I. Read and translate the text.

I. Read and translate the text.

6. The outlines of English Constitutional Law

To understand English constitutional law it is necessary to study numerous documents, including constitutional treaties like the Bill of Rights, various statutes and judicial decisions and others. But the whole of the Constitution of Britain will not be found in any of these documents. The English constitution, though partly written, is yet to be regarded as «unwritten». The English Constitution is considered to be flexible because Parliament can «make or unmake» any law by the same procedure and with the same ease. The British legislation does not provide written guarantees or individual political rights.

The Constitution is not the source of the law, but the law gives birth to the Constitution. Though the King (Queen) is the nominal Sovereign, any particular Parliament during the period of its existence is legally supreme. In administering justice the Judges enjoy little arbitrary power. The law that they administer is defined by statutes and other documents having statutory validity, and by judicial precedents.

Certain important Conventions control the entire working of the Constitution. These Conventions relate to the duties of the King as a person, the duties of the Ministers of the Crown and so on. Differences between the English and American Constitutions are as follows:

· In America the President is in practice more of a ruler than the English King but his legal powers are more restricted.

· The President can veto legislation, and the English King has legally an absolute but in practice a very shadowy power of veto which has not been exercised since long times.

· The American Constitution is written; the English Constitution is unwritten.

· The English Crown is inherited; the American President is elected for a term.

· The American President is not dependent on the vote of the Congress; in England the Cabinet is dependent on the vote of the House of Commons.

II. Find the answers in the text:

1. What is it necessary to do in order to understand English Constitutional law?

2. Why is the English Constitution to be regarded as «unwritten»?

3. Why is the English Constitution flexible?

4. The Constitution is the source of the law, isn't it?

5. What power do the judges enjoy in administering justice?

6. What are the main differences between the English and American Constitutions?

7. What country possesses hereditary legislators?

8. Who is more of a ruler in practice: the President in America or the English King?

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