IV. Discuss the following controvercial issues:

1. In Great Britain the basic democratic principle of the separation of powers is not observed because government sits in Parliament, and Parliament acts as a final Court of Appeal.

2. The House of Lords has to be dissolved because it has outlived its function as a legislative chamber, besides the Lords do not represent the people.

TEST (Chapter 5)

1. Suggest the equivalents of these words and expressions:

1.	To disclaim one’s peerage		Распустить Парламент
2.	To further reform		Корпус депутатов
3.	To curb powers		Подстрекательство к религиозной ненависти
4.	To owe allegiance to the Crown		Законы о неприкосновенности частной жизни
5.	To oversee political balance		Председательствовать на обсуждениях
6.	Accretion in power		Быть членом партии
7.	Devolution		Отменить закон
8.	To withdraw a proposal		Замедлять прохождение новых законов
9.	To endow smb with far-reaching powers		Профессия, род занятий

2. Fill in the gaps (denoted by numbers) with the required prepositions.

1) 1 centuries hereditory lords have succeeded 2 their tittles that have been passed 3 generation 4 generation and taken 5 their parents as members of the Lords.

2) In order to be voted 6 Parliament a person must belong 7 a political party.

3) 8 the committee stage a Bill is scrutinized by those serving 9 the committee line 10 line and clause 11 clause to be eventually given 12 13 the Commons 14 the Report Stage.

4) 15 recently there have been 16 775 peers 17 succession but 18 the House of Lords Act 1999 only 92 peers are allowed 19 a compromise to remain in the House of Lords 20 a transitional period. The proposal is now 21 consideration to abolish even the remaining 92 hereditary lords.

5) A Bill rejected 22 the House of Lords three times may be immediately submitted 23 the Queen 24 her Royal Assent 25 obtaining the Lords’ further approval.

6) Alterations or amendments 26 a Bill can be made 27 the committee stage and they will be passed if a majority of the committee members vote 28 them.

3. Translate the following text into Russian.

From the Tudor period onwards Parliament became more and more independent and the practice of legislating by statute increased. Nevertheless statutes did not become an important source of law until the last two centuries, and even now, although the bulk of legislation is large, statutes account for a comparatively small part of the law as a whole. The basis of our law remains the common law, and if all statutes were repealed we should still have a legal system, even if it were inadequate; whereas our statutes alone would not provide a system of law but merely a set of disjointed rules.

An Act of Parliament is absolutely binding on everyone within the sphere of its jurisdiction, but all Acts of Parliament can be repealed by the same or subsequent Parliaments; and this is the only exception to the rule of the absolute Sovereignty of Parliament – it cannot bind itself or its successors.

4. Answer these questions in several sentences.

   1. What is the difference between life peers and hereditary peers, Lords Temporal and Lords Spiritual?

   2. What is the role of the House of Lords in the law-making process?

   3. How many stages should a Bill pass to become an Act?

   4. How does the British Parliament guarantee the principles of democracy?

KEYS TO THE EXERCISES

(chapter 5)