THE POLITICAL SYSTEM OF UKRAINE
Ukraine is a sovereign state whose independence was declared on August 24, 1991. The country has a democratic political system which means that its executive branch is headed by the president with strong powers, and its legislative branch is represented by a national parliament.
The president who is elected to a five-year term is the commander-in-chief of the military forces and can issue orders, called edicts, without the approval of the parliament.
Ukraine's parliament, called the Verkhovna Rada (the Supreme Council), is the nation's law-making body. It has one chamber consisting of 450 members who are elected by voters at general elections to a five-year term. Every citizen of Ukraine over 18 has the right to vote in the elections. Voting, which is not compulsory, is by secret ballot and from the age of 18. The candidate rolling the largest number of votes in a constituency is elected.
Judicial power in Ukraine is represented by the Supreme Court and the Constitutional Court.
The president is assisted by a Cabinet of Ministers whose responsibilities lie in the areas of foreign affairs, home policy, economy, science and technology, industry, law and humanitarian matters. The Cabinet is headed by the Prime Minister who is appointed by the president and approved by the majority of the Parliament. A Prime Minister is nominated by the President and is a subject to approval by the Verkhovna Rada.
In other words, it is possible to say that state power in Ukraine is based on the division of authority into legislative, executive and judicial branches, and Ukraine can be called a country with a parliamentary-presidential form of government.
Administratively Ukraine is divided into 24 regions, called «oblasty». Crimea, which is also part of our country, has a special status of an autonomous, self-governing republic. Each region has its local governs bodies which are responsible to the Cabinet of Ministers and the President.
There are a variety of political parties in Ukraine; they currently number more than 60. The most influential are the Social-Democratic Party of Ukraine (united), the Rukh, the People's Democratic Party (NDP) and the Socialist party. The President of Ukraine does not belong to any of the parties.
The main trend of foreign policy in Ukraine is to live in peace with the rest of the world community, to co-operate with other countries and participate in European and world structures through membership in the United Nations Organization and other international political, economic and cultural organizations.
THE CONSTITUTION OF UKRAINE
Governed by the Act of Ukraine's Independence of August 24, 1991, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine on behalf of the Ukrainian people adopted the Constitution — the Fundamental Law on June 28, 1996.
The Constitution established the country's political system, assures rights, freedoms and duties of citizens, and the basis of its laws. It asserts that Ukraine is a sovereign and independent, democratic, social, legal state. It is a Unitarian state with single citizenship.
Ukraine is a republic. The people are the only source of power which is exercised directly and through the bodies of state power and local self-government. The land, mineral raw materials, air space, water and other natural resources which are on the territory of Ukraine are objects of the property right of Ukrainian people.
The state language in Ukraine is Ukrainian. The state symbols of Ukraine are the State Flag, the State Emblem and the State Anthem of Ukraine. The State Flag is a blue and a yellow banner made from two equal horizontal stripes. The main element of the Great State Emblem of Ukraine is the Sign of the State of Prince, Volodymyr the Great. The State Anthem of Ukraine is the national anthem with the music of M. Verbytsky.
The Constitution outlines the structure of the national government and specifies its powers and duties. Under the Constitution the powers of the government are divided into three branches — the legislative which consists of the Verkhovna Rada, the executive, headed by the President, and the judicial, which is led by the Supreme Court.
The Constitution states that every person has the right to the free development of his / her personality, and has obligations before society where free and full development of the personality is assured. Citizens have equal Constitutional rights and freedoms, and are equal before the law. There are no privileges or restrictions based upon face, colour of skin, political and other beliefs, gender, ethnic and social origin, properly, ownership, position, place of residence, language, religion.
The articles of the Constitution guarantee the rights of life, personal inviolability and the inviolability of dwelling, noninterference in private and family life, free choice of residence, work, rest, education, social security, housing, health protection, medical care and medical insurance, legal assistance, a safe and healthy environment.
Defence of the Motherland, of the independence and territorial integrity of Ukraine and respect for the state's symbols are the duty of citizens. Citizens of Ukraine perform military services in compliance with the law. No person may damage the environment, cultural heritage. Every person shall pay taxes and duties in the order and amount determined by law.
The Constitution of Ukraine consists of 15 chapters, 161 articles. The day of its adoption is a state holiday — the Day of the Constitution of Ukraine.
The Constitution outlines the structure of the national government and specifies its powers and duties. Under the Constitution the powers of the government are divided into three branches — the legislative which consists of the Verkhovna Rada, the executive, headed by the President, and the judicial, which is led by the Supreme Court.
