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Министерство образования и науки
Российской Федерации
Петрозаводский государственный университет
Кольский филиал
Кафедра иностранных языков
АНГЛИЙСКИЙ ЯЗЫК
Сборник текстов для индивидуального чтения
для студентов гуманитарного факультета
специальности 030501 Юриспруденция
Апатиты
2004
Составитель: старший преподаватель кафедры иностранных языков Кольского филиала Петрозаводского государственного университета. А.В.Ковалевская
Рецензенты: доцент, заведующая кафедрой иностранных языков Кольского филиала Петрозаводского государственного университета Скоробогатченко О.П.; доцент кафедры иностранных языков Кольского филиала Петрозаводского государственного университета Соболева Л.А.
Стр.
Введение 5
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Law in Great Britain
Text 1. Magna Carta 6
Contents of the Charter 7
History of the Charter 8
Text 2. Habeas Corpus 9
Legislative Branch
Text 3. The Mother of Parliaments 10
Text 4. The House of Commons 12
The Functions of the House of Commons
Text 5. Elections 15
Candidates 16
Voters 17
Constituency 18
Election Campaign 19
Polling Day 20
Text 6. The House of Lords 22
The Functions of the House of Lords 23
Text 7. The Judicial Work of the House of Lords 25
The Law Lords 26
Appeal Hearings 28
Text 8. Making Laws 29
Types of Bills 29
Stages of a Government Bill 30
Executive Branch
Text 9. The Prime Minister 37
Text 10. The Cabinet 37
Text 11. Government Departments 39
Her Majesty’s Treasury 40
Home Office 40
The Privy Council 41
Text 12. Civil Service 42
Text 13. Local Government 43
The Present Structure of Local Government 44
Local Government Elections 46
Judicial Branch
Text 14. Magistrates’ Courts 47
The Duties and Responsibilities of a Magistrate 48
Magisterial Qualities 49
Text 15. Crown Courts 51
Text 16. County Courts 52
Small Claims Court 53
Text 17. High Court 54
Text 18. The Court of Appeal 56
The United States of America
Legislative Branch
Limits on the Powers of Congress 66
Text 24. the legislative process 69
Executive Branch
Term of Office and Qualifications 77
Responsibilities and Powers 79
Presidential Succession 82
Text 27. election to the presidency 83
Text 30. local government 93
judicial Branch
Text 32. Federal Courts 96
Text 33. State Courts 98
Text 34 the supreme court 101
Notes 108
Список использованной литературы 115
Данный сборник предназначен для студентов гуманитарного факультета специальности «Юриспруденция».
Целью данного пособия является развитие умения самостоятельно читать литературу на иностранном языке, а также расширение активного и пассивного словарного запаса в области юридической терминологии.
Тематическая направленность текстов – это политическое устройство Великобритании и США. Такой выбор обусловлен учебной программой дисциплины «Английский язык» для студентов гуманитарного факультета специальности «Юриспруденция».
Сборник состоит из двух разделов (the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland и the United States of America), каждый из которых разделен на три основные части: legislative branch (законодательная ветвь власти), executive branch (исполнительная ветвь власти) и judicial branch (судебная ветвь власти).
Для удобства оценки объема материала, каждый текст завершается указанием количества печатных знаков без учета пробелов.
Сборник рассчитан на самостоятельную работу студентов, но может быть также использован во время аудиторных занятий в качестве дополнительного материала к основному учебному пособию.
Составитель надеется, что пособие будет интересно и полезно всем, кто занимается вопросами юридического характера и проявляет интерес к английскому языку.
LAW IN GREAT BRITAIN
English law originated in the customs of the Anglo-Saxons and of the Normans who conquered England in 1066. The Norman kings established a strong, centralized system for the administration of justice, and the royal courts developed a complex system of rules based on custom. Clashes between the power of the monarch and competing interests, the feudal barons in early times and later Parliament, produced basic legal documents that have had tremendous influence on the whole English-speaking world. The most famous of these documents are the Magna Carta, Habeas Corpus Act1 and some others.
TEXT 1 MAGNA CARTA
In England, feudal relations between kings and their vassals, called barons, dictated the rights and duties of each. The barons provided military and other services to the king and the king provided protection and grants of land, called fiefs2, to the barons. In theory the king was supposed to consult his barons before raising taxes or demanding large amounts of military service.
For many years, the kings of England had used English men and money to defend English territory within France. King John acted similarly but he was relatively unsuccessful in his military campaigns. As a result, John demanded greater taxes and additional military service from his barons in order to continue fighting in France. By 1204, however, he had lost his possessions in northern France, including his family’s ancestral lands in Normandy (Normandie) and Anjou3, to the French king Philip II (Augustus). Consequently, John imposed high taxes without the barons’ consent, which was a violation of feudal law and custom.
John also alienated the Roman Catholic Church by quarrelling with Pope Innocent III4 over the appointment of the archbishop of Canterbury. The pope responded by placing England under an interdict in 1207 which halted all public church services in England. In 1209 John was excommunicated, or denied the services of the Church. Facing rising unrest, he attempted to strengthen his position by making peace with the Church. In 1213, John accepted the pope’s nominee, Stephen Langton, as archbishop of Canterbury. In 1214 he issued a charter granting concessions and liberties to the Roman Catholic Church in England. As a further pledge of loyalty, John also became a vassal of the pope and surrendered England to him. The pope then returned the kingdom to John as a feudal fief.
John lost any advantage he might have gained by his reconciliation with the Church when he lost the Battle of Bouvines in 1214, in what is now Belgium. He had spent the years since the loss of Normandy and Anjou in preparation for a large-scale military campaign to recover those lands from Philip II. To raise money for the campaign, John demanded more taxes and services from his subjects than ever before. In addition, he ruled them very harshly because he feared disloyalty from the English barons. But his campaign to recover his lands in France failed disastrously. When John returned to England to collect even more money, many of the English barons revolted. The rebel lords captured London but did not defeat John’s forces decisively. By the spring of 1215, a stalemate approached and the two sides began to negotiate. The Magna Carta was the result of these discussions, and John agreed to it on June 15, 1215 at Runnymede, a meadow near Windsor. (2803)
CONTENTS OF THE CHARTER
The Magna Carta of 1215 contains 63 clauses. The first restates the charter that John issued in 1214, which had granted liberties to the Church. In many clauses John promises to be less harsh in enforcing his feudal rights on the barons, and another clause states that the barons must grant to their tenants all the feudal concessions that the king has made to them. Many clauses concern the legal system; in these John promises to provide good and fair justice in various ways. The last few clauses concern enforcement of the document.
The two most important clauses of Magna Carta are among the legal clauses. Clause 40 promises, "To no one will we sell, to no one will we deny or delay right or justice." This clause establishes the principle of equal access to the courts for all citizens without exorbitant fees. In clause 39, the king promises, "No free man shall be taken or imprisoned or disseised or outlawed or exiled or in any way destroyed, nor will we go or send against him, except by the lawful judgement of his peers or by the law of the land5." This clause establishes that the king would follow legal procedure before he punished someone. Historians have debated at length the meaning in 1215 of "by lawful judgement of his peers or by the law of the land," and who exactly was covered by the term "free man." By the later 14th century, however, statutes interpreting the Magna Carta equated "judgement of peers" with trial by jury (which did not exist in criminal cases in 1215). Other statutes rephrased "by the law of the land" as "by due process of law6." These later statutes also substituted "no one" or "no man of any sort or condition" for "no free man," which extended the protections of the clause to all the king’s subjects. These protections were cited in many founding documents of the American colonies and were incorporated into the Constitution of the United States.
By most accounts only clauses 39 and 40 of the Magna Carta remain valid law in England. Eventually, the other clauses became outmoded and some were repealed. Nonetheless, the Magna Carta remains a major document in the history of individual liberty. The document establishes the principle that no person, not even the king, is above the law. More specifically, this means that the government must follow its own laws in its dealings with its citizens, just as citizens must obey the law in their dealings with other citizens. (2005)
HISTORY OF THE CHARTER
Enforcement of the Magna Carta was entrusted to 25 barons who were authorized by the document to use force if necessary to make the king obey the agreement. Despite this measure, the Magna Carta was valid for only a very short time. Almost immediately, John applied to the pope in Rome to invalidate the document. John argued that his promise to uphold the agreement had been extorted by force. The pope agreed and nullified the Magna Carta. The significance of the Magna Carta lies in its revival—not once but several times—during English history.
When news of the annulment of the Magna Carta reached England in the autumn of 1215, the barons revolted again and with greater success. During the conflict, John died in October 1216 and was succeeded by Henry III, his nine year-old son. Several barons who remained loyal to John established a council to rule for Henry III. In an attempt to end the rebellion and as a gesture of good government, the council reissued the Magna Carta. However, they removed from it the clauses that concerned King John alone. In 1217 they reissued the charter with additional changes. Finally, in 1225, Henry III reissued the Magna Carta in his name. The text of the 1225 version differed little from that of the 1217 document and has since become the legally binding version.
Henry III periodically pledged to abide by the Magna Carta as a promise to his barons that he would rule fairly. Later kings also pledged to uphold the Magna Carta as a way of improving relations with their barons. Between 1450 and 1600, however, the Magna Carta ceased to be an influential document or a factor in political debates or public discussion.
The importance of the Magna Carta lies more in its symbolism than in its words. As a result, many modern rights have been based on the Magna Carta that were unknown in the 13th century, including Habeas Corpus7 and the principle of 'no taxation without representation'. Neither of these concepts existed in the original Magna Carta of 1215 but both became accepted as English law during the early 17th century.
At that time, members of Parliament, the English legislative assembly, who opposed the rule of the Stuart kings of England and sought a reduction of royal powers relied upon the Magna Carta. It was cited as an authority in the Petition of Right8 of 1628. It was also cited in the debates that culminated in the Habeas Corpus Act of 1679, which prohibited the imprisonment of citizens without just cause. The use of the Magna Carta in these debates gave it a renewed prominence as a guarantee of the rights of citizens. The Magna Carta remains prominent and influential to this day.
Four copies of the original Magna Carta still exist. All are in England—two in the British Library in London, one in Salisbury Cathedral, and one in Lincoln Cathedral. (2339)
TEXT 2 HABEAS CORPUS
The term Habeas Corpus is the beginning of the Latin text "[that] you have the body…". It is a writ or order issued by a court to a person having custody of another, commanding him or her to produce the detained person in order to determine the legality of the detention. The writ of habeas corpus is of English origin; its original purpose was to liberate illegally detained persons, and it is still a protection against arbitrary imprisonment.
The earliest use of the writ as a constitutional remedy against the tyranny of the Crown took place in the latter part of the 16th century, when it was applied in behalf of persons committed to prison by the Privy Council9. Many ways of avoiding the effectiveness of the writ were subsequently developed. In a case in 1627 the judges decided that a sufficient answer to a writ of habeas corpus was that the prisoner was detained by warrant of the Privy Council. In 1641 Parliament, by legislation that abolished the Star Chamber10, tried to increase the effectiveness of the writ. This law provided that persons who were imprisoned by a court exercising jurisdiction similar to the Star Chamber, or by command of the sovereign or of the Privy Council, should be granted a writ of habeas corpus without delay; and that the court was to determine within three days after the return of the writ the legality of such imprisonment. The subsequent refusal of judges to issue writs of habeas corpus during vacation periods resulted in the passage by Parliament of the Habeas Corpus Act of 1679. That statute imposed severe penalties on any judge who refused without good cause to issue the writ and on any officer or other person who failed to comply with it. After that date the authority of the court was paramount to any order of the sovereign, and the writ became a powerful weapon for the protection of the liberty of the monarch's subjects. The statute, however, dealt only with imprisonment for criminal offenses, and it was not until 1816 that its benefits were extended to persons detained for other reasons.
Protection against arbitrary imprisonment by the right of habeas corpus is not found in continental Europe. In the democratic countries of Western Europe, however, the codes of criminal procedure require that an arrested person be informed with reasonable promptness of the charges and be allowed to seek legal counsel. In many other countries, persons are subjected at times to lengthy periods of imprisonment without being informed of the charges. The writ of habeas corpus has been adopted in many Latin American countries, either by constitutional provision or statutory enactment, but has frequently been nullified in practice during times of political or social upheaval. (2276)
LEGISLATIVE BRANCH
TEXT 3 THE MOTHER OF PARLIAMENTS11
Parliament is one of the oldest and most honoured parts of the British government. Its name, from the French word parler ("to talk"), was given to meetings of the English king’s council in the mid-13th century. Its immediate predecessor was the king’s feudal council, the Curia Regis12, and before that the Anglo-Saxon witan or witenagemot13. It was a device resorted to by the medieval kings to help them in running their governments and reflected the idea that the king should consult with his subjects.
In the 13th century, several elements combined to influence the development of Parliament: the need, stated in the Magna Carta, for taxes to have the consent of the taxed; the custom of summoning to the royal council not just barons but elected representatives of towns and counties; the convenience of dealing with petitions at enlarged meetings of the king’s council; and the genius of men such as King Edward I who saw how Parliament could be used to their advantage.
At first, Parliament was not an institution but an event. During the quarrel between King Henry III and his barons, the Oxford Parliament (1258) forced Henry to accept rule by a baronial committee. The barons’ leader, Simon de Montfort14, summoned representatives of towns to Parliament for the first time in 1265. The so-called Model Parliament of Edward I (1295) contained all the elements of a mature Parliament: bishops and abbots, peers, two knights from each shire15, and two representatives from each town.
In the 14th century, Parliament split into two houses, gained control over statutes and taxation, created impeachment (1376), and presided over the abdications of Edward II (1327) and Richard II (1399). Growth continued under the Lancastrian kings (1399-1461) but then fell off, only to begin again in Henry VIII’s Reformation Parliament (1529-36). Commons especially gained experience and confidence under Henry and his successors, but was generally subservient to the Crown.
Under the Stuart kings, cooperation changed to conflict, highlighted in 1649 by the overthrow and execution of Charles I and in 1688 and 1689 by the Glorious Revolution, which established parliamentary sovereignty. Beginning in the 18th century, the royal chief executive deferred to a prime Minister and cabinet responsible to the House of Commons.
In the 19th century the House of Commons became democratic. The Great Reform Bill16 of 1832 gave the vote to the middle class for the first time. Acts in 1867 and 1884 enfranchised workingmen, and another in 1885 created equal electoral districts. The Parliament Act of 1911 weakened the House of Lords. Women aged 30 got the vote in 1918, those aged 21 in 1928. In 1969 the voting age for everyone was reduced to 18.
The union of England and Scotland in 1707 brought 16 Scottish peers and 45 representatives into Parliament. That with Ireland in 1800 brought in 32 more peers, 4 of whom were bishops from the church in Ireland, and 100 more representatives, although most withdrew when the Irish Free State was created in 1922. Britain’s legislature, sometimes called the Mother of Parliaments, has been the model for legislative assemblies in many other countries.
(2667)
TEXT 4 THE HOUSE OF COMMONS
The House of Commons consists of 659 Members of Parliament (MPs) who are democratically elected by voters (the “electorate”) to each represent an area of the UK known as a constituency or seat. The House of Commons meets at Westminster in a chamber specially designed for the purpose. The Chamber was deliberately built rather small – it holds only 427 MPs instead of 659 – but this creates a better atmosphere for discussions than would be possible in a larger chamber. It is, after all, only on rare occasions that all 659 are in the Chamber at once. There is no job description for an MP. There are many calls on the time of MPs and, as individuals, it is up to them to decide how best to carry out their role. When Parliament is in session most MPs will spend Monday to Thursday, and occasionally part of Friday, in Westminster and the remaining time in their constituency. A session of Parliament normally lasts about a year, from November to November, but it can be longer or shorter than this, for example before or after a general election. During the time when Parliament is not in session, recesses, MPs are able to spend more time in their constituencies.
