The executive power in great britain

The British democratic system depends on political parties, and there has been a party system of some kind since the seventeenth century. The political parties choose candidates in elections.

The leader of the party that obtains a majority of seats in a general election is named Prime Minister and is formally asked by the sovereign to recommend a group of ministers to form a government. The position of Prime Minister is based on convention, not statute, and dates back to the times when King George I left the running of the country to his ministers.

The Prime Minister chooses about twenty members of the government heading the most important departments to become Cabinet Ministers. For example, the Minister of Defence is responsible for defence policy, while the Home Secretary is responsible for law and order; both of them are, of course, members of the Cabinet.

It is a political convention for the Cabinet to act as a single person, which means that a minister who cannot accept a Cabinet decision must resign.

The largest minority party becomes the Royal Opposition, which forms a Shadow Cabinet. The leader of the opposition also chooses MPs to take responsibility for opposing the government; they are known as Shadow Ministers.

The judicial power in great britain

The judicial system of Great Britain is pyramidal in organisation. Parliament or other bodies acting on its behalf, such as local government, are responsible for making laws (statute laws). The House of Lords is the highest court in England. The Lord-Chancellor is the highest judge in the Kingdom, but he hears only a very limited number of appeals. There is also a large number of laws that have never been codified; they develop from the decisions based on customs and precedent (common law).

Criminal law. A person charged by the police with an offence is sent to a magistrates' court. Magistrates' courts are presided over by groups of three unpaid, lay magistrates (also known as Justices of the Peace, or JPs). Very often they have no legal qualifications, although they are given basic training when appointed.

They are advised on points of law and procedure by a legally qualified clerk. There are also a few stipendiary magistrates – full-time, legally qualified magistrates who sit alone. Magistrates hear and decide minor offences and refer more serious cases to the Crown Court, where a defendant can always choose to be tried by a jury.

The Crown Court deals with trials of a more serious nature or appeals from magistrates' courts and is presided over by a judge, who must be a barrister or a solicitor with at least ten years experience.

Defendants who declare themselves not guilty of a crime are tried by a jury of twelve people. The judge decides on points of law, sums up evidence for the jury, and instructs it on the relevant law. However, it is the jury alone which decides whether a defendant is guilty or not guilty.

Civil law. Magistrates' courts deal with certain minor questions, while more important matters are dealt with in the High Court of Justice, which is both a court of first instance and of appeal.

In special cases one of the parties may insist upon trial by jury, which, as well as deciding questions of fact, also fixes the amount of damages to be paid to the injured party.