Read and translate the text

Parliamentary democracy in Britain has a special character which stems from the fact that the British Constitution is not to be found in a single document. This does not mean, however, that Britain does not have a formal and controlled system of government. British Democracy has evolved over time. The rules which collectively form the "British constitution" are a description of current practice.

Treaties like the Act of Union between England and Scotland in 1707 and the treaty with the Irish Free State in December 1921 have helped to shape the Constitution as it is today. Similarly, statute laws have established constitutional principles which have been interpreted and developed by the courts. The main institutions of government have developed gradually since the 12th century.

Great Britain is a monarchy, but the powers of the King or Queen are limited. The monarchy is hereditary to the sons of the Sovereign in order of seniority, or if there is no sons, to the daughters. According to law, the Queen is the head of the state, the commander-in-chief of all Armed Forces of the Crown; she opens the new session of Parliament. But in each case the Queen acts not on her own, but on the advice of the government which she cannot constitutionally ignore.

The British Parliament is the supreme legislative body in the country. Parliament consists of two Houses-the House of Commons and the House of Lords. The members of the House of Commons (called Members of Parliament or MPs for short) are chosen by the electors. There must be a general election every five years, but the Government can order a general election at any time within that period. Each session of the House of Commons lasts for about 160-175 days. Parliament has 5 intervals during its work. Members of Parliament are paid for their Parliamentary work and have to attend the sittings.

The party that has won the general election makes up the majority in the House of Commons and forms the Government. Since the Second World War the great majority of MPs have belonged to either the Conservative or the Labor party. The leader of the party that wins most seats at a general election is by convention invited by the Monarch to form a government. He or she becomes Prime Minister and chooses the ministers who will together form the government. Government ministers – the executive- are all members of the House of Commons or House of Lords.

A modern British Prime Minister has very considerable powers, greater than those of many leaders of democratic states. The party with the next largest number of members in the House, or sometimes a combination of other parties, forms the official opposition, and the Leader of the Opposition is a recognized post in the House of Commons. Important members of the House of Commons are the Speaker and so called party whips. Speaker is the chairmen of the House of Commons. He is elected at the beginning of each new Parliament. Party whips are party organizers, who receive special salaries for their duties. They arrange each day's program in Parliament and tell members when they must attend debates.

"Democracy", said Winston Churchill," is the worst form of the government except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time." Democratic states take many forms, but all have a system of representative government whereby the citizens can elect and also dismiss their political leaders. For over 150 years Britain's system of parliamentary democracy has been based on organized political parties competing to form governments.

Democracies may also be recognized by their adherence to 'democratic values'. These are values which enable democracy to function properly. Obviously no human institution can ever be perfect and most democracies fail, in some respect, to meet the high standards required. Still, broadly speaking, in democratic states, the rights and liberties of the individual are safeguarded. The rule of law is respected. The courts of law are free from government interference. The media (newspapers, radio and television) are free to present uncensored news and views on political issue. Without these freedoms it is difficult for democracy to survive.

Words and expressions

treaty – договор

to evolve – развиваться, эволюционировать

sovereign – монарх

sovereignty – верховная власть

statute law – статутное право; право, выраженное в законодательных актах

hereditary – наследственный, передаваемый по наследству

representative government - представительное правительство

Task 1. Match the words with their Russian equivalents.

majority                   избирать

powers                     увольнять

head of the state      могущество, власть

gradually                 договор, соглашение

convention               глава государства

elect                         большинство

dismiss                    постепенно

uncensored              гарантировать

safeguard                 не проходивший цензуру

Task 2. Translate the words into Russian and write words they are formed from.

Development, government, cornerstone, lawmakers, leadership, non-binding, three-tier system, living, representative, changeable, executive, fundamental, authorization.

POLITICAL SYSTEM OF THE USA

Read and translate the text

The US Constitution

The US Constitution was proclaimed in 1787, it is the supreme law of the country, which protects the rights of all the people living in the USA. The constitution is based on three main principles:

- the first one guarantees basic rights such as right of freedom of speech and religion, right to have a trial and right to own a property;

- the second one tells about a government by the people – people can vote for their representatives and ask for new laws and changes;

- the third one tells about the three branches of the US government and their different powers: legislative, executive, judicial.

The Constitution includes the Preamble, 7 articles, 26 amendments, which help to make some changes or add some new things. The first 10 amendments are called Bill of Rights which must protect specific individual rights and freedom from government interference.

The Constitution sets up a federal system of government by dividing powers between the national, state and local governments. Two characteristics of this three-tier system of American government are fundamental. First, citizens elect officials to serve in the national, state and local governments. The authority of each level rests with the people.

Second, each level of government raises money through taxation from the citizens living in the area it serves. Unless each level of government can raise its own fiscal resources, it cannot act independently. The idea of separating powers among the various elements of government was designed to restrict governmental power and prevent its abuse. Wherever possible, the Founding Fathers (Отцы-основатели) built a system of "checks and balances" into the Constitution so that no one part of the government could supplant the other.

At the national level, the federal government is further divided into three autonomous branches.

The Legislative Branch

The Constitution sets up a bi-cameral body known as the U.S. Congress to raise and to spend national revenue and to draft laws. The two chambers are the Senate and the House of Representatives. The main function of the legislative branch is to make laws about trade, taxes, citizenship. It is commonly said that Congress influences American policy by exercising the "power of the purse strings" [распоряжаться деньгами]. It can maintain army, declare war, establish US Post Office, print and borrow money.

