15. The British Monarch Today

The United Kingdom is a constitutional monarchy. This means that it has a monarch (a king or a queen) as its Head of State. The monarch reigns with the support of Parliament. The powers of the monarch are not defined precisely. Everything today is done in the Queen’s name. It is her government, her armed forces, her law courts and so on. She appoints all the Ministers, including the Prime Minister. Everything is done however on the advice of the elected Government, and the monarch takes no part in the decision-making process.

Once the British Empire included a large number of countries all over the world ruled by Britain. The process of decolonization began in 1947 with the independence of India, Pakistan and Ceylon. Now, apart from Hong Kong and a few small islands, there is no longer an empire. But the British ruling classes tried not to lose influence over the former colonies of the British Empire. An association of former members of the British Empire and Britain was founded in 1949. It is called the Commonwealth. It includes many countries such as Ireland, the Sudan, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and others. The Queen of Great Britain is also the Head of the Commonwealth, and so the Queen of Canada, Australia, New Zealand.

The Queen is very rich as are other members of the royal family. In addition, the government pays for her expenses as Head of State, for a royal yacht, train and aircraft as well as for the upkeep of several palaces. The Queen’s image appears on stamps, notes and coins.

Parliament and the monarch have different roles in the government of the country, and they only meet together on symbolic occasions such as coronation of a new monarch or the opening of Parliament. In reality, the House of Commons is the only one of the three which is true power. It is here that new bills are introduced and debated. If the majority of the members are not in favour of a bill it goes to the House of Lords to be debated and finally to the monarch to be signed.

16. What happens during the trial

Events in a trial usually happen in a particular order, though the order may be changed by the judge.

Step 1. Selection of the Jury.

Step 2. Opening Statements. The lawyers for each side will discuss their views of the case that you are to hear and will also present a general picture of what they intend to prove about the case.

Step 3. Presentation of Evidence. All parties have a right to present evidence. The testimony of witnesses who testify at trial is evidence. Evidence may also take the form of things, such as a gun or a photograph. Many times during the trial the lawyers may make objections to evidence presented by the other side or to questions asked by the other lawyer. Lawyers are allowed to object to these things when they consider them bad. It is up to the judge to decide whether each objection was lawful or unlawful.

Step 4. The Instructions, Following presentation of all the evidence, the judge instructs the jury on the laws that are to guide the jury in their thinking about a verdict. A copy of the instructions will be sent to the jury room for the use of jurors during their discussions. All documents or physical objects that have been received into evidence will also be sent to the jury room.

Step 5, Closing Arguments. The lawyers in the closing arguments summarize the case from their point of view. They may discuss the evidence that has been presented or comment on the trusr of witnesses.

Step 6. Jury decision-making. The jury goes to the jury room to think about the verdict in the case they have just heard. The jury first elects a foreman who will see if all issues are fully and fairly discussed, and that every juror is given a fair chance to participate. When a verdict has been reached, the foreman signs it and informs the bailiff. The jury returns to the courtroom, where the foreman presents the verdict.

Step 7. The judge decides on the sentence.