CONSTITUTIONAL LAW IN THE UK AND THE USA

TEXT 1

I. WARMING-UP

V. OVER TO YOU

The Constitution of Ukraine

Preamble

Chapter I

General Principles

Chapter II

Rights, Freedoms and Duties of Individuals and Citizens

Chapter III

Elections; Referendum

Chapter IV

The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine

Chapter V

The President of Ukraine

Chapter VI

The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine; Other Organs of Executive Authority

Chapter VII

Prosecutor’s Office

Chapter VIII

The System of Justice

Chapter IX

Territorial Structure of Ukraine

Chapter X

The Autonomous Republic of Crimea

Chapter XI

Local Self-government

Chapter XII

The Constitutional Court of Ukraine

Chapter XIII

Amending the Constitution of Ukraine

Chapter XIV

Final Provisions

Chapter XV

Transitional Provisions

1. The suggested topic for further discussion:

The smallest minority on earth is the individual. Those who deny individual rights cannot claim to be defenders of minority.

2. Find out from your partner Student A:

- how the Constitution can be amended;

- what principles are embodied in the Constitution;

- how the power is exercised

Decide where I is for [ai] and which of the following words contain [i]:

Britain, outline, rights, theorist, constitutional, written, write, sign, signature, united, unit, legislate, political, derive, exist, provide, majority, important, ideology.

Sort out the words into the columns “The UK”, “The USA”

You teacher will consult you about meanings of the unknown words.

Queen/King, Congress, Parliament, the Great Charter, Bill of Rights, the PM, the Senate, MPs, House of Lords, House of Representatives, Lord-Chancellor, the Supreme Court, federal court of appeal, the President, Home Secretary, Secretary of State, royal assent.

Being the supreme law, the constitution helps the state function on the basis of outlined rules and generally accepted principles. If we try to compare the main characteristics of the constitutions of the United States and Great Britain, we will see that the first one is presented in the written form while the second one is considered to be unwritten. However, we should keep in mind that many parts of the British constitution exist in written form too. One of the most important enactments of the British constitution was the Great Charter (1215) when king John had to sign the document where the rights of the Englishmen were written down. Among other leading enactments, we should mention the Bill of Rights (1689), the Act of Settlement (1700-1701) and the Parliament Act of 1911.

The sources of English constitutional law are statutes, precedents, textbooks, the writings of historians and political theorists and other documents of importance. As there is no codified document then there is no special safeguard for constitutional rules. Constitutional law can be changed or amended. The Parliament is authorized to legislate in any field. There are no fundamental ideologies and no procedures to interfere with constitutional change.

In the USA there exists a written constitution adopted in 1788. It starts with the words: “We, the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect Union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution of the United States of America”.

While American constitutional law derives many of its forms from the common law, it is important to note that the constitutional order of the United States was very different from that of the United Kingdom. The Constitution’s written nature and formal enumeration of the power of government are the main factors determining this difference. Constitutional law of the USA deals with interpretation and implementation of the United States Constitution, the fundamental law of the country. Constitutional law also deals with relationships within society, including the relations among the states, the states and the federal government, the three branches (the executive, legislature and judiciary) of the federal government, and the rights of the individuals on the federal and state level. The logic of separation of powers is as follows: the principle of separation of powers requires that the legislature not act beyond its constitutional authority; it establishes the courts as the final legal arbiter of that principle; an official who acts beyond one’s legal authority acts unlawfully and is subject to legal liability accordingly. The Supreme Court has played the crucial role in interpreting the main constitutional provisions. Consequently, study of constitutional law focuses mainly on Supreme Court rulings.

The Supreme Court’s interpretations of the Constitution are binding on the legislative and executive branches of the federal government, on the lower courts in the federal system and on all state courts. That is why they say that the US has a rigid constitution because proposals to amend the main constitutional document can only be added through a complex procedure of majority vote in each house of Congress.