Topic 1
The State Organization and the Court System of Great Britain
I
Great Britain is a parliamentary monarchy and the King (Queen) is the formal head of the government. For centuries the monarch had the total power, but now the monarch reigns, but does not govern. The Queen of Britain now is Elizabeth II.
The British Parliament, the legislative body of the country, is the oldest in the world. It was formed in the 13th century. It consists of the House of Lords and the House of Commons.
The House of Lords was previously a hereditary, aristocratic chamber. Nowadays it includes hereditary members, bishops of the Church of England known as Lords Spiritual and appointed members (life peers). Life peers are appointed by the Queen on the advice of the Government for various services to the nation. The head of the House is Lord Chancellor.
The House of Commons consists of 650 members elected by popular vote. The House elects its own president who is called the Speaker. During the legislative process all bills are introduced in the Commons, go through three stages called “readings”, discussed and amended. Being passed, they go to the House of Lords for the same, but less formal, proceedings. At last the passed bills are signed by the Monarch and become Acts of Parliament.
The election in the House of Commons is held every five years and every citizen above the age of twenty has a vote. Voting is taken by secret ballot. The main parties which give the majority of members to the House, are the Conservative party (or Tories), the Labour party and the Liberal Democratic party. After the election one of the main parties has a majority. This party is called the Government; the parties in the minority are called the Opposition. The Government has executive functions and is responsible to the House of Commons. The leader of the majority party becomes the Prime Minister of Britain. The current Prime Minister[update] is David Cameron, leader of the Conservative Party. The functions of the Prime Minister are: leading the majority party, running the Government, appointing Cabinet ministers and other ministers, representing the nation in political matters.
One of the main functions of the Government is framing the foreign and home policies. The Cabinet of Ministers is chosen from the members of the Government. It makes its decisions collectively and is collectively responsible to the Parliament. As the chairman of the Cabinet, the Prime Minister appoints its members, summons it and can dissolve it.
II
In all legal systems there are institutions for creating, modifying, abolishing and applying the law. Usually these take the form of a hierarchy of courts. The court system of England and Wales has two main areas of jurisdiction: civil and criminal. Some courts have both jurisdictions, some only one.
A criminal case usually begins in a Magistrates’ Court, which consists of three lay justices of the peace, or a legally-trained district judge. As the lowest criminal court, a Magistrates’ Court is empowered to hear minor cases, such as parking violations, involving rather mild punishment. More serious crimes, like bank robbery or murder, must go to the Crown Court. In the Crown Court cases are tried before the jury (a group of 12 people). They decide questions of fact, the judge guides them on questions of law. The Crown Court also hears appeals from the Magistrates’ Courts.
Magistrates’ Courts also deal with some civil matters. They have civil jurisdiction in relation to certain debts, licenses and domestic proceedings. The main civil courts in England are county courts hearing cases in tort and contract or relating to land, trust, divorce, etc. The judges of county courts try cases alone without the jury. Being inferior courts county courts have no appellate jurisdiction. The High Court of Justice functions both as a court of the first instance and as a appellate court for cases from the subordinate courts. The High Court is divided into three Divisions (Queen’s Bench, Chancery and Family). The Court of Appeal sits in both civil and criminal divisions. The Civil division hears appeals from the High Court, county courts and certain special courts. The criminal division deals with appeals by defendants found guilty in the Crown Court.
Formerly the House of Lords, the upper house of the British Parliament, was the final court of appeal. The Constitution Reform Act 2005 established the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom and transferred the House of Lords’ judicial functions to that Court. In Britain there are special courts often described as tribunals. They are responsible for making decisions in particular types of disputes. For example, Youth Courts deal with offenders under seventeen. Coroner’s courts investigate violent, sudden or unnatural deaths.