THE FUNCTIONS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS
Making Laws (for further information see text 8)
Controlling Finance
Before the Government can raise taxes or spend money, it must have agreement from the House of Commons as the elected chamber of Parliament. Each year, the Chancellor of the Exchequer17 presents his budget statement18 to the Commons. In this he explains how the Government intends to raise the money it needs to finance public services during the following year. Some of this money will be borrowed by selling Government Bonds19 on the Stock Exchange, but the main way of raising money is by taxation. The Budget may, therefore, contain proposals to cut or increase taxes. Obviously it is the duty of the House of Commons, on behalf of the people to make sure that taxes are not raised without good reason. The Budget proposals therefore have to be examined and discussed very carefully. They are set out in the Finance Bill20 which will go through all its stages like any other Bill. This usually takes about four months. At the end of this time, the Finance Bill becomes the Finance Act: a new law permitting the Government to raise money it needs.
The House of Commons also has to give its approval before money can be spent by the Government. Each year the Government presents its 'Estimates'18 to the House of Commons for approval. These set out the amounts of public finance required by each government department. The House has to agree to these Estimates before the Departments can be given any money. Three days are set aside under House of Commons rules for discussion of the Estimates.
The House of Commons also has a way of checking up on Government Departments afterwards, to see whether they did their housekeeping properly. This work is done by the Select Committee21 known as the Public Accounts22 Committee. This Committee can examine cases of overspending by a Department and can also check whether the Government spent its money wisely. In order to carry out this work properly the Committee can see any accounts or documents which it considers necessary. It can also hold meetings where witnesses are questioned. The Committee is helped in its work by over 500 auditors. Once a series of investigation is complete, the Committee presents a Report to the House of Commons, which may choose to debate anything it considers particularly serious. These Reports are available to the public and the press through the Stationery Office23 and the Internet. Any really bad mistakes is, therefore, likely to be widely reported in the press.
(3078)
Examining the work of the Government
The examination of the work of the Government by Parliament is usually referred to as scrutiny. Within the House of Commons the process of scrutiny is carried out in several ways.
In 1979, twelve Select Committees were set up to examine the work of the Government Departments, e.g. the Education and Skills Select Committee looks at the work of the Department for Education and Skills. Like the Public Accounts Committee these Departmental Committees can ask to see written evidence and examine witnesses. Most Select Committees have about eleven back-bench Members. The parties are represented in proportion to the number of seats they have in the House of Commons. The Members are chosen by the House itself, after a recommendation from another select Committee called the Committee of Selection.
(b) By asking questions
All Ministers are responsible to Parliament for the work of their Departments. Each Department has at least one Minister in the House of Commons who can answer Members’ questions about the work of the Department. Most of the 40,000 or more questions asked each year receive written answers, but about 3,000 a year are answered during Question Time25, which takes place between 2.35 pm and 3.30 pm on Mondays to Wednesdays and 11.35 am – 12.30 pm on Thursdays. Every Wednesday the Prime Minister answers questions for 30 minutes on his own particular work as head of the Government, usually on a very wide range of subjects.
(c) During Adjournment Debates
At the end of each day’s sitting the House adjourns (suspends its proceedings) until the next sitting. However late the House sits, and this can be into the early hours in the morning, there is an Adjournment Debate for the last half hour. This is the chance for an individual MP to raise a matter of special concern to his or her constituents and to get a detailed information from the Minister involved.
(d) On Opposition days
The Opposition can criticise Government policy on twenty Opposition Days. On seventeen of these the subject for discussion is chosen by the Leader of the Opposition. On the remaining three, the choice lies with the smaller Opposition parties.
Controlling indirect law-making (delegated legislation)
In recent decades, central Government has taken on more work than Governments ever did in the past. As a lot of this work requires new laws to be passed before it can be carried out, Parliament, and especially the House of Commons, has become very short of time. Sometimes, therefore, Parliament allows Ministers to make laws affecting their own area of responsibility. Parliament keeps overall control by passing a sort of 'parent' act26 which lays down limits which must not be overstepped by the Minister. As Parliament has given them this power – delegated power – the process by which Ministers makes laws is known as delegated legislation. Most of these laws are laid before Parliament before taking effect, and quite a few are debated. They are also examined by yet another House of Commons investigation committee – the Select Committee on Statutory Instruments27 (Statutory Instruments are the main type of delegated legislation) – which joins with a Lords Committee for most instruments. (2753)
Examining European proposals
When the UK joined the European Economic Community (Common Market) in 1973 it agreed to obey the laws of the Community. A Select Committee in the House of Commons (the Select Committee on European Legislation) examines all proposed European laws before they are actually passed. The likely effects of the laws upon Britain are considered. The Report of this Committee may influence some of the people concerned with making these laws and it is sometimes possible for proposals to be changed if it can be shown that they will cause problems.
Protecting the individual
In the past, the grievances of the public were of the brought to the attention of the House of Commons by means of petitions. Many petitions are still presented to Parliament. Some are presented by a Member making a speech. Others are read by a Clerk. Often they are presented by being placed in the Petition Bag which hangs on the back of the Speaker’s chair. A Member can place petitions in the bag at any time during a sitting.
Nowadays many people contact their local Member of Parliament if they have a grievance against central government. Some complaints received by Members are not, however, against central government at all. MPs have to redirect those who, for example, should really be complaining to the local council about the state of their roads or housing problems. Most people write to their MP at the House of Commons but others prefer to meet the Member in person. Many MPs hold local 'advice bureaux'28 (sometimes known as 'surgeries') when they meet constituents who have problems which need solving. It is also possible for constituents to meet their MP at the House of Commons. Anyone can go to the Central Lobby and fill in a green card which will then be taken round the building by an official known as a Doorkeeper. Usually constituents meet their MP in the Central Lobby if they want to lobby him or her i.e. to win support for a particular cause which concerns them, rather than with their own problems. Upon being given a green card a Doorkeeper will carry out an extremely thorough search and normally an MP will be found if he or she is in the building. Unless the MP is very busy, perhaps serving on a Committee or attending to someone else, the MP will come along and talk to the constituent. Upon receiving a complaint against central government an MP will normally write to appropriate Minister. If the MP is not happy with the Minister’s response to the letter he or she may actually go to see the Minister. If the Member is still not satisfied then he or she can raise the matter at Question Time and, perhaps later in an Adjournment Debate. Often an Adjournment Debate is a Member’s last resort. There are, however, some cases which can be taken one stage further by being referred to the Ombudsman (Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration) 29. This is when a person suspects that a decision taken by central government against them was not made in the proper way (maladministration30). He or she can only make a complaint to the Ombudsman through an MP. If the decision, although unpopular, was made in the proper way, then there is nothing that the Ombudsman can do about it. If, however, it does turn out to be a case of maladministration, then the Ombudsman will investigate the case, issue a report and may suggest a suitable remedy. (2793)
TEXT 5 ELECTIONS
A general election is held when Parliament is dissolved by the Queen on the advice of the Prime Minister of the day. All seats in the House of Commons are then vacant and the leader of the party that wins the most seats in the Commons in the subsequent general election forms the government. In the United Kingdom there are no fixed-term Parliaments, that is the time between general elections, and there is no minimum length of a Parliament. Under the terms of the Septennial Act31 1715 as amended by the Parliament Act 1911 the maximum life of a Parliament, that is the time between general elections, is five years. Since 1911 Parliaments have twice been exceptionally extended beyond 5 years, during the two World Wars. There were 8 years between elections at the time of the First World War and 10 years at the time of the Second World War. Within the legal period it is up to the Prime Minister to decide when to call a general election. Elections are usually held 17 days after the dissolution of the Parliament, excluding weekends and public holidays. Thursdays are popular days for election although there is no law that says this must be so. The last general election to be held on a day other than Thursday was on Tuesday 27 October 1931.
CANDIDATES
Most people who are British, Commonwealth or Irish Republic citizens may stand as a candidate at a parliamentary election providing they are aged 21 or over. However, a number of people are disqualified from sitting in the House of Commons. They are:
In the event of a disqualified candidate standing successfully in a general election the person is unable to take his or her seat in the House of Commons and the defeated opponent may apply to have the election declared null or void.
Any eligible person can become a candidate whether or not he or she belongs to a political party. Anyone wishing to stand for election must be nominated on an official nomination paper giving his or her full name and home address. The nomination paper must include the signatures of ten electors who will support him or her including a proposer and a seconder34. All candidates must pay a £500 deposit which is lost if they do not secure 5% of the total number of votes cast in their constituency and is set at this level to discourage large numbers of frivolous candidates from standing. The nomination papers and deposit must be submitted to the Returning Officer35 in each constituency during a specified period in the election campaign. To stand a realistic chance of being elected to the Commons a candidate needs to represent one of three main political parties in Great Britain (Conservative, Labour and Liberal Democrat) or a nationalist or unionist party in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland. Each party has its own method of selecting candidates. People can also stand as independent candidates. (3071)
VOTERS
All British, Irish and Commonwealth citizens are entitled to register to vote in elections to the House of Commons providing they are 18 or over and are not disqualified in any way. Irish and Commonwealth citizens must be resident in the UK. Those who cannot vote are:
This is very different from the situation in the early 19th century when only around 3 adults in every 100 were eligible to vote. The franchise (the right to vote) has been gradually extended over the past two centuries. For example, Representation of the People Act 1918 allowed, for the first time, most women over 30 to vote and the Representation of the People Act 1969 lowered the voting age from 21 to 18. People can only vote if their names appear on the electoral register. Each autumn a form is sent to every household to be completed with details of all occupants who are eligible to vote as well as those who will be 18 during the next year but a person can add his name at any time during the year. Voting is not compulsory and can be done in person or, on application, by post or proxy. (1374)
CONSTITUENCY
The United Kingdom is divided up into areas known as constituencies or seat. A person living in a constituency can register to vote there when old enough. Each party contesting a constituency will select one prospective candidate to be the MP, however there may also be independent candidates. Electors have one vote that they cast for the person who they wish to represent them in Parliament. Through this they also vote for the party which they wish to be in Government.
There are currently 659 constituencies: 529 in England, 72 in Scotland, 40 in Wales and 18 in Northern Ireland. The average size of a constituency electorate is approximately 67,600. More rural constituencies are known as 'county constituencies' and more urban constituencies are known as 'borough constituencies'. Constituency boundaries are determined by a number of factors such as geographical features, local government boundaries, area and population. Under the Parliamentary Constituencies Act 1986 constituencies are kept under review by four permanent Boundary Commissions one each for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. They make reports at regular intervals, recommending any changes due to population change or alterations in local government boundaries. In 2001 the constituency with the largest electorate was the Isle of Wight (104,702), which is an island not easily divided. The constituency with the smallest electorate was the Western Isles of Scotland (21,941), where geographical isolation is a major factor.
(1284)
ELECTION CAMPAIGN
Once the Prime Minister decides to call a general election – usually after discussions with his or her Cabinet colleagues – or circumstances dictate that an election is called - he or she will go to see the Monarch to request that Parliament is dissolved. If the Monarch agrees (there would have to be very strong constitutional reasons why she or he refuses) then a Royal Proclamation36 is issued which officially allows the dissolution of the Parliament. Once Parliament has been formally dissolved, the Clerk of the Crown in Chancery issues Writs of Election37 for each constituency and the election timetable commences. Although the Government continues in office there cease to be any MPs. All those MPs seeking re-election return to their constituencies as prospective candidates and they fight the election campaign on the same basis as all other candidates. A general election campaign usually lasts for about three weeks. In 2001 Parliament was dissolved on 14 May and the general election took place on June 7.
Before 1876 all election campaigns were organized on a local basis. Now they are national events using all aspects of the media to publicise party policies and personalities. All the main political parties produce a wide range of publicity materials, although publications increases dramatically during the election campaign. Manifestos will be published setting out a party’s policies on all major issues. There are limits to how much each party and individual candidates can spend on their election campaigns. These limits are broadly based on the number of candidates a party puts up and are overseen by the Electoral Commission, which issues guidance about the type of expenditure which counts towards the limits. The current limit would be £19.77 million for a political party that contested all the seats in the United Kingdom for election to the House of Commons.
Paying for political advertising on radio and television is not permitted but political advertising is allowed in the press and on billboards. Television and radio coverage of elections is required to be impartial. Party election broadcasts are permitted and their number depends broadly on the number of candidates the party has in the election. The broadcasting authorities may refuse to allow material that they consider offensive. Party leaders and senior figures will tour the country supporting local candidates and making speeches.
Locally candidates will hold meetings and will be out and about to meet as many constituents as possible in such places as shopping centers and by knocking on doors to canvas support. They may each post one communication relating to the election to each household in a constituency free of charge, providing it weighs no more than 57 grammes. This is usually the election address that contains a picture and information, together with a request to vote for the candidate.
Despite the millions of pounds spent on campaigning, evidence suggests that the majority of voters have decided how they are going to vote before the election campaign begins and few people are influenced by what they read or hear. (2629)
POLLING DAY
Each constituency is divided into a number of polling districts, each of which has a polling station. Most polling stations are usually in public places such as schools and town or village halls or council offices, but other buildings can be also used on request. On Election Day voting takes place between 07.00 and 22.00 in each constituency. Voters are sent a polling card in advance, but it is not compulsory to take this to the polling station. Only those voters whose names appear on the electoral register are eligible to vote.
Voting is by secret ballot, and the only people allowed in the polling station are the presiding officer38 (who is in charge), the polling clerks39, the duty police officers, the candidates, their election agents and polling agents and the voters. Just before the poll opens, the presiding officer shows the ballot boxes to those at the polling station to prove they are empty. The boxes are then locked and sealed. In the polling station voters are directed to the presiding officer or poll clerk, who asks the voter his or her name, checks that it is on the register, and places a mark against the register entry. This records that the voter has received a ballot paper but does not show which one. The ballot papers are printed in books with counterfoils; serial numbers are printed on the back of each paper and each counterfoil. The officer or clerk also writes the voter’s number on the counterfoil of the ballot paper and gives it an official mark before handing the paper to the voter. The official mark is intended to show that the papers placed in the ballot box are genuine.
The ballot paper lists the names of the candidates in alphabetical order. Candidates of registered political parties may include their party name and emblem but other candidates can only be described as independent. Voting takes place in a booth, which is screened to maintain secrecy. The voter marks the ballot paper with a cross in the box opposite the name of the candidate of his or her choice, and folds the paper to conceal the vote before placing it in the ballot box.
A paper that is spoiled by mistake must be returned to the presiding officer and if he is satisfied that the spoiling was accidental, another paper is provided and the first cancelled. At the end of the day the ballot boxes are then sealed and delivered to a central point, usually a main public building such as a town hall, where the count is to take place. Each ballot box is emptied, the papers mixed up and the votes counted by teams of helpers. It is done in the presence of the candidates. When all the votes have been counted the results are announced by the Returning Officer. Depending on the time it takes to bring all of the ballot boxes to the count – this will take longer in rural areas – and the result of the count, the final result may be announced before midnight. Most results will come in during the early hours of the morning, but some will not be known until well into the next day.
If the result is close then either candidate can demand a recount40. The Returning Officer will advise the candidates of the figures and sanction a recount. Recounts can continue until both candidates and the Returning Officer are satisfied with the results. The largest number of recounts ever held is 7, recorded on several occasions.
When all the results are known the Queen will usually invite the leader of the party winning the most seats in the House of Commons to be the Prime Minister and to form a Government. The Prime Minister will appoint approximately 115 members of his party from both houses to become cabinet or more junior Ministers to form the Government. The second largest party becomes the Official Opposition with a small group of its MPs being chosen to form the Shadow Cabinet41. Its leader is known as the Leader of the Opposition. Smaller parties are collectively known as the Opposition, even though some may support the Government.
A few days after the general election the House of Commons will assemble in preparation for the new Parliament to begin. All MPs must be sworn in by taking an oath of allegiance or making an affirmation, and must sign the official register. The Speaker is customarily re-elected or, if the previous Speaker has stood down, a new Speaker must be elected. Soon afterwards the State Opening of Parliament42 will take place when the Monarch will officially open the new Parliament and the business of government can begin in earnest again. (3712)
TEXT 6 THE HOUSE OF LORDS
The House of Lords is the second chamber of the UK’s two chamber Parliament. There are approximately 700 Lords in the House of Lords. Unlike MPs, Lords are unpaid except for certain allowances to cover their attendance which is not compulsory. Exceptions include those who are paid salaries as Ministers, and the Law Lords. Currently there are four types of Lords:
Life Peers – who make up the majority of the membership (currently about 600). They are appointed by the Monarch on the advice of the Prime Minister, who will in turn take advice from others. Life peers are often appointed for services to the country and will have expertise in many different fields. They are appointed for the duration of their life-time and their titles cease on death.