The parliament - the Verkhovna Rada - is the only body of the legislative power in Ukraine. There are 450 people's deputies who are elected for a term of four years on the basis of universal, equal and direct suffrage by secret ballot. The Verkhovna Rada's main function is making laws. Law drafting work is performed by its Committees.
The President of Ukraine is the head of the state and speaks on behalf of it. He is elected directly by the voters for a term of five years with no more than two full terms. The president is also the Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
The highest body of the executive power is the Cabinet of Ministers. It is responsible to the President and is accountable to the Verkhovna Rada. It carries out domestic and foreign policy of the State, the fulfilment of the Constitution, as well as the acts of the President, develops and fulfils national programme on the economic, scientific and technological, social and cultural development of Ukraine.
The Prime Minister of Ukraine is appointed by the President of Ukraine with the consent of more than one-half of the constitutional composition of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine.
Under the advice of the Prime Minister, the President appoints the Cabinet of Ministers. These appointments are subject to confirmation by the legislative body — the Verkhovna Rada. The Prime Minister is the head of the government and is responsible for carrying out its policies.
Justice in Ukraine is exercised entirely by courts. Ii is administered by the Constitutional Court and by courts of general jurisdiction.
The highest court is the Constitutional Court, which is charged with protecting and interpreting the constitution. The President, the legislature, and a conference of judges each appoint six of the court's 18 members.
The Supreme Court of Ukraine is the highest juridical body of general jurisdiction. The Supreme Court is the highest appeals court for non-constitutional issues.
THE HIGHER BODIES OF STATE AUTHORITY OF UKRAINE
The Constitution outlines the structure of the national government and specifies its powers and duties. Under the Constitution the powers of the government are divided into three branches — the legislative which consists of the Verkhovna Rada, the executive, headed by the President, and the judicial, which is led by the Supreme Court.
The parliament - the Verkhovna Rada - is the only body of the legislative power in Ukraine. There are 450 people's deputies who are elected for a term of four years on the basis of universal, equal and direct suffrage by secret ballot. The Verkhovna Rada's main function is making laws. Law drafting work is performed by its Committees.
The President of Ukraine is the head of the state and speaks on behalf of it. He is elected directly by the voters for a term of five years with no more than two full terms. The president is also the Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
The highest body of the executive power is the Cabinet of Ministers. It is responsible to the President and is accountable to the Verkhovna Rada. It carries out domestic and foreign policy of the State, the fulfillment of the Constitution, as well as the acts of the President, develops and fulfils national programme on the economic, scientific and technological, social and cultural development of Ukraine.
The Prime Minister of Ukraine is appointed by the President of Ukraine with the consent of more than one-half of the constitutional composition of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine.
Under the advice of the Prime Minister, the President appoints the Cabinet of Ministers. These appointments are subject to confirmation by the legislative body — the Verkhovna Rada. The Prime Minister is the head of the government and is responsible for carrying out its policies.
Justice in Ukraine is exercised entirely by courts. Ii is administered by the Constitutional Court and by courts of general jurisdiction.
The highest court is the Constitutional Court, which is charged with protecting and interpreting the constitution. The President, the legislature, and a conference of judges each appoint six of the court's 18 members.
The Supreme Court of Ukraine is the highest juridical body of general jurisdiction. The Supreme Court is the highest appeals court for non-constitutional issues.
THE POLITICAL SYSTEM OF GREAT BRITAIN
Great Britain is a parliamentary democracy with a constitutional monarch — Queen Elizabeth II — as head of the state.
The political system of Great Britain has three branches: Parliament, which makes laws, the government, which „executes" laws i.e. puts them into effect, and the law courts, which interpret laws. Although the Queen is officially head of all three branches, she has little direct power.
There is no written constitution in Great Britain. The main principles of British legislation are expressed in other documents, like "Magna Charta", "Habeas Corpus Act", "Bill of Rights", the Parliamentary Act which decided the position of the House of Lords, the Judicature Act, etc. The British legislation does not provide written guarantees or individual political rights.
The monarchy is the most ancient institution in the United Kingdom, with a continuous history stretching back over a thousand years. The monarchy is hereditary. Queen Elizabeth n, who succeeded to the throne in 1952, is the head of the judiciary, the commander-in-chief of the armed forces of the Crown and the temporal head of the established Church in England. Her Majesty's Government governs in the name of the Queen who must act on the advice of her ministers.
Parliament in Great Britain exists since 1265 and is the eldest in the world. It has two parts: the House of Lords and the House of Commons. The House of Lords is still a hereditary body. It consists of the Lords Temporal and the Lords Spiritual. The House of Lords is presided over by the Lord Chancellor who is the chairman of the House. Members of the House of Lords (peers) are not elected. About 70 percent of them are "hereditary peers" because their fathers were peers before them. The other 30 percent are "life peers" whose titles are not passed on to their children. They are officially appointed by the Queen, on the advice of the Government, for various services to the nation.
