Тексты по специальности «государственное и муниципальное управление»

STATE SYSTEM OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION

The Russian Federation is set up by the Constitution of 1993. Under the Constitution Russia is a presidential republic. The federal government consists of three branches: legislative, executive and judicial. Each of them is checked and balanced by the President.

The legislative power is exercised by the Federal Assembly. The members of the Federal Assembly are elected by popular vote for a four-year period. It consists of two chambers. The Upper Chamber is the Council of Federation; the Lower Chamber is the State Duma. Each chamber is headed by the Speaker. Legislature may be initiated in either of the two Chambers. But to become a law a bill must be approved by both Chambers and signed by the President.

The President may veto the bill. The President is commander-in-chief of the armed forces, he makes treaties, enforces laws, and appoints ministers to be approved by the Federal Assembly.

The executive power belongs to the Government which is headed by the Prime Minister. The first action of the Prime Minister on appointment is to form the Cabinet.

The judicial branch is represented by the Constitutional Court, the Supreme Court and the regional courts.

Today the state symbol of Russia is a three-coloured banner. It has three horizontal stripes: white, blue and red. The white stripe symbolizes the earth, the blue one stands for the sky, and the red one symbolizes liberty. It was the first state symbol that replaced the former symbols in 1991.

A new national emblem is two-headed eagle. It is the most ancient symbol of Russia. It originates from the heraldic emblem of the Ruricovitches. All these symbols are official. They have been approved by the Federal Assembly.

STATE SYSTEM OF THE UNITED KINGDOM

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a constitutional monarchy. This means that Great Britain is governed by the Parliament and the Queen is Head of State.

The legislative power in the country is exercised by the Houses of Parliament. The British Parliament consists of two chambers the House of Lords and the House of Commons. The House of Lords is composed of hereditary and life peers and peeresses. The members of the House of Commons are elected by the people. They are elected from the constituencies in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The House of Commons is the real governing body of the United Kingdom.

The executive power is exercised by Prime Minister and his Cabinet The government is usually formed by the political party which is supported by the majority in the House of Commons. Prime Minister is the majority party leader and is appointed by the Queen. Prime Minister chooses a team of ministers; twenty of the ministers are in the Cabinet.

The second largest party becomes the official opposition with its own leader and the Shadow Cabinet. The two leading parties in Great Britain are the Conservative Party (the Tories) and the Labour Party.

The judiciary branch of the government determines common law and is independent of both the legislative and the executive branches. There is no written constitution in Great Britain, only precedents and traditions.

The national flag of the United Kingdom, known as Union Jack is dark-blue with three intersecting crosses. The blue colour symbolizes sea. The upright red cross of St. George, the patron saint of England, stands for England. The diagonal white cross of St. Andrew, the patron saint of Scotland, stands for Scotland. The diagonal red cross of St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, stands for Northern Ireland. The national anthem is “God save the Queen!”

STATE SYSTEM OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

The USA is a presidential republic.

The legislative branch of the US Government, or the Congress, represents all of the American states. It consists of two parts: the House of Representatives and the Senate. Each state has two senators, who are elected every 6 years. A senator must be at least 30 years old, a citizen of the United States for 9 years, and live in the state she or he will represent. A representative must be at least 25 years old, a citizen for 7 years, and live in the state.

The job of the Congress is to make laws. The President can veto a bill. The Congress can pass the law anyway if it gets a two-thirds majority vote. The Congress can also declare war. The House of Representatives can also impeach the President.

The executive branch of the government puts the country's laws into effect. The President of the US is a member of the executive branch. The President must be at least 35 years old, and be a natural citizen of the US. He must have lived in the US for at least 14 years, and be a civilian. The President is elected every four years and cannot serve more that two terms. The Vice-President of the US is president of the Senate. When the President receives a bill from the Congress, he must sign it, and then the bill becomes a law. However, if he disagrees with the law, he can veto it. The President can also ask the Congress to declare war. He must do his job according to the Constitution, or he may be impeached.

The judicial branch of the government is the system of courts in the United States. Its job is to enforce laws. The Supreme Court is the highest court in the country. It consists of 9 justices: one Chief Justice and 8 associate justices. The President appoints the justices, but the Senate must approve them. The justices are appointed for life. The Supreme Court makes sure that people obey the laws. The Supreme Court can also decide if a law is constitutional, that is, if it is in agreement with the Constitution.

STATE SYSTEM OF CANADA

The form of the government of Canada is a constitutional monarchy.

Canada is ruled by a parliamentary system with the head of state officially remaining the monarch of Britain. Within Canada the appointed governor general is the monarch's representative. The upper house, or Senate, is made up of appointees. Mostly it acts as a rubber stamp for the wishes of the elected lower house, or House of Commons. Senate reform, or its abolition, is an ongoing debate within the country.