Law Lords – up to 12 Lords of Appeal in Ordinary43 are specially appointed to hear appeals from the lower courts. They are paid a salary and can continue to hear appeals until they are 70 years old although they can continue to sit in the House of Lords as life peers after this age.
Bishops – the Anglican Archbishops of Canterbury and York, the Bishops of Durham, London and Winchester and the 21 senior Diocesan bishops from other dioceses of the Church of England are entitled to sit in the House of Lords because the Church of England is the 'established' Church of the State. They cease to be members of the Lords when they retire.
Hereditary Peers - those peers who have inherited their titles from their family – most titles pass only to the male heir. Until the House of Lords Act 1999 all hereditary peers (about 700 members) had the right to sit and vote in the Lords. While the Bill was being considered, an amendment was passed (known as the Weatherill amendment after Lord Weatherill who proposed it) which enabled 92 of the existing hereditary peers to remain as members. This was agreed on the understanding that it was a temporary measure to be revoked on the implementation of reform's next stage. These consisted of 15 'office-holders' i.e. Deputy Speakers or Chairmen who were elected by the whole House; two hereditary peers who hold Royal appointments – the Lord Great Chamberlain44, who is the Queen’s representative in Parliament and the Earl Marshal45 who is responsible for ceremonies such as the State Opening of Parliament; and 75 members elected by their own party group or the cross-benchers46 and representing roughly 10% of the total hereditary peers.
The House of Lords is organised on a party basis in much the same way as the House of Commons, but with important differences. Members of the House of Lords are less rigidly partisan than in the Commons, whose elected members are more sensitive to political and constituency interests. Many members of the House of Lords are not members of any political party. Those who do not support one of the three main parties are known as independents or crossbenchers. The crossbench group is a distinctive feature of the House of Lords.
The Lord Chancellor and the Leader of the House are usually cabinet Ministers, and they carry out Government duties in addition to their roles at the House of Commons. The Lord Chancellor is Speaker of the House ex officio47. His role as Speaker is very different to that of the House of Commons Speaker. He does not call upon members to speak and has no powers to call the House to order. The Leader of the House has a responsibility to the House as a whole as well as being leader of the party in Government. It is to him, and not to the Lord Chancellor, that the members turn for advice and 'leadership' on points of order and procedure. Lords business is expected to be conducted in an orderly and polite fashion without the need for an active Speaker.
The House of Lords sits at 2.30 pm on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesday, at 3.00 pm on Thursdays, and sometimes on Fridays at 11.00 am until 10.00-11.00 pm. Attendance averages at about 350-450 a day. The Lords usually sit on about 160 days a year. (3274)
THE FUNCTIONS OF THE HOUSE OF LORDS
Making laws (for further information see text 8)
Scrutinising the Government
It is the duty of Parliament as a whole to keep an eye on the work of the Government by making Government Ministers answer for the work they do and the decisions they make. The House of Lords does this in several ways:
At the beginning of each sitting day in the Lords, four oral questions (or “Starred Questions ‘ – so called because they have stars, or asterisks (*) next to them on the Order Paper48) are asked. Question time in the Lords takes half an hour and includes opportunities for supplementary questions to be asked.
The general debate is a discussion , and there is not usually a vote at the end. Debates will usually tackle some matter of public interest or provide an opportunity for discussing a report which has just come out. The House of Commons has less time for general debates of this kind so the Lords provides a valuable opportunity to discuss important matters, drawing on its members' wide range of expertise. Most Wednesday afternoons are set aside either for one longer or two shorter debates lasting a maximum of five hours. Such debates have tackled topics.
The Exchanges on a Starred Questions are usually brief. But an Unstarred Question leads to a short debate. Like Adjournment debates in the Commons, they can be about almost anything. The member who asks the Question makes a speech, then the other members contribute and finally the Minister explains the Government’s view s on the subject.
Questions may also be put down for a written answer. Full replies are expected within a fortnight and printed in the back of the Lords Hansard49. The volume of these has increased significantly in recent years.
Government statements on important or urgent issues are made by the Minister responsible for the subject in the House of Lords. Most statements are made in the Commons, and repeated in the Lords by a junior Minister. This is followed by a limited time for immediate questioning. Subjects can range from the announcement of a White Paper50 to an emergency such as a major rail accidents or an international crisis.
Providing independent expertise
The Lords also has a number of Select Committees, like the House of Commons. Some of these deal with internal management and administration but most carry out important investigative work on matters of public interest. They deal with broader issues and draw on the wide-ranging experience of members. In this way, the House of Lords system of committees complements the scrutiny of the executive carried out by the Commons.
There are four main areas of work – Europe, Science, the Economy and the Constitution – but occasionally, for various reasons, a separate committee will be set up to deal with a particular issue.
The European Union Committee scrutinises and reports on proposed European legislation. Each of the main committee’s 20 members serves on one or more of six sub-committees through which investigations are conducted. In total 70 lords are actively engaged on the work of the EU committee (when members co-opted to individual sub-committees are taken into account).
The Science and Technology Committee was set up in 1979 'to consider science and technology' – a very wide brief. Over 20 members are involved; including eminent scientists with wide ranging experience of science, industry, medicine and research as well as high-level policy-making. Recent reports have covered areas such as resistance to antibiotics, medicinal uses of cannabis, human genetic database and the health hazards inherent in long-haul air travel. It normally operates through two sub-committees enabling it to carry out two enquiries at a time.
The Economic Affairs Committee looks at issues such as how globalisation should be defined, and whether this should be different from an open and integrated world economy. Members include a former Chief Secretary to the Treasury, professors of economics, former senior Treasury civil servants, a former newspaper economics editor as well as practising businessmen.
The Constitution Committee was set up in 2000 'to keep under review the operation of the Constitution'. Since the UK Constitution is uncodified and derived from interpretations of the statute books, this committee keeps a watchful eye on legislative changes that may affect the way it operates.
Sometimes ad hoc51 investigative committees are set up to look at particular issues which do not fit into the 4 main areas above.
Carrying out judicial work (for further information see text 7) (3927)
TEXT 7 THE JUDICIAL WORK OF THE HOUSE OF LORDS
The House of Lords is the highest court in the land – the Supreme Court of Appeal. It acts as the final court on points of law for the whole of the United Kingdom in civil cases and for England, Wales and Northern Ireland in criminal cases. Its decisions bind all courts below.
This is an unusual role for a legislative body that is part of Parliament. In most other democracies, the judiciary is separate from the legislature – usually in the form of a supreme court of appeal. The reasons for the UK set up are historical – the House of Lords has done this work for more than 600 years as part of the High Court of Parliament. The House of Commons has not been involved in judicial work since 1399; and today only highly qualified judges appointed to be professional law lords take part in the judicial function of the House.
For every civil appeal from England, Wales and Northern Ireland, leave to appeal (permission for a case to be heard by the House of Lords) must be granted by the court appealed from or, more usually, by the House itself. Most civil appeals from Scotland do not require leave. Criminal appeals from England, Wales and Northern Ireland not only require leave but also a certificate from the court appealed from setting out that a point of law of general public importance is involved and stating that point. The House does not hear criminal appeals from Scotland.
If the court below grants leave to appeal to the House the appeal may be presented direct. If the court below refuses leave, a party may seek leave to appeal from the House itself, by petition (all judicial business is conducted by petition to the House). Every admissible petition is referred to an Appeal Committee of three law lords. The Committee's decision to allow or refuse a petition is made depending on whether the case involves a 'point of law of general public importance' that ought to be considered by the House.
They may ask the other party (the respondents53) for their observations, but do their work on the basis of written submissions, without a hearing. Only if the law lords cannot agree is there an oral hearing at which submissions are heard about whether or not to grant leave to appeal. The law lords deal with about 300 applications for leave to appeal each year; and allow about 70. (2199)
THE LAW LORDS
It used to be the case that all lords could take part in judicial work but, since the 1876 Act, the judicial work of the House has been done only by the Lord Chancellor and the Lords of Appeal.
There are twelve Lords of Appeal in Ordinary (or law lords). They are equivalent to Supreme Court judges in other countries. They are appointed by the Queen, on the advice of the Prime Minister, usually from the ranks of the senior appeal court judges in each part of the United Kingdom. They were, in fact, the first life peers to be created, 82 years before the Life Peerages Act 1958.
"In Ordinary" means that the lords work full time at the judicial business of the House and receive a salary. It is not paid by the House of Lords but direct from the 'Consolidated Fund'54 (the revenues held in the Exchequer account at the Bank of England). That helps to ensure their independence.
Law lords are full members of the House and may speak and vote on all business. A law lord chairs the Committee on the law and institutions of the European Union. Serving law lords, however, do not engage in matters where there is strong element of party political controversy; and they bear in mind that they may render themselves ineligible to sit judicially if they express an opinion on a matter which might later be relevant to an appeal to the House. When a law lord retires, he remains a member of the House and is then much more free to participate in debates on legislation and public policy, several does regularly.
Beyond their judicial work law lords are often asked to chair major public inquiries. Law lords regularly give lectures and talks; and many are involved with law faculties of universities. They have a diplomatic function in acting as ambassadors for the British legal system and common law: travelling overseas and receiving distinguished foreign and Commonwealth judges.
Other lords may participate in judicial business if they meet the criteria set out by the Appellate Jurisdiction Act 1876. The main criterion is to have held high judicial office, subject to not being allowed to participate after reaching the age of 75. All such lords are described as Lords of Appeal. This means that the House caÜ@ÆÂØØ@ÞÜ@äÊèÒäÊÈ@ØÂî@ØÞäÈæ@ÂÜÈ@ÞèÐÊä@æÊÜÒÞä@ÔêÈÎÊæ@îÐÞ@ÐÂààÊÜ@èÞ@ÄÊ@ÚÊÚÄÊäæ@ÞÌ@èÐÊ@ÞêæÊ\@¨ÐÒæ@êæêÂØØò@ÒÜÆØêÈÊæ@èÐÊ@˜ÞäÈ@†ÐÒÊÌ@”êæèÒÆÊjjX@èÐÊ@šÂæèÊä@ÞÌ@èÐÊ@¤ÞØØæjl@ÂÜÈ@èÐÊ@ äÊæÒÈÊÜè@ÞÌ@èÐÊ@†Þêäè@¦ÊææÒÞÜ@ÒÜ@¦ÆÞèØÂÜÈ\@’Ü@äÊÆÊÜè@òÊÂäæ@Òè@ÐÂæ@ÂØæÞ@ÒÜÆØêÈÊÈ@Â@œÊî@´ÊÂØÂÜÈ@†Þêäè@ÞÌ@‚ààÊÂØ@ÔêÈÎÊ\
‚ØèÐÞêÎÐ@èÐÊ@äÒÎÐè@ÞÌ@ØÂò@àÊÊäæ@PÒ\Ê\@ÂØØ@ÞèÐÊä@ÚÊÚÄÊäæ@ÞÌ@èÐÊ@ÞêæÊX@ÒÜÆØêÈÒÜÎ@èÐÊ@àÞØÒèÒÆÒÂÜæX@ÆäÞææÄÊÜÆÐÊäæ@ÂÜÈ@ÄÒæÐÞàæR@èÞ@àÂäèÒÆÒàÂèÊ@ÒÜ@èÐÊ@ÔêÈÒÆÒÂØ@ÄêæÒÜÊææ@ÞÌ@èÐÊ@ÞêæÊ@äÊÚÂÒÜæ@ÒÜ@èÐÊÞäò@ÂÜÈ@ÐÂæ@ÜÞè@ÄÊÊÜ@ÂÄÞØÒæÑed by statute or Standing Order, it is longstanding practice of the House that only Lords of Appeal participate in judicial business. The last occasion, itself an isolated one, when a lay peer voted on an appeal was in 1883.
(2430)
The law lords hear appeals from Monday to Thursday throughout the law terms, hearing about 85 appeals a year. The law lords sit on days when Parliament itself is sitting for public business and also during periods of parliamentary recess, prorogation and even (by special dispensation from the Queen) during a dissolution.
Before the Second World War the law lords used to hear appeals each day in the Chamber of the House before public business began at 4.15 p.m. When the Commons was bombed in the Second World War, the Commons moved into the Lords Chamber and the Lords moved elsewhere. The law lords moved “temporarily” to a Committee room to escape the noise of the building repairs. They were constituted into an Appellate Committee for this purpose, which first met on 16 May 1948.
The experiment proved so successful that the arrangement continued after the repairs had been completed. Today, although the law lords occasionally hear appeals sitting as the House, in the Chamber, most appeals are heard by an Appellate Committee sitting in Committee Room.
Anyone may attend judicial business without prior arrangement. A person interested in seeing the law lords at work should tell the policeman at the public entrance to the Palace and, if the law lords are sitting they will be directed to the right place. A notice at St Stephen’s entrance shows what judicial business is going on each day.
An Appellate Committee usually consists of five law lords. Proceedings are much less formal than in the courts. The five law lords sit around a horseshoe table and the senior law lord present acts as Chairman. They do not wear robes because they are not judges, but members of a Committee of the House. Counsel appear in wig and gown at the Bar across the center of the room, at which stands a lectern. Counsel for the Appellant is heard first, then counsel for the Respondent and finally counsel for the Appellant in reply. There are frequent questions from the law lords as arguments are developed and challenged. The length of hearing varies but the average is two and a half days.
Once the hearing has finished, counsels leave the room and the law lords discuss the case, the junior giving his opinion first. Judgment is always given by putting questions to the House, in the Chamber. Sittings of the House for judgment are proper meetings of the House. Only the law lords take part in judgments, although any member of the House may attend. This serves as a reminder that it is the High Court of Parliament that determines appeals.
Judgment is usually given at 2 o’clock on a Thursday afternoon a few weeks after the hearing. Each law lord who heard the appeal, starting with the senior, rises to state how he would dispose of the appeal.
The law lords’ speeches are called opinions and are the equivalent of a judge’s reasoned judgment in the courts. The law lords stopped reading out their opinions in full in 1963 and now just indicate briefly how they would dispose of the appeal, referring to the speech they have prepared, copies of which are available to all attending. Every word of an opinion is the law lord’s own – no one else is involved in the drafting.
Once all five lords have spoken, the law lord sitting on the woolsack as Speaker (i.e. the senior law lord present) puts the question to the House: "That the report from the Appellate Committee be agreed to"; and then further questions to dispose of the appeal. These orders form the judgment of the House. (2877)
TEXT 8 MAKING LAWS
TYPES OF BILLS
There are two main sorts of Bill: Private Bills and Public Bills. Private Bills are only intended to affect one particular area or organization. Occasionally a type of Private Bill known as a Personal Bill is presented to Parliament. Personal Bills affect only one or two people and they always begin in the House of Lords.
Public Bills, unlike Private Bills, are intended to affect the public as a whole and not just one area, organization or person. There are two types of Public Bill: Government Bills57 and Private Members’ Bills58.
The majority of Public Bills which succeed in becoming Acts of Parliament are sponsored59 by the Government. When a new Government comes to power after a general election it will normally have a number of policies it wishes to put into effect. Where necessary it will try to change the law by introducing Bills into Parliament. Normally a Government will introduce a number of changes each parliamentary session. Each Bill will be piloted through60 Parliament by a Minister from the appropriate Government Department, for example Ministers from the Department for Education and Skills would be responsible for seeing that an Education Bill became an Act of Parliament. Normally Government Bills succeed in getting through Parliament because the Government will have a majority in the House of Commons.
