Unit II state structure: legislative branch of power 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 of power? What are their functions?
3. Where does legislature sit?
Parliament
Ministry
Congress
Whitehouse
Council
Houses
Chambers
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:
MPs
Representatives
Commons
Senators
Lords
Speaker
Prime minister
Core vocabulary 1 government – 1) государственная власть; 2) правительство state – 1) государство; 2) штат legislature – законодатели; законодательные органы legislative – законодательный legislative [‘ledzislətiv] Br. [‘ledzisleitiv] Am executive - исполнительный judicial - судебный assembly - собрание |
CONCEPT
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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Part 1. Legislation process in the united kingdom fundamentals 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.
The texts in boxes below contain important information which you will collect doing the exercise.
Exercise 1
A) Find in the texts the words and phrases from Core Vocabulary 2 and underline them.
B) Аarrange 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
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.
6. The functions of the Lord Speaker
7. The Government
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 d
At the centre of
government is the prime minister and the cabinet. Cabinet
ministers lead departments such as education and defense, 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.
constituency – избирательный округ to inherit - унаследовать inheritance - наследство final say – последнее слово to scrutinize – внимательно изучать deputy – заместитель
preside over – председательствовать на/в … double check - перепроверить p
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 scrutinize government policy and administration, including
proposals for expenditure
-
To debate the major issues of the day
monetary policy – денежная политика social security – социальное обеспечение |
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 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.
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.
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 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.
Exercise 2
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.
Exercise 3
Make questions to the texts using statements from Exercise 1 B). 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