The head of the political party with the most elected representatives in the House of Commons becomes the prime minister, the leader of the country. From the members of parliament within the governing party, the prime minister selects a cabinet which, in effect, runs the country and initiates legislation. Unlike in the USA, leaders can run for as long as they maintain popular support within their party. Governments are elected for five years, but elections can be called earlier.

The 10 provinces are largely self-governing and are presided over by premiers, elected provincially. Each province has a lieutenant governor appointed by the federal government. The two northern territories are for the most part the domain of the federal government, although more independence is being sought and some has been granted to the eastern part of the Northwest Territories.

The constitution consists of both written proclamations under the Constitution Acts (1867 and 1932) and unwritten conventions. Updating, changing and clarifying constitutional matters and the balance of powers between the provinces and between them and the federal government are on-going contentious issues.

STATE SYSTEM OF AUSTRALIA

Australia is a federation of six states and two territories. Under the written Constitution (1901) the Federal government is mainly responsible for the national economy and Reserve Bank, customs and excise, immigration, defence, foreign policy and the postal system. The state governments are chiefly responsible for health, education, housing, transport and justice. There are both federal and state police forces.

Australia has a parliamentary system of government based on that of the UK, and the state and federal structures are broadly similar.

In Federal parliament, the lower house is the House of Representatives, the upper house the Senate. The House of Representatives has 147 members, divided among the states on a population basis. Elections for the House of Representatives are held at least every three years. The Senate has 12 senators from each state, and two each from the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) and the Northern Territory. State senators serve six-year terms, with elections for half of them every three years; territory senators serve only three years, their terms coinciding with elections for the House of Representatives.

The federal government is run by a prime minister, while the state governments are led by a premier and the Northern Territory by a chief minister. The party holding the greatest number of lower house seats forms the government.

Australia is a monarchy, but although Britain's king or queen is also Australia's, Australia is fully autonomous. The British sovereign is represented by the governor-general and state governors, whose nominations for their posts by the respective governments are ratified by the monarch of the day.

Federal parliament is based in Canberra, the capital of the nation. The state parliaments are in each state capital.

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THE RUSSIAN FEDERALISM

The Russian Federation, the largest republic in the former Soviet Union is being transformed into new political, social and economic formation. According to a new Constitution adopted in 1993, Russia is a democratic federal state with a republican form of government.

The Federal Structure. The Russian Federation consists of 21 republics, 6 territories, 49 regions, 2 cities of federal importance, one autonomous region and 9 areas - equal subjects of the Russian Federation (89 subjects altogether).

The state power in the Russian Federation is exercised on the basis of its division into legislative, executive and judicial power. The state power is exercised by the President of the Russian Federation, the Federal assembly (the Council of Federation and the State Duma), the Government of the Russian Federation, and the Courts of the Russian Federation.

The President of the Russian Federation is the head of the state, who is elected for four years by citizens of the Russian Federation on the basis of universal, equal, direct suffrage by secret ballot.

The Federal Assembly. The parliament is the representative and legislative body of the Russian Federation. The Federal Assembly consists of two chambers - the Council of the Federation and the State Duma. The Council of Federation includes two representatives from each subject of the Russian Federation: one from the legislative and one from the executive body of state authority. The State Duma consists of 450 deputies and is elected for a term of four years.

The Government of the Russian Federation. The executive power in Russia is exercised by the Government of the Russian Federation. The Government of the Russian Federation consists of the Chairman of the Government, Deputy Chairmen and federal ministers.

The Judicial Power is exercised by means of constitutional, civil, administrative and criminal proceedings. The judicial system of the Russian Federation is instituted by the Constitution and the federal constitution law.

The Constitution Court of the Russian Federation consists of 19 judges and resolves disputes on jurisdiction matters between the bodies of state authority of the subjects of the Russian Federation.

The Supreme Court of the Russian Federation is the supreme judicial body for civil, criminal, administrative and other cases under the jurisdiction of common courts.

The Higher Arbitration Court of the Russian Federation is the supreme judicial body for settling economic disputes and other cases examined by courts of arbitration.

The judges of the Constitution Court, the Supreme Court, the Higher Arbitration Court are appointed by the Council of the Federation upon the proposals by the President of the Russian Federation.

Local self-government in the Russian Federation shall insure the independent solution by the population of the issues of local importance.

Local self-government shall be administered in urban and rural settlements and other areas with consideration of the historical and other local traditions. The structure of local self-government bodies shall be determined by the population independently.

THE BRITISH MONARCHY

Great Britain is a parliamentary monarchy with an unwritten constitution consisting of historic documents such as the Magna Carta, the Petition of Right, and the Bill of Rights (1689); statutes; judicial precedents (common law); and custom. The constitution is flexible and may be changed by an act of Parliament.