The House of Commons is an elected and representative body. Members of the House of Commons are elected by the voters of 650 constituencies. They are known as MPs or Members of Parliament. Members are paid a salary and an allowance. The Speaker of the House of Commons is elected by the members of the House immediately after each new Parliament is formed.
The Government consists of approximately 100 members of the political party which has the majority of seats in the House of Commons. The Prime Minister, or leader of the Government, is also an MP and usually the leader of the political party with a majority in the House of Commons.
The Prime Minister is advised by the cabinet of about twenty other ministers. The Cabinet includes the ministers in charge of major government departments or ministries. The Government is the management of the country. The Government makes the important decisions, e. g. about foreign policy, education, or health, but all these decisions have to be approved by Parliament.
BRITISH PARLIAMENT AND POLITICAL PARTIES
Each Member of Parliament (MP) represents one of 650 constituencies in the UK; British elections are usually fought between political parties, not individuals. Therefore, people who want to be elected to Parliament need to be nominated by one of the main political parties.
Although MPs will support a particular party, they are not controlled by that political party and theoretically do not have to vote with their party in Parliament. MPs represent everyone in the constituency, not just the people who voted for them. A lot of MPs' work has nothing to do with voting in Parliament. There are hundreds of things MPs have to deal with in the day-to-day business of constituency life, such as housing or health care. MPs are there to help people and to try to make sure their rights under the law are not violated.
The functions of Parliament are: making laws; providing money for the government through taxation; examining government policy, administration arid spending; debating political questions. Every year Parliament passes about a hundred laws directly, by making Acts of Parliament.
The Ministry is the government of the moment. The head of the Ministry is the Prime Minister. The functions of the Prime Minister are: leading the majority party; running the Government; appointing Cabinet Ministers and other ministers; representing the nation in political matters. Upon accepting office the Prime Minister must form a government, that is, select a cabinet and ministry from among the Members of Parliament of his own party. The Cabinet constitutes the centre of the government and is composed of about 20 of the most important ministers. Government departments are responsible for implementing Government policy. Each department is headed by two people: a political head who is usually the minister, and an administrative head from the Civil Service, called a permanent secretary. They are responsible for permanent staffs which is part of the Civil Service. There are many such departments, for example the Home Office, the Department of Education, the Ministry of Defence, etc. The most important department is the Treasury, and the Prime Minister is usually its political head. It is the Department which controls the economy of the nation.
The main parties in the UK are the Conservative party (right wing), the Labour party (left wing) and the Liberal Democrats (centre). The Conservative party goes back to the Tories, or Royalists, originated in 1660-1685. The Tories were the party that supported Church and King; the other main party at the time was the Whigs, who were a group eager for political reform. The Tory party gave way to its successor, the Conservative party, in around 1830. The Conservative party believes in free enterprise and the importance of private ownership preferred to state control.
The Labour party believes that private ownership and enterprise should be allowed to flourish, but not at the expense of their traditional support of the public-services. The Liberal Democrats believe that the state should have some control over the economy, but that there should be individual ownership.
There are also many other political parties within the UK.
THE POLITICAL SYSTEM OF THE USA
The United States of American is a parliamentary republic. The government is divided into three branches: legislative (the US Congress), executive (the President and his Administration) and judicial (the US Supreme Court).
The form of US government is based on the Constitution of September 17, 1787. adopted after the War of Independence. In December 1791, the Congress adopted ten amendments to the Constitution, known as the Bill of Rights. The latter enumerated what the government controlled by the oligarchy was not going to be allowed to do, which was, of course, an important democratic gain for people.
The Congress of the United States is composed of two houses, the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Senate represents the states and the House represents the population according to its distribution among the states. All states have electoral requirements of the same nature. First of all they are residence requirements.
Through its power over the purse, the US Congress can control much that relates to foreign policy; also it is a governmental body that determines taxation.
The US President is both head of state and government. He is elected for a four-year term. Presidential elections are held every leap year on first Tuesday after first Monday in November. The President is assisted by Secretaries who are the heads of the executive departments.
The Presidency means not only a man: means an institution — the "executive branch" of the government.
The Supreme Court is the highest court in the country and the head of the judicial branch of US government. The Supreme Court consists of Chief Justice and eight Associate Justices who are appointed for life. It is supposed to decide whether a law of the Congress or an executive order of the President is constitutional or not.