The Congress cannot take away the right to a trial, give title to nobility, put a tax on export, and use tax money without authorization. It cannot make laws about marriage, driver's licenses, and police. A new Congress begins every two years with the elections of new senators and representatives. It meets in Capitol, Washington D.C. The House of Representatives has large room, the Senate has smaller one. There are 435 members in the House of Representative and 100 senators. Each state elects two members of the 100-member Senate.

The broad powers of the whole Congress are spelled out in Article 1, Section 8, of the Constitution, which not only outlines what Congress can do, but also specifically forbids Congress from certain acts. The 10th Amendment of the Constitution further limits the domain of the nation's lawmakers by stating that all powers not delegated to the national government are reserved to the states or the people.

The Executive Branch

The president has come to symbolize the nation's executive branch of government because the Constitution states very clearly that it is the president's duty to "take care that the laws be faithfully executed." The President of the USA is elected every 4 years to a 4 year term, with no more than 2 full terms allowed. The President is elected directly by the votes. He must be a native born citizen at least 35 and live in the US for not less than 14 years. The US President is the head of the State and the government and Commander – in – Chief of the Armed Forces. He makes foreign policy, advises the Congress, approves or vetoes laws, appoints judges, advisors and ambassadors, he can pardon a person for a federal crime.

To implement the policies and laws of the nation, the president presides over a vast organization of departments and agencies which were never enumerated in the Constitution, but developed over the course of American history. Although the United States is often cited as an example of a democratic system where the president has a very powerful rule, the formal powers of the office are few and structure of the American government prevents the president from acting directly, without the advice and consent of the other branches of government.

The legislative and executive branches of the government (Congress and President) are the most powerful of the three branches. The President and Congress have almost complete political independence from each other because they are both chosen in separate elections. For example, the election of Congress does not determine who will be elected President, and the Presidential election does not determine who will be elected to Congress. It is quite possible in the American system to have the leader of one political party win the Presidency while the other major political party wins most of the seats in Congress. It is necessary for the President to sign bills passed by Congress in order for them to become law. A legislative bill passed by Congress dies if the President vetoes it (refuses to sign it). On the other hand, a treaty with a foreign government signed by a President dies if Congress refuses to ratify it.

People from other countries are often confused by the American system but the Americans are proud of it.

The Judicial Branch

The federal court system plays a critical role in protecting the rights and liberties guaranteed to the American people. Federal courts can strike down any legislation, at any level of government, if the courts determine that the legislation violates the nation's fundamental, democratic principles outlined in the Constitution. The judicial branch consists of a system of courts spread throughout the country, with jurisdiction in both civil actions and to criminal cases arising under federal law.

The various types of federal courts are:

· U.S. Supreme Court

· U.S. Courts of Appeal

· U.S. District Courts

· Special Courts

Most of cases start in District Courts. There are 94 of them. Usually it is 1 judge and 1 jury. The main duties of them are to hear cases about federal laws and constitutional rights. These are the lowest courts. The courts of Appeals are higher than District Courts. These are groups of 3 judges without jury and the main duty is to review District Court's decisions. The highest court is the Supreme Court that has 9 judges, no jury and all its decisions are final. The judges are appointed for life by the president and have to be approved by the Senate.

Major Political Parties

The USA has a two party system. There are two major political parties in the USA. They are Republicans and Democrats. The symbol of the Republican Party is elephant and that of the Democratic Party is Donkey. There are no clear differences between the Republican and Democratic parties. In general, the Republicans tend to be more conservative to have more support among the upper classes, while the Democrats tend to be more liberal and have more support among the working class and the poor. There are other parties beside these two, but these parties do not play a role in a national politics.

Elections

At first, there are two or more candidates for the Republican Party and two or more candidates for the Democratic Party. Each party has a convention to choose one candidate. After the party conventions, the candidates continue to campaign. Then on Election Day US adult citizens vote for a president in a national election. When citizens vote for a President, they are really voting for the state electors (выборщик, член коллегии выборщиков). Every State has electors. The number of electors = the number of senators + the number of representatives in a state. These are the main steps:

- Citizens of a state vote.

- Their votes are counted.

- One candidate has 51% or more of the votes.

- This candidate wins all the electoral votes of the state.

- The electoral votes of all the states are counted.

- The candidate with the most electoral votes becomes a president.

Words and expressions

amendment – поправка законопроекту

to be divided into – быть разделенным

individual citizens – частные граждане

legislative branch – законодательная власть

executive branch – исполнительная власть

judicial branch – юридическая власть

responsibility – ответственность

to abuse power – злоупотреблять властью

to win the Presidency – завоевать президентство

to pass a bill – принять законопроект

to become a law – стать законом

to veto – налагать вето

to ratify – ратифицировать

"Bill of Rights" – билль о правах

legislative bill – законодательный проект (билль)

government interference – вмешательство правительства

to be proud of – гордиться чем-либо

to preside at – председательствовать

to supplant–вытеснить; занять (чьё-л.) место

legislation– законодательство, законы

jurisdiction– юрисдикция, сфера полномочий

to approve of– одобрять ,утверждать