The British political system Corso di inglese giuridico (M-Z) Prof.ssa Claudia Morgana Cascione Università degli Studi di Bari ‘Aldo Moro’ Lezione n. 3

Main characteristics:  There’s no written constitution (there is a ‘material constitution’ defining rules and powers of the State’s organs but it’s not embodied in an unique written text)  Form of british State = Constitutional monarchy (at the Head of the State there is the King (or the Queen) but many powers has been delegated to the Parliament)  There is not a strict separation of powers

UK CONSTITUTIONAL MONARCHY “A form of Governement in which a king or queen Acts as Head of the State, while the ability to make and pass legislation resides with an elected Parliament” THE KING REIGNS BUT DOES NOT RULE Bill of rights (1689)

Bill of rights …the said Lords Spiritual and Temporal and Commons… for the vindicating and asserting their ancient rights and liberties declare That the pretended power of suspending the laws or the execution of laws by regal authority without consent of Parliament is illegal; That the pretended power of dispensing with laws or the execution of laws by regal authority, as it hath been assumed and exercised of late, is illegal; ….. That levying money for or to the use of the Crown by pretence of prerogative, without grant of Parliament, for longer time, or in other manner than the same is or shall be granted, is illegal; ….. That the raising or keeping a standing army within the kingdom in time of peace, unless it be with consent of Parliament, is against law; …… That election of members of Parliament ought to be free; That the freedom of speech and debates or proceedings in Parliament ought not to be impeached or questioned in any court or place out of Parliament;

The Monarchy  The Monarchy is the most ancient institution of UK  The monarch is determined oh hereditary and primogeniture principles (the oldest mail child of a monarch is the next in line to the throne).  The monarch and his spouse can’t be Catholics (Act of settlement – 1701) because the Monarch is also the Head of the church of England  Monarch’s powers: - largely ceremonial - but the Monarch still mantains some Prerogative Rights of legislative, executive and judicial character (giving the Royal assent to all laws; proroguing or dissolving Parliaments)

The Parliament  It takes place in the Palace of Westminster, London  It is the supreme legislative body in UK  It is Bicameral 2 houses (or chambers) House of Lords House of Commons (Upper Chamber) (Lower Chamber)

Parliament’s functions  To make the laws;  To provide the means of carrying on the work of government;  To protect the public and safeguard the right of individuals;  To scrutinise government policy and administration;  To examine European proposals;  To examine the major issues of the day

The House of Commons  This is the lower chamber but the one with the most authority.  The Commons is chaired by the Speaker (the ‘First Commoner of the Land’ who presides over the House’s debates)  The House of Commons currently comprises 650 Members of Parliament or MPs (the number varies slightly from time to time to reflect population change).  Each member in the House of Commons represents a geographical constituency (electoral district)  Every citizen aged 18 or over can vote once in the constituency in which they live.  The method of election used is the simple majority system or 'first past the post'.  There has not been fixed term parliaments

The House of Lords  This is the upper chamber but the one with less authority.  Main powers:- revise legislation - control Government’s activities  It is an unelected chamber, there is not a fixed number of members and it has a strange composition: - Hereditary peers: years ago a king or queen nominated a member of the aristocracy to be a member of the House and, since then, the right to sit in the House has passed through the family from generation to generation. Clearly this is totally undemocratic and the last Labour Government abolished this right but 92 of these hereditary peers to sit in the House - Life peers: they have been chosen by the Queen, on the advice of the Government, to sit in the House for as long as they live

The committees Much of the work of Parliament is done in Committes:  Selected Committees: are appointed for the lifetime of Parliament  General Committees: are temporary bodies, mostly formed to examine piece of proposed legislation

The Government  Executive power in the UK is exercised – on behalf of the Sovereign – by the UK Government  All Government Ministers have to be a member of either the House of Commons or the House of Lords.  The number of Ministers varies from administration to administration, but typically there will be around 90, the 20 or so most senior being Cabinet Ministers.  Historically most British governments have been composed of ministers from a single political party which had an overall majority of seats in the House of Commons and the 'first-past-the-post' (FPTP) electoral system greatly facilitates and indeed promotes this outcome.

The Prime Minister  The most important person in the British political system (the UK does not have a President and the monarch has very few formal powers and stays above party politics).  In theory, the Prime Minister simply chooses the ministers who run Government departments and chairs the Cabinet  In practice, however, the Prime Minister is a very powerful figure and increasingly has been behaving much like a president in other political systems, especially in the area of foreign policy.

The Ministers All Government Departments are run by Ministers who are either Members of the House of Commons or Members of the House of Lords. Three classes of Minister: - Secretary of State - This is usually the head of a Department. - Minister of State - This is a middle-ranking minister. - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State - This is the most junior class of minister. The Prime Minster and all the Secretaries of State together comprise an executive body of government called the Cabinet. Cabinet meetings are confidential and all members are bound by any decision that it takes in a practice called collective responsibility.

Devolved Government The UK has a devolved system of government: this is categorically not a system of federal government such as in the United States The three devolved administrations are: The Scottish Parliament The Welsh Assembly The Northern Ireland Assembly

The judiciary British judiciary system is rather complicated:  Many reforms (Judicature Acts – 1873/1875; Administration of justice Act –1970; Courts Act – 1971)  Fundamental distincion: - Superior Courts - Lower Courts  Different types of case are dealt with in specific courts