Preamble to the Constitution of the Russian Federation

We, the multinational people of the Russian Federation, united by a common fate on our land, establishing human rights and freedoms, civil peace and accord, preserving the historically established State unity, proceeding from universally acknowledged principles of equality and self-determination of peoples, revering the memory of ancestors who have passed on to us their love for the Fatherland and faith in the good and justice, reviving the sovereign statehood of Russia and asserting the firmness of its democratic basis, striving to ensure the well-being and prosperity of Russia, proceeding from the responsibility for our Fatherland before the present and future generations, recognizing ourselves as part of the world community, do adopt THE CONSTITUTION OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION.

Chapter IV THE SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT

Unit 9 The British Government of Today

Before you read

Discuss these questions.

1What forms of government do you know?

2Is it possible for people to live without any government?

3In your opinion, which society should be called democratic?

4Do you think monarchy inevitably leads to tyranny, or democracy – to mob rule?

Text A

The Governmental Model

The governmental model that operates in Britain today is usually
described as constitutional monarchy, or parliamentary system. While a
monarch still has a role to play on some executive and legislative levels, it
is Parliament, which possesses the essential power, and the government of
the day, which governs by initiating and controlling political policy and
legislation. The correct constitutional definition of Parliament is "Queen-
in-Parliament", and all state and governmental business is therefore carried
out in the name of the monarch by the politicians and officials of the
system.

The various branches of this political system, although easily distinguishable from each other, are not entirely separate. The monarch is formally head of the executive, the legislature and the judiciary.

The legislature, which consists of both houses of Parliament and formally the monarch, is for most purposes the supreme law-making body.

The executive comprises the sitting government and its Cabinet, together with government ministers of departments headed by ministers or secretaries of state, who all act formally in the name of the monarch.

The judiciary is composed mainly of the judges of the higher courts, who determine the common law and interpret Acts of Parliament. The judiciary is supposed to be independent of the legislative and executive branches of government.

As a check upon overpowerful government most modern constitutions have adopted the principle of separation of powers.

The functions of the state could be divided into law-making (legislative), policy formulation and direction (executive) and interpretation and application of the law (judicial). To stop governments from becoming too powerful these functions should be carried out by separate institutions, and there should be a balance between them.

The legislature makes laws; the executive enforces the laws and governs the country; the judges decide disputes that come before them and in doing so interpret the law and apply it to the facts of the case they have to judge.

The legislature and executive in Britain are not entirely separate. The executive government (cabinet and ministers), who govern the country and execute the laws, belong to the legislature. The government depends on the legislature, since by convention it must resign if it loses the confidence of the House of Commons. But the House of Commons also depends on the government, because if the government decides that the time has come to call a general election the members of the House will (almost certainly) have to face re-election and may lose their seats.

The judges in Britain are more independent, since a judge of the higher court cannot be dismissed except when the legislature asks the Queen to dismiss him for misbehaviour. Even so, the highest judges are members of the House of Lords, which is part of the legislature. And their independence is less important than it is in the USA, since they cannot declare that a law made by the legislature is against the constitution and so invalid.

Vocabulary

apply the lawv применять закон

cabinetn кабинет (министров)

check n препятствие

confidence n доверие

by convention по соглашению, обычно

dismiss v увольнять

enforce laws v обеспечивать соблюдение и исполнение законов

entirely adv всецело, вполне, совсем, совершенно

essential adj существенный

execute v исполнять, выполнять (закон)

executive adj исполнительный

general election всеобщие выборы

govern v управлять

government of the day существующее правительство

higher court n вышестоящий суд

highest judges n верховные судьи

initiate v предлагать

interpret the law v толковать закон

invalid adj 1 юридически недействительный; 2 не имеющий силы

judicial adj судебный

judiciary n 1 отправление правосудия; 2 судопроизводство

law-making adj законодательный, нормоустановительный

legislative adj законодательный

misbehaviour n дурное, недостойное поведение

monarch n монарх

monarchy n монархия

overpowerful adj обладающий чрезмерной властью

Queen-in-Parliament «королева в парламенте», законодательная власть

(в Великобритании)

resign v уходить в отставку

Secretary of Staten министр (для большинства министров, входящих в кабинет)

separation of powersn разделение властей

Reading tasks

AAnswer these questions.

1What type of government operates in Britain?

2Why aren’t the branches of the British political system entirely separate?

3What does each branch consist of?

4Why was it necessary to adopt the principle of separation of powers?

5What are three main functions of the state?

6Why are the legislature and executive interdependent in Britain?

7Are the judges separate in Britain?

B Mark these statements T (true) or F (false) according to the information in the text.

1The branches of the British government are entirely separate.

2The principle of separation of powers existed from time immemorial.

3The balance between separate institutions carrying out different functions is necessary.

4The legislative, the executive and the judicial powers in Britain are separated.

5The executive government includes ministers and judges.

6The House of Commons and the government are interdependent.

7The Queen can dismiss the highest judges after the legislature’s demand.

8The judges in Britain are as independent as in the USA.

Language focus

Complete these sentences with the comparative or superlative forms of adjectives in brackets.

1It is not easy to give a comprehensive description of the term “government”. Still _______ (difficult) is to understand the structure and operation of the whole machinery of the executive government.

2There are no _______ (little) than two major British institutions that are involved in the executive process.

3The French political philosopher Montesquieu developed _______ (important) principle of the formation of any government.

4The _______ (high) judges are members of the House of Lords.

5The independence of judges in Britain is _______ (little) important than it is in the USA.

6One can’t say which of the three branches is _______ (powerful) in Britain.

Vocabulary tasks

AMatch the following English expressions with their Russian equivalents.

overpowerful government	a	применение закона
separation of powers	b	решать разногласия
application of law	c	правительство, обладающее чрезмерной властью
execute the law	d	потерять доверие
decide disputes	e	оказаться перед угрозой перевыборов
govern the country	f	разделение властей
lose the confidence	g	управлять страной
face re-election	h	исполнять закон