Government

The United Kingdom is a constitutional monarchy. Queen Elizabeth II is the head of state, but a cabinet of senior politicians called ministers actually governs the country. The Prime Minister is the head of the government. Parliament is the chief lawmaking body. It consists of the monarch, the House of Commons, and the House of Lords.

The constitution of the United Kingdom is not one document, as are the constitutions of many other countries. Much of it is not even in writing, and so the country is often said to have an unwritten constitution.

Some of the written parts of the country's constitution are laws passed by Parliament. Some written parts come from such historic documents as Magna Carta, which dates from 1215. Other written parts come from common law, a body of laws and judgements based on people's customs and beliefs and on ancient royal practice.

The unwritten parts of the constitution include many ideas and practices that British society has developed over the years. They include the cabinet system of government and the relationship between the Cabinet and the monarch.

The monarchy in Britain can be traced back almost 1,200 years. The monarch must approve all bills passed by Parliament before they can become laws. The monarch may reject a bill, but no monarch has done so since the early 1700's.

The Prime Minister is usually the leader of the political party that has the most seats in the House of Commons. The king or queen appoints the Prime Minister after each general election. The monarch asks the Prime Minister to form a government – that is, to select ministers to head governmental departments and to hold various offices. The Prime Minister selects about 100 ministers. From them, the Prime Minister picks a special group of about 20 ministers to make up the Cabinet.

The Cabinet watches over the general conduct of the government and decides what steps will be taken to deal with matters of government. The Cabinet decides what new laws and what amendments to existing laws will be introduced to Parliament. The Prime Minister chairs the Cabinet. Ministers who head the most important government departments are always included in the Cabinet. These departments include the Treasury, the Home Office, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the Department of Health, and the Ministry of Defence.

The largest political party in the House of Commons that opposes the party in power is called Her (or His) Majesty's Opposition. The head of that party is the leader of the opposition. The leader is elected by his or her fellow party members but is paid a salary from government funds. The opposition has the duty of criticising the government in power and standing ready to set up a new government. For this reason, the leading members of the opposition party are popularly referred to as the Shadow Cabinet.

Parliament makes the laws of the United Kingdom. The British Parliament has been called the Mother of Parliaments because many of the world's legislatures have copied features from it. Of the two houses that make up Parliament, the House of Commons, often called simply the Commons, is by far the more powerful.

Courts of the United Kingdom operate under three separate legal systems – one for England and Wales, one for Northern Ireland, and one for Scotland. The system in Northern Ireland resembles that of England and Wales. Scotland's system differs in many ways from the other two. However, all the systems have some features in common. In each system, some courts hear only criminal cases and other courts handle only civil cases. Decisions made by lower courts may be appealed to higher courts.

In all three systems, the House of Lords is the highest court of appeal in civil cases. It is also the highest court of appeal in criminal cases, except in Scotland. In Scotland, people convicted of a crime may appeal their case to the High Court of Justiciary. They have no further appeal to the House of Lords.

The monarch appoints all British judges on the advice of the government. Judges serve until retirement, and thus they are free from political pressure.

Дата добавления: 2015-07-20