen,Buckingham Palace,2.1.2 Queen,In reality, her role is “ceremonial, unpolitical and symbolic”: State opening of the Parliament R

8、oyal 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,2.1.3 The House of Lords,The Lords Spiritual (上议院神职议员) (archbishops and prominent bis

9、hops of the Church of England),The Lords Temporal (上议院世俗议员) (hereditary peers and life peers and the Law Lords),2.1.3 The House of Lords,The main legislative function of the House of Lords: Examine and revise bills from the House of Commons,The House of Lords meets in a lavishly decorated chamber in

10、 the Palace of Westminster,The Upper House Reforms Reduce the number of seats from 705 to 666 (Mar. 1, 2004) Final court of appealSupreme Court,2.1.3 The House of Lords,2.1.4 The House of Commons,Center of parliamentary power Three major functions to pass laws, bills and acts of Parliament to scruti

11、nize, 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,2.1.4 The House of Commons,Government: Prime Minister, Cabinet ministers 2.2.1 The Prime Ministerpowerful

12、 leader the leader of the majority party in Parliament controls the Parliament head of the government,2.2 The Executive,2.2.2 The Cabinet center of political system supreme decision-making body in the British government Weekly on Thursday at 10 Downing Street,Two branches of law Civil lawdefines and

13、 enforces the duties or obligations of persons to one another Criminal lawby contrast, defines and enforces the obligations of persons to society as a whole,English Judges,2.3 The Judiciary,2.3 The Judiciary,Proceedings 诉讼 All criminal trials are held in open court because the criminal law presumes

14、the innocence of the accused until he has been approved guilty beyond reasonable doubt. In criminal trials by jury, the judge passes sentence but the jury decides the issue of guilt and innocence.,Political Parties,3.1 The Conservative Party,3.2 The Labor Party,3.3 The Liberal Democrats,3.0 Overall

15、Introduction,3.0 Overall Introduction,The Parliament : a two-party system. Political parties originated in the late 17th century. the Whig PartyLiberal Party(protestant reformer) the Tory PartyConservative Party(support the King or Church of England),Comparative Description on the two major parties:

16、,3.0 Overall Introduction,Comparative Description on the two major parties (cont.):,3.0 Overall Introduction,Comparative Description on the two major parties (cont.):,3.0 Overall Introduction,Comparative Description on the two major parties (cont.):,3.0 Overall Introduction,3.1 The Conservative Part

17、y,the “Right” landowners and businessmen, the middle and upper-middle class free enterprise and privatization of state-owned firms,David Cameron,3.2 The Labor Party,the “Left” created by the growing trade union movement at the end of the 19th century After 1945to establish a welfare state nationaliz

18、ed industries exercised control over private industries to revive the primary industries,Recent Prime Ministers from the left Tony Blair (1997-2006) “Third Way”,Gordon Brown (June 27, 2007-2010),3.2 The Labor Party,3.3 The Liberal Democrats,In 1988 An amalgamation of the old Liberal Party and the So

19、cial Democratic Party Middle party remains a minority party,Election,Every five years in the 646 constituencies candidate who wins in each constituency becomes a Member of Parliament The party which holds the majority of “seats” in Parliament forms the government, with its party leader becoming the

20、Prime Minister.,The Commonwealth,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 Commonwealth,The Commonwealth of Nations is the successor of the British Empire. From 196

21、0 onwards, new members joined the Commonwealth.,5.1 Origin of the Commonwealth,a voluntary association of independent sovereign states to advocate (提倡) democracy, human rights, and to promote economic cooperation and growth of its members,5.2 Characteristics and Functions,an organization composed of 53 states a population : 30 percent of the worlds tot