The British monarch is head of state. Executive power, however, is wielded by a prime minister, who is head of government, and a committee of ministers called the cabinet. The prime minister is usually the leader of the majority party in the House of Commons. By custom, cabinet ministers are selected from among members of the two houses of Parliament. Cabinet ministers are also among the members of the Privy Council, the traditional, but now largely ceremonial, advisory body to the Crown.

In principle, the “Crown in Parliament” is supreme. This means that legislation passed by Parliament, which consists of the House of Commons (elected directly by the people) and the House of Lords (made up of hereditary peers and appointive members - archbishops, senior bishops, law lords, and life peers) becomes law upon royal assent. In practice, legislation is dominated by the prime minister and the cabinet, who initiate virtually all proposed bills and who are politically responsible for the administration of the law and the affairs of the nation. Fiscal legislation is always initiated in the House of Commons, and other legislation almost always. Since the Parliament Act of 1911, the House of Lords has been unable to block fiscal legislation. By the terms of the Parliament Act of 1949, the Lords may not disapprove other bills if they have been passed by two successive annual sessions of the Commons. The power of the Crown to veto legislation has not been exercised in over 280 years.

The House of Lords is composed of hereditary peers and peeresses, 2 Anglican archbishops, and 24 bishops who serve as “lords spiritual” as long as they retain their authority and life peers whose titles are not hereditary. Life peers include lords of appeal, who make up the court of last resort on matters that can be brought to the House of Lords, and an increasing number of lords created in recognition of distinguished service (often in politics). The Peerage Act of 1963 enables a lord to relinquish his title for life and thus to become eligible for election to the House of Commons and for selection as prime minister. The full House of Lords numbers more than 1200, but average daily attendance is less than 400. Only three members are required for a quorum. Bills from the House of Commons are passed to the House of Lords for discussion. Although no vote from the House of Lords is necessary to pass legislation, the body often suggests revisions and provides a forum for debate free from party politics.

Members of the House of Commons are elected from geographical constituencies. The voting age for British subjects was lowered to 18 in 1969. Those not eligible for election to the Commons include members of the House of Lords, selected clergy, government contractors, sheriffs, and certain designated election officials. The basis of representation depends on the total number of seats agreed on by a process unique to the House of Commons and on the total population of the nation. In Great Britain, each constituency approximates a population of 60,000. In Northern Ireland, with 17 representatives, the population base is somewhat larger. Total membership of the Commons now numbers 651. Forty members are required for a quorum. By law, the life of a Parliament is five years unless dissolved earlier or extended by special statute in times of war or national emergency. Parliament is dissolved by the sovereign at the end of its five-year term or on advice of the prime minister. All members of the House of Commons are then subject to the general election.

Although, in theory, any Member of Parliament may propose a bill, most legislation is initiated by the cabinet minister responsible for the department concerned. Acts passed by Parliament tend to be worded in general terms; they are implemented, with specification of detailed provisions, by Orders in Council, prepared by the minister responsible and promulgated by proclamation of the Crown. The cabinet, under the doctrine of collective responsibility, acts as a unit. The defeat of important legislation or a vote of no confidence usually brings about the resignation of the entire cabinet and a general election. The prime minister may drop individual cabinet members entirely or reassign them as preferred. This power helps to maintain the prime minister's leadership and is exercised in most governments periodically. Ministers may resign their posts without leaving the Parliament.

Because of the dominant role of the cabinet, the House of Commons did not have specialized committees, in the style of the Congress of the United States, until recently. Beginning in 1979, however, a pattern of committees specialized in function has emerged. This new lineup of select committees provides detailed debate and consideration rather than only general review and approval.

The political party system, dating from the 17th century, is an essential element in the working constitution. Several parties win seats in Commons, but Great Britain has functioned basically as a two-party system for more than a century. The majority party forms His or Her Majesty's Government, and the second party is officially recognized as His or Her Majesty's Own Loyal Opposition. The opposition leader is paid a salary from public funds for that role. Since the end of World War I (1914-1918), the Conservative Party and the Labour Party have been dominant. The Labour Party, generally socialist, began a program of nationalization of selected industries after an overwhelming election victory in May 1945. Formed in 1900 as the political arm of the trade unions, with an intellectual impetus from the Fabian Society, Labour has drawn financial and electoral support from both groups. The Conservative Party has favored private enterprise with minimal state regulation. Since World War II it has accepted social programs, such as the Beveridge Plan for an extensive social-insurance program. The National Health Service continues to draw broad-based political support, despite efforts to reform it so as to reduce costs.