The other type of Public Bill, known as a Private Members’ Bill, is often less successful. A Private Members’ Bill is sponsored by an individual MP rather than by the Government. He or she will promote the Bill as an individual and will therefore not be able to rely on the assistance of the party whips in gaining a majority in the House of Commons. Individual Lords can also sponsor Private Members’ Bills but they have a similar problem of finding support for their Bills. Many Private Members’ Bills fail to complete their passage through Parliament, perhaps through lack of support or, more likely, because of shortage of time. Government business is usually given priority and Private Members’ Bills can get squeezed out. To be successful a Private Members’ Bill ideally needs to be non controversial and have the support of the Government. Private Members’ Bill should not be confused with Private Bills which affect only one area or group of people. (1929)
STAGES OF A GOVERNMENT BILL
Preparatory Stages
Before a Government Bill can be introduced into Parliament several things have to happen. Often consultations take place with those who are likely to be affected by the Bill. The Bill also has to be properly written out, or drafted, as Bills have to be presented to Parliament in a particular form. Government Bills also have to be approved by the Cabinet, because they are presented in the name of the whole Government.
The consultation stage is organized by the Government Department sponsoring the Bill. Within a Department, both the Ministers and the permanent officials, known as civil servants, will be involved in the consultation process. The Ministers will have the responsibility of piloting the Bill through Parliament and it is important for them to be involved in all stages of the Bill, even before it reaches Parliament.
Sometimes the Government will set out its ideas for a Bill in a discussion document or consultation paper known as a Green Paper61. Organizations can send their comments back to the Department. These will be gathered together by the Department’s civil servants who are permanent officials and politically neutral so can serve whichever party is in power. They can then pass on the information to the Ministers, or Ministers, involved with the Bill. Often the planned contents of a Bill will have to be changed in the light of this evidence. The civil servants might suggest several alternative ways in which it could be done, but the actual decision will be left to the Minister. After this discussion stage, the Department may then produce firm proposals in a White Paper and this will form the basis of the Bill to be introduced into Parliament.
Before a Bill can go through all its stages in Parliament, its contents have to be written down, so that Members of Parliament will know exactly what they are discussing. The process of putting the terms of a Bill down on paper is known as drafting. A small number of lawyers (who are also civil servants) are specially trained for this work. These Parliamentary Draftsmen work in the Parliamentary Counsel Office which is part of the Cabinet Office. A small team has the difficult job of drafting all the Government Bills which go through Parliament. The Bill has to be exact and must not leave any loopholes62 as once a Bill becomes an Act, others, including the judges, will have to enforce it. If a law is not clear, a judge may take it to mean something completely different from what the Minister intended. It could also mislead others like solicitors or members of the public. The Parliamentary Draftsmen therefore have to make sure that a particular sentence cannot be taken to mean more than one thing, unlike the sentence here, taken from an American law: 'No one shall carry any dangerous weapon upon the public highway, except for the purpose of killing a noxious animal or a policeman in the execution of his duty.' This sentence, as it is written, seems to suggest that people are allowed to kill policeman as well as animals which, of course, is not what was intended. So, Parliamentary Draftsmen must work extremely carefully, considering every possible meaning of a word before they put it on paper. As well as being exact, the Draftsmen have to make the Bill as simple as possible because many ordinary citizens, as well as lawyers, will want to understand the Bill. It also must be set out clearly, so that MPs and Lords can follow it when it is being debated in Parliament. Before a Parliamentary Draftsman can begin to draft a Bill, civil servants from the Department sponsoring the Bill have to give instructions. These will tell the Draftsman what the Bill has to include and what it is trying to achieve. Only then can the Draftsman begin work. Once a Bill has been drafted it will be sent back to the Department to check that it says what they wanted it to say. Often the department will decide that it wants something changed (particularly if it is being drafted while some consultations are still going on) and it will have to be returned to the Draftsman. A Bill may go back and forth half a dozen times before the Department is satisfied with it.
(3457)
The House of Commons
First Reading
This is when a Bill is introduced into Parliament. The First Reading is really just a way of letting Members know that a Bill is coming up for discussion. Occasionally a Bill may not have been drafted by the time the First Reading takes place. For this reason, and because Parliament has to give permission for a Bill to be printed, a 'dummy' Bill can be placed on the Table63 for the First Reading. Parliament does not need to know the actual contents of the Bill at this stage, because there will be no debate. A Minister will often ask other Ministers to add their names to the ‘dummy’ Bill to show that they support it. A date for the Second Reading has to be named when a Bill is given its First Reading but it may not be clear at that stage exactly when it will be. By Parliamentary tradition, 'tomorrow' is always named, because it is the earliest day on which the next stage could possibly take place. It can be several weeks before the Bill actually comes up for debates.
On the day when a Bill is given its First Reading, the Minister responsible sits on the Front Bench, beside the Table, upon which the 'dummy' Bill has been placed. One of the Clerks at the Table then reads out the title and the Minister nods. There is no vote on the First Reading of a Government Bill, so a Bill automatically goes through that stage. Once a Bill has been given its First Reading in this way, it can be printed so that Members have a chance to read it and decide what they think about it before the important Second Reading stage. Notes are published to accompany the Bill although these are not always available immediately.
Second Reading
This is the first really important stage of a Bill, when the Minister in charge explains its main purpose. The Minister can also answer any general questions about the Bill. A Junior Minister may well take charge of a Bill for its Second Reading as a Cabinet Minister will not personally be able to pilot all his or her Department’s Bills through Parliament. Only if the House votes for the Bill does it proceed to the next stage, known as the Committee Stage.
Committee Stage
The Committee Stage allows the examination of all the detail of a Bill for the first time. Most Government Bills are considered by small committees of between 15 and 50 MPs known as Standing Committees64. The membership of these committees is always roughly in proportion to the number of seats each party has in the Commons. At least one Minster from the Government Department responsible for the Bill will be on the committee as well as a frontbench65 spokesperson from each of the main opposition parties. A separate committee is formed for the consideration of each Bill. Often Members will be chosen to serve on a committee because they have a particular interest in the subject covered by the Bill.
There are several reasons why Bills have to be sent to committees. First of all, 15 to 50 is a better number than 659 for discussing the details of a Bill. The committee members can sit in a smaller room which provides a better atmosphere for discussion than the large House of Commons Chamber. Secondly, many debates in the Chamber are governed by a fairly strict set of rules. Many debates are programmed to last only a few hours because the House is so short of time that it could not afford to allow discussion on an individual Bill to last several weeks. Often, however, several months are required if the details of a Bill are to be properly examined. A committee will be able to devote several sessions a week to a Bill.
Committee proceedings are altogether more flexible than debates in the House of Commons. In the House, for example, Opposition Members can usually speak only once during a debate. In committee they can speak as often as they wish, which makes it far easier to examine properly the details of a Bill. Most Government Bills, therefore, are sent to Standing Committees after their Second Reading.
It is during the Committee Stage that Members are, for the first time, allowed to suggest changes or amendments to a Bill. Perhaps they may want a few words to be removed, or would prefer to add something to the Bill. Members usually give advance notice if they wish to suggest changes to a Bill so that other members of the committee have a chance to think about them.
As in the Chamber, Members of the committee vote on amendment by voice. If there is a tie66, then the Chairman has a casting vote although by convention he or she does not exercise a personal preference but acts according to established principles. Often, however, an amendment will not get as far as a vote, it may instead be withdrawn by the Member.
Sometimes a Bill which has constitutional significance or requires a very rapid passage will be heard by a Committee of the whole House, i.e. in the Chamber, so that all Members can contribute.
Report Stage
After the Committee Stage, the whole House of Commons will have to be told what happened as only a small number of Members will have been involved in the committee meetings. If there have been amendments, the Bill will be reprinted before the Report Stage so that Members can see how changes fit into the Bill as a whole. MPs can suggest further changes if they want to. The Report Stage is not necessary if the Bill has been considered by a Committee of the whole House.
Third Reading
This gives the House of Commons a chance to look again at the Bill as a whole, with all its amendments, and decide whether they want it to go any further. The Bill cannot be changed substantially at this stage – it is either accepted or rejected. Often Bills pass their Report Stage and Third Reading at the same time. Once a Bill has passed its Third Reading in the House of the Commons, one of the Clerks at the Table carries the Bill to the House of Lords, so that the Lords can consider it. (4793)
The House of Lords
A sizeable proportion of all bills begin in the House of Lords each year. In official documents, the letters (HL) after the title of a Bill are used to show it began in the House of Lords. By convention the Lords do not reject legislation on matters which were in the Government’s manifesto (election pledge). Even in cases where the Lords disregard this convention, the Commons are able to send the same Bill back in the next Parliamentary session, when the Lords have no choice but to accept it. This has only happened on three occasions between 1949 and 2002 – when the Lords rejected the War Crimes Bill in 1900, the European Parliamentary Elections in 1999 and the Sexual Offences Act in 2000.
The only type of Bill the Lords could reject would be a Bill to allow the Commons to extend a Parliament beyond five years. This would allow the Lords to check, for example, a dictator who had seized control of the Commons. The Lords cannot make changes to a Money Bill67, although it can delay Money Bills for one month.
As in the Commons, First Reading is the introduction stage, when a Bill is introduced into the House of Lords by a Minister from the responsible Department. The main purpose of a Bill is explained in the Second Reading. During the Committee Stage the Bill is considered in detail but instead of going to a small committee for detailed examination, Bills in the House of Lords usually go to a Committee of the whole House so any Lord who is interested in the Bill can contribute. The House of Lords is able to do this because it is not as short of time as the Commons. The Lords go through every part of the Bill, either agreeing or changing it. The purpose of the Report Stage is to report back to the whole House what was decided by the committee. This is necessary as this stage is usually held about two weeks after the committee, so different people may be there. It does give the House another chance to think about the Bill and make other changes. Third Reading is the last chance for the House of Lords to look at the Bill as a whole. It provides a sort of safety net in case there is a problem which nobody has spotted before. Unlike in the House of Commons further changes can be made at this stage if they are found to be necessary.
Any changes made to a Bill by the House of Lords have to be considered by the House of Commons. The Commons normally accepts most of the Lord’s amendments which are non-controversial. Sometimes, however, the Commons do not agree with the Lord's amendments and when this happens, the Commons send a note to the Lords explaining the reason. A Bill may go to and fro for a while, a process known as 'ping-pong'68, until an agreement can be reached. If the two Houses are unable to compromise, the Commons will eventually get its way by reintroducing the Bill the following year. Knowing that they cannot reject a Bill if it is passed by the Commons in two successive sessions the Lords will usually compromise the first time round and save the Commons the trouble of reintroducing it. (2488)
The Royal Assent
Once both Houses of Parliament have passed a Bill, then it has to go to the Queen for the Royal Assent. Had she been living 500 years ago, the Queen would have signed all Bills herself. She would also have gone in person to the House of Lords to announce in Norman French whether she agreed to a Bill (‘La Reyne le veult’) or wished to reject it (‘La Reyne s’avisera’). No monarchs since the sixteenth century have signed Bills themselves. Queen Anne, in 1707, became the last monarch to reject a Bill, while Queen Victoria was the last to give the Royal Assent in person in 1854.
There are now two ways in which the Queen can assent to a Bill. Usually she signs what are known as Letters Patent69 which allow the Speakers of the two Houses to announce that the Queen has given her assent. The other method of giving the Royal Assent occurs about once a year, usually at the end of a session. The Queen signs a document known as a Commission which commands certain Lords, known as Royal Commissioners, to go to the House of Lords and let Members of both Houses know that the Royal Assent has been given.
Unless a Bill needs to become an Act of Parliament urgently it will be kept waiting until a number of other Bills have reached the same stage. They will then be given their Royal Assent together. The Queen always knows which Bills she is consenting to because she is given a list of the Bills involved when she signs the Letters Patent or Royal Commission. It is unlikely that she reads through the contents of every Bill before giving the Royal Assent because she knows that both Houses of Parliament will already have considered the Bill very carefully. The Queen would, in any case, know a great deal about important Bills because she reads all the official papers very thoroughly. She also meets the Prime Minister once a week to discuss business and important Bills are likely to be mentioned in some of their meetings.
Once a Bill has received the Royal Assent it becomes an Act of Parliament.
(1637)
EXECUTIVE BRANCH
The executive comprises the Government (members of the Cabinet and other Ministers responsible for policies); government departments and agencies; local authorities; public corporations; independent regulatory bodies; and certain other organisations subject to Ministerial control. Her Majesty's Government consists of those Ministers responsible for the conduct of national affairs. The Queen alone appoints the Prime Minister, and all other Ministers are appointed by her on the Prime Minister's recommendation. Most Ministers are members of the Commons, although the Government is also fully represented by Ministers in the Lords. The Lord Chancellor is always a member of the House of Lords.
The composition of governments can vary both in the number of Ministers and in the titles of some offices. New Ministerial offices may be created, others may be abolished, and functions may be transferred from one Minister to another. The Government makes the important decisions, e.g. about foreign policy, education, or health, but many of these decisions have to be approved by Parliament. Members of the Government are usually members of either the House of Commons or the House of Lords, to enable Parliament to keep a check on their work by asking questions, debating, etc. (1081)
TEXT 9 PRIME MINISTER
The Prime Minister is also, by tradition, First Lord of the Treasury70 and Minister for the Civil Service. The Prime Minister's unique position of authority comes from majority support in the House of Commons and from the power to appoint and dismiss Ministers. By modern convention, the Prime Minister always sits in the Commons.
The Prime Minister presides over the Cabinet, is responsible for allocating functions among Ministers and, at regular meetings with the Queen, informs her of the general business of the Government.
The Prime Minister's other responsibilities include recommending a number of appointments to the Queen. These include Church of England archbishops, bishops and certain deans and some 200 other clergy in Crown 'livings'71; senior judges, such as the Lord Chief Justice; Privy Counsellors; and Lords Lieutenant72. He also recommends certain civil appointments, such as the Constable of the Tower of London some university posts and appointments to several public boards and institutions, such as the BBC, as well as various royal and statutory commissions.
The Prime Minister’s Office supports him in his role as head of Government. This includes providing policy advice, tracking the delivery of Government commitments and initiatives, and ensuring effective communications to Parliament, the media and the public.
(1140)
TEXT 10 THE CABINET
The Cabinet is the committee at the centre of the British government system. The modern history of the Cabinet begins in the 16th century with the Privy Council, a small group of advisers to the Monarch. Sir Robert Walpole, the first 'Prime Minister' (1721-1742), held occasional meetings of the King's Ministers - Cabinet - but not in its modern form. The 1832 Reform Act emphasised the need for government to have the confidence of Parliament as well as the Monarch and for it to act coherently. William Pitt (1783-1801) established the right of the Prime Minister to ask Ministers to resign. So the conventions of collective Cabinet responsibility and Prime Ministerial control developed. They enabled Ministers to stand together against Parliament under clear leadership. Up to 1916, a letter written by the PM to the Monarch was the only recorded decisions of Cabinet. In 1916 the 'War' Cabinet Secretariat and the post of Cabinet Secretary were created. This basic system has survived since then.
The Prime Minister chairs the meetings, selects its members, and also recommends their appointment as Ministers by the Monarch. Most members are Secretaries of State73 by title, with some exceptions. The number of members that can be paid as Cabinet Ministers is limited to 21; these may include both departmental and non-departmental Ministers. The present Cabinet has 22 members (18 MPs and four peers). Normally the Cabinet meets once a week in 10 Downing Street (usually on a Thursday morning) when Parliament is sitting, and less often when it is not. As well as the 21 full Cabinet members, one other Minister also regularly attends - the Chief Whip74 (Lords). The Cabinet has no legal powers, they are held by Secretaries of State. But it has collective responsibility to Parliament so all members are bound to support Cabinet decisions even if they were not present.
Much of the work of Cabinet is delegated to Committees. The Prime Minister decides who sits on the Committees and what they are responsible for. Cabinet Committees include those dealing with defence and overseas policy, economic policy, home and social affairs, the environment, and local government. Since 1992 the membership and terms of reference of all Ministerial Cabinet Committees has been published. Some of the Committees exist for short periods to deal with a particular issue.
Cabinet Committees take some of the pressure off the full Cabinet by settling issues among smaller groups of people or at a lower level, or at least by clarifying them and defining points of disagreement. Committees let those Ministers most closely concerned come to decisions in a way which ensures that the Government as a whole can accept full responsibility for them. This delegated responsibility means that Cabinet Committee decisions have the same formal status as those taken by the full Cabinet.
