Countries of the World/COUNTRYS.BIN/dp/0053/00539.txt

Text File | 1991-06-24 | 26KB | 434 lines

$Unique_ID{COW00539}
$Pretitle{405}
$Title{United Kingdom
Britain's System of Government}
$Subtitle{}
$Author{Embassy of the United Kingdom, Washington DC}
$Affiliation{Embassy of the United Kingdom, Washington DC}
$Subject{house
parliament
queen
lords
government
britain
members
royal
state
commons}
$Date{1990}
$Log{Royal Coat of Arms*0053901.scf
}
Country:     United Kingdom
Book:        Britain's System of Government
Author:      Embassy of the United Kingdom, Washington DC
Affiliation: Embassy of the United Kingdom, Washington DC
Date:        1990

Britain's System of Government

[See Royal Coat of Arms: Courtesy Embassy of the United Kingdom, New York.]

Government

     The British constitution, unlike that of most other countries, is not
contained in any single document. Formed partly by statute, partly by common
law and partly by convention, it can be altered by Act of Parliament, or by
general agreement to create, vary or abolish a convention. The constitution
thus adapts readily to changing political conditions and ideas.

     The organs of government are clearly distinguishable, although their
functions often intermingle and overlap. The legislature, Parliament, is the
supreme authority. The executive consists of: (1) the Government-Cabinet and
other ministers who are responsible for initiating and directing national
policy; (2) government departments, which are responsible for national
administration; (3) local authorities, which administer and manage many local
services; and (4) public corporations responsible for operating particular
nationalised industries or, for example, a social or cultural service,
subject to ministerial control in varying degrees. The judiciary determines
common law and interprets statutes, and is independent of both legislature
and executive.

The Monarchy

     The British people look to the Queen not only as their head of State, but
also as the symbol of their nation's unity. The monarchy is the most ancient
secular institution in Britain. During the last thousand years its continuity
has only once been broken (by the establishment of a republic which lasted
from 1649 to 1660) and, despite interruptions in the direct line of
succession, the hereditary principle upon which it was founded has always been
preserved. The royal title in Britain 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'. The form of the royal title is varied for those other member states of
the Commonwealth of which the Queen is head of State, to suit the particular
circumstances of each. Other member states are republics or have their own
monarchies.

     The seat of the monarchy is in Great Britain. In the Channel Islands
and the Isle of Man the Queen is represented by a Lieutenant-Governor. In the
other member nations of the Commonwealth of which the Queen is head of State,
her representative is the Governor-General, appointed by her on the advice of
the ministers of the country concerned and completely in dependent of the
British Government.

     In the British dependencies the Queen is usually represented by
governors, who are responsible to the British Government for the good
government of the countries concerned.

Succession, Accession and Coronation

     The title to the Crown derives partly from statute and partly from common
law rules of descent. Lineal Protestant descendants of a granddaughter of
James I of England and VI of Scotland (Princess Sophia, the Electress of
Hanover) are alone eligible to succeed, and although succession is not bound
to continue in its present line, it can be altered only by common consent of
the Commonwealth nations, of which the Queen is Sovereign.

     The sons of the Sovereign have precedence over the daughters in
succeeding to the throne. When a daughter succeeds, she becomes Queen Regnant,
and the powers of the Crown are vested in her as though she were a kng. While
the consort of a king takes her husband's rank and style, the constitution
does not give any special rank or privileges to the husband of a Queen
Regnant, although in practice he fills an important role in the life of the
nation, as does the Duke of Edinburgh.

     The Sovereign succeeds to the throne as soon as his or her predecessor
dies and there is no interregnum. He or she is at once proclaimed at an
Accession Council, to which all members of the Privy Council are summoned. The
Lords Spiritual and Temporal (see p 6), the Lord Mayor and Aldermen and other
leading citizens of the city of London are also invited.

     The Sovereign's coronation follows the accession after a convenient
interval. It is a ceremony which has remained essentially the same for over a
thousand years, even if details have often been modified to conform to the
customs of the time. It takes place at Westminster Abbey in London in the
presence of representatives of the Houses of Parliament and of all the great
public interests of Britain, of the Prime Ministers and leading members of
the other Commonwealth nations, and of representatives of other countries.

Acts of Government

     The Queen personifies the State. In law, she is head of the executive,
an integral part of the legislature, head of the judiciary, the
commander-in-chief of all armed forces of the Crown and the `supreme governor'
of the established Church of England, As a result of a long process of
evolution, during which the monarchy's absolute power has been progressively
reduced, the Queen acts on the advice of her ministers. Britain is governed
by Her Majesty's Government in the name of the Queen.

     Within this framework, and in spite of a trend during the past hundred
years towards assigning powers directly to ministers, there are still
important acts of government which require the participation of the Queen.
These include summoning, proroguing (discontinuing until the next session
without dissolution) and dissolving Parliament; and giving Royal Assent to
Bills passed by Parliament. The Queen is also involved in appointing many
important office holders, including government ministers, judges, officers
in the armed forces, governors, diplomats, bishops and some other senior
clergy of the Church of England; conferring peerages, knighthoods and other
honours; and remitting all or part of the penalty imposed on a person
convicted of a crime. An important function is appointing the Prime Minister
and by convention the Queen invites the leader of the political party which
commands a majority in the House of Commons to form a government. In
international affairs the Queen, as head of State, has the power to declare
war and make peace, to recognise foreign states and governments, to conclude
treaties and to annex or cede territory.

     With rare exceptions (as when appointing the Prime Minister), those acts
involving the use of `royal prerogative' powers are nowadays performed by
government ministers who are responsible to Parliament and can be questioned
about a particular policy. It is not necessary to have Parliament's authority
to exercise these powers, although Parliament has the power to restrict or
abolish a prerogative right.

     Ministerial responsibility in no way detracts from the importance of the
Queen's role in the smooth working of government. She holds meetings of the
Privy Council, gives audiences to her ministers and other officials in Britain
and overseas, receives accounts of Cabinet decisions, reads dispatches and
signs numerous state papers. She must be informed and consulted on every
aspect of national life, and she must show complete impartiality.

     Such is the significance attached to these royal functions that
provision has been made to appoint a regent to perform them should the Queen
be totally incapacitated. The regent would be the Queen's eldest son, the
Prince of Wales, then those in succession to the throne who are of age. In
the event of