Minor parties in the early 1990s included the Scottish Nationalist, Plaid Cymru (Welsh Nationalist), Ulster Unionist, Social Democratic, Communist, and Green parties. The Liberal Party, which provided governments periodically for decades, lost electoral support and merged with dissidents from Labour and the Conservatives to form the Liberal Democrat Party. In the general election of 1992, minor parties won 44 seats from the total of 651 in the House of Commons.

The government of Great Britain is unitary in structure. Thus, the powers of local government derive from Parliamentary acts, and responsibility for the overall administration of the country rests with specified cabinet ministries. Local authorities are essentially independent. The present structure was established by a Local Government Act in 1972. Shire counties have county, district, and parish councils. Metropolitan areas have joint authorities, district councils, and parish councils. District council members are elected for staggered four-year terms; most other councilors are elected for three-year terms. England has 39 counties and 7 metropolitan areas, including Greater London, which has a special government structure. Wales has 8 counties, and Scotland has 9 counties which are called regions. Northern Ireland has only district-level government, with 26 districts. There is no constitutional division of powers between central and local authorities in Britain, but local units are responsible for police and fire services, education, libraries, highways, traffic, housing, building regulations, and environmental health. In April 1990 a change in financing local government reduced local rates or property taxes and substituted a community charge, labeled a “poll tax.” This unpopular tax produced intense political debate and riots in London; it was replaced in 1992 with a property-based tax. The same legislation called for competitive bidding for local services such as garbage collection and street cleaning.

Health and Welfare. Most practicing general physicians in Great Britain are part of the National Health Service, although some also have private patients. Established in 1948, the service provides full, and in most cases, free medical care to all residents. Patients, who may opt for a particular physician, pay minimal charges for prescriptions, adult dental treatment, eyeglasses and dentures, and some locally administered services, such as vaccinations. Most dentists, pharmacists, and medical specialists take part in the service. Each general practitioner may have no more than 3500 registered patients under the plan, for each of whom he or she receives a fee. The National Health Service is financed through general taxation, with national insurance payments contributing some 14 percent of the total cost, and patients' fees contributing 4 percent.

The national insurance system, put into full operation in 1948, provides benefits for industrial injuries, illness, unemployment, maternity costs, and for children in certain circumstances, as well as allowances for guardians and widows, retirement pensions, and death payments. Retirement benefits are paid to men at the age of 65 and to women at the age of 60. Family allowances are payable for all children up to the ages of 16 to 19, or when the child leaves school. The insurance system assists the needy through weekly cash benefits and special services for the handicapped. Most of these services are financed partly through compulsory weekly contributions by employers and employees and partly through a contribution by the government out of general taxation. Expenditures on social security and the National Health Service accounted for about 47 percent of annual government spending during the early 1990s.

Defense. Britain depends for its basic security on the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and therefore makes a major contribution in maintaining NATO's defense posture. Defense policy is determined by the Defence and Oversea Policy Committee, headed by the prime minister and including the secretary of state for defense, the foreign secretary, and the home secretary. In 1964 the three military services were unified under the newly created Ministry of Defence and the post of secretary of state for defense. The Defence Council, including the secretary of state for defense, the chief of staff for each of the three services, the chief scientific adviser for defense, and the permanent undersecretary of state for defense, exercises powers of command and administrative control.

The British army is controlled by the Defence Council through an Army Board composed of both civilian and military members. Active members of the army are volunteers who enlist for 22 years of service. Under a plan introduced in 1972, however, army personnel may choose to serve for only three years. In the early 1990s the army numbered 134,600 men and women. A citizen national reserve force, the Territorial Army, has an establishment of more than 68,500 and may be called out in times of emergency. Northern Ireland has a special reserve force of 5700, the Ulster Defense Regiment, which gives part-time support to the regular army.

The Royal Navy is governed by the Admiralty Board under the secretary of state for defense. Naval craft in the early 1990s included 2 aircraft carriers, 12 destroyers, 25 frigates, 20 (including 16 nuclear-powered) submarines, and many auxiliary vessels. The navy was in the process of reducing its fleet size in the mid-1990s. Navy personnel numbered about 59,300.

The Royal Flying Corps was established in 1912; in 1914 the naval wing of the corps became the Royal Naval Air Service, and in 1918 the two were amalgamated as the Royal Air Force. Since 1964 the air force has been under the unified Ministry of Defence. It is administered by the Air Force Board, headed by the secretary of state for defense. The air force is organized into home and overseas commands. In the early 1990s Royal Air Force personnel numbered some 80,900.

More than 85,000 British troops were deployed abroad in 1990. Contingents were serving in Germany, Belize, Brunei Darussalam, Gibraltar, Hong Kong, and Cyprus.

THE AMERICAN FEDERALISM

The supreme law of the land is the Constitution of the United States. The Constitution was drafted by a convention in 1787, was ratified by the required two-thirds of the states by June 1788, and was put into effect in 1789. The Constitution may be amended by a two-thirds vote of each house of Congress or by a special national convention called for the purpose, subject to ratification by vote of three-fourths of the legislatures of the states or state conventions. The first ten amendments, known as the Bill of Rights, were adopted in 1791. These 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. Seventeen additional amendments were adopted between 1795 and 1992, abolishing slavery, providing for an income tax, and providing for universal suffrage for all people 18 or older, among other purposes.

The Constitution provides for a union of states, now numbering 50, 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 chief 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. Each branch has its own area of authority. These areas overlap, making it necessary for the three branches to share in, and compete for, the power to govern effectively. Each branch has some constitutional authority that it can use to impede the functioning of the other branches, creating a system of checks and balances. The purpose of this somewhat cumbersome machinery of government, as intended by the framers of the Constitution, is to prevent the concentration of power in a small group of politicians, which could lead to tyranny.

Since the adoption of the Constitution, the national government has increased its functions in economic and social matters and has shared more responsibilities with the states.

Article II of the Constitution provides for a president and vice president 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. In the 1984 presidential election, less than 55 percent of eligible voters cast their ballots; after a decline to approximately 50 percent in 1988, turnout increased to approximately 54 percent in 1992.

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 defends the nation against invasion or attack and may order American armed forces into combat. The president's authority to deploy forces on his or her own initiative is regulated by Congress under Article I, Section 8, which reserves to Congress the power to declare war, and under provisions of the War Powers Resolution of 1973.

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. The president negotiates, on his or her own authority, executive agreements with leaders of other nations.

By law the president prepares an executive budget and an economic report, which are submitted to Congress each year. The president submits requests for legislation, the most important of which usually regard taxation and other economic and military matters. The president also exercises executive authority over the various government departments and agencies.

An extensive advisory system serves the president. Aides in the White House, where the president resides and has offices, provide advice, manage press relations, schedule appointments and travel, and communicate with Congress, government departments, lobbying groups, and the president's political party. Staff agencies in the executive office include the Office of Management and Budget, which prepares presidential budget requests and controls spending; the National Security Council, which is concerned with the nation's defense; and the Council of Economic Advisers. The President's cabinet also serves as a source of information and advice. It consists of the heads of the governmental departments and a few other officials, such as the director of the Central Intelligence Agency and the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations (UN). The cabinet has no power of its own.

The executive branch of the government comprises 14 departments: the Department of State, Department of Treasury, Department of Justice, Department of the Interior, Department of Agriculture, Department of Commerce, Department of Labor, Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Education, Department of Housing and Urban Development, Department of Transportation, Department of Energy, and Department of Veterans Affairs. Some government agencies are not directly supervised by the president. These include independent establishments such as the Interstate Commerce Commission, the Federal Communications Commission, and the Federal Reserve System.

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. California has the largest number of representatives, 52; several states, such as Delaware and Vermont, have only 1. Representatives serve two-year terms, and senators six-year terms. Every two years all 435 members of the House are elected, and one-third of the senators. In presidential election years, about 45 percent of eligible adults vote for members of Congress; in other election years, only about 35 percent vote.

The Senate and House are organized by the majority party in each chamber, which chooses the presiding officer, the majority leader, and the chairpersons of each committee. Through much of American history the party controlling the White House did not control both houses of Congress. This situation, known as divided government, can lead to reduced output of legislation and an increase in presidential vetoes of bills passed by Congress. Unlike the chief executives of parliamentary systems in other countries, the U.S. president neither resigns nor calls for new elections, even when majorities in Congress reject the president's programs.

Congress has extensive powers in domestic affairs, including the power to tax, borrow money and pay debts, coin money and regulate its value, and regulate 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.

A bill is passed by Congress by majority vote of those present in each chamber; it is then sent to the president. The president may sign the bill, to indicate approval, or allow the bill to become law without signing it; or may veto the bill and return it to Congress, giving reasons for this action. The president's veto can be overridden by a two-thirds vote of the members of Congress voting in each chamber.

Each house of Congress has some distinct powers. Revenue measures must originate in the House of Representatives. The House, with a majority vote, can initiate proceedings to impeach (charge with misconduct) the president. If the Electoral College cannot produce a majority to elect a president, the House chooses one of the top three contenders. If both the president and the vice president die, are incapacitated, or are removed from office, the Speaker of the House becomes president.

The Senate advises and consents to presidential treaties and to nominations for major executive officials, ambassadors, justices of the Supreme Court, and federal judges. The Senate tries all impeachments, with a two-thirds vote necessary to convict. In the event of a deadlock in the Electoral College, the Senate chooses the vice president from the top two contenders. The president pro tempore of the Senate comes after the Speaker of the House in the line of succession to the presidency.

