"Outlines of constitutional law"

(after Chalmers and Asquith's)

To understand English constitutional law it is necessary to study numerous documents, including constitutional treaties like the Bill of Rights, various statutes and judicial decisions and others. But the whole of the Constitution of Britain will not be found in any of these documents. The English constitution, though partly written, is yet to be regarded as «unwritten» from the standpoint of constitutional lawyers, as it is not codified as a whole in any particular document or documents. The English Constitution is considered to be flexible because Parliament can «make or unmake» any law by the same procedure and with the same ease.

The Constitution is not the source of the law, but the law gives birth to the Constitution.

Though the King (Queen) is the nominal Sovereign, any particular Parliament during the period of its existence is legally supreme.

In England the rights of the subject are mostly deduced from actual decisions in which remedies have been afforded for their invasion. Thus it is sometimes said that under the English Constitution the remedy precedes the right.

In administering justice the Judges enjoy little arbitrary power. The law which they administer is defined by statutes and other documents having statutory validity, and by judicial precedents.

Theory and practice concerning English constitutional law are divergent, as it is seen from the following illustrations:

1. In theory the Sovereign is to be an active party to the making of laws, but in practice he has a shadowy veto.

2. In theory every Lord of Parliament is a Judge of the House of Lords, entitled to take part in appeals from the lower Courts; in practice he always absents himself unless qualified by statute to sit there as one of the quorum.

3. In theory certain persons (e.g. Lord Mayor) are invested with judicial powers at trials in the Central Criminal Court, but in practice they don't take part in judicial work there.

4. In theory certain public departments are supposed to be controlled by boards consisting of various high officials (e.g. the Board of Trade), but the real head is a single Minister of the Crown (e.g. the President of the Board of Trade).

5. Finally, Legislature and Executive are joined together by a connecting chain — the Cabinet.

Certain important Conventions control the entire working of the Constitution. These Conventions relate to the duties of the King as a person, the duties of the Ministers of the Crown and so on. Differences between the English and American Constitutions:

1. In America the President is in practice more of a ruler than the English King but his legal powers are more restricted.

2. The President can veto legislation, and the English King has legally an absolute but in practice a very shadowy power of veto which has not been exercised since long times.

3. The English Constitution is flexible, the American — rigid, i.e. in England all laws can be altered with ease, and in America complicated machinery is necessary for the alteration of the Constitution.

4. The American Constitution is written; the English Constitution is unwritten.

5. The English Crown is inherited; the American President is elected for a term.

6. The American President is not dependent on the vote of the Congress; in England the Cabinet is dependent on the vote of the House of Commons. In America, therefore, the Execu­tive is not responsible to the Legislature.

England is the only country possessing hereditary legisla­tors.

Notes:

1. can «make or unmake» any law — может составить или аннулировать любой закон

2. having statutory validity — имеющие силу закона

3. he always absents himself unless qualified by statute to sit there as one of the quorum — он всегда уклоняется, кроме тех случаев, когда закон уполномочивает его заседать для обеспечения кворума

Exercise 14: Read and translate the following sentences paying attention to modal verbs and their equivalents:

1. In order to understand English Constitutional law you should study numerous documents, various statutes, ju­dicial decisions and others.

2. You needn't look for the Constitution of Great Britain in one document; it is not codified as a whole in any particular document.

3. The English Constitution is flexible because Parliament can "make or unmake" any law by the same procedure and with the same ease.

4. Sometimes it may be said that under the English Con­stitution the remedy precedes the right.

5. To administer justice the Judges have to enjoy little arbitrary power because the law which they administer is defined by statutes and by judicial precedents.

6. Theory and practice are divergent and it can be seen from a number of illustrations.

7. The judges ought to act according to the law.

8. In theory certain public departments are to be con­trolled by boards (e.g., the Board of Trade), but the real head is a single Minister of the Crown (e.g., the Presi­dent of the Board of Trade).

Вспомните, что инфинитив в форме страдательного залога в функции определения переводится на русский язык определительным придаточным предложением, где сказуемое выражает или модальность (должен, нужно, может) или действие, относящееся к будущему.

E.g.: The subject to be discussed at our lesson today is devoted to the English Constitution. (Тема, которая будет обсуждаться сегодня на нашем занятии, посвящена английской конституции).

The Constitution of Great Britain to be regarded as «unwritten» will not be found as a whole in any particular document. (Английскую конституцию, которую следует считать «неписаной», не найдете ни в каком конкретном документе).

Exercise 15: Read and translate the sentences with Infinitive Passive:

1. The English Queen to be regarded as the supreme authority has in practice a very shadowy power of veto.

2. The British Constitution to be studied in numerous documents is not codified in any particular document.

3. Justice in this country to be administered by judges equally greatly depends on the amount of money a person has.

4. Ministers of the British Cabinet to be appointed for­mally by the Queen, but in practice by the Prime Minister, are responsible for every part of the govern­ment's administration.

5. The facts about the crime to be obtained by the investi­gator can be given by the witnesses.

6. The evidence to be preserved for court may be found in the crime scene.

7. The person to be interviewed must be prepared to give information.

8. One remarkable feature of the English legal system to be taken into consideration is that an important part of the law has never been debated by any Parliament.

9. The plans to be fulfilled by the end of the year are ma­jestic.

Exercise 16: Do your written translation with the help of a dic­tionary: