Chapter 3 Government and the Commonwealth 英国文化选修课 教学课件.ppt

CONTENT Constitution Q: Why is the British Constitution unwritten? This is misleading. Parts of the British Constitution are written and some are not. What is meant by unwritten is that it is not written down in one single document. Therefore, it is more accurate to say that although much of the Constitution is written down, it is not systematically codified into one single document. British Constitution is made up of: Statutory Law (成文法) Common Law (判例法) Conventions (习惯法) 2.The development of the Constitution The principal changes are: 1. Decline in powers of the Monarch, and establishment of the sovereignty of Parliament 2. Advent of democracy 3. The decline in the powers of the House of Lords. 4. Growth of the party system. What are some of the charateristic of the British Constitution and its consequence? 1. unwritten 2. flexible 3. useful in practice 4. difficult in understanding Is the political system in UK a “checks and balances”? 2.1.1 Parliament Parliament the law-making 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 monarch” Official title: ‘Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of Her other Realms and Territories Queen, head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith’ Although she is officially the head of state, the country is actually run by the government and led by the Prime Minister. 女王 The Queen (2006) She reigns but does not rule! Theoretically, she is the source of all government powers: an integral part of the legislature head of the executive, executive and judiciary branches the commander-in-chief of all armed forces of the Crown “supreme governor” of the Church of England