The legislative branch also includes agencies such as the Congressional Budget Office, the General Accounting Office, the Library of Congress, and the Government Printing Office.

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 such as the Tax Court, the Claims Court, and the Court of Veterans' Appeals, all established by Congress. See Courts in the United States.

The federal courts perform two constitutional functions. First, they interpret the meaning of laws and administrative regulations; this is known as statutory construction. Second, the courts determine whether any law passed by Congress or state legislatures, or any administrative action taken by the national or state executive branches, violates the U.S. Constitution; this is known as judicial review. Federal courts can declare null and void laws or actions, at the national and state levels, that violate the Constitution. This power of judicial review exists in a few other nations, but in none is it so significant in resolving important issues or in checking and balancing branches of government.

The nine justices of the Supreme Court and the other federal judges are nominated by the president with the advice and consent of the Senate. The president, in making district court nominations, usually follows the recommendations of senators from the president's party. All federal judges and justices of the Supreme Court serve on good behavior for life. They may be removed from office only through the process of impeachment, which has been used fewer than 20 times, and never successfully against a Supreme Court justice.

Decisions of the Supreme Court that involve the statutory construction of laws may be overturned by Congress. Decisions involving judicial review may be checked and balanced in either of two ways. The president and Senate may deliberately fill vacancies on the Supreme Court with new justices who can be expected to overturn the decision; or the Constitution can be amended, as was the case after the Supreme Court ruled income tax unconstitutional.

The U.S. Constitution provides for a federal system, with those powers not exercised by the national government retained by the states. States are denied the power to conduct foreign relations, enter into treaties or alliances, or lay tariffs. They may not coin currency, levy taxes on interstate commerce, or prevent the movement of persons across their borders. States may cooperate with one another through creation of interstate compacts, which require the approval of Congress. These often involve water resources, navigation, pollution control, or port development.

The national government and states are closely linked in an administrative system of cooperative federalism. This includes categorical grant programs, in which the national government establishes operating standards and pays up to 90 percent of the cost of programs administered by the states; block grants for general purposes such as education or community development; and revenue sharing, whereby the national government distributes money to states and localities each year.

The major functions of the states include qualified control of voter eligibility requirements; administration of state and national elections; supervision of municipal and county government; promotion and regulation of commerce, industry, and agriculture; and maintenance of highways, prisons, hospitals, and mental-health facilities. The states also support extensive systems of higher education. They share with local units of government the responsibility for welfare, medical care for indigents, employment services, and other social services.

Almost all states are divided into territorial units called counties. In 1992 the United States had 3043 counties. Louisiana is divided into 64 parishes, which are similar to counties. Alaska has no counties as such; much of the state is organized into 16 boroughs. In a number of states, such as Connecticut, counties have virtually no governmental function. In several states, notably Virginia, one or more cities are independent of any county organization and thus constitute primary divisions of the state. In relatively heavily populated areas, communities are organized into a total of 19,296 municipalities, which include cities, towns, villages, and boroughs. Municipalities generally provide basic services, including police, sanitation, and fire protection. Education at the elementary and secondary levels usually is supervised by school boards, which share authority over finance, curriculum, and teacher certification with state government; the United States had 14,556 school districts in 1992, down from 108,579 in 1942. Also important are so-called special districts, which are independent, limited-purpose local government units dealing with water supply, flood control, fire protection, community development, housing, and other matters. The United States had 33,131 special districts in 1992.

Two major political parties existed in the United States in the 1990s. The Democratic Party was founded in the 1790s as the Anti-Federalists, became the Democratic-Republican Party in 1801, and was renamed the Democratic Party in 1828. The Republican Party was founded in 1854 as a third party and became one of the two major parties in 1860. Parties other than the Democratic and Republican parties are of minor importance in most national and state elections, and no third-party candidate has ever won the presidency. Third parties have played only a minor role in Congress.

In the late 20th century the Democrats were split into two major factions. The northern Democrats as a rule favored national action to solve social problems, emphasized government regulation of the economy, and favored strong action to aid minorities. The southern Democrats were more conservative in fiscal, economic regulation, and social matters.

Republicans were less divided in their economic approach, favoring reduced social services to help balance the budget to lower inflation, and tax cuts to promote industrial development. Division among Republicans occurred on social issues involving such matters as abortion and civil rights, however.

Social Services. Through cooperative federalism, the national and state governments provide social services to individuals. The Social Security Act of 1935 provides financial protection to wage earners and their families when the wage earner retires, becomes disabled, or dies. Contributions are financed through payroll taxes and employer contributions, and benefits are indexed against the effects of inflation.