The federal and state courts have the power of "judicial review." Also there are about ninety district courts in different parts of the United States. American judicial practice is firmly committed to the idea of jury trails. The Constitution guarantees them for both criminal and civil cases.
Each state has a constitution similar to the Constitution of the entire nation, with its three divisions of power: executive, legislative and judicial. The head of each state is the governor - the chief executive of the state. The state legislatures are in charge of the legislative work; and the state courts take care of judicial business.
There are two main political parties in the USA: the Democratic (symbolized by a "donkey") and the Republican (its symbol is an "elephant").
CONSTITUTION OF THE USA
The supreme law of the USA is the Constitution of the United States. The Constitution was drafted in 1787 and was put into effect in 1789. The first ten amendments, known as the Bill of Rights, were adopted in 1791. They provide for freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of the press, the right to assemble, the right to petition the government, and various due process and criminal procedure rights for individuals. The Constitution provides for a union of states, each with its own constitution, republican form of government, and reserved powers, within a federal system. The national government is responsible for external affairs and has concurrent powers with states, commonwealths, and self-governing territories over domestic matters. The head of state is the President of the United States; and the seat of government is the District of Columbia, which has limited home rule and no voting representation in the national legislature.
The Constitution establishes three separate branches of government: the legislative, executive, and judicial. Article II of the Constitution states that a president and vice president are chosen by a majority of voters in the Electoral College, for a fixed term of four years. The 22nd Amendment (1951) limits presidents to two terms in office. By state law, electors are chosen by a plurality of the popular vote in each state and in the District of Columbia. In almost all cases the winner of the popular vote is elected president.
The American President typically has a greater range of functions than prime ministers in parliamentary governments because the President serves as ceremonial chief of state as well as head of government. Unlike most presidents in other nations, the American President is also the head of his or her party, an important legislative leader, and the chief executive. The Constitution makes the President Commander-in-Chief of the U.S. armed forces. The president's diplomatic powers include negotiation and ratification of treaties, with the consent of two-thirds of the Senate; the appointment of ambassadors to foreign nations, also with the consent of the Senate; and the reception of foreign ambassadors.
All legislative powers granted by the Constitution in Article I are exercised by the Congress of the United States. Congress consists of two houses, the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Senate contains 100 senators, two representing each state — a provision of the Constitution not subject to amendment. The 435 members of the House are elected by the different states on the basis of their population at the most recent U.S. census. Every two years all 435 members of the House are elected, and one-third of the senators. Congress has extensive powers in domestic affairs, including the power to tax, borrow money and pay debts, coin money and regulate its value, and regulates commerce among the states. Congress helps to establish and oversees the departments and agencies of the executive branch; it also establishes the lower federal courts and determines their jurisdiction. Congress has the power to declare war, raise and maintain the armed forces, establish tariffs, and regulate commerce with foreign nations.
The federal court system derives its powers from Article III of the Constitution. The system includes the Supreme Court of the United States, established by the Constitution; and 12 courts of appeal (sometimes called circuit courts), 91 district courts, and special courts, all established by Congress.
Elections in the usa
Anyone who is an American citizen, at least 18 years of age, and is registered to vote may vote. Each state has the right to determine registration procedures. A number of civic groups, such as the League of Women Voters, are actively trying to get more people involved in the electoral process and have drives to register as many people as possible. Voter registration and voting among minorities has dramatically increased during the last twenty years, especially as a result of the Civil Rights Movement.
There is some concern, however, about the number of citizens who could vote in national elections but could not. There are 50 different registration laws in the US - one set for each state. In the South, voters often have to register not only locally but also at the county seat. In European countries, on the other hand, "permanent registration" of voters is most common.
Another important factor is that there are many more elections in the US at the state and local levels than there are in most countries. If the number of those who vote in these elections (deciding, for example, if they should pay more taxes so a new main street bridge can be built) were included, the percentage in fact would not be that much different from other countries.
Certainly, Americans are much more interested in local politics than in those at the federal level. Many of the most important decisions, such as those concerning education, housing, taxes, and so on, are made close to home, in the state or county.
The national presidential elections really consist of two separate campaigns: one is for the nomination of candidates at national party conventions. The other is to win the actual election. The nominating race is a competition between members of the same party. They run in a succession of state primaries and caucuses (which take place between March and June). They hope to gain a majority of delegate votes for their national party conventions (in July or August). The party convention then votes to select the party's official candidate for the presidency. Then follow several months of presidential campaigns by the candidates.
