3 The Political System in Ukraine

the colors of the sky, mountains, streams, and golden wheat fields have symbolized Kyivan Rus’ long before the introduction of Christianity. With the acceptance of Christianity, blue and gold were incorporated into church symbolism. The trident is the Coat of Arms of Ukraine. From time immemorial the trident was considered to be a magic sign, a guardian of its kind. The oldest examples of the trident discovered by archaeologists date back to the 1st century AD. In chronicles this symbol was first mentioned in the 10th century. In Kyivan Rus the trident was used by the great princes. When Ihor, Prince of Kyivan Rus from 912 to 945 AD, sent ambassadors to sign a treaty with the Byzantine emperor, they sealed the document with a trident. At the times of Kyiv Prince Volodymyr Sviatoslavovych (980-1015 AD) the trident was stamped on coins, on the other side of which appeared the sovereign's portrait. The trident represented the division of the world into the three spheres: the earthly, the celestial, and the spiritual; the union of the Divine, the Paternal and the Maternal; as well as the union of the three natural elements: the air, the water and the earth.

The State Anthem of Ukraine is the national anthem set to the music by M. Verbytskyi with the words by Pavlo Chubynskyi

5 EXECUTIVE POWER

The government, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, which consists of the Prime Minister Ukraine, First Vice Prime Minister, three Vice Prime Ministers and seventeen various departmental Ministers, exercises executive power in Ukraine.

The Prime Minister heads the Cabinet and directs its work. The President appoints the Prime Minister under the consent of over half of the constitutional composition of the Verkhovna Rada. The President on the advice of the Prime Minister appoints personal composition of the Cabinet of Ministers.

The Prime Minister is responsible to the President and accountable and acts under control of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine.

Within its authority, the Government issues decrees and regulations mandatory for execution. The Prime Minister signs the deeds of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine.

In case of Prime Minister’s resignation or no confidence resolution adopted by the Verkhovna Rada all the Government steps down from the office.

The Cabinet of Ministers provides for carrying out financial, price, investment and taxation policies, as well as actions in the spheres of labor and employment of population, social protection, education, science and culture, environment protection, ecological security and nature management.

The Cabinet of Ministers works out the draft of the Law on the State Budget of Ukraine for approval by the Verkhovna Rada, and ensures its execution.

Since the time of the Declaration on the State Sovereignty of Ukraine being adopted on July 16, 1990, the composition of the Cabinet of Ministers have changed twelve times. It is the twelfth government of Ukraine that is now in power.

Justice in Ukraine is administered solely by courts. The delegation of court functions, as well as their usurpation by other bodies and officials is not allowed. Courts have jurisdiction over all legal relations, which develop in the State.

The Constitution points out that the establishment of extraordinary and special courts is prohibited.

The general structure of the judicial system is stipulated in Article 124 of the Constitution of Ukraine, according to which the justice is administered by the Constitutional Court of Ukraine and by courts of general jurisdiction.

The courts of general jurisdiction administer justice in the form of civil, commercial, administrative and criminal legislation. The Constitutional Court of Ukraine is a special judicial body of constitutional control.

 Justice is administered by professional judges and, in cases overseen by the law, by people’s assessors and juries. The independence of judges is guaranteed by their immunity and their election by the Supreme Rada permanently after their first appointment to the position of professional judge by the President of Ukraine for a five-year term.

