Legislative branch Executive branch Judicial branch

&Text 1. POLITICAL SYSTEM AND STATE STRUCTURE OF BELARUS

Article 1 of the Constitution of the Republic of Belarus says that the Republic of Belarus is a unitary, democratic, social state based on the rule of law.

According to the Constitution the state power in the republic is exercised on the principle of divisions of power between the legislature, executive and judiciary.

The parliament, the National Assembly, is a representative and legislative body of the Republic of Belarus. It consists of two chambers – the House of Representatives and the Council of the Republic. The House of Representatives includes 110 deputies. The electing of deputies is carried out in accordance with the law on the basis of universal, direct electoral suffrage. The Council of the Republic is a chamber of territorial representation. Eight deputies are elected at the meetings of local Councils of deputies, and eight other are appointed by the President of the Republic of Belarus.

The right of legislative initiative belongs to the President, members of the House of Representatives, Council of the Republic, Government.

The executive power in the Republic of Belarus is exercised by the government – the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus. The government in its activity is accountable to the President and to the National Assembly. The head of the government, the Prime Minister, is appointed by the President with the consent of the House of Representatives.

The courts exercise judicial power in the Republic of Belarus. The judicial system is based on the principle of the territorial delineation. In administering justice judges are independent and subordinate to law alone. Supervision of constitutionality of the enforceable enactments of the state is exercised by the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Belarus.

(from the Constitution of the Republic of Belarus, 2001)

&Text 2. THE STATE SYSTEM OF THE UNITED KINGDOM

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is one of the few developed countries of the world where a constitutional monarchy has survived with its ages-old customs, traditions and ceremonies. The British Constitution, unlike that of most other countries, is not complied in any single document.

The United Kingdom is governed by Her Majesty’s Government in the name of the Queen. Although the Queen is deprived of actual power, she has retained many important, though formal, functions. These include summoning, proroguing and dissolving Parliament; giving royal assent to the bills passed by the Parliament; appointing very important office holders, including ministers, judges, diplomats, bishops. She appoints the Prime Minister (usually the leader of the political party which commands a majority in the House of Commons) to form a government of State.

Under the British Constitution the Government functions through the following bodies:

· the Legislature which makes laws;

· the Executive which puts laws into effect and plans policy;

· the Judiciary which decides on cases that arise out of law.

The legislative branch is Parliament where laws are passed. The Parliament consists of two chambers: House of Lords and House of Commons. The MPs (the members of the House of Commons) are elected for a five year term at General Elections by a majority electoral system.

The executive branch which plans prospective laws and formulates policy is the cabinet of the Government. The Prime Minister is an active member of the legislative yet he is also the leading member of the executive.

The judiciary is independent, its adjudications are not the subject of ministers’ direction or control. The Courts of the United Kingdom are the Queen’s Courts, since the Crown is the historical source of all judicial power.

(British Studies. D. Kozikis, G. Medvedev, N. Demchenko Минск. Лексис,2004)

&Text 3. THE USA POLITICAL SYSTEM

The United States is an indirect democracy – that is, the people rule through representatives they elect.

The United States has a federalist system. This means that there are individual states, each with its own government, and there is a federal, or national, government. The Constitution gives certain powers to the federal government, others to the state governments, and yet other powers to both.

Within the national government, power is divided among three branches: the legislative, executive and judicial branches.

The legislative branch consists of Congress, which has two parts – the House of Representatives and the Senate. Congress’s main function is to make laws. There are 100 senators (two from each state) and 435 representatives (the number from each state depends on the size of the state’s population).

The President is the head of the executive branch and the country. The executive branch administers the law. In addition to the President, the Vice-President, and their staffs, the executive branch consists of departments and agencies. There are now 14 departments, each with different responsibilities. The President appoints the department heads known as Secretaries, who together make up the President’s Cabinet.

The judicial branch interprets the laws and makes sure that new laws are in keeping with the Constitution. There are several levels of federal courts. The Supreme Court is the most important. It has nine members, who are appointed for life.

(Spotlight on the USA. Randee Falk. Oxford University Press. 1993)

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