UNIT I
State structure: legislative branch
Core vocabulary 1 government – 1) государственная власть; 2) правительство state – 1) государство; 2) штат legislature – законодатели; законодательные органы legislative – законодательный executive - исполнительный judicial - судебный assembly - собрание
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Before you start Answer the following questions 1. Each state has a certain system of government. Do you know what state (country) has the following system: a) presidential; b) constitutional monarchy; c) parliamentary republic; d) parliamentary-presidential
2. What are the state branches? What are their functions?
3. Where does legislature sit:
4.Why is parliament called parliament?
5.In what countries do we have the following legislative bodies: Parliament; Congress; Federal Assembly; Rada; Bundestag
6. What is the difference between parliament and congress? (Read a short text below)
7. Who are these people:
What is the difference between parliament and congress? A Congress, such as in the US, is responsible for making laws and works separately from the part of government which executes them (which is led by the President).
In a Parliament, such as in the UK, some of the members work in the part of the government which executes them. This includes the Prime Minister, the leader of the ruling party, and the Cabinet, who all belong in the Parliament.
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legislative [‘ledzislətiv] Br. [‘ledzisleitiv] Am.
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The UK Parliament
The UK Parliament is one of the oldest parliaments in the world. It is the supreme legislative body and includes the Monarch, the House of Commons and the House of Lords. Moreover, the executive branch, namely the Government formed by the Prime Minister, sits in the parliament. It’s important to mention that the Parliament also used to perform some judicial functions – the House of Lords was the final and last court. Since October 2009 this function has been transferred to the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom.
TASKS
I. Find in the texts the words and phrases from Core Vocabulary 2 and underline them.
II. Аrrange the texts according to the following sequence and put the appropriate numbers near the boxes:
1. The Parliament functions
2. The Parliament’s powers and responsibilities
3. The role of the Queen
4. The House of Commons and members of Parliament
5. The Speaker of the House of Commons
5. The House of Lords
6. The functions of the Lord Speaker
7. The Government
III. Not looking into the texts but following the plan of Task II and using words and phrases from Core Vocabulary 2 speak briefly about the British Parliament.
Parliament is where
politicians (MPs) meet to decide laws and make decisions for the
United Kingdom. It is not the same as the Government (which runs the
country). One of the jobs Parliament does is to check that the
Government is running the country properly.
What is the job of
Parliament?
The main functions of
Parliament are:
- to pass
laws
- to
scrutinise government policy and administration, including proposals
for expenditure
- to
debate the major issues of the day
Core Vocabulary 2 |
to appoint - назначить to elect - избрать election - выборы to make decision – принять решение bill - законопроект peer - пэр to pass a law – принять закон debate an issue – проводить дебаты по вопросу determine a decision – определять решение constituency – избирательный округ t
A
Member of Parliament (MP) is a person in the United Kingdom who
represents the people of an area (called a "constituency")
in the House of Commons. They are voted for by the people in a
general election. The Prime Minister chooses when to hold a
general election, but must have an election at
least
once every five years. MPs are usually members of a group called
a political party. In the UK, the three main political parties
are as
follows: The
Labour party The
Conservative party The
Liberal Democrats. inheritance - наследство final say – последнее слово t
At
the centre of government is the prime minister and the cabinet.
Cabinet ministers lead departments such as education and defence,
with help from junior ministers. It is convention that members of
the government are drawn from the ranks of MPs and peers.
MPs
and peers (and the Queen). While MPs are elected to the House of
Commons, members of the House of Lords - also called peers - are
appointed by the prime minister. The monarch is represented as
well. The Palace of Westminster is home to the Houses of
Parliament.
deputy – заместитель preside over – председательствовать на/в … double check - перепроверить policy – политика, меры monetary policy – денежная политика social security – социальное обеспечение
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The House of Commons has 659
members who have been elected by local residents to represent an
area of the country in Parliament. The members are called MPs
(Members of Parliament). Each MP represents one of 659
constituencies (areas) in the UK and is a member of a political
party, such as New Labour or the Conservative party.
The Commons is the most
important place for discussing policies and making laws.
The Queen is the official
Head of State. Britain has a constitutional monarchy where the Queen
only rules symbolically; in reality, power belongs to Parliament.
So, although the Queen 'opens' Parliament each year and laws are
passed in her name, the Queen herself plays no part in determining
decisions made in Parliament.
The
Queen has the final say on whether a bill becomes law.
The
last Monarch to reject a law that was wanted by both Houses of
Parliament was Queen Anne. She died in 1715.
The House of Lords is made up
of people who have inherited family titles and those who have been
given titles because of their outstanding work in one field or
another. There are 675 members of the Lords.
The
main job of the House of Lords is to 'double check' new laws to make
sure they are fair and will work.
The Lord Speaker presides
over proceedings in the House of Lords chamber giving procedural
advice and assistance.
The Lord Speaker acts as an
ambassador for the House in the UK and abroad, explaining the work
of the House of Lords and its contribution to Parliament. The Lord
Speaker also represents the House of Lords on ceremonial occasions.