The Cabinet Secretary is a senior civil servant who reports directly to the Prime Minister and is responsible for preparing records of Cabinet discussions and decisions. Where appropriate, the Cabinet Secretary and other senior Cabinet Office officials go to meetings of the Cabinet and its Committees. The Cabinet Secretariat including the Secretary, Deputy and Assistant Secretaries calls meetings, circulates papers, prepares the agenda (under the PM's direction), writes and circulates the conclusions, and keeps them.
(2852)
The work of Government is divided among Departments which are specialise in a particular subject. The main role of Government Departments and their agencies is to implement government policy and advise Ministers. They are staffed by politically impartial civil servants and generally receive their funding from money provided by Parliament. They often work alongside local authorities, non-departmental public bodies, and other government-sponsored organisations. Most of the Ministers of the Cabinet are heads of Government Departments.
The number and responsibilities of Government Departments can be changed by the Prime Minister according to the need of the country. At present there are the following key Government Departments:
- Her Majesty's Treasury
- Home Office
- Department for Transport
- Department for Education and Skills
- Department of Health
- Ministry of Defence
- Foreign and Commonwealth Office
- Department for International Development
- Department of Trade and Industry
- Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
- Department for Culture, Media and Sport
- Department for Work and Pensions
- Department for Constitutional Affairs
- Privy Council Office
The work of some departments (for instance, the Ministry of Defence) covers the UK as a whole. Other departments, such as the Department for Work and Pensions, cover England, Wales and Scotland, but not Northern Ireland. Others again, such as the Department for Education and Skills, are mainly concerned with affairs in England and Wales.
The Minister in charge of a Department is usually of Cabinet rank. He or she may have been chosen for his or her special interest in, or knowledge of, the subjects handled by the Department and will make all the important decisions affecting the Department. He or she is usually assisted by one or more junior Ministers who are not in the Cabinet. These non-Cabinet Ministers have a variety of titles. Some of the more senior are known as Ministers of State75, others are called Parliamentary Under-Secretaries of State76 or Parliamentary Secretaries77. (1753)
HER MAJESTY'S TREASURY
Her Majesty’s Treasury is responsible for formulating and putting into effect the UK Government's financial and economy policy. It aims to raise sustainable economic growth, improve the prosperity of the nation, creating economic and employment opportunities for all. The Treasury works to achieve economic stability, low inflation, sound public finances, efficient public services and a more productive economy.
The Treasury promotes a fair and efficient tax and benefit system. Income taxes are collected by the Inland Revenue78, and value added tax and customs duties are the responsibility of Customs and Excise79. A system of tax credits to provide incentives to those in work has also been developed. The Treasury provides tax relief to encourage people to save. In May 1997 the Government gave the Bank of England operational independence to set monetary policy by deciding the short-term level of interest rates to meet the Government's stated inflation target.
The Treasury has a strategic oversight of banking, insurance and financial services and is responsible for the Government Accountancy Service which brings professional accountants in government together. The Treasury is also the lead department on government statistics, which are independently produced by National Statistics.
HOME OFFICE
The Home Office is responsible for internal affairs in England and Wales. It seeks to promote a safe, just and tolerant society through its policies to reduce crime, deliver justice and regulate entry to the United Kingdom.
Police forces are organised regionally, with the Home Office setting national targets for crime reduction, particularly seeking to cut youth crime. It supports initiatives to cut crime and fear of crime. The Home Office is also responsible for all sentencing legislation. It regulates illegal drugs offences and works to prevent drugs misuse. The Home Office funds the police, the Crown Prosecution Service80, the Prison Service and the Probation Service81 and sets their overall policy framework. Administration of the courts and legal services is the responsibility of the Lord Chancellor's Department.
Immigration and Nationality policy is also a Home Office responsibility. This includes regulation of entry to Britain, providing passports for British citizens to travel overseas (through the Passport Agency), supporting destitute asylum seekers while their claims are considered, and integrating those accepted as refugees. The Home Office is also the lead department on constitutional, citizenship and human rights issues within the UK. It promotes race equality and diversity, with the help of the Commission for Racial Equality. (2270)
THE PRIVY COUNCIL
The Privy Council is one of the oldest parts of Government, but it has, over time, adapted to reflect the fact that the United Kingdom is a constitutional monarchy. Appointment to the Privy Council is for life, but only Ministers of the democratically elected Government of the day participate in its policy work. The Ministerial head of the Privy Council Office is the President of the Council. The Privy Council Office provides Secretariat services for the Privy Council (that part of Her Majesty's Government which advises on the exercise of prerogative powers and certain functions assigned to the Queen and the Council by Act of Parliament). Much of the day-to-day work of the Privy Council Office is concerned with the affairs of Chartered Bodies, the 400 or so institutions, charities and companies who are incorporated by Royal Charter. The Privy Council also has an important part to play in respect of certain statutory regulatory bodies covering a number of professions and in the world of higher education.
Another major function of the Privy Council is exercised through its Judicial Committee. The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council is the court of final appeal for the UK overseas territories and Crown dependencies, and for those Commonwealth countries that have retained the appeal to Her Majesty in Council or, in the case of Republics, to the Judicial Committee. The Judicial Committee also deals with appeals from medical and veterinary disciplinary bodies and in certain ecclesiastical cases. It is also the court of final appeal for determining "devolution issues" (that is questions of whether acts of the devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are fully in accordance with the legislation which set them up) under the United Kingdom devolution statutes of 1998 and it has certain other domestic jurisdiction within the United Kingdom. The Committee consists of Lords Justices of Appeal and some senior commonwealth judges. Five judges normally sit to hear Commonwealth and devolution appeals and three for other matters. The Judicial Committee deals with about 55-65 Commonwealth and devolution appeals a year.
(1838)
TEXT 12 THE CIVIL SERVICE
The constitutional and practical role of the Civil Service in Great Britain is to help the Government of the United Kingdom, the Scottish Executive and the National Assembly for Wales formulate their policies, carry out decisions and administer public services for which they are responsible.
In order to maintain continuity within the departments, each Department is staffed by permanent officials, known as civil servants. Civil servants are servants of the Crown; in effect this means the Government of the United Kingdom, the Scottish Executive and the National Assembly for Wales. Civil servants are politically neutral and serve each Government, regardless of which party is in power. Some Ministers stay in a post for only a short time before moving elsewhere. Civil servants, on the other hand, may spend many years in one Department, and they therefore have the time to become experts in the work of their Department. For those who belong to it, the British civil service is a career. Its most senior positions are usually filled by people who have been working in it for twenty years or more. These people get a high salary (higher than that of their Ministers), have absolute job security (unlike their Ministers) and stand a good chance of being awarded an official honour. By comparison, Ministers, even those who have been in the same department for several years, are still new to the job. Moreover, civil servants know the secrets of the previous government which the present Minister is unaware of. For all these reasons, it is often possible for top civil servants to exercise quite a lot of control over their Ministers, and it is sometimes said that it is they, and not their Ministers, who really govern the country.
In June 2001 civil servants constituted about 2 per cent of the working population in employment, and about 10 per cent of all public sector employees. The number of permanent civil servants (on a full-time equivalent basis), including those in the Diplomatic Service fell from 751,000 in 1976 to 482,700 in April 2001. These figures include the Senior Civil Service, which in April 2001 comprised around 3,850 (non-industrial) of the most senior managers and policy advisers. Part-time working has increased over recent years with 13.8 per cent of civil servants (on a headcount basis) working part time at April 2001.
In April 2001 about half of all civil servants (full-time equivalent) provided services direct to the public. These included paying benefits and pensions, running employment services, staffing prisons, issuing driving licences, and providing services to industry and agriculture. Around one in five were employed in the Ministry of Defence and its agencies. The rest were divided between central administrative and policy duties; support services; and services that were largely financially self-supporting, for instance, those provided by the Royal Mint82. About four-fifths of civil servants (full-time equivalent) worked outside London.
The Civil Service Commissioners are responsible for ensuring that recruitment to the Civil Service should be on merit and based on fair and open competition. The Commissioners, who are independent of government, produce a mandatory recruitment code and audit the recruitment policies and practices of departments and agencies to ensure that they comply. They also approve appointments through external recruitment to the Senior Civil Service, and hear and determine appeals in cases of concern about propriety and conscience under the Civil Service Code.
The Diplomatic Service, a separate service of some 5,200 people, provides staff for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office83 (FCO) in London and at British diplomatic missions abroad. Terms and conditions of service are comparable, but take into account the special demands of the Diplomatic Service, particularly the requirement to serve abroad. UK civil servants, members of the armed forces and individuals from the private sector may also serve in the FCO and at overseas posts on loan or attachment.
As Minister for the Civil Service, the Prime Minister is responsible for central co-ordination and management of the Civil Service.
(3527)
TEXT 12 LOCAL GOVERNMENT
England (with the exception of Greater London84) and Wales are divided into fifty-three counties, within which there are 369 districts. Forty-seven of these counties, which are 'non-metropolitan', and all districts, have independent and locally elected councils. In Greater London itself the local government authorities are the councils of thirty-two London boroughs85 and the Corporation of the City of London, while the six metropolitan counties (Greater Manchester, Merseyside, Tyne and Wear, West Midlands, West Yorkshire and South Yorkshire) are divided into thirty-six district councils.
These county, district and borough councils86 provide the range of services - health, education, waste disposal, police and fire services - necessary for everyday life.
Local authorities work within the powers laid down under various Acts of Parliament. Their functions are far-reaching. Some are mandatory, which means that the authority must do what is required by law; others are discretionary, allowing an authority to provide services if it wishes. In certain cases, Ministers have powers to secure uniformity in standards in order to safeguard public health or to protect the rights of individual citizens. Where local authorities exceed their statutory powers, they are regarded as acting outside the law and can be challenged in court.
The main link between local authorities and central government in England is the office of the Deputy Prime Minister. However, other departments, such as the Department for Education and Skills, the Department for Work and Pensions, the Department of Health and the Home Office, are also concerned with various local government functions.
Local government employs almost three million salaried officers, one tenth of Britain's entire workforce. These include school teachers, the police, firefighters and other non-manual and manual workers. Education is the largest locally provided service, with 0.9 million full-time equivalent jobs. All senior local government officers are appointed only with approval from the appropriate government ministry. Councils are individually responsible, within certain legislative requirements, for deciding the structure of their workforces.
Expenditure by local authorities is about one quarter of total public expenditure, and one third of this local government expenditure is on education. Just over 50 per cent of local government expenditure is financed from central government. The rest is raised locally, by local taxation and by the collection of rents, fees and payments on property or services provided by the council. The system of both central and local finance for local government is highly complicated and controversial.
Central government normally seeks to supply the extra funds necessary to provide services adequately, and to offset the differences in wealth and in service requirements between different areas. These differences are naturally particularly great between, for example, a densely populated but wealthy area in the south east of England, and a remote thinly populated part of highland Scotland. (2642)
THE PRESENT STRUCTURE OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT
Despite attempts to standardize the system, the structure of local government still varies from one part of the country to another, reflecting the many historical developments the system has gone through. Within England and Wales there are two types of structure, one which applies to London and the six other large cities, and another which applies to the rest of England and Wales. Northern Ireland and Scotland have their own systems, although the differences are superficial. In Wales and England except the biggest cities, local government operates at two levels, or tiers, called county councils and district councils.
County councils. County councils provide major services such as schools, social services, planning at county level, controlling highways and traffic, organizing rubbish disposal, the police and the fire brigade - all functions that cover large areas or need substantial amounts of money.
District councils. District councils provide services that cover a smaller area, where local knowledge and control are important. These include housing, rubbish collection, sports facilities, local planning and public health.
Parish councils. These have limited functions. What they do is a matter of local arrangement and convention between the parish and the district. In some places the parish may be responsible for providing street lighting. In others, the district council controls this. Parish councils are only involved in small scale local activities, as they have very small budgets.
Larger cities. The system in the larger cities is different. London consists of 32 units called boroughs, and a special area called the City of London. The City of London covers the area of London within its ancient boundaries and is an independent unit. Most of the London boroughs have a population of between 150,000 and 300,000 people and their councils run all the services in the area. A few services, such as transport and the police, are excluded as they concern the whole of the capital city.
The other large cities of England - Birmingham, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle and Sheffield - have similar systems. These cities have one borough for the central city and other boroughs for the areas around this. These borough councils run all the services except things such as the police, which are run by agencies for the whole area.
Boroughs. When the structure of local government in England and Wales changed in 1972, areas, which had historically been called boroughs, wanted to preserve their privileges, which had been given to them centuries ago by Royalty. These privileges include having figures such as mayors who have ceremonial duties. Although provision was made within the Local Government Act for this, the functions of a borough council are exactly the same as those of a district council.
(2380)
LOCAL GOVERNMENT ELECTIONS
Each local authority is composed of elected councillors, who form the governing body, and permanent local government officers, the local equivalent of the Civil Service. Elected councillors, unlike MPs, remain unpaid, although they can receive a financial loss allowance for performing council business and also allowances for necessary expenses. Most of those who stand for election, predominantly men, are local business or professional people. Some of them work for purely idealistic reasons while others may be politically ambitious or believe that their position as councillor will help advance their own business or professional standing.
The procedure for local government voting is broadly similar to that for elections to the UK Parliament, except that proportional representation is used in Northern Ireland. Eligibility rules for voters are also similar to those for UK parliamentary elections, except that citizens of other Member States of the EU may vote. To stand for election, candidates must either be registered as an elector or have some other close connection within the electoral area of their candidature, such as their principal place of employment.
Whole council elections are held every four years in all county councils in England, borough councils in London, and about two-thirds of non-metropolitan district councils. In all other district councils (including the metropolitan districts) one-third of the councillors are elected in each of the three years when county council elections are not held. However, a few non-metropolitan district councils will soon hold biennial elections with half of the councillors elected every two years.
Each council elects a chairman. In boroughs and cities councillors choose a Mayor (in Scotland a Provost) to act as presiding officer and perform ceremonial duties. In the City of London and certain other large cities, he or she is known as the Lord Mayor. In Scotland the presiding officer of the council of the four longest established cities – Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh and Glasgow – is called the Lord Provost.
The electoral arrangements of local authorities in England are kept under review by the Boundary Committee for England, established in April 2002 as a statutory committee of the Electoral Commission.
(1932)
JUDICIAL BRANCH
The present court system of the United Kingdom is an amalgamation over the centuries of three sorts of courts: ecclesiastical, common law, and courts of equity. Essentially, the present form began in 1873, with some structural alterations made in 1971.
Courts in the United Kingdom are judicial institutions charged with resolving disputes in law, either between citizens, or between citizens and government organs. In English common law, the courts are, in theory, the final bodies that give effect to legal state and legislative power. A statute only has effect by being recognized by the courts and the legal system generally. In fact, the courts have never refused to follow the legislature, although the question of whether a court would accept an absurdly unjust statute has never been tested. Indeed, some of the lower courts and tribunals exist only by virtue of statutes, and much of the activity of the higher courts is governed by statute and by regulations made under statute.
(828)
TEXT 14 MAGISTRATES’ COURTS
Approximately ninety-six per cent of criminal cases are dealt with summarily87 at a magistrates’ court, where magistrates sit.
The part played by lay magistrates, also known as Justices of the Peace, in the judicial system of England and Wales can be traced to the year 1195. In that year, Richard I commissioned certain knights to preserve the peace in unruly areas. They were responsible to the King for ensuring that the law was upheld. They preserved the "King's Peace", and were known as Keepers of the Peace. In 1264, Simon de Montfort appointed men to keep order in their area. They were also known as Keepers of the Peace. The title Justice of the Peace (JP) first appeared in 1361, in the reign of Edward III. By this time, JPs had been given the power to arrest offenders and suspects, they could investigate crime and, in 1382, were finally given the power to punish.
The case may be tried either by at least two but usually three lay magistrates or by a District Judge, who will usually sit alone. Until August 2000 these District Judges were known as Stipendiary magistrates, but were renamed in order to recognise them as members of the professional judiciary, as they are legally qualified and salaried.
