The Constitution of Great Britain

Britain is a constitutional monarchy that means it is a country governed by a king or queen who accepts the advice of a Parliament. It is also a parliamentary democracy. That is, it is a country whose Government is controlled by a Parliament which has been elected by the people.

In Britain, as in many European countries, the official head of the state, whether a monarch (as in Belgium, the Netherlands and Denmark) or a President (as in Germany, Greece, and Italy) has a little real power.

However, there are features of the British system of government which make it different from other countries. Britain is almost alone among modern states in that it does not have “a constitution” at all. Of course, there are rules, regulations, principles and procedures for the running of the country – but there is no single written document which can be appealed to as the highest law of the land and the final arbiter in any matter of dispute.

The sources of so called “constitution” are the following:

Ø Statute of Westminster – the most important acts of Parliament

1. Magna Charta (1215) – Lords’ Council set by it was the first limitation of monarch’s absolute power and the beginning of Parliament;

2. Petition of Rights (1628) – limited monarch’s absolute power and extended the rights of Parliament and courts;

3. Habeas Corpus Act (1679) – proclaimed sovereignty of person and his property, extension of person’s liberty in courts;

4. The Bill of Rights (1689) – proclaimed the foundation of Constitutional Monarchy;

5. Statute of Westminster (1931) – act of Parliament which regulated the relations between the UK and its dominions.

Ø Common Law – since the times of Queen Elizabeth I every case in court has been recorded.

Ø Convention – unwritten laws.

The principles and procedures by which the country is governed and from which people’s rights are derived come from a number of different sources. Some of them are written in laws agreed by Parliament, some of them have been spoken and then written down and some of them have never been written down at all. For example, there is no written law in Britain that says anything about who can be the Prime Minister or what the powers of the Prime Minister are, even though he or she is probably the most powerful person in the country.

Monarchy

Everything is done to make monarchy a worthy symbol of the nation: about 20 books are published in Britain every year on the Royal family. Clothing is always chosen to ensure dignity. Queen’s clothes are colourful and visible in public and staid on special occasions as a reminder that stands for stability and continuity.

The authority of the Royal family derives from many sources including their speech, their avoiding interference in political life. Monarchy is indeed a very expensive institution. The Queen gets an allowance about two million pounds a year, secured from inflation.

Picture 3.1 – the queen of Great Britain

Queen Elizabeth II, the present sovereign of the UK is the 40^th Monarch (since 1066), the oldest and longest ruling monarch in the 20^th century. Queen Elizabeth II was born in 1926. She came to the throne after her father's death in 1952 and was crowned in Westminster Abbey in June 1953. The photo of the queen is on the picture 3.1.

She is the symbol of Britain. Her official title is: “Elizabeth the second, by the Grace of God of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of Her other Realms and Territories Queen, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith.”

Queen Elizabeth II is a “constitutional monarch”. This means that although she is officially the head of the state, the country is actually run by the government, led by the Prime Minister. The Queen lives at Buckingham Palace.  Queen Elizabeth II is the United Kingdom’s Head of State. She is queen of 16 former British colonies, including Australia, Canada and New Zealand; and head of the Commonwealth , a multinational body created after the dissolution of the British Empire.

Although the Queen is no longer responsible for governing the country, she carries out a great many important tasks on behalf of the nation. As Head of State, the Queen goes on official State visits abroad. She also invites other world leaders to come to the United Kingdom. During their visit, Heads of State usually stay at Buckingham Palace, or sometimes at Windsor Castle or Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh.

The Queen is also the Head of the Armed Forces. She is the only person who can declare when the country is at war and when war is over, although she must take advice from her government first.

The Queen is Head of the Church of England - a position that all British monarchs have held since it was founded by Henry VIII in the 1530s. The Queen appoints archbishops and bishops on the advice of the Prime Minister. The spiritual leader of the Church of England is the Archbishop of Canterbury.

Every day “red boxes” are delivered to the Queen’s desk full of documents and reports from the government ministers and Commonwealth officials. They must all be read and, if necessary, signed by the Queen.

The Queen represents the nation at times of great celebration or sorrow. Queen spends a huge amount of time traveling around the country visiting hospitals, schools, factories and other places and organizations.

Among Queen Elizabeth's many duties there are the regular visits she makes to foreign countries, and especially those of the Commonwealth, whose interests and welfare are very important to her.

Parliament in Britain

Parliament in Britain is an ancient institution too, dating from the beginning of the 13^th century, though officially it was established in the 1265 by Simon de Montfort.

Parliament is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom. The function of the Parliament is legislating bills, making bills lawful. But it has judicial functions too. British Parliament is free to make any law it wishes. It could even prolong its own life if it chose to do so. Other functions of the Parliament are:

-  to raise money through taxation so as to enable the government to function;

-  to question and examine government policy and administration particularly its financial programme;

-  to debate or discuss important political issues.

History knew “short” and “long” Parliament (the “short” lasted 2 weeks, the “long” 19 years), but since 1911 every Parliament is limited to a five-year term of work. The work of the Parliament is divided into sessions. Every session begins at the end of October or beginning of November and lasts 36 weeks up to the August. Annual opening of the Parliament by the Queen is a traditional ceremony.

British Parliament is composed of two Houses: the House of Lords and the House of Commons. The House of Lords appeared first as King’s Council of the nobility. The House of Commons organized later in the second half of the 14^th c. and “Commons’ were representatives of different local communities who were summoned to provide the King with money.

Because of its financial power, its ability to raise or withhold money, the House of Commons gained power not only in matters of finance but also legislation over both monarch and also the Lords.

The Houses work in different places, in the opposite parts of the Westminster palace. Both Houses are rectangular (not semicircular as most European Chambers) in shape with rows of benches on either side and raised platform for the throne and the Speaker’s Chair.

To the right of the Speaker are seats for the Government and its supporters, to his left – for the Opposition. So the debates are face to face. Facing the Speaker there are benches for Independent members, for those who do not belong to either of the two leading political parties.

There are 5 rows of benches in the House of Commons (4 in Lords’) on both sides of the House. Front benches on either side are the seats of the Government (Cabinet members) and Opposition (“Shadow Cabinet” members). So there is a division of MPs into front-benches and back-benches.

Each House enjoys certain rights to protect them in carrying out their duties. They are freedom of speech in debates, freedom of arrest, the right of access to crown (collective privilege for the Commons and individual for peers). The Commons have the right to exclude (disqualify) an MP and declare his seat vacant.

The proceedings in both Houses are public and visitors are admitted into the “strangers’ gallery”: the number of visitors is limited to 200, no cards or passes are required, but metal-control check is necessary. Proceeding of both houses are now published and televised.