7 The Parliament

The British Parliament is divided into two houses. The first one, which is less important, is the House of Lords. It can be described as politically conservative. It consists of different groups. There are the Lord Spiritual. Those are archbishops and bishops. Furthermore the Lords Temporal. These are heriditary peers, which got their titles from their fathers or grandfathers, and life peers, which got their titles for their whole life, and finally there are the Lords of Appeal, which are the High Court Judges. The Lords` main functions are to examine and to discuss the Bills introduced in the House of Commons. They can also delay the legislation for a year, but they can´t stop those Bills completly. They have also the function to introduce Bills which are mostly unimportant and non-controversial. They must approve a Bill, before it becomes an act. The power of the Lords has decreased dramatically. There was even a strong movement to abolish the House of Lords completely.  The second House is the House of Commons. The 651 Members of Parliament (MPs) who sit in the Commons are elected representatives of the British people. Each MP represents one of the 651 constituencies into which the UK is divided. The House of Commons has a maximum term of five years, at the end of which a general election must be held. However, a general election can be called in the government at any time. MPs sit on parallel rows of seats known as benches with those who support the government on the one side and the opposition on the other. The important persons are the front-benchers, the less important ones are the back-benchers. The Commons` main functions are to define and to pass the laws and regulations governing the UK  and to examine closely all the activities of the government.

8 The Monarch

For the evidence of written law only, the Queen has almost absolute power, and it all seems very undemocratic. She is the head of state, the head of the Church of England and the Head of the Armed Forces. Every autumn at the state opening of parliament Elisabeth II. makes a speech. In it, she says what "my government" intends to do in the comming year. And indeed, it is her government - not the people`s. As far as the law is concerned, she can choose anybody she likes to run the government for her. The same is true for her choices of people to fill some hundred other ministerial positions. And if she gets fed up with her ministers she can just dismiss them. Officially speaking they are all "servants of the Crown". Furthermore nothing the parliament has decided can become law until she has agreed to it. There is also a principle of English law, that the monarch can do nothing that legally wrong. But these facts are only written law. In reality it is very different. Of course she cannot choose anyone she likes to be Prime Minister, but she has to choose someone who has the support of the majority of MPs and the House of Commons - because "her" government can only collect taxes with the agreement of the Commons, so if she did not choose such a person, the government would stop function. With parliament it is the same story - the Prime Minister will talk about "requesting" a dissolution of parliament when he or she wants to hold an election, but it would normally be impossible for the monarch to refuse this request. So in reality the Queen cannot actually stop the government going ahead with any of its politics. Important roles of the monarch are the following ones: It is argued that the monarch could act as a final check on a government that was becomming dictorial. Second, the monarch has to play a very practical role as being a figurehead and representing the country.  The souvereign reigns but does not rule.

6 The British System of Government

Britain is a constitutional monarchy. That means it is a country governed by a king or a 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. The highest positions in the government are filled by the members of the directy elected parliament. In Britain, as in many European countries, the official head of state, whether a monarch (as in Belgium, the Netherlands or Denmark) or a president (as in Germany, Greece or Italy) has little power.

9 The Political System of the USA

The legislative branch. Supreme legislative power in the American government lies with Congress: the Senate, the upper house; and the House of the Representatives - the Lower House. Each state has its own government - State Assemblies or, Legislatures with two houses. According to the constitution of the USA, all citizens of both sexes over 18 years of age has a right of voting, but in reality the number of voters is much smaller. The main task of Congress is to make federal laws, to levy federal taxes, to make rules The executive branch. The executive power in the USA belongs to the President and his Administration. The Presidency in the USA is the highest governmental office. President in the USA is the head of the state and the government, and also the commander-in-chief of the US Armed Forces.    Vice-resident and the Cabinet assist president. The President and Vice-president are elected for a term of four years and can be reelected. President must be a natural-born citizen of the USA and at least 35 years old, and for at least 14 years resident of the USA. The term of office of the President begins on the 2^nd of January. Presidential elections are head in two stages - in November and December. Before the elections the candidates for Presidency tour the country, meeting people and delivering speeches.    The president, as the chief formulator of public policy, often proposes legislation to Congress. The president can also veto (forbid) any bill passed by Congress. The veto can be overridden by a two-thirds vote in both the Senate and House of Representatives. As head of his political party, with ready access to the news media, the president can easily influence public opinion regarding issues and legislation that he deems vital. President conducts foreign affairs, signed documents, appoints diplomats, Cabinet Members, federal judges with the consent and advice of the Senate. He outlines the course of his administration threw Congress.  for trade, to corn money, to organise Armed forces, to declare war, to make amendments to the constitution or put foreign treaties into effect.