Certain magistrates’ courts are designated as Youth Courts. Such a court is composed of specially trained justices and deals only with charges against and applications relating to children and young persons aged under 18. It sits apart from other courts and, unlike other courts, is not open to the public. It consists of not more than three justices, including at least one man and one woman.
THE DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF A MAGISTRATE
Each magistrate is expected to undertake a fair share of the work of the Bench. The Lord Chancellor requires that a magistrate should sit for at least 26 half days each year and endeavour to be available to sit for up to 35 half days each year. Magistrates should be prepared to sit for a whole day if necessary.
Magistrates normally exercise their duties as part of a bench of three. They will at all times have available to them the advice of a professionally qualified court clerk. Their duties include:
Criminal matters
In criminal cases heard in the Adult and Youth Courts, magistrates:
Civil matters
Magistrates also decide many civil matters, particularly in relation to family work. Specially selected and trained members of the Family Court Panels deal with a wide range of matters, most of which arise from the breakdown of marriage, e.g. making orders for residence of and contact with children. Proceedings relating to the care and control of children are also dealt with in Family Proceedings Courts. The civil jurisdiction also involves the enforcement of financial penalties and orders such as those in respect of non payment of council tax.
Other duties
Members of specialist committees are responsible for the administration of the liquor licensing system and for the grant or refusal of applications for licences and permits relating to betting and the registration of gaming clubs. All magistrates carry out some routine licensing work.
Magistrates are expected to play a part in the life of the bench and where possible, attend bench meetings etc. They may undertake work out of Court, as members of committees. They are also expected to deal, at home, with requests for warrants for arrest and search and to take declarations of various kinds. (3171)
MAGISTERIAL QUALITIES
Personal Qualities
The following are the six key qualities sought in those applying to be magistrates.
1. Good character: personal integrity, respect and trust of others, respect for confidences, absence of any matter which might bring them or the Magistracy into disrepute, willingness to be circumspect in private, working and public life
2. Understanding and communication: ability to understand documents, identify and comprehend relevant facts, and follow evidence and arguments; ability to concentrate; ability to communicate effectively.
3. Social awareness: appreciation and acceptance of the rule of law; understanding of the local communities and society in general; respect for people from different ethnic, cultural or social backgrounds; experience of life beyond family, friends and work.
4. Maturity and sound temperament: ability to relate to and work with others; regard for the views of others; willingness to consider advice; maturity; humanity; courage; firmness; decisiveness; confidence; a sense of fairness; courtesy.
5. Sound judgement: common sense; ability to think logically, weigh arguments and reach a balanced decision; openness of mind; objectivity; the recognition and setting aside of prejudices.
6. Commitment and reliability: reliability; commitment to serve the community; willingness to undertake at least 26 and up to 35 half day sittings a year; willingness to undertake the required training; ability to offer requisite time; support of family and employer; sufficiently good health.
Eligibility requirements
Lay magistrates in England and Wales, except in the Duchy of Lancaster, are appointed by the Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs and Lord Chancellor on behalf and in the name of the Sovereign. With a few exceptions anyone is eligible to serve as a magistrate. However, the Lord Chancellor will not appoint:
Applicants must live within the area of the Commission of the Peace89 for which they wish to be considered or within 15 miles of its boundaries. The Lord Chancellor requires that candidates should have a reasonable degree of knowledge of the area to which they wish to be appointed and generally expects them to have lived in that area for a minimum of 12 months.
On appointment, magistrates are required to swear or affirm that they "will be faithful and bear true allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second, her heirs and successors, according to law" and that they "will well and truly serve our Sovereign Lady Queen Elizabeth the Second in the office of Justice of the Peace, and will do right to all manner of people after the laws and usages of this realm without fear or favour, affection or ill will".
(3412)
TEXT 15 CROWN COURTS
Crown Courts have existed since 1972. Before then, serious criminal cases were heard by High Court judges who toured the country holding Assize courts, and by Quarter sessions held four times a year, which dealt with matters somewhat more serious than in magistrates' courts, and appeals from magistrates. This system was unable to cope with the growing number of criminal cases, and the Courts Act 1971 set up the Crown Court.
The Crown Court deals with all indictable90 cases, which are serious offences triable before a judge and jury, and these include murder, rape, serious assault, kidnapping, conspiracy, fraud, armed robbery, and Official Secrets Act offences. These cases are first heard in the Crown Court, to which they are committed by magistrates, who decide whether there is enough evidence to make a case against the defendant. More often than not, today, this is a formal matter, made on paper, although there is provision for the defendant to require evidence to be given. The seniority and special qualifications of the judge determine the kind of case he or she is permitted to preside over. The more serious offences can be tried only by a High Court judge, others may be dealt with by a circuit judge or recorder – a part-time circuit judge.
There are currently 78 main Crown Court centres divided into six regions, known as Circuits. County and district boundaries have no statutory significance in determining where a case should be heard. Although most Crown Court cases are heard at the centre most convenient to the magistrates' court which committed the case for trial, some types of offence are directed to certain court tiers, for example, a homicide or rape offence. The most famous Crown Court is 'The Old Bailey', otherwise known as the Central Criminal Court.
Defendants in the Crown Courts are usually represented by lawyers, but can elect to represent themselves. This can sometimes have distressing consequences, particularly where the accused cross-examines the victim. The law was changed in 2000 to prevent this happening in rape and sexual offence cases. Children are also protected from having to answer to anyone accused of kidnapping, false imprisonment or child abduction.
On average defendants will have to wait about three months for their case to come to trial, and this wait will sometimes be in custody. The Crown Court is a hive of activity when it sits. The average time taken to conduct a trial is seven hours, which translates to about one and a half court days. There are, on average, about 120,000 defendants annually, and about one quarter of these will plead not guilty.
It is not unusual for defendants to meet their barrister for the first time on the morning of their case, for a conference of just 15 minutes. Barristers often only receive their instructions for a case on the day before trial. This has caused speculation that miscarriages of justice may be taking place. The Government has promised a shake-up91 of the criminal court system. Prime Minister Tony Blair announced in June 2002 that he wanted to give greater emphasis to the rights of the victims of crime, and proposed changing the law to allow previous convictions to be disclosed to juries, and scrapping the "double jeopardy" rule, which stops people being tried for the same crime twice regardless of the discovery of new evidence.
The Crown Court is also the appeal court. Appeal can be made from the magistrates' decision to the Crown Court, where a circuit judge sits, usually with two magistrates who did not hear the case in the magistrates' court. The appeal is a complete rehearing of the case, and evidence is heard again if it is in dispute. The Crown Court has power in these cases to increase as well as decrease the sentence imposed below. The only further appeal is to the Divisional Court of the High Court on a point of law, or on the grounds of unfairness in the proceedings. Cases may also reach the Crown Court when magistrates commit a convicted defendant for sentence, which allows the Crown Court to use its greater powers. This is done when the magistrates think a case is too serious for them to decide.
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TEXT 16 COUNTY COURTS
The County Courts are the first contact most people have with the civil law process in England and Wales. Similarly to the magistrates' courts that deal with the majority of criminal cases, the County Courts deal with most of the civil cases - those relating to family or property law - such as divorce or disputes over land. The County Court has concurrent jurisdiction with the High Court, it means that in most areas the litigant has a choice of which court to use.
Despite their name the County courts do not fit within county boundaries in England and Wales, in fact, the 230 county courts are scattered around the towns and cities that require their services.
The County Courts hear more formal cases before a District or Circuit judge, and deals with over 95 per cent of all divorce cases. The judge will be advised by a court clerk on all matters, and will preside over most common law matters. All property cases up to £30,000, all personal injury claims less than £50,000, and bankruptcy matters are all carried out by the District Judge at the County court. In addition, the County Court hosts the small claims court, where most minor civil matters (most claims of less than £3,000) can be resolved with an informal arbitration.
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SMALL CLAIMS COURT92
Going to court in a civil case can be very expensive when the sums involved are small. It can cost much more to mount the case that you would ever get in return. The solution is to use the Small Claims Procedure, which was originally set up to make it easy for people to recover legitimate compensation without using expensive legal advisors.
The idea was that a claim would be heard by a judge in chambers, with the parties presenting their cases in person. The process would be administrated by the Court Service at local County Courts but everything would be streamlined. The litigants wouldn't have to worry too much about the cost because Court fees can be recovered.
In practice, the system has changed since it was first created. The monetary threshold has risen steadily through the years. Today, it deals with an increasing proportion of legal claims, especially those not requiring substantial compensation for personal injuries. It allows people to make claims of up to £5,000 for in such circumstances.
Claimants can use the procedure to recover unpaid bills, rents or refunds of rental deposits for property, overpayments of bills to power companies and other utilities. As a general rule, a person has a legitimate claim if someone owes them money and is refusing to pay-up. All you need is proof that the debt exists - a document or reliable witnesses.
One of the most important areas concerns disputes between landlords and tenants. The most common subjects of disagreements concern rent, the state or deterioration of the property and the return of deposits. The important thing is for there to be full and proper documentation. The most protracted and expensive disputes generally result from inadequate paperwork and a lack of attention to detail.
So at the start of the contract, the two sides should sign a contract. The tenant(s) should have a rent book to show what they have paid. The two sides should agree an inventory of furniture and other property in the house or flat, preferably in the presence of an independent witness.
People can also make a claim for other reasons, such as accident and personal injury claims. These are likely to succeed if the injured party can prove that injuries were caused by someone's negligence, along with evidence that the negligent party can pay the compensation, probably through their insurance company.
The most common types of claim are for accidents at work, tripping and slipping in the street, injuries through sports activities, injuries by animals (being bitten by a dog for instance), accidents in the home and negligence by a doctor or dentist. However, the small claims procedure can only be used for relatively minor injuries, where the level of compensation would be less than £1,000. Before a claim can proceed however, the court expects the parties to have explored all other avenues of settlement. This means that the claimant should allow the other side a reasonable period of time to make a payment before resorting to law. The respondents may request extra time to investigate the claim. But after, for example, seven to 14 days, proceedings can start.
The procedure starts with the claimant filling out a standard form, which sets out details about the claim and the various parties. This is returned to the Court office with the appropriate fee. A summons is then sent out to the defendant who may choose to pay up in full. However, they also have the option to admit part of the claim and pay that part or request to pay by instalments, or may also dispute the claim in its entirety.
If any part of the claim is disputed, the matter goes to a Court hearing where the evidence is heard in informal surroundings, usually around the table in the judge's chambers. Judges tend to be very patient with lay claimants, who will be nervous and unaccustomed to court procedures. However, interruptions, verbal abuse and unreasonable behaviour will not be tolerated.
There's no formal appeal procedure. The judge makes an immediate decision and the parties get a full and final result on the day. The only exception comes when a decision is made in the absence of the respondent because they could not attend, they can apply for the judgement to be set aside. (3535)
TEXT 17 HIGH COURT
The High Court is a civil court and has the authority to hear any civil case in England and Wales. It handles everything from libel and litigation to shipping cases and divorce. Along with the Court of Appeal, it is based at the gothic buildings of the Royal Courts of Justice on the Strand, London, but also sits at 26 towns around the country.
The High Court has a complex history, because the form it takes today is the result of many amalgamations and reincarnations. It was created under the Judicature Act of 1873 and effectively combined the previously separate courts of the High Court of Chancery, Court of Queen's Bench, Court of Common Pleas93, Court of Exchequer, High Court of Admiralty, Court of Probate, Court for Divorce and Matrimonial Causes, and the London Court of Bankruptcy. Under the Act the new High Court was divided into three divisions: Queen’s Bench; Chancery; and Probate, Divorce and Admiralty (PDA). A subsequent rearrangement changed the PDA into the Family Division.
The Queen's Bench Division (QBD) is headed by the Lord Chief Justice, and has nearly 70 judges. It hears contract and tort cases where the claimant is seeking damages above a certain amount. A judge usually sits alone, but a jury of 12 may be employed to hear cases involving fraud, libel, slander, malicious prosecution94 and false imprisonment.
The QBD also encompasses a Commercial Court, which has specialist judges dealing with insurance, banking and commercial matters; and an Admiralty Court, which deals with shipping matters such as claims for damage caused by collision at sea and salvage rights following the sinking of a vessel. There is a Technology and Construction Court, which was specially created in 1998 to hear any High Court cases involving technically complex matters, for example, those involving computers and engineering disputes.
If a local council illegally makes a wrong decision, the QBD courtroom is the place where this will be put to rights. The QBD hears challenges against the power of local authorities to make certain decisions, a type of case known as a judicial review. On average, more than 110,000 claims are started in the QBD each year but only about 3,500 of these will be set down for trial, and a mere 700 or so trials will be completed. The reason is that the vast majority of cases are settled by the parties prior to the court hearing.
The Chancery Division is headed by the Lord Chancellor and has about 17 judges. Disputes concerning insolvency, mortgages, copyright and patents, trust property, probate and intellectual property matters, are referred to this court. Cases are heard by a single judge and juries are never used. It hears a small amount of appeals on tax and bankruptcy matters.
The Family Division is headed by the President of the Family Division, and has about 17 judges. It hears cases concerning access and custody of children, nullity of marriage and other matters concerning the family. It consists of a single judge and never uses a jury. It hears appeals from magistrates, when these concern family matters.
The High Court forms the Supreme Court of Judicature, with the Court of Appeal and the Crown Court. (2649)
TEXT 18 THE COURT OF APPEAL
In the early days of English law, there were no appeal courts. If a person wanted to appeal against a judicial decision then they could, in some cases, appeal to the Court of King's Bench, and from there to the House of Lords. From the late medieval period until the 17th century, important civil and criminal cases were informally discussed by barristers and judges at Sergeants' Inn in London or a room at Westminster called the Exchequer Chamber, and their decision was respected by the courts.
In 1848, a Court for Crown Cases Reserved was set up, with the power to hear cases that the trial judge wanted to refer. This was replaced by the Court of Criminal Appeal, which was created by the Judicature Act of 1873. It took over powers previously exercised by the Court of Exchequer Chamber95, the Lord Chancellor, the Court of Appeal in Chancery96, and the Privy Council in admiralty and lunacy cases.
The present Court of Appeal, which sits as a Civil Division or a Criminal Division, replaced the Court of Criminal Appeal in 1966.
If a convicted person feels he or she has not had a fair trial in the Crown Court and has been wrongfully convicted, or that the sentence imposed by the judges is unfair, then he or she can take their case to the Court of Appeal (Criminal Division), where more senior judges will consider the merits of their case.
In order to avoid a logjam97 scenario where the court would be inundated with appeals, it is necessary to filter out any obviously unlikely to succeed. Therefore the defendant must first get permission (or leave) to appeal from the Court of Appeal, or a certificate that states the case is fit for appeal, from the judge who has heard it.
A Court of Appeal judge (there are 35 Lords Justices of Appeal) will decide whether the case is suitable for reconsideration. Only about a quarter of cases put forward for appeal will actually be allowed to go ahead. However, this is no guarantee that the case will ultimately be successful. The Court hears about 6,000 criminal appeals and applications per year.
If the convicted person is claiming that their sentence is too severe then the judges can reduce it. However, they have no power to increase it.
Criminal proceedings are tipped in favour of the defendant at all times. It is a basic principle of English law that the accused is innocent until proven guilty. Consequently, when the prosecution wants to appeal against an acquittal, their powers are more limited. They cannot appeal against the findings of a jury unless the jury or witnesses have been bribed or threatened. If there has been a conviction for "jury nobbling98" then the prosecution can apply to the High Court for an order quashing the acquittal.
However, provided the accused has been convicted, the prosecution can challenge a sentence that they think is too lenient. The prosecution does this by writing to the Attorney-General and asking him to refer a case to the Court of Appeal for re-sentencing. It is not just the prosecution who can ask the Attorney-General to do this. Members of the public, such as distressed relatives of the victim, can also request this.
Appeals from the County court and the High Court are to the Court of Appeal (Civil Division). This part of the court is headed by the Master of the Rolls. Cases are heard by at least three judges, except in certain limited circumstances, such as applications for leave to appeal, appeal against an interlocutory order99 (a provisional court order or one that is incidental to the final decision) or where the parties have consented to the case being heard by two judges.