The national government and states also help fund unemployment insurance programs. Health programs include Medicare, a health insurance program for senior citizens, and Medicaid, a program of assistance to the poor (Medicare and Medicaid). The United States has extensive medical facilities of the highest quality, but gaining access to them remains a problem for a substantial segment of the population. It has been estimated that more than 30 million Americans have no private health insurance coverage and do not qualify for Medicare or Medicaid; perhaps twice that number either have inadequate basic coverage or do not have adequate coverage for catastrophic illness.

Federal, state, and local grants provide income assistance for the blind, disabled, and elderly poor and assistance to poor families with dependent children. School lunch programs for needy children and a food stamp program for poor families are also provided.

Defense. The president is commander in chief of the U.S. armed forces. The president's orders commanding these forces are passed through the office of the secretary of defense to the various military commands. The military heads of the army, navy, air force, and marines serve as the Joint Chiefs of Staff, whose chairperson is designated by the president. The Joint Chiefs of Staff advise the president and Congress on military strategy and recommend expenditure levels and weapons systems.

Although the Selective Service System registers all male citizens over the age of 18, since 1973 the armed forces have been composed entirely of men and women volunteers (see Selective Service). In mid-1994 the armed forces consisted of about 1,704,000 active-duty military personnel, including some 572,000 in the army, 178,000 in the marines, 510,000 in the navy, and 444,000 in the air force. The United States National Guard consisted of 410,000 army personnel and 117,600 air personnel; United States Coast Guard personnel numbered 39,200.

Major collective security agreements to which the United States is a party include the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and ANZUS, which links Australia with the United States.

International Organizations. The United States is a member of the United Nations and has a permanent seat on the UN Security Council. It also belongs to many UN agencies such as the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the International Labor Organization, and the International Monetary Fund. In addition, the United States plays a major role in numerous other international organizations, such as the Organization of American States and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

CANADA IS A FEDERAL UNION GOVERNMENT

Canada is mainly governed according to principles embodied in the Constitution Act of 1982, which gave the Canadian government total authority over its constitution. Previously, the British North America Act of 1867 and subsequent laws had reserved some constitutional authority with the British Parliament. Canada is a federal union, with a division of powers between the central and provincial governments. Under the original 1867 act, the central government had considerable power over the provinces, but, through amendments to the act and changes brought by practical experience, the provincial governments have increased the scope of their authority. However, considerable tension continues to exist between the federal government and the provincial governments over the proper allocation of power.

The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, added by the passage of the 1982 Constitution Act to the country's constitution, guarantees to citizens “fundamental freedoms,” such as those of conscience and the press; “democratic rights” to vote and seek election; “mobility,” “legal,” and “equality” rights to move throughout Canada, to enjoy security of person, and to combat discrimination; and the equality of the French and English languages. The charter changed the Canadian political system by enhancing the power of the courts to make or unmake laws through judicial decisions. It also contains the so-called “notwithstanding” clause, which allows Parliament or the provincial legislatures to designate an act operative even though it might clash with a charter provision. Although the constitution and charter apply uniformly throughout Canada, the province of Quebec has never formally signed the agreement.

The head of state of Canada is the sovereign of Great Britain. In theory, the head of the national government is the governor-general, who represents the British monarch; the actual head of government, however, is the prime minister, who is responsible to Parliament.

The central government of Canada exercises all powers not specifically assigned to the provinces; it has exclusive jurisdiction over administration of the public debt, currency and coinage, taxation for general purposes, organization of national defense, fiscal matters, banking, fisheries, commerce, navigation and shipping, energy policy, agriculture, postal service, census, statistics, patents, copyright, naturalization, aliens, indigenous peoples affairs, marriage, and divorce. Among the powers assigned to the provincial governments are education, hospitals, provincial property and civil rights, taxation for local purposes, the regulation of local commerce, and the borrowing of money. With respect to certain matters, such as immigration, the federal and provincial governments possess concurrent jurisdiction.

The nominal head of the government is the governor-general, the representative of the British crown, who is appointed by the reigning monarch on the recommendation of the prime minister of Canada. The governor-general adheres to the advice of the majority in the House of Commons (the lower chamber of the legislature) in appointing the prime minister, who is the effective head of government, and follows the prime minister's wishes in appointing the Cabinet. The Cabinet consists of as many as 40 members, most of whom are ministers presiding over departments of the federal government. The cabinet has no formal legal power but submits its decisions to Parliament.