In November of the election year (years divisible by four, e.g. 1988, 1992, 1996, etc.), the voters across the nation go to the polls. If the majority of the popular votes in a state go to the Presidential (and vice-presidential) candidate of one party, then that person is supposed to get all of that state's "electoral votes."
These electoral votes are equal to the number of Senators and Representatives each state has in Congress. The candidate with the largest number of these electoral votes wins the election. Each state's electoral votes are formally reported by the "Electoral College." In January of the following year, in a joint session of Congress, the new President and Vice-President are officially announced.
WHAT IS LAW?
The English word "law" refers to limits upon various forms of behaviour. Some laws are descriptive: they simply describe how people, or even natural phenomena, usually behave, other laws are prescriptive - they prescribe how people ought to behave.
Law is a body of official rules and regulations. It is generally found in constitutions, legislation and judicial decisions. Law is used to govern a society and to control the behaviour of its members.
The nature and functions of law have varied throughout history. In modern societies, some authorized body such as a legislature or a court makes the law. Law is not completely made by humans; it includes natural law.
In all societies, relations between people are regulated by prescriptive laws. Some of them are customs - that is informal rules of social and moral behaviour. Some are rules we accept if we belong to particular social institutions, such as religious, educational and cultural groups. And some are precise laws made by nations and enforced against all citizens within their power.
Customs need not to be made by governments, and the need to be written down. We learn how we are expected to behave in society through the instruction of family and teachers, the advice of friends, and our experiences in dealing with strangers. Sometimes, we can break these rules without suffering any penalty. But if we continually break the rules, or break a very important one, other members of society may ridicule us, act violently toward us or refuse to have anything to do with us. The ways in which people talk, eat and drink, work, and relax together are usually called customs.
Law serves a variety of functions. Laws against crimes, for example, help to maintain a peaceful, orderly, relatively stable society. Courts contribute to social stability by resolving disputes in a civilized fashion. Property and contract laws facilitate business activities.
Laws limit the powers of government and help to provide some degree of freedom that would not otherwise be possible. Law has also been used as a mechanism for social change; for instance, at various times laws have been passed to improve the quality of individual life in matters of health, education, and welfare.
Members of every community have made laws for themselves in self-protection. If it were not for the laws, you could not go out in daylight without the fear of being kidnapped, robbed or murdered. In the absence of law you could only rely upon the law of the jungle.
Every country tries, therefore, to provide laws, which will help its people to live safely and comfortably. This is not at all an easy thing to do. No country has been successful in producing laws, which are entirely satisfactory. But the imperfect laws are better than none.
BRANCHES OF LAW
Each country in the world has its own system of law. Law is an important part of culture of any society. Like its language, law reflects values, history and current problems of a society. Law is found in constitutions, statues, cases decided by courts, regulations and ruling of administrative agencies.
Each country in the world has its own system of law. Law is an important part of culture of any society. Like its language, law reflects values, history and current problems of a society. Law is found in constitutions, statues, cases decided by courts, regulations and ruling of administrative agencies.
There are two main traditions of law in the world. One is based on English Common law and has been adopted by many Commonwealth countries and most of the USA. The other tradition, or Roman law, has developed on most continental Europe, Latin America and many countries in Asia and Africa.
At an English university Law is divided into different subjects or "branches" for study. There is a list of subjects students study in the Law Faculty at Cambridge University: Roman Law (Civil Law), Constitutional Law, Criminal Law, Land Law, International Law, Commercial Law, Labour Law, Conflict of Law, E. E. Law, Criminology, Criminal Procedure and Criminal Evidence, Equity.
Administrative Law is the area of Law relating to the functions and powers of government organizations and how they operate in practice to administer government policy.
Constitutional Law is the law relating to the legal structure of government in a State. It defines the principal organs of government and their relationship to each other and to the individual.
Private Law. In general, private law is the part of the law which deals with relations between ordinary individuals and also between ordinary individuals and the State in circum stances where the State has no special rights or powers.
Public Law. In general, public law is the part of legal system which deals with the State and also with relations between the State and ordinary individuals in circumstances where the State has special rights or powers.
Family Law is the area of law relating to the organization of the family and the legal relations of its members.
Labour Law is the area of law relating to the employment of workers. It includes their contracts and conditions of work, trade unions and the legal aspects of industrial relations. It is also called Industrial Law.
Criminal Law is the law relating to crime. It means illegal conduct for which a person may be prosecuted and punished by the State.
Land Law is the area of law which deals with rights and interests related to owning and using land. Land is the most important form of property.
International Law is the system of law which regulates relations between states. It is a special system of legal rules which is not part of any nation system of law.
The Law of Contract is the law relating to contracts.
The Law of Tort is the law relating to torts.