The Court of Appeal (Civil Division) is a busy court, hearing about 1,000 cases each year. In some cases the Lords Justices of Appeal may be joined by the Lord Chancellor, the President of the Family Division, the Vice Chancellor of the Chancery Division, and High Court judges.
Either the defendant or the prosecution may appeal to the House of Lords in its appellate capacity, which does not involve lay members of the House, but is heard by a committee of paid Lords of Appeal in Ordinary. The appeal is only available if the Court of Appeal certifies that a point of law of general public importance is involved, and if either that court or a Lords’ committee gives leave. (for more information see text 7)
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THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
LEGISLATIVE BRANCH
The legislative branch of the United States government is represented by Congress of the United States. Congress is composed of two chambers with equal powers: the 100-member Senate and the 435-member House of Representatives. The primary duty of Congress is to write, debate, and pass bills (proposed laws), which are then passed on to the President for approval. Once the President approves the legislation, the executive branch enforces the new laws and the judicial branch interprets them. Other congressional duties include investigating pressing national issues, supervising the executive and judicial branches, and shaping U.S. foreign policy.
A new Congress begins in January every two years following congressional elections, in which voters choose all representatives and a third of the senators. The entire House membership faces reelection every two years, but the Senate is a continuing body because there is never an entirely new Senate. Since the First Congress, which met from 1789 to 1791, all Congresses have been numbered in order. The members elected in 1996 served in the 105th Congress, convened in 1997 and 1998. Congress usually holds one session a year. Originally, most congressional sessions lasted from the first Monday in December until the following March 4. The 20th Amendment, which was adopted in 1933, changed the beginning of the congressional session to January 3, but permits Congress to select a different date. There is no fixed adjournment date. During the annual session Congress takes several recesses to allow members to return to their home states. Besides the regular sessions, the President can call special sessions of Congress.
The House and the Senate each convene in their own chambers in the Capitol. On rare occasions they gather for a joint session in the House chamber, usually to hear a speech by the President or by a dignitary from another country. Congress also meets in joint session to count the electoral votes for Presidential elections.
Most members of Congress work very hard. Daily tasks typically include: (1) meeting with constituents to discuss issues, (2) attending committee meetings, (3) meeting with government officials and lobbyists, (4) studying and discussing legislation, (5) working with informal groups of colleagues, (6) assisting constituents with problems, (7) managing the congressional office and staff, (8) raising money for the next campaign, (9) working with party leaders to build support for bills, (10) overseeing how agencies are carrying out laws, and (11) appearing publicly outside the state or district to address issues.
Members of Congress rely on staff aides to help them with their heavy workload. House members are allotted up to 18 staff members, who work in local district offices or on Capitol Hill—the location of House and Senate chambers and offices. Senators' staffs vary according to their states' populations. About a third of congressional aides work in state offices, and the rest on Capitol Hill. (2538)
TEXT 21 POWERS OF CONGRESS
The Constitution of the United States grants Congress "all legislative powers" in the national government. Article I, Section 8, of the Constitution lists a wide range of congressional powers, including printing money, maintaining a military, declaring war, and regulating interstate and foreign commerce. Congress also controls federal taxing and spending policies—one of the most important sources of power in the government. The Constitution also gives Congress the authority to "make all laws which shall be necessary and proper," an implied source of power sometimes called the Elastic Clause.
One of the most important implied powers is Congress's authority to investigate and oversee the executive branch and its agencies, such as the Department of Defense and the Department of Justice. As part of this responsibility, which is known as oversight, Congress summons senior officials to answer questions from members, orders audits of agencies, and holds hearings to air grievances1 of citizens.
Congress also holds hearings on matters of general public concern. Sometimes members of Congress conduct these hearings to identify problems that create a need for new laws. In other cases Congress holds hearings to raise public awareness about an issue. Sometimes members of Congress conduct hearings in an effort to bolster their reputations and improve their election prospects.
Congress reviews the professional conduct of its own members but usually punishes only the most egregious violations of House and Senate rules. Congress certifies the election results of its own members as submitted by state officials. Certification is usually routine.
Some congressional powers remain rarely used. Congress can impeach the President and other federal officials for treason, bribery, and other serious offenses, but it hardly ever does so. Although members of Congress discuss impeachment from time to time and have initiated proceedings in many cases, there have been only 14 formal impeachment trials. Of the 14 officials tried, only half were convicted and removed from office. The House of Representatives votes on whether to charge officials with impeachable offenses. If the House votes to impeach, then the Senate conducts the impeachment trial itself. The Vice President of the United States presides over the Senate during impeachment proceedings, except when the President is impeached. In an impeachment of the President, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court presides over the proceedings. A two-thirds majority vote of senators present at an impeachment trial is necessary to secure conviction.
In 1868 President Andrew Johnson was impeached on charges of defying the authority of Congress and of violating a federal law, the recently enacted Tenure of Office Act2. Johnson was acquitted by a single vote, but his victory established the precedent that Presidents should not face impeachment for purely political reasons. In 1974 the House Judiciary Committee approved three articles of impeachment (charges) against President Richard Nixon, who soon resigned rather than face further congressional action based on his involvement in the Watergate scandal3.
Congress also rarely uses its power to amend the Constitution. The Constitution permits Congress to propose new constitutional amendments through a two-thirds vote of both chambers, which then must be ratified by three-fourths of the states. The difficulty of amending the Constitution stops Congress from proposing new amendments very often.
Congress shares many powers with the President. Congress takes equal responsibility with the President in framing U.S. foreign policy. The President and his representatives negotiate treaties with other countries, but the treaties go into effect only when the Senate approves them. Similarly, the President appoints ambassadors, federal judges, and many other government officials, but they must be confirmed by the Senate.
Congress also shares control over the military with the President. Congress has the authority to declare war and provide funding for soldiers and weapons, but the President serves as the Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces. Congress has declared war on five occasions: the War of 1812 against Britain (1812-1815), the Mexican War (1846-1848), the Spanish-American War (1898), World War I (1914-1918), and World War II (1939-1945). In more than 200 other instances, however, Presidents have sent armed forces into hostile situations in other countries to protect U.S. lives or property, without a declaration of war. Many of these were brief rescue or peacekeeping missions. Some, such as the Korean War (1950-1953) and the Vietnam War (1959-1975), were full-blown conflicts.
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The Constitution limits congressional power. The original articles of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights bar Congress from passing some types of laws. The First Amendment, for example, prevents Congress from creating a national religion. It also declares that Congress cannot infringe on certain basic freedoms such as freedom of the press, speech, association, and petition. The Eighth Amendment specifies that Congress cannot impose "cruel and unusual" penalties on law-breakers. Other amendments create basic rights for people accused of crimes and limit the government's power to take a citizen's property.
The judicial branch interprets laws, sometimes in ways not intended by Congress. The courts also shape laws by deciding whether they conform to the Constitution. This power, known as judicial review, is a powerful institutional check on Congress.
Perhaps the most substantial limit on Congress is the President's power to veto legislation, which Congress can override only by a two-thirds vote of both chambers. The President also has informal power over Congress. The power and prestige of the White House gives the President an edge over Congress in attracting public attention, so the President can often press Congress to accept legislative proposals. The President has no constitutional authority to compel Congress to consider a specific legislative agenda, but members of the House and Senate often propose legislation on the President's behalf. (1274)
TEXT 22 SENATE
The Senate includes two senators from each of the 50 states, elected for six-year terms. To be a senator, a person must be at least 30 years old, a citizen for nine years, and a resident of the state from which he or she is elected. Most members of Congress have served in state legislatures, city councils, or other elected bodies. Because of the high cost of conducting a congressional campaign, most successful candidates have incomes well above the national median.
The Constitution grants the Senate special powers not shared by the House. Only the Senate has the power to approve treaties proposed by the President. The chamber also has the sole authority to confirm the President’s choices for diplomats, federal judges, cabinet members, and other important federal officials. The Senate also conducts impeachment hearings against the President and federal judges, but only after the House has voted to proceed with impeachment.
Under the Constitution, the vice President of the United States has formal control of the Senate and is officially known as the President of the Senate. In practice, the vice President comes to the chamber only for important ceremonies and to cast tie-breaking votes. The Senate’s majority party appoints its most senior member to assume the vice President’s leadership duties, taking the title President pro tem4. This office is also primarily ceremonial. Normally, recently-elected senators—sometimes called junior senators—take turns presiding over the Senate, aided by experts in Senate procedure called parliamentarians.
Most Senate power rests in the hands of the floor leaders5—that is, the leaders of the majority and minority parties. Floor leaders and their assistants, known as whips, try to organize members' support behind their party's legislative program. The floor leaders and whips also arrange the Senate schedule, make procedural motions to support or block legislation, and try to prevent the Senate from taking action that absent senators might find objectionable. These leaders also head up key party committees, make appointments to special committees, and speak to the news media on behalf of their parties.
The Senate is organized into 16 permanent committees and nearly 70 subcommittees. These committees and subcommittees hold hearings, conduct research, and supervise the executive branch. Key committees include the Appropriations6, Budget, and Finance Committees, and those specializing in agriculture, armed services, banking, commerce, and foreign affairs. The committees and subcommittees make many of the Senate's most important legislative decisions. The average senator sits on three or four committees and about six subcommittees, so most senators work on a wide range of issues. In addition to their committee work, senators often try to affect legislation being considered by committees on which they do not serve.
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TEXT 23 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
The 435 House seats are divided among the states in proportion to each state's population. Every state is guaranteed at least one seat. States entitled to more than a single seat must create districts of roughly equal population from which members are elected. The United States Bureau of the Census counts the population of the states every ten years to determine how many seats each state is entitled to. Representatives, elected for two-year terms, must be 25 years old, a citizen for at least seven years, and a resident of the state from which they are elected. Five additional members—from Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the Virgin Islands, and the District of Columbia—represent their constituencies in the House but do not vote in the chamber.
The House enjoys the sole authority to propose tax legislation, but the Senate must approve tax bills as they would any other type of legislation. By tradition, all bills funding government activities also originate in the House. The House also has the power to initiate impeachment proceedings against the President and other federal officials, but the Senate conducts the actual impeachment trials.
The Speaker of the House leads the House of Representatives, scheduling debates, assigning bills to House committees, and appointing members to special committees. The majority party nominates the Speaker, who is then confirmed by a vote of the entire House, which almost always follows party lines. Because of the office's extensive powers, the Speaker stands as the most visible and important figure on Capitol Hill, and one of the most powerful leaders in the country.
Speaker manages House business more tightly than is possible in the Senate. Members of the House can address the chamber only when the Speaker recognizes them (calls on them), and the Speaker also has strong influence on committee appointments. Within limits, the speaker can block a bill by sending it to a committee likely to vote down the proposal, or the Speaker can support a bill by directing it to a receptive committee. The Speaker can also kill a bill by choosing not to put it on the House schedule for a vote. The Senate's floor leaders, in contrast, must rely much more on consensus and persuasion to manage Senate business.
As in the Senate, the House's majority and minority parties each choose floor leaders and whips to organize party members. Party committees plan party policy and recommend members for committee assignments.
The House has 19 committees. Most of these committees in turn have subcommittees to consider narrower topics. The average House member works on two committees and three subcommittees. Because of the House's large size, its committees usually frame issues for debate in the chamber. In contrast, major issues are sometimes shaped by the Senate as a whole. The House as a body usually defers to decisions made by individual committees, making House committees even more powerful than those in the Senate.
The majority party dictates how many majority and minority members sit on each committee. The political parties decide which committees their representatives will sit on. The most sought-after7 committees are Appropriations, Ways and Means8 Transportation, Commerce, and Rules9 .
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TEXT 24 THE LEGISLATIVE PROCESS
Each Congress proposes thousands of new laws, but only a small percentage win the approval of both chambers and the President. At every stage of the lawmaking process, these proposals are amended, modified, and refined. To become law, a measure must make it through committee and floor debates10, win the support of important interest groups, gain a majority of votes in the two chambers, and then win the President's signature.
Proposing New Laws
Only a member of the House or Senate can sponsor new laws. Members of Congress sometimes sponsor legislation at the request of the President. They also sponsor bills requested by interest groups, businesses, labor unions, and many other groups. Sometimes identical or similar bills are introduced simultaneously in each chamber. A bill's backers may try to find additional members to cosponsor the legislation to demonstrate its broad support. To introduce a bill, a member hands it to the Senate clerk or puts it in the House hopper11 (a mahogany box at the Speaker's podium). The bill is then assigned a number, such as HR 205 (House of Representatives number 205) or S 100 (the 100th bill introduced into the Senate during the session).
Most proposals are public bills, which means that they apply to large classes of people. Members of Congress may also sponsor private bills, which affect small numbers of people and often involve immigration status, patents, or claims against the government. A bill, whether public or private, must pass both chambers in identical form to become law. Congress also passes joint resolutions12, often to enact temporary legislation such as short-term budget extensions. Joint resolutions have the force of law when signed by the President or when passed over the President's veto. Congress sometimes expresses its opinions through concurrent resolutions13, which do not require the President’s approval and do not carry the force of law. In 1998, for example, more than three dozen senators sponsored a concurrent resolution that condemned Iraq's "continued threat to international peace and security." If both chambers approve a concurrent resolution, it is published by the archivist of the United States. The House or the Senate can vote on its own to pass a simple resolution14, which affects only the chamber that passes it.
Of the thousands of bills and resolutions proposed in each session of Congress, less than 10 percent are approved by both chambers and signed by the President. Many measures fail because they are seen as too extreme or because they are not seen as addressing pressing issues. Members of Congress sometimes propose laws they know have little chance of enactment, usually to draw attention to a problem, to stake out their position, or to curry favor with an interest group. Years or even decades may pass before public or group support pushes the bill to enactment.
The Committee System
Congress conducts most of its work through two major types of committees. The most common are standing committees, which are usually permanent. Each standing committee takes responsibility for a particular subject area. Congress creates temporary committees, usually called select or special committees, to write bills on a particular topic or to conduct investigations. Both chambers, for example, have select committees to authorize and oversee the nation's intelligence-gathering operations, including the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the National Security Agency.
Most standing committees have the power only to authorize government action and cannot commit funding to implement the policy. Before most laws can be carried out, they must receive an appropriation of funding from the House and Senate appropriations committees. This occurs during Congress's annual budget process. The amount of money in the budget depends on the level of taxes and other revenues brought in by law processed by the Senate Finance Committee and the House Ways and Means Committee.
Much of a committee's work is handled by a sizable number of professional staff assistants. In 1996 there were nearly 1200 House committee aides and more than 800 Senate committee aides. Some of the staff are experts in technical areas, such as military weapons, farming, and international finance. They guide lawmakers—especially those who are new or inexperienced—through the web of issues handled by the committee.
After a bill is introduced, the presiding officer—the Speaker of the House or the President pro tem of the Senate—refers it to a specialized committee to review the measure. Most bills die at this stage when committee members vote to take no action or to table15 the proposal. Most committees conduct much of their business through subcommittees, in which the subject matter of the committee is further broken down. Complex bills receive attention from several committees and subcommittees. A farm trade bill, for example, might be considered by the House's Agriculture, Commerce, and Small Business Committees.
Committee review of a bill may involve hearings, staff research, revision, amendments, and then a final recommendation to approve or reject the measure. Hearings sometimes highlight support for a measure, but they can also point out flaws and spark conflicts within Congress and the country at large. Hearings usually affect the committee's main decision, whether to report (recommend) the bill to the full chamber or to reject it entirely. Very few bills are sent to the full chamber without changes.
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Final Action on Bills
Once a committee reports a bill or resolution, it must be placed on the Senate or House agenda before the chamber can vote on the measure. Treaties and presidential nominations for federal offices reported by Senate committees must also be put on the agenda for a vote. The Senate has a simple scheduling system, with two calendars16. The main Senate calendar, called the Calendar of General Orders, includes all public and private bills. The other Senate calendar, the Executive Calendar, is set aside for treaties and nominations proposed by the President. As in the House, the Senate passes many routine bills with the agreement of all members, using a procedure called unanimous consent. In addition, Senate leaders often seek consensus among senators concerning the arrangements of debate for controversial bills.