The Canadian Parliament consists of two houses, the Senate and the House of Commons. Senators are appointed by the governor-general on the advice of the prime minister to terms that last until the age of 75; there are normally 104 senators (6 from Newfoundland; 10 each from Nova Scotia and New Brunswick; 4 from Prince Edward Island; 24 each from Quebec and Ontario; 6 from Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, and British Columbia; and 1 each from the Northwest Territories and Yukon Territory). In 1990 the Conservative federal government found that proposed legislation was being held up by the Liberal-controlled Senate. Invoking a measure in Canada's constitution that had never been used before, Prime Minister Brian Mulroney added 8 new senators, thereby increasing the total number of senators to 112 and achieving a Conservative majority. The number of senators has since returned to 104.

Members of the House of Commons are elected in 295 federal electoral districts whose boundaries are periodically adjusted to reflect population growth or redistribution. Each district contains, on average, about 100,000 constituents. Federal elections are held at the prime minister's discretion, but must be called within a five-year period; in practice, they are called about every four years. Laws are first debated in the House of Commons, but must also be approved by the Senate and signed by the governor-general before coming into effect. The prime minister is the leader of the majority party in the House of Commons; if no majority exists, the party with the most seats in Parliament leads a “minority government.”

The legal system in Canada is derived from English common law, except in Quebec, where the provincial system of civil law is based on the French Code Napoleon. The federal judiciary is headed by the Supreme Court of Canada, made up of a chief justice and eight puissance (associate) judges, three of whom must come from Quebec. It sits in Ottawa and is the final Canadian appellate court for all civil, criminal, and constitutional cases. The next leading tribunal, the Federal Court of Canada, is divided into a Trial Division and an Appeal Division. It hears a variety of cases, notably involving claims against the federal government. Provincial courts are established by the provincial legislatures, and, although the names of the courts are not uniform, each province has a similar three-tiered court system. Judges of the Supreme Court and the Federal Court and almost all judges of the higher provincial courts are appointed by the federal government.

The government of each of Canada's ten provinces is in theory headed by a lieutenant governor, who represents the sovereign of Great Britain and is appointed by the governor-general on the advice of the federal prime minister. Like the governor-general, however, the lieutenant governor has little actual power, and in practice the chief executive of each province is the premier, who is responsible to a unicameral provincial legislature. Yukon Territory and the Northwest Territories are both governed by federally appointed commissioners, assisted in the Northwest Territories by a legislative assembly and in Yukon Territory by an elected council and legislature. A third territory, Nunavut, will be formally created in 1999 and will have a similar governmental makeup to the other two territories.

The strongest national political parties in Canada during the 20th century traditionally have been the Liberal Party and the Progressive Conservative Party, also known as Tories. However, a voter backlash in the early 1990s has resulted in great upheaval in the Canadian political picture, and established groups such as these two parties have lost much of their powers. Although they agree on many issues, the Liberals have generally supported government intervention to promote the general welfare, while the Conservatives have favored free enterprise and the limited state. The smaller New Democratic Party, by contrast, endorsed social democracy and the rights of organized labor, and found support in Ontario and the western provinces. The new Alberta-based Reform Party has become an increasingly significant vehicle of conservative sentiment in English Canada, outside the Maritime provinces. The Bloc Quebecois, a splinter from the Conservatives, has risen in prominence by espousing Quebec sovereignty. To a degree, this party acts as the federal arm of the Party Quebecois, a Quebec-based party that held power in the province from 1976 to 1985.

Health and Welfare. All levels of government share the responsibility for social welfare in Canada. The federal government administers comprehensive income-maintenance measures, such as the Canada Pension Plan, Canada Assistance Plan, old-age security pensions, family allowances, youth allowances, and unemployment insurance, in which nationwide coordination is necessary. The federal government gives aid to the provinces in meeting the costs of public assistance; it also provides services for special groups, such as Native Americans, veterans, and immigrants. Administration of welfare services is mainly the responsibility of the provinces, but local authorities, generally with financial aid from the province, often assume the provision of services. Provincial governments have the major responsibility for education and health services in Canada, with municipalities also assuming authority over matters delegated to them by provincial legislation. Health and Welfare Canada is the chief federal agency in health matters.

The Medical Care Act, passed in 1966, has permitted the federal government to contribute about half the cost of the Medical Care Insurance Program (Medicare), with the respective province contributing the remainder. The program establishes the following minimum criteria: (1) comprehensive coverage, to cover all medically required services rendered by physicians and surgeons; (2) universal availability to all residents; (3) portability, to cover temporary or permanent change in residence to another province; and (4) nonprofit basis.

Defense. The Canadian armed forces are integrated and are headed by the chief of the defense staff, who reports to the civilian minister of national defense. Under the defense staffs are five major commands, organized according to function: maritime command, land force command, air command, communication command, and headquarters northern area command. Canada is a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), and until 1994 allocated air and land forces to support NATO in Europe. Canada participates jointly with the United States in the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD). It also contributes troops to United Nations peacekeeping operations. In the early 1990s the Canadian armed forces included about 78,100 people.