7. The unwritten Constitution of g. B. & its sources

Common law is the law that was developed in England after the Norman Conquest (1066), by judges who ruled in individual cases in the light of precedent or custom, with minimal recourse to statutes or enactments. Henry 11 introduced curcuit courts an dtrial by jury. Common people were involved into the court procedures, so people c. rely on more or less just judgement. This body of customary law continued to evolve through the end of the 18th century in England and its overseas colonies. Common law continues to undergo considerable modernization and even nowadays it is often used in court in the UK. Before the Norman Conquest the law in England was administered according to local Anglo-Saxon custom, with the church playing a major role. The Normans brought a new set of attitudes: serious crimes were treated as public matters, not as matters concerning the injured only, as formerly was the case; and the power of the church was restricted to ecclesiastical courts. The Normans created English common law by establishing a central judiciary that administered common laws based on the writ system. A writ is a written order requiring a person to appear and provide proof of compliance with the decision of the court or to stand trial. Magna Carta. 1215 - the Is1 step on the constitutional road. The reign of the 2 sons of Henry II - Richard I (the Lion Heart) and John. The barons were dissatisfied with the roles of both brothers. They decided to limit John's power (Rich. Died already), esp. In the sphere of finance (taxation), the rights and obligations. They prepared a document in which they demanded from the Kings of Engl. to respect the rights of King's vassals. This document became known as Magna Carta (the Great Charter). It is the most import, unwritten source of the would-be Brit, constitution. The king pledged himself to relieve the barons of oppressive obligations as vassals of the Crown, the barons in their turn pledged themselves to relieve their vassals (the people); to respect the liberties of London and all other cities and to protect foreign merchants who came to Engl. , to imprison no man without a fair trial and to deny justice to none. It was the 1st step to democracy. The importance - the attempt to limit the power of one who possesses unlimited powers, observe rights of an individual. King John signed the document but neglected it immediately. The conflicts betw. the king and the barons continued. The charter meant less to contemporaries than it has to subsequent generations. The solemn circumstances of its first granting have given to Magna Carta of 1215 a unique place in popular imagination; quite early in its history it became a symbol and a battle cry against oppression, each successive generation reading into it a protection of its own threatened liberties.

The charter's contents may be divided into 9 groups: concerning the church (it was to be "free"); providing statements of feudal law of particular concern to those holding lands directly from the crown, and assuring similar rights to Subtenants; concerneing the reform of the law and of justice, the control of the behaviour of royal officials; providing a form of security for the king's adherence to the charter, by which a council of 25 barons should have the ultimate right to levy war upon him should he seriously infringe it. The charter was reissued several times. There are four extant "originals" of the charter of 1215, one each in Lincoln Cathedral and Salisbury Cathedral, and two in the British Museum. The Bill of Rights is one more source of the British constitution, the result of the long 17th-century struggle between the Stuart kings and the English people and Parliament. It established the constitutionally monarchy in G. B The pres. day political system has been existing in Engl. since 1689 In that document it was written that'the king w. not impose any financial bill with the consent of Parliament. So, all financial and taxation bills became the prerogative of Parl. Pad. Was to be summoned or dissolved on its own consent. It made British kings powerless over Parl.

Granting religious toleration to all Protestants, ordering general elections to be held every three years, and providing for the Hanoverian succession (the House of Hanover-German line of relativs), the Bill of Rights provided the foundation on which the government rested after the Revolution of 1688. It purported to introduce no new principles but merely to declare explicitly the existing law. The Revolution settlement, however, made monarchy clearly conditional on the will of Parliament and provided a freedom from arbitrary government of which most Englishmen were notably proud during the 18th century.

The main purpose of the act was to declare illegal practices of James II. Among such practices were the royal prerogative of dispensing with the law in certain cases, the complete suspension of laws without the consent of Parliament, and the levying of taxes and the maintenance of a standing army in peacetime without specific parliamentary authorization. A number of clauses sought to eliminate royal interference in parliamentary matters, stressing that elections must be free and that members must have complete freedom of speech. Certain forms of interference in the course of justice were also proscribed. The act also dealt with the proximate succession to the throne, settling it on Mary's heirs, then on those of her sister, afterward Queen Anne, and then on those of William, provided they were Protestants.

Harbeas Corpus an ancient common-law writ, issued by a court or judge directing the police to produce the body of the person before the court for some specified purpose. The importance is to correct violations of personal liberty by directing judicial inquiry into the legality of a detention.

Statute Law the statute of Westminster. The Parl. act of 1931 ab. the status of

Br. dominions and their relation to the UK, established their complete sovereignty but preserved Br. control over their International politics.

8. EU & GB

European Union (EU), European supranational organization dedicated to increasing economic integration and strengthening cooperation among its member states. The European Union was established on November 1, 1993, when the Treaty on European Union, or Maastricht Treaty, was ratified by the 12 members of the European Community (EC)—Belg, Denm, Fr, Germ, GB, Greece, Ireland, It, Lux-g, the Neth-ds, Port, and Sp. The countries of the Benelux Economic Union—Belg, the Neth-ds, and Lux-g; or Benelux—continue to act in some capacities as a single economic entity within the EU.

The aims of the EU include the expansion of trade, reduction of competition, the abolition of restrictive trading practices, the encouragement of free movement of capital and labor within the alliance, and the establishment of a closer union among European people. A single market with free movement of goods and capital was established Jan 1993.

Decision-making in the EU is divided between supranational European institutions (the European Commission and the European Parliament, which are both administered by the EU) and governments of the member states, which send ministers to the Council of Ministers. The Court of Justice serves as the final arbiter in legal matters or disputes among EU institutions or between EU institutions and member states.

The European Commission (executive branch) of 20 members pledged to independence of national interests, who initiate Union action (two members each from Fr, Germ, It, Sp, and the UK; and one each from Austria, Belg, Denm, Fin, Gr, Ireland, Lux-g, Neth-ds, Port, and Swed); the Council of Ministers of the European Union (main lawmaking body), the most powerful organization of the European Union, consisting of one government minister from each European Union member country, it's based in Brussels and is responsible for most EU decisions; the European Parliament, directly elected from 1979 and every 5 years by the people in those countries; the Economic and Social Committee, a consultative body; the Committee of Permanent Representatives (COREPER), consisting of civil servants temporarily seconded by member states to work for the Commission; and the European Court of Justice, to safeguard interpretation of the Rome Treaties (1957) that established the original alliance (13 judges).

EEC: West European economic association. It was formed in 1957 and its original members were Belg, Fr, It, Lux-g, the Neth-ds, and West Germ. Its goals were to establish the economic union of member nations and eventually to bring about political union. It has sought to eliminate internal tariffs, institute a uniform external scale of tariffs, achieve free movement of labour and capital from one nation to another, abolish obstructions to free competition, and establish collective trade and transportation policies. In 1973, GB joined the organisation.

Maastricht /'ma:strikt, 'ma:strixt/ a city in the Neth-ds. The leaders of the 12 countries of the European community met there in 1992 to sign the Maastricht Treaty, an agreement about closer union between European countries. This included plans to have a single currency, a shared defence force and a more powerful European parliament

The currency of the EU, called the Euro. It became Europe's official currency on 1 Jan 1999 as a part of European Monetary union, and will be available as coins and paper money from 1 Jan 2002. It will then be used in addition to the existing national currencies of some European countries for a period of 6 months. After this the national currencies will no longer be used. GB doesn't plan to join the single European currency immediately, partly because some eurosceptics in it fear that doing so will lead to a loss of economic power and political control for GB.