The Constitution of Great Britain

Britain is a constitutional monarchy that means it is a country governed by a king or 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.

In Britain, as in many European countries, the official head of the state, whether a monarch (as in Belgium, the Netherlands and Denmark) or a President (as in Germany, Greece, and Italy) has a little real power.

However, there are features of the British system of government which make it different from other countries. Britain is almost alone among modern states in that it does not have “a constitution” at all. Of course, there are rules, regulations, principles and procedures for the running of the country – but there is no single written document which can be appealed to as the highest law of the land and the final arbiter in any matter of dispute.

The sources of so called “constitution” are the following:

Ø Statute of Westminster – the most important acts of Parliament

1. Magna Charta (1215) – Lords’ Council set by it was the first limitation of monarch’s absolute power and the beginning of Parliament;

2. Petition of Rights (1628) – limited monarch’s absolute power and extended the rights of Parliament and courts;

3. Habeas Corpus Act (1679) – proclaimed sovereignty of person and his property, extension of person’s liberty in courts;

4. The Bill of Rights (1689) – proclaimed the foundation of Constitutional Monarchy;

5. Statute of Westminster (1931) – act of Parliament which regulated the relations between the UK and its dominions.

Ø Common Law – since the times of Queen Elizabeth I every case in court has been recorded.

Ø Convention – unwritten laws.

The principles and procedures by which the country is governed and from which people’s rights are derived come from a number of different sources. Some of them are written in laws agreed by Parliament, some of them have been spoken and then written down and some of them have never been written down at all. For example, there is no written law in Britain that says anything about who can be the Prime Minister or what the powers of the Prime Minister are, even though he or she is probably the most powerful person in the country.

Monarchy

Everything is done to make monarchy a worthy symbol of the nation: about 20 books are published in Britain every year on the Royal family. Clothing is always chosen to ensure dignity. Queen’s clothes are colourful and visible in public and staid on special occasions as a reminder that stands for stability and continuity.

The authority of the Royal family derives from many sources including their speech, their avoiding interference in political life. Monarchy is indeed a very expensive institution. The Queen gets an allowance about two million pounds a year, secured from inflation.

Picture 3.1 – the queen of Great Britain

Queen Elizabeth II, the present sovereign of the UK is the 40^th Monarch (since 1066), the oldest and longest ruling monarch in the 20^th century. Queen Elizabeth II was born in 1926. She came to the throne after her father's death in 1952 and was crowned in Westminster Abbey in June 1953. The photo of the queen is on the picture 3.1.

She is the symbol of Britain. Her official title 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.”

Queen Elizabeth II is a “constitutional monarch”. This means that although she is officially the head of the state, the country is actually run by the government, led by the Prime Minister. The Queen lives at Buckingham Palace. Queen Elizabeth II is the United Kingdom’s Head of State. She is queen of 16 former British colonies, including Australia, Canada and New Zealand; and head of the Commonwealth, a multinational body created after the dissolution of the British Empire.

Although the Queen is no longer responsible for governing the country, she carries out a great many important tasks on behalf of the nation. As Head of State, the Queen goes on official State visits abroad. She also invites other world leaders to come to the United Kingdom. During their visit, Heads of State usually stay at Buckingham Palace, or sometimes at Windsor Castle or Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh.

The Queen is also the Head of the Armed Forces. She is the only person who can declare when the country is at war and when war is over, although she must take advice from her government first.

The Queen is Head of the Church of England - a position that all British monarchs have held since it was founded by Henry VIII in the 1530s. The Queen appoints archbishops and bishops on the advice of the Prime Minister. The spiritual leader of the Church of England is the Archbishop of Canterbury.

Every day “red boxes” are delivered to the Queen’s desk full of documents and reports from the government ministers and Commonwealth officials. They must all be read and, if necessary, signed by the Queen.

The Queen represents the nation at times of great celebration or sorrow. Queen spends a huge amount of time traveling around the country visiting hospitals, schools, factories and other places and organizations.

Among Queen Elizabeth's many duties there are the regular visits she makes to foreign countries, and especially those of the Commonwealth, whose interests and welfare are very important to her.