Папуа – Новая Гвинея

Папуа – Новая Гвинея это конституционная монархия. Глава государства — королева Елизавета II, представляемая генерал-губернатором (с июня 2004 — Паулиас Матане). Генерал-губернатор назначается королевой по выбору парламента Папуа — Новой Гвинеи. Парламент в стране — однопалатный, в составе которого 109 членов, из них 89 депутатов избираются населением на пять лет, остальные 20 — назначаются от провинций. В парламенте представлены двадцать политических партий страны, среди которых подавляющее большинство мест у партии Национальный альянс, и 16 беспартийных депутатов. Состав партийных фракций часто меняется, поскольку депутаты меняют партийную принадлежность. Всего перед парламентскими выборами в июле 2007 года в Папуа — Новой Гвинее были официально зарегистрированы 45 политических партии.

Additional texts Japan. Government and the people

For the understanding of the nature of the political system in Japan, it is important to have knowledge of the place of the Emperor in the system. Until the termination of World War II, the Emperor in Japan was an individual sacred and inviolable, and his conduct was considered beyond criticism and comment.

When the Meiji Constitution was drawn in 1889, the Empe­ror was regarded as the absolute ruler of Japan. Consequently, though a Diet was established according to the constitutional form of the West, its power was limited. After the surrender of Japan in World War II the status of the Emperor has undergone a marked change. On November 3, 1946 a new constitution was drawn up, in­troducing a radical change in the political structure of Japan. From his position as the ruler of Japan, the Emperor has become a symbol possessing no authority or power over the government. Power is held chiefly by the Prime Minister of Japan and other elected members of the Diet, while sovereignty is vested in the Japanese people. The Emperor acts as the head of state on diplomatic occasions.

The political power of the state is divided into three branches — legislative, administrative and judicial. The le­gislative power belongs to the National Diet, the administrative power belongs to the Cabinet, and the judicial to the Court. The people have the power to elect the members of the Diet, to review the appointment of the Judges to the Supreme Court, to approve of an amendment to the Constitution.

The National Diet is the highest organ of State power. It is also the State organ of legislation. It consists of two Houses, the House of Representatives and the House of Councilors. The House of Representatives has a fixed membership of 480, with a tenure of office of four years. The House of Councilors has 242 members with a tenure of office of six years. However, the term of office of the members of the House of Representatives may terminate before expiry in case the House of Representatives is dissolved on the advice and approval of the Cabinet.

Universal suffrage is guaranteed for adults over 20 years of age, with a secret ballot for all elected offices and there is no discrimina­tion on account of creed, sex, etc. Woman suffrage first came into existence in Japan after World War II at the election of 1946.

When the two Houses fail to come to an agreement in resolu­tions on a legislation or a Budget, on the approval of a treaty, on the designation of a Prime Minister, etc, the will of the House of representatives prevails. However in a proposal for an amend­ment to the Constitution, the consent of more than two-thirds of all the members of each House is necessary.

The Cabinet is the highest national agency responsible for the administration of the affairs of the nation. The Prime Mini­ster is appointed by the Emperor at the designation of the Diet and must enjoy the confidence of the House of Representatives to remain in office. In this the British pattern of the Parliament-cabinet system has been adopted. Though the Prime Minister appoints the other Ministers of State, the majority of these must be members of the Diet. The Ministers, whether they be members of the Diet or not, can attend the Houses at any time to express their opinions on a Bill. The Prime Minister is empowered to remove a Minister at any time.

Historically influenced by Chinese law, the Japanese legal system developed independently during the Edo period. However, since the late 19th century, the judicial system has been largely based on the civil law of Europe, notably Germany. Statutory law originates in Japan's legislature with the rubber stamp approval of the Emperor. Japan's court system is divided into four basic tiers: the Supreme Court and three levels of lower courts. The main body of Japanese statutory law is a collection called the Six Codes. The Supreme Court has 15 judges, the chief of whom is designated by the Cabinet and appointed by the Emperor, the rest being appointed by the Cabinet. There is no jury system in operation in Japan.