This is the report about THE POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS IN USA

[sihem...]

I. Founding texts
The United States Declaration of Independance was an act of the second continental congress adopted on july 4th, 1776 which declared that the 13th colonies in north America were " free and independant states". The declaration is considered to be the founding document of USA, it was written by Thomas JEFFERSON, John ADDAMS,and Benjamin FRANKLIN.
The United State Constitutionis the supreme law of the USA. It was adopted on september 17th, 1787 in Philadelphia.The constitution has a central place in US law and political culture. It provides for the existence of the 3 panels of the power.

II. The executive power
The president of the USA is at the head of the executive branch of the federal government.
The constitution establishes the president as commander in chief of the armed forces. He has the power to create a cabinet of advisers, to grant reprieves or pardons, and to appoint ambassadors and federal judges. With the "advice and consent" of the Senate, the president is empowered to make treaties. He's elected for 4 years, renewable one time.
PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS:
The president and vice- president are elected on the same ticket by the Electoral College whose members are selected from each state.
The american citizens vote in favor of the candidate they want for president and vice-president and the candidate who got the best share of vote in a state receives the whole votes of this state in the Electoral College. Then, the candidates elected meet to elect officially the president and vice-president.
The US federal executive departments are among the oldest primary units of the executive of the federal government. The president appoints the secretaries of the 15 executives departments;for example: Treasury, Defense, Justice, Interior...

III. The legislative power
The United State Congress is the bicameral legislature of the government, consiting of 2 houses: The Senate (made up of 100 senators) and The House of Representatives (made up of 435 representatives). Both senators and representatives are chosen through direct elections. The United State Congress is responsible for drafting, discussing and voting the law, and has authority over financial and budgetary matters. The Constitution also gives Congress an important role in national defense including the power to declare war and the power to investigate and to oversee the executive branch.

IV. The judicial power
The power is hold by the Supreme court, situated at Washington, created specifically by the Constitution. Furthermore, the Congress establishes 13 United States Court appeals and districts courts.
Judges are appointed for life.
The Supreme court, which the watchword is "Equal Justice Under Law" , is organised around the President of the Supreme Court called "Chief Justice" and 8 judges.

V. Political parties in the US
The Republican party is one of the major contempory political parties in the USA along with the Democratic party.
The current president Bush is the 18th to hold office.
Today, the Republican party suports a conservative platform, with further foundations in economic liberalism and social conservatism.
The Democratic party is the oldest political party in the US and in the world. It has the support of workers, trade unions, employees, intellectual occupations, ethnic and religious minorities.
The party has favoured a social liberalism, and it's sometimes classified as conservative, on the basis of social conservatism.

THE END....

[Pierre]

Well this is a brief introduction of some typical features of United Kingdom's politic system.

In fact, U.K. is the common name of United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and it's one of the former monarchy of the world.

1. First, History...
It dates back from the Norman Conquest in 1066, when William the Conqueror brought the roots of common English Law, he also brought continental feudalism and nearly nine hundred years of rivalry between England and France.

From that period emerged the specific idea of monarchy in England.
Yet, contrary to United States or France, United Kingdom has no real codified constitution, English Law is made up of acts, conventions and statues.

There are three founding texts:

- The Magna Carta (in latin) or Great Charter of Freedom :
It's one of the first text known in the history of democracy, signed in 1215 by John "Lackland", which function is to limit powers of the monarch and to control new taxes' raises. The Charter mentions too the writ of Habeas Corpus preventing subjects to any form of arbitrary imprisonment (without being judged by his peers).

-The writ of Habeas Corpus became an Act, meaning equal to a constitutional law, in 1679, in the reign of James II.

-Ten years after, in 1689, the Bill of Rights was drawn up by the Parliament and proposed to pretenders Mary Stuart and her husband William of Orange before their reign as Mary II and William III. It defined the basics of constitutional monarchy still available today.

The Monarch is the head of state and theoritically the source of executive, judicial and legislative powers in the country.
The Parliament holds the real executive power decreeing laws and controlling the decisions of the monarch. This transfert of powers has particularly been effective during the 20th century.

In United Kingdom, the politic system is named Westminster System because of the location of the Houses of Parliament in the Palace of Westminster nearby the Thames.

2. Description of Westminster System:

In a constitutional monarchy, the Parliament is the most important body of executive. United Kingdom has a bicameral Parliament. It's composed by two Houses. An upper House, the House of Lords and a lower House, the House of Commons. Each one has its own role.

- The House of Lords: previously an authentic aristocratic chamber.

It's made up of Lords temporal: 601 life members or barons, 2 peers ex officio responsible of protocol and 92 hereditary peers.

and of Lords Spiritual representing the Church of England 26 members representing the Church of England. The two most important representatives the Archbishop of Canterbury, Chief of the Church and the Archbishop of York. There are also 24 Senior Bishops who are Lords of Parliament.

The House of Lords has the duty to examine and also modify the laws proposed by the House of Commons. It can use his right to suspensive veto against the Commons' Acts. However these vetoes are limited by convention.
Finally, the House of Lords is the higher judicial authority. This function is exercised by a committee of Law Lords as a court of last resort within United Kingdom although it has to refer to the European Court of Justice now.


- The House of Commons: democratic elected body of 646 members, Members of the Parliament for five years. It's the main legislative power in United Kingdom. It's the expression of the plurality of political background of the country.
The Chamber is divided between left-side and right-side parties:
- Conservatives or Tories on the right-side,
- Liberal Democrats and the Labour Party on the left-side.

On one hand, the majority party in the Commons has to form Her Majesty's Government and it has executive authority.
The Prime Minister will be the leader of this party.
The other main ministers are the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Foreign Secretary, the Home Secretary and the Justice Secretary.

On the other hand, the other parties form a Shadow Cabinet, an alternative cabinet to the HM's Governement whose members mark each individual member of the Governement.It's role is to critisize ministers and to offer politic, economic and social alternatives.

The Monarch, Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II wich complete title is Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of Her other Realms, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith is the Head of State and theoretically the source of all politic powers in the Kingdom. In facts she has no more real executive powers, just formally consenting Her Cabinet's prerogatives.

Nowadays the role is more constitutional with a protocol purpose. Furthermore the Queen remains commander-in-chief on the armed forces and Supreme Governor of the Church of England. She is also Head of the Commonwealth (Canada, Autralia, New-Zealand, Jamaica and more) and still Duke of Normandy!

Thanks

[julie]

Thank you !
See you soon !

julie