Parliament
at Westminster in London can legislate for the UK as a whole and has
powers to legislate for any parts of it separately. However, it will
not normally legislate on matters concerning Scotland and Northern
Ireland without the agreement of the Scottish Parliament and the
Northern Ireland Assembly respectively. The Westminster Parliament
still has UK-wide responsibility in a number of areas including
defence, foreign affairs, economic and monetary policy, social
security, employment, and equal opportunities.
The chief officer of the
House of Commons is the Speaker, elected by MPs to preside over the
House.
Permanent
officers (who are not MPs) include the Clerk of the House of
Commons, who is the principal adviser to the Speaker on the House's
privileges and procedures and Sergeant of Arms who is responsible
for security.
Task IV
Make questions to the texts using statements from task II. Work in pairs: ask and answer the questions.
Legislation
Core vocabulary 3
bill – a proposed law presented to the legislative body - законопроект
act - law officially accepted by a legislative body (Parliament) – закон (принятый)
law – a product of legislation – закон (введенный в действие)
statute – published written law – закон (опубликованный)
statutory – according to the law – утвержденный (ая) законом
clause – part of a document – статья (закона)
amend – редактировать; вносить поправки
report - доложить
vote on the bill – голосовать по законопроекту
Exercise 1. Find out the logical order of the verb combinations..
How laws are made in the UK Parliament
While reading the text make up questions to each part completing the gaps marked with dots.
A new law that is called a Bill has to go through a number of stages (readings) in both Houses.
There are two types of Bills – Public Bills that concern the matters of general public importance, and Private Bills which deal with local matters and individuals.
1. ………………………………………………..
First reading
The Bill is usually introduced in the House of Commons, and this is the first stage. The Bill is formally presented and then printed. It is not debated.
2. ……………………………………………………
Second reading
At this stage the Bill is debated: the MPs discuss the Bill and present arguments. The Bill is amended and is transferred to a committee.
3. ………………………………………..
Committee stage
The committee stage includes detailed examination of the separate parts (or clauses) of the Bill. Committee stage of a Bill must take place in both the House of Commons and the House of Lords.
Bills in the Commons usually go to one of two different types of committee:
The members make changes and amendments to the Bill. At the end of the committee stage in the Commons, the Bill moves on to report stage.
4. …………………………………………………………….
Report stage
After the Public Bill Committee has examined the Bill, it reports the Bill with any amendments it has made for consideration by the House - report stage is also known as 'Consideration'. All MPs may speak and vote - for lengthy or complex Bills the debate may take over several days. MPs can suggest amendments to the Bill or new clauses they think should be added.
In the House of Commons, the report stage is usually followed immediately by the Bill's third reading debate.
5. ………………………………………….
Third reading
Third reading is the final review of the contents of the Bill. In the Commons, amendments cannot be made to a Bill at third reading. The debate on the Bill is usually short, and limited to what is actually in the Bill, rather than, as at second reading, what might have been included. At the end of the debate, the House decides whether to approve the third reading of the Bill.
If the Bill is passed by the Commons, it goes to the Lords.
6. ……………………………………………………………………..
The House of Lords
In the House of Lords the Bill goes through two stages. It is debated and amended and the amendments made by the Lords must be considered by the Commons. If the Commons agree, they reprint the bill and return it to the Lords. However, the Commons may ignore the Lords’ amendments.
Royal Assent
After final approval the Bill is presented to the monarch to receive the Royal Assent. After that the Bill becomes an Act of Parliament.
In order to be enforced, it must be published in statutory form becoming a part of Statute Law.
7. …………………………………………
Exercise 2
Work in pairs with a partner. Ask and answer the questions in turn to see how much you remember/
Exercise 3
The following diagram shows the movement of a bill through the both Houses. Complete the boxes with the words that specify the respective stage.
Exercise 4
Working with video “How Law is Made”
First read the sentences below to find out what you should hear in the film. Then you watch the film and do the tasks. Then check. You will watch the film more than once.
Public Bills are introduced by a) members of the parliament; b) workers; c) government
Idea for a bill goes through consultation stage which means that a) they make consultations;
b) collect opinions of different people; c) seek advice of scholars or lawyers.
The first version of the Bill is called a) White Paper; b) Red Paper; c) Green Paper
During the first reading the Mps a) debate the bill; b) return the bill; c) vote on the bill to forward it to the next stage.
Committees’ duties are a) to publish the Bill; b) to examine the details of the Bill; c) to sign the Bill.
The MPs can see the Committee’s changes during a) the Third stage; b) the Report stage; c) the Consideration stage.
During the third reading the House of Commons a) debate each amendment; b) consider the bill with all amendments; c) reject all amendments.
In the House of Lords the Bill a) goes through two stages; b) goes through one stage; c) goes through three stages.
The Committee stage is different because a) the Lords work together; b) the Lords working all together read the bill line by line; c) the Lords work together for a long time.
The Lords spot any problems with the meaning or the wording of the bill during a) the Committee stage; b) the Report stage c) the Report and Third stage.
After the Lords have made their amendments they a) send the Bill to the Queen; b) return the bill to the Commons; c) approve and publish the Bill.
The Crown always approves the bill because a) this is her role; b) the Parliament represents people; c) the Parliament knows better.
Exercise 5