- •1. State and government of great britain
- •2. Government of great britain
- •3. The congress at work
- •4. The political system of the usa
- •5. The american political system
- •6. The political system of ukraine
- •7. The constitution of the usa
- •8. Amendments of the american constitution
- •9. The house of commons and the electoral system
- •10. The parliamentary parties
- •11. The major political parties
- •12. The work of parties
- •13. Judiciary in great britain - criminal proceedings
- •14. The court system of england and wales
- •15. The crown prosecution service (cps) – past event
- •16. The crown prosecution service (cps) – nowadays
- •17. Presenting cases in court
- •18. Legal professions in great britain
- •19. Work in the court
- •20. Solicitors
- •21. Barristers
- •22. Attorneys in the usa
- •23. Law enforcement in great britain
- •24. The home secretary
- •25. The police authority
- •26. The legal system in the united kingdom
- •27. The constitution and jurisdiction of the uk
- •28. How are laws made in the uk?
- •29. Passing an act
- •30. The work of barristers
- •31. Law of japan
- •32. History of japanese law
- •33. Historical development of japanese continental system
- •34. Japanese continental system
- •35. Common law system
- •36. Common law
- •37. Common-law courts
- •38. Court system
- •39. The early royal courts in england
- •40. King's bench or queen's bench
- •III. Fill in the blanks with the appropriate grammar form(s).
- •IV. Find the proper Ukrainian equivalent to the underlined law term(s).
- •If a person dies under unusual circumstances, an inquest is held at a special court and the judge is called a coroner (слідчий з випадків насильницької смерті).
- •V. Fill in the blanks with the appropriate word.
9. The house of commons and the electoral system
The House of Commons is made up of 650 elected members, known as Members of Parliament (abbreviated to MPs), each of whom represents an area (or constituency) of the United Kingdom.
They are elected either at a general election or at a by-election following the death or retirement of an MP.
The election campaign usually lasts about three weeks. Everyone over the age of 18 can vote in an election which is decided on a simple majority — the candidate with the most votes wins.
Under this system an MP who wins by a small number of votes may have more votes against him (that is for the other candidates) than for him. This is a very simple system, but many people think that it is unfair because the wishes of those who voted for the unsuccessful candidates are not represented at all.
Parliamentary elections must be held every five years at the latest, but the Prime Minister can decide on the exact date within those five years. Service departments are called the Ministry of Defence, the Treasury and the Home Office respectively.
They are staffed by civil servants who are politically neutral and who therefore do not change if the Government changes.
The leader of the Opposition also chooses MPs to take responsibility for opposing the Government in these areas. They are known as the “Shadow Cabinet”.
Choose one paragraph from the following reading that best suits each statement.
10. The parliamentary parties
The Conservative and Liberal parties are the oldest, and until the last years of the 19th century they were the only parties elected to the House of Commons. Once working-class men were given the vote however Socialist MPs were elected, but it was not until 1945 that Britain had its first Labour Government.
At this election the number of Liberal MPs was greatly reduced and since then Governments have been formed by either the Labour or the Conservative party. Usually they have had clear majorities — that is, one party has had more MPs than all the others combined.
The Conservative Party can broadly be described as the party of the middle and upper classes although it does receive some working-class support. Most of its voters live in rural areas, small towns and the suburbs of large cities. Much of its financial support comes from large industrial companies.
The Labour Party, on the other hand, has always had strong links with the trade unions and receives financial support from them.
While many Labour voters a middle-class or intellectuals, the tradition; Labour Party support is still strongest in industrial areas.
The Soc Democratic Party (SDP) and other small minority parties in the House of Commons would like to change the electoral system; they want MPs to be elected by proportional representation.
Under this system, the number of MPs from each party would correspond to the total number of votes each party receives in the election.
Choose one paragraph from the following reading that best suits each statement.