英语国家概况-英国Unit 4 British Government and Politics.pptVIP

Unit 4 Government and Politics Contents 1. The Constitution and the Monarchy 2. Parliament 3. Government 4. Political Parties and Elections Political system of the UK: a constitutional monarchy(君主立宪制） and a parliamentary democracy（议会民主制） Process of the evolution of the system in terms of power: non-democratic Crown → aristocratic Lords → the House of Commons under the leadership of a powerful Prime Minister Democratic process: growth of political parties → extension of the universal franchise（公民权） → development of local government and devolution（权力下放） 1.The Constitution and the Monarchy The Constitution Partly written and contained in multiple documents Evolve continually due to new laws and judicial decisions Components of British Constitution statute law（成文法） common law or judge-made law（习惯法或判例法） conventions（惯例） ancient documents European Union law and the European Convention on Human Rights（《欧洲人权公约》） Features of British Constitution Constitutional monarchy Parliamentary sovereignty（议会主权制） Representative democracy（代议民主制） The rule of law（法治） The Monarchy The longest history in the world Importance: the Sovereign of the United Kingdom, the Head of State of 15 other realms, Head of the Commonwealth To reign but not to rule: perform ceremonial duties; symbolic Functions of the Monarch Official head of state Head of the judiciary Commander in chief of the armed forces Supreme Governor of the Church of England and the Church of Scotland Give the royal assent to the bills before they become law Preside over the State Opening of Parliament（新一届国会开幕大典： Declare war Make peace and conclude treaties with foreign states Advisor of the Prime Minister 2. Parliament One of the oldest representative assemblies in the world The supreme legislative body Duration: 5 years; dissovled by the Crown on the advice of the Prime Minister Elements of Parliament House of Lords （贵族院、上议院） The Upper House Non-elected A place of discussion and debate A moderate check in legislation on the