Without a unanimous consent agreement, the Senate must debate and vote on a bill under rules that permit all senators virtually unlimited debating time. Even a small number of senators can use this rule to filibuster17 - to block a measure by speaking on the Senate floor for hours or even days on end. Filibusters can be halted by invoking cloture18 (closure), which requires a petition signed by 16 senators followed by a three-fifths vote of all senators. Because of the flexibility of the Senate's debating rules, a bill's sponsors usually try to postpone a vote until they have secured a unanimous consent agreement, which is sometimes called a time agreement because it limits the time for debate. Failing that, a bill's sponsors will try to ensure that an overwhelming number of their colleagues want the bill to be considered by the chamber.
The House deliberates much faster. Nearly two-thirds of all House measures are approved through two mechanisms: unanimous consent and suspension19 of the rules, a procedure that passes bills quickly but requires approval of two-thirds of the chamber. Controversial bills (about one in every ten) are considered under a special rule granted by the House Rules Committee. Approved by the full chamber, these rules govern floor debate—setting time limits, limiting amendments, and sometimes barring objections to portions of the bills. Dominated by the leaders of the majority, the Rules Committee tries to arrange debate that favors the majority view of the legislation.
The bill's managers—its sponsors or senior committee supporters—control House floor debate. These managers allocate debating time to strong supporters of the measure and other allies who ask to address the House. Leading opponents of a measure allocate the opposition's speaking time. Debates change few minds and are usually directed at the news media and outside observers. In exchanges called colloquies20, members question one another to place their views on the public record.
Finally, members vote on amendments and final passage of the bill. The Senate has almost 700 votes in every Congress, and the House of Representatives has more than 500. Voting may be by voice, by division (standing to indicate support or opposition), or by individually recorded votes. Most important votes are recorded individually.
When a bill is approved on the floor of one chamber of Congress, it passes over to the second chamber for consideration. The bill again faces introduction, committee referral, committee action, placement on the calendar, floor debate, and floor vote21. If the bill passes the second chamber in original form, it is sent to the President for signature or veto. If the President vetoes a measure, Congress can override the veto only through a two-thirds vote of both chambers.
If the second chamber modifies the bill in any way, it must then be sent back to the first chamber. Sometimes sending the bill back and forth results in an agreement by both chambers. Or the chambers will create a conference committee22, which brings together members of both chambers. The conference committee tries to agree on a compromise bill that is acceptable to both the House and the Senate. The bill produced by the conference committee must then be approved by both chambers, and then sent to the President. (3499)
TEXT 25 INFLUENCES ON THE LEGISLATIVE PROCESS
Of all the branches of government, Congress is the most open to pressures of all kinds. Four main sources of influence on Congress are political parties, the President, interest groups, and public opinion.
Political Parties
Most lawmakers have long-term attachments to the Democratic or Republican parties. It is possible to run for Congress as an independent, but few have been elected. In recent decades, only one true independent, Bernard Sanders of Vermont, has won election to Congress, first winning his House seat in 1990.
Congress is organized and led by its political parties: the Republicans and the Democrats. Even before newly elected members arrive on Capitol Hill, they are likely to have received their party's help in running and financing their campaigns. In both chambers, parties award committee assignments to their members. The majority party provides chairpersons for all the committees and subcommittees. In the House, the majority party draws up the rules and dictates the party balance of committees. These powers to organize House business gives the parties power over individual members. The majority and minority party leaders, although less partisan than the House, lead the Senate.
Members tend to make legislative votes along party lines23. In the 104th Congress (1995-1996), for example, more than six out of every ten floor votes in the House and Senate were party-line votes in which a majority of Democrats opposed a majority of Republicans. The average Republican lawmaker followed his or her party on nine out of ten floor votes; the average Democrat, on eight out of ten.
The President
Beginning with George Washington, virtually all Presidents have tried to influence lawmaking on Capitol Hill. Presidents shape the legislative agenda, and they try to persuade members of Congress to support particular bills. Presidents prevail on about three-fourths of the House and Senate votes on which they take a position. Some Presidents—for example, Dwight Eisenhower in the 1950s and John F. Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson in the 1960s—enjoy extraordinary success in steering their proposals through Congress.
Presidents do better with members of their own party than with opposition party members. As a result, the best predictor of a President's success on Capitol Hill is the numerical strength of the President's party in Congress. Shifts of party control on Capitol Hill can dramatically change a President's fortunes. For example, President Bill Clinton's legislative success rate with the 103rd Congress (1993-1994), when his fellow Democrats controlled both chambers, was the best in nearly 30 years. After the Republicans captured Congress in 1994, Clinton's success rate fell to a modern-day low.
A President's skill at dealing with members of Congress can determine the fate of bills whose legislative support is unclear. Some Presidents, such as Dwight Eisenhower and Lyndon Johnson, work closely with members of Congress. Others, such as Richard Nixon and Jimmy Carter, seem ill at ease and ineffective in contacting lawmakers.
Presidents can also veto (reject) legislation that has been passed by Congress. When both houses approve a bill or resolution and send it to the President's desk, the President has ten days to sign it into law or return it to Congress. If the President fails to either sign or return the measure within ten days, it becomes law anyway—unless Congress is out of session. If the President opts not to act on a bill for ten days after Congress has finished its session, it is automatically vetoed. This is known as a pocket veto24.
On average, Presidents veto about 5 percent of the measures sent to the White House, but this varies with different presidential administrations. The veto's most potent use is as a threat. As a bill wends its way through the House and Senate, its sponsors want to know whether or not the President is likely to sign it. Congress can override a presidential veto only through a vote of two-thirds of both chambers. This high threshold makes overrides quite rare—only about 4 percent of presidential vetoes are successfully overcome by Congress. Because of the difficulty in overriding a veto, a bill's sponsors try to secure the President's support before Congress votes on the measure.
The veto is a blunt tool because Presidents must either accept or reject the entire contents of a bill, which may include hundreds or even thousands of provisions. This is especially true of federal spending bills, which are usually made up of thousands of line items (entries for individual programs) and their corresponding funding limits. In 1996 Congress passed the Line-Item Veto Act, which gave the President the power to veto individual items in funding or tax bills. In 1998, however, the Supreme Court ruled that the act was unconstitutional
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Interest Group Pressures
About two-thirds of all Americans are members of one or more groups, such as churches, sports teams, school clubs, labor unions, and business associations. Not all these groups seek political influence, but each has the right to do so. The First Amendment to the Constitution protects not only free speech and the right of assembly but also people's right to "petition the Government for a redress of grievances." This First Amendment right allows interest groups to pressure Congress in many ways and on any issue. Throughout US history, groups have pressed Congress to take action on issues such as slavery, import tariffs, women's right to vote, taxes, gun control, and abortion.
Groups often send representatives to Capitol Hill to speak directly to lawmakers. This is called lobbying, because interest group representatives once crowded into the lobbies outside legislative chambers in the hopes of catching lawmakers as they came and went. Buying a lawmaker's support—that is, bribery—was once common but is now illegal. Lobbyists are most persuasive when they can supply facts and arguments for lawmakers to use in defending their vote.
Two variants of lobbying include grassroots25 lobbying and coalition lobbying. In grassroots lobbying, an interest group uses a campaign of phone calls, telegrams, e-mail, and letters from citizens to persuade members of Congress to act in a certain way. Because grassroots campaigns can be especially persuasive, since the early 1990s business groups have orchestrated campaigns so that they appear to emanate from the public. In 1995, for example, telecommunications companies sent nearly 500,000 telegrams to Congress favoring relaxed controls on their industry. But thousands of people listed as senders of the telegrams had not authorized the sending of telegrams in their names, and some of those listed as senders had died months earlier. In coalition lobbying, interest groups join forces with like-minded26 groups to increase their influence. For example, in 1997 medical device and pharmaceutical manufacturers got together to press Congress to limit their legal liability when their products failed to work.
Interest groups also try to win congressional support by contributing money to the electoral campaigns of individual members. Because members of the House and Senate face limits on campaign donations, interest groups may also mount their own campaigns (termed issue advocacy) that are often indistinguishable from the candidate's efforts. In addition to printing leaflets and running radio and TV ads, many interest groups hire organizers to work in the candidate's state or district. About 100 groups create "report cards" on congressional members' voting records, selecting issues and scoring members’ "right" or "wrong" votes.
Increasingly, congressional races are influenced by political action committees. These groups do not usually lobby Congress directly. Instead they try to influence the congressional agenda by raising money to support candidates sympathetic to their cause. Nearly two-thirds of political action committees represent business groups, such as chemical manufacturers and cigarette makers, but there are also groups devoted to the interests of labor unions, women candidates, and environmental protection.
Public Opinion
Congress responds directly to the activities of individuals and groups. No major issue is resolved before members have tested the public's opinion.
Senators and representatives listen carefully to their constituents—people who live in the states or congressional districts that they represent. Keeping in touch with popular opinion can be difficult, because each of the 435 congressional districts contains approximately 575,000 people, and the average state includes more than 5 million people.
More direct avenues of communication exist between constituents and lawmakers than ever before. Citizens can write or phone the offices of senators or representatives in Washington, D.C., or in home states. Members regularly travel back and forth between Washington and their home bases to meet with constituents. Computers and electronic technology such as faxes, e-mail, the Internet, electronic town halls, and radio and television talk shows enable members of Congress to take the nation's political pulse quickly. (3702)
EXECUTIVE BRANCH
The Executive branch of the United States government is devoted to administering and enforcing the country's laws. It has 14 major departments and scores of separate agencies. Executive branch agencies, departments, and other entities are all bureaucracies—large organizations composed of clerks, administrators, and other workers. Executive branch bureaucracies disperse funds, manage programs, provide services, and enforce regulations and laws. They also make rules that have the force of law behind them. Article II, Section 1, of the Constitution of the United States makes the President the head of the executive branch. In addition, laws give the President specific powers over a wide range of matters.
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TEXT 26 PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES
President of the United States is a chief executive officer of the federal government, leader of the executive branch, and the commander-in-chief of the armed forces. The President has the power to make treaties with other nations, with the advice and consent of two-thirds of the Senate. The President also appoints, with Senate consent, diplomatic representatives, Supreme Court judges, and many other officials.
The President and Vice President are the only government officials in the United States elected by and representing the entire nation. Although the President shares power with Congress and the judiciary, he or she is the most powerful and important officeholder in the country. The President has no vote in Congress but is the single largest source of legislative proposals that become law. As the principal foreign policy maker, the President of the United States has become the world's most important leader in international affairs.
Term of Office
The Constitution of the United States specifies a four-year Presidential term. It originally said nothing about how many terms a President could serve. But the precedent established by George Washington limited his successors to two terms. Succession by a Vice President after a President's death provided the opportunity to serve more than eight years without strictly violating the two-term rule. No President tried to serve more than eight years in office until Republican Theodore Roosevelt. After filling out three-and-a-half years of the term of President William McKinley following McKinley's assassination in 1901 and then serving four years in his own right (1905-1909), Roosevelt ran unsuccessfully in 1912 for another four years.
The need for steady leadership during World War II (1939-1945) made it possible for Democrat Franklin Delano Roosevelt to break the tradition by winning four successive elections between 1932 and 1944. In a reaction against Franklin Roosevelt's extended presidency, in 1951 Congress and state legislatures approved the 22nd Amendment to the Constitution, which limits a President to two elected terms. The amendment also prohibits a person from running for election a second time if he or she has already served more than two years of a term to which someone else had been elected.
Presidential Qualifications and Salary
The Constitution requires Presidents to be natural-born citizens of the United States who are at least 35 years of age and have resided in the United States for 14 years. As a tacit statement of America's commitment to democracy and equal opportunity, the Constitution gave any free white male citizen of the country the opportunity to become President. All males gained the right to become President in 1870 when the 15th Amendment to the Constitution gave African Americans the right to vote. Women were excluded from running for the office until 1920, when the 19th Amendment to the Constitution gave them the right to vote.
The Constitution specifies that Presidents receive compensation (salary and benefits) for their work, and Congress sets the specific amount. The salary of Presidents cannot be increased or diminished during their term of office. Nor can the President receive additional payments from the federal government or any of the states while in office. The Constitution also disallows Presidents and other federal officials from receiving any title of nobility, gift, payment, or official position from a King, Prince, or foreign state. All gifts to a President from foreign governments belong to the people of the United States rather than the President.
Congress establishes Presidential salaries. Originally, the President earned $25,000, and this was doubled to $50,000 in 1873. In 1907 Congress added an annual $25,000 stipend for expenses connected with the office. The President's salary increased to $75,000 in 1909 and went up again to $100,000 in 1949. At that time the expense allowance also increased to $90,000. In 1969 the salary advanced to $200,000, with $100,000 budgeted for travel and another $50,000 for expenses. Because the President's official duties incur far more expenses than the expense budget can cover, agencies of the federal government often assume responsibility for Presidential events. The Department of Defense, for example, pays the cost of having a military band perform at White House social functions and ceremonies.
For most of America's history, retired Presidents did not receive a pension. In 1958 Congress passed the Former Presidents Act, which gave retired Presidents a pension of $25,000 per year, an office, and a staff. Congress has increased the pension several times. Former Presidents now receive a pension that is based on the annual salary of a cabinet secretary, which was $143,800 in 1998. Former Presidents have historically been given a generous allowance for office and staff. Beginning with Democrat Bill Clinton, Presidents (or their surviving widows or widowers) will receive funds for an office and staff for four and one-half years after they leave office.
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RESPONSIBILITIES AND POWERS
In the more than two centuries since the presidency was established, the responsibilities and powers of the office have grown to a point where they almost exceed the capacity of any one individual to manage them. The fact that so few Presidents have been elected to two terms—only 15 out of 41 men—and that only 12 have served two full terms shows how difficult the job can be.
The Constitution requires the President to discharge the duties of the office and preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States. The President is also responsible for the execution of the laws of the United States. In domestic affairs, this means anything from implementing economic, social, and regulatory measures passed by Congress to acting as Commander-in-Chief to quell disorder or suppress insurrection. Presidents shape the country's judicial affairs by appointing federal judges. They influence the country's domestic, economic, political, and social life by proposing legislation, calling Congress into special session, and vetoing laws passed by Congress that they consider destructive to the national well-being. As Commander-in-Chief of the military, the President is also empowered to repel foreign invasion and to fight wars overseas. In times of overwhelming public danger, the President can declare martial law27, when the courts are not open or cannot function freely. The Constitution also gives the President the power to grant pardons and reprieves in criminal cases. This power does not require congressional approval, but it cannot be used in cases of impeachment.
In addition to these formal duties, the President is the country's chief educator who sets standards of taste and culture, using the White House, in Theodore Roosevelt's words, as a "bully pulpit" to assert moral authority. Presidents are also the leaders of their political party, and they try to advance its agenda.
The President proposes much of the legislation that Congress approves. The President's power to veto (reject) legislation also serves as a strong influence on the legislative process. Because it takes a two-thirds vote of both the House and the Senate to override a Presidential veto, Congress often modifies pending legislation to suit the President's preferences. Aside from the role in proposing and vetoing laws, the President exercises important legislative authority by issuing executive orders that have the force of law. The President also supervises the implementation of laws by directing administrative agencies, such as the Department of Justice and the Department of Agriculture.
The President appoints federal judges, subject to the approval of the Senate. In addition, the President assumes important judicial and law enforcement powers through executive agencies. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) gathers evidence against perpetrators of federal crimes and the Justice Department seeks indictments and convictions in the courts against wrongdoers. Agencies such as the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), the National Labor Relations Board28 (NLRB), the Securities and Exchange Commission29 (SEC), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) act as quasi-judicial bodies by holding hearings, issuing regulations, and adjudicating disputes.
Economic Authority
The President exerts substantial influence on the economic life of the nation through budgetary and taxing proposals. The President's decisions to increase and reduce budgets and to cut or raise taxes in conjunction with Congress affect the entire country, