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1、Guide to English-Speaking Countries,英语国家概况,英语国家概况,The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland,Chapter 3 Government and the Commonwealth,The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland,英语国家概况,Political Parties,Constitution,Government,Election,The Commonwealth,CONTENT,Constitutio
2、n,I,Great Britain (UK) is a parliamentary democracy with a constitutional monarch as the head of state British Constitution is made up of: Statutory Law (成文法) Common Law (判例法) Conventions (习惯法),1.1 Statutory Law passed by Parliament example the Magna Carta (1215)which protects the rights of the comm
3、unity against the Crown the Bill of Rights (1689) which extends the powers of Parliament the Reform Act (1832) which reforms the parliamentary electoral system the European Communities Act (1972) the European Communities (Amendment) Act (1986) which defines the relationship between Britain and the E
4、uropean Community(欧共体）.,Constitution,1.2 Common law （判例法） deduced from custom or legal precedents and interpreted in court cases by judges 1.3 Conventions （习惯法） rules and practices which do not exist legally, but are regarded as vital to the working of government .(for example: The monarch reigns bu
5、t does not rule. ),1. Constitution,Government,2.1 The Legislature,2.2 The Executive,2.3 The Judiciary,2.1 The Legislature,Basic Structure of UK Central Government,Monarch (non-political),Legislature Parliament,Executive,Judiciary (non-political),House of Commons (political),House of Lords (semi-poli
6、tical),Prime Minister & Cabinet (political),Ministers & Civil service (non-political),House of Lords,Court of Appeal,2.1.1 Parliament,Parliament the law-making body of Britain one of the oldest representative assemblies in the world (in the mid-13th century) Strictly speaking, the parliament consist
7、s 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” Although she is officially the head of state, the country is actually run by the government and led by the Pr
8、ime Minister.,2.1.2 Queen,Buckingham Palace,2.1.2 Queen,Queen Elizabeth II,2.1.2 Queen,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 ar
9、med forces of the Crown “supreme governor” of the Church of England More ,Q. What powers does the Queen have?,2.1.2 Queen,In reality, her role is “ceremonial, unpolitical and symbolic”: State opening of the Parliament(国会开议大典 ) Royal assent to new law Meeting with the Prime Minister at Buckingham Pal
10、ace Pay state visits to Commonwealth countries as head of state and non-Commonwealth countries on behalf of the British government,2.1.2 Queen,From Buckingham to Westminster,The State Opening of Parliament Wednesday November 26, 2003,2.1.2 Queen,2.1.3 The House of Lords,often referred to as “the Upp
11、er House” The Lords Spiritual (上议院神职议员) (archbishops and prominent bishops of the Church of England),The House of Lords in the early 19th century,The Lords Temporal (上议院世俗议员) (hereditary peers and life peers and the Law Lords）上议院高级法官),The Upper House Reforms Reduce the number of seats from 705 to 66
12、6 (Mar. 1, 2004) Final court of appealSupreme Court,The House of Lords meets in a lavishly decorated chamber in the Palace of Westminster (also called Red Chamber),2.1.3 The House of Lords,2.1.4 The House of Commons,Often referred to as “the Lower House” (center of parliamentary power) Three major f
13、unctions to pass laws, bills and acts of Parliament to scrutinize, criticize and restrain the actions of the government to influence the future government policy,646 Members of Parliament, known as “MPs” for short, who represent the 646 geographical areas / constituencies,2.1.4 The House of Commons,
14、2.2.1 The Prime Ministerpowerful leader head of the government the leader of the majority party in Parliament controls the Parliament 2.2.2 The Cabinet supreme decision-making body in the British government Cabinet members are chosen by the Prime Minister from members of his own party in Parliament.
15、,2.2 The Executive,The Cabinet works on the principle of collective responsibility and individual ministerial responsibility Ministers responsible for their particular department (most senior members are the Deputy Prime Minister, Foreign Secretary, Chancellor of the Exchequer and Home Secretary) Co
16、llective responsibility or resignation,2.2 The Executive,Civil Servants,Members of the Civil Service are called Civil Servants. They staff government departments. Civil Servants are recruited mainly by competitive examination. Civil servants do not belong to any political party. Changes of Governmen
17、t do not involve changes in departmental staff, There are about 541,800 civil servants in Britain now. A 140 B 125 C 100 D 85 E 60,2.2.2 Privy Council a body of advisors (450 members) current and former Cabinet members and important public figures Its main duty is to give advice,2.2 The Executive,2.
18、3 The Judiciary,Proceedings All criminal trials are held in open court because the criminal law presumes the innocence of the accused until he has been approved guilty beyond reasonable doubt In criminal trials by jury, the judge passes sentence but the jury decides the issue of guilt and innocence.
19、,Two branches of law Civil lawdefines and enforces the duties or obligations of persons to one another Criminal lawby contrast, defines and enforces the obligations of persons to society as a whole,English Judges,2.3 The Judiciary,The Court System,Civil branch,Criminalbranch,2.3 The Judiciary,Politi
20、cal Parties,3.1 The Conservative Party,3.2 The Labor Party,3.3 The Liberal Democrats,3.0 Overall Introduction,3.0 Overall Introduction,The Parliament operates on a two-party system. Political parties originated in the late 17th century. the Whig PartyLiberal Party the Tory PartyConservative Party,3.
21、1 The Conservative Party,the “Right” landowners and businessmen, the middle and upper-middle class free enterprise and privatization of state-owned firms,Margaret Thatcher (1979-1990) The Iron Lady privatized state-owned industries and promoted a more competitive spirit in Britains economy reduced o
22、ld age pensions, shortened the period of unemployment benefits, and cut child benefits curbed the power of the trade unions,3.1 The Conservative Party,3.2 The Labor Party,the “Left” created by the growing trade union movement at the end of the 19th century After 1945to establish a welfare state nati
23、onalized industries exercised control over private industries to revive the primary industries,Recent Prime Ministers from the left Tony Blair (1997-2006) “Third Way” made the Bank of England independent (separate politics and economic policy) put an emphasis on the minimum wage and supplementing lo
24、w incomes,Gordon Brown (June 27, 2007),3.2 The Labor Party,3.3 The Liberal Democrats,An amalgamation of the old Liberal Party and the Social Democratic Party (the latter being a breakaway group from the Labor Party, formed in 1981) advocates policies based on freedom of the individual remains a mino
25、rity party a party of protest rather than a real alternative for government,Election,held every five years in the 646 constituencies (unless a Motion of No Confidence is passed by the House of Commons) candidate who wins in each constituency becomes a Member of Parliament The party which holds the m
26、ajority of “seats” in Parliament forms the government, with its party leader becoming the Prime Minister.,The Commonwealth,5.1 The Origin of the Commonwealth,5.2 Characteristics and Functions,5.3 Members of the Commonwealth,5.4 Organizations of the Commonwealth,5.5 Commonwealth Day,5.1 Origin of the
27、 Commonwealth,The Commonwealth of Nations is the successor of the British Empire. In 1949, “British” was dropped from the title of “Commonwealth”. In 1949, the London Declaration (often considered a milestone in the history of the modern Commonwealth) accepted and recognized Indias continued members
28、hip as a republic. From 1960 onwards, new members joined the Commonwealth.,5.1 Origin of the Commonwealth,a voluntary association of independent sovereign states to advocate (提倡) democracy, human rights, and to promote economic cooperation and growth of its members,5.2 Characteristics and Functions,
29、an organization composed of 53 states in 2005 a population of approximately 1.8 billion people, some 30 percent of the worlds total population,5.3 Members of the Commonwealth,The headquarters are all located in London. Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) Commonwealth Ministers Meeting h
30、eld annually The Commonwealth Secretariat The Commonwealth Foundation and other professional associations,5.4 Organizations of the Commonwealth,the second Monday in March every year an opportunity to promote understanding of global issues, international cooperation and the efforts to improve the lives of its 1.8 billion citizens,5.5 Commonwealth Day,Thank You !,英语国家概况,