Unit 7: constitutional law of the united states and the united kingdom

Exercise 1: Read the international words properly; give their equivalents in Russian:

Congress; Senate; bills; resolutions; President; presiden­tial; resident; programmes; to recommend; secretaries; advocates; interests; system; criminal; civil; constitution; nation.

Exercise 2: Give the corresponding verbs of the same root (корень) from the following nouns. Translate them:

government; legislation; representative; election; head; interests; appointment; trial; recommendation; composi­tion; dependent; legislative.

Exercise 3: Read the following words properly. Translate them. Use a dictionary when necessary.

an amendment; a government; a branch; executive; legislative; judicial; presidential; to be held; a resident; to carry out; to appoint; an ambassador, to be composed of; representatives; particular, to sign; to pass; to try; similar, entire; a governor.

Exercise 4: Read the following word combinations; translate them; learn them by heart:

by the Constitution of 1787 and the amendments to it; the executive, legislative and judicial branches of power; the Congress of the United States; the Senate and the House of Representatives; for a term of 4 years; the num­ber of representatives from each state; to depend on the number of people in each particular state; in order to become a law; to pass both the Houses; the executive power in the United States is vested in the President; the presi­dential election; to carry out the programmes of the Government; to appoint Federal Judges; ambassadors to other countries; to be influential; Chief Justice of the USA; Associate Justices; to try criminal and civil cases; the governor of the state.

Text 1: US GOVERNMENT

By the Constitution of 1787 (and the amendments to it) the government of the USA is composed of three branches: the executive one, the legislative one, and the judicial one.

The highest executive power in the United States is vested in the President of the United States, who is elected for a term of 4 years by electors of each state. The Presidential election is held every four year in November. The President of the USA must be a native-born citizen, resident in the country for 14 years and at least 35 years old.

The President is to carry out the programmes of the Gov­ernment, to recommend much of the legislation to the Con­gress. He is to appoint Federal Judges, ambassadors to other countries and heads of various government departments, called secretaries.

The legislative power belongs to the Congress of the United States consisting of two chambers: the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Senate is composed of two members from each state elected for a term of 6 years, one third being elected every two years. The number of representatives from each state to the House of Representatives depends on the number of people in each particular state.

In order to become a law all bills and resolutions must pass both the Houses and must be signed by the President.

An important role in the American legislation is played by so-called «lobbyists». They are often more influential than Congressmen themselves.

The Supreme Court is the highest judicial organ of the United States and the head of the judicial branch of power. The Supreme Court consists of the Chief Justice of the USA and a number of Associate Justices.

The United States is divided into 11 judicial circuits, each one being served with a Federal Court of Appeals. There are about 90 district courts in different parts of the United States. The district courts are the lowest ones in the Federal court sys­tem. Most of the criminal and civil cases are tried by these courts.

Each state has a constitution similar to the Constitution of the entire nation and all the power in each state is divided into executive, legislative and judicial. The head of each state is the governor of the state.

Each state has each own system of courts similar to that of the Federal courts.

Exercise 5: Read and translate the sentences paying attention to the pronoun one:

1. The government of the USA is composed of three branches: the executive one, the legislative one, and the judicial one.

2. The district courts are the lowest ones in the Federal court system.

3. The constitutional system of each particular state is the one which is similar to that of the entire nation.

4. One can say that lobbyists in the American legislation are very often more influential than the Congressmen.

5. Each voter in the US is in front of the choice between the candidates of two opposite parties: the republican one and the democratic one, whose political platforms are practically alike.

6. One should say that politics in the USA as in many other countries is «a commercial enterprise as any other one».

7. In some countries the more money one can pay, the better lawyer one can have.

8. The USA is divided into 50 states; each one has its own constitution.

Exercise 6: Read the following international words properly, translate them:

political, practical, standards, basic, to form, to interpret, historian, conservative, privileged class, position, preamble, pressure, satisfaction, guarantee, limit, individual, elementary, control, oligarchy, to regulate, petition.

Exercise 7: Read and translate the words. Use a dictionary if necessary:

language, regulations, custom, though, essentially, advan­tage, advantageous, wide-spread, significantly, bourgeois, to enumerate, to violate, enterprise, wealthy, at the ex­pense of, unemployment, poverty, income, to profit.

Exercise 8: Read and translate the adverbs; give the corre­sponding adjectives they are formed of:

practically, regularly, essentially, collectively, properly, widely, significantly, relatively, personally, carefully.

Exercise 9: Read, translate the word units, learn them by heart:

in American political language; the set of rules, laws, regulations and customs; Supreme Court decisions; to be aimed at preserv­ing the advantageous position; to regard as an essentially con­servative document; wide-spread dissatisfaction; guarantees of basic freedoms and individual rights; to consolidate the gains of the Revolution; to be advantageous for the capitalist class; the elementary bourgeois-democratic freedoms; to violate the rights; freedom of enterprise; to expand personal freedoms; on the contrary; in practice; freedom of the wealthy; at the expense of the working people; to face unemployment and poverty; to need a guaranteed income; a guaranteed health care.

Text 2: US CONSTITUTION

The form of the US government is based on the Constitu­tion of 1787, adopted after the War of Independence. A "constitution" in American political language means the set of rules, laws, regulations and customs which together provide the political norms or standards regulating the work of the govern­ment. The document known as the Constitution of the United States, though a basic document, is only a part of the body of rules and customs which form the whole of the American Constitution. Supreme Court decisions, interpreting parts of the US Constitution, laws, regulations, customs are part of the basic law (the so-called live constitution). Most historians regard the US Constitution as an essentially conservative document.

The US Constitution consists of the Preamble, seven arti­cles and twenty seven amendments, the first ten of them called collectively the Bill of Rights and adopted under the popular pressure in 1791. When the Constitution was first proposed in 1787, there was widespread dissatisfaction it didn't contain guarantees of certain basic freedoms and individual rights. The Constitution consolidated those gains of the revolu­tion that were advantageous for the capitalist class. Significantly, nothing was said about the elementary bourgeois-democratic freedoms. In December, 1791, the Congress adopted ten amendments to the Constitution, known as the Bill of Rights. The Bill enumerated what the government controlled by the oli­garchy was not going to be allowed to do. It was, of course, an important democratic gain for the people at that time. But nowadays some of these ten amendments are relatively unim­portant.

The Bill of Rights is sometimes violated by the judicial and law enforcement practice.

Americans feel that of all the freedoms proclaimed in the Constitution only one freedom — freedom of enterprise is in fact guaranteed.

If there is no freedom to work, no guaranteed labour, you face unemployment and poverty. The main freedoms after all a man needs are a life of security, a guaranteed income and guar­anteed health care.

Notes:

1. «live constitution» — «живая конституция»

1. what the government controlled by the oligarchy was not going to be allowed to do. – ..что правительству, которое контролировалось олигархией, не разрешалось делать.

Exercise 10: Give the English equivalents for the following:

свод законов, правил, постановлений и обычаев; считать конституцию США, по существу, консервативным документом; документ, принятый в 1787 году и дополненный поправками; принять конституцию (закон); широко распространенное недовольство; элементарные буржуазно-демократические свободы; нарушать Билль о правах; свобода предпринимательства; сталкиваться с безработицей и бедностью; гарантированный заработок; гарантированная охрана здоровья.

Exercise 11: Read properly and translate the following names and terms:

Great Britain; the Prime Minister, number 10 Downing Street; the Houses of Parliament; Westminster, Parliamentary govern­ment; the United Kingdom; government departments; ministers of the Crown; local authorities; statutory boards; the House of Lords; the House of Commons.

Exercise 12: Read and translate the following words paying attention to the international root:

economic; constitutional; apparatus; social; to concentrate; section; to control; industry; finance; police; monarchy; absolute; to limit; the Prime Minister, policy; committee; mo­nopolists; parliamentary; politician; to direct; department; ad­ministration; operation; to nationalize; public services.

Exercise 13: Read the following word combinations; then learn them by heart:

to have a majority in the House of Commons; to take policy decisions; to make the changes in the size of Cabinet; to create new ministries; the power of the monopolists over the parlia­mentary government; by direct representation in Parliament; by direct influence over the Cabinet; by initiation, control and amendment of legislation; the bodies of the legislature; the bodies of the executive; the bodies of the judiciary; the Queen in Parliament; ministers of the Crown; to be responsible for, local authorities; government departments; statutory boards; particular nationalized industries; hereditary power.

Text 3: THE BODIES OF GOVERNMENT IN THE UNITED KINGDOM

Great Britain is a monarchy, but the Queen of Great Brit­ain is not absolute, but constitutional. Her powers are limited by Parliament. But the power is hereditary, and not elective.

The power of the monopolists over the Parliamentary gov­ernment in Britain is achieved in three main ways: 1) by direct representation in Parliament by businessmen and by politicians supporting businessmen; 2) by direct influence over the Cabinet, the supreme organ of the British Government which controls Parliament; and 3) by initiation, control and amendment of legislation in which they are interested.

("The British Political System" by J.Gollan)

The bodies of government in the United Kingdom are: those of the legislature, which consists of the Queen in Parlia­ment and is the supreme authority of the country; those of the executive and those of the judiciary.

The executive bodies consist of 1) the Cabinet and other ministers of the Crown who are responsible for directing na­tional policy; 2) government departments, who are responsible for administration at the national level; 3) local authorities who administer and control many services at the local level; and 4) statutory boards, who are responsible for the operation of par­ticular nationalized industries or public services. The highest judicial body in the English judicial system is the House of Lords.

The Prime Minister is usually the leader of the party that has a majority in the House of Commons. The Prime Minister usually takes policy decisions with the agreement of his Cabinet (a committee of leading Ministers). Each new Prime Minister may make changes in the size of his Cabinet and may create new ministries or make other changes. The Prime Minister holds Cabinet meetings at his (her) house at number 10 Down­ing Street, which is very near the Houses of Parliament in Westminster.

(«Everyday English for Foreign Students» by S.Potter, «The Encyclopedia Britanica»)

Text 4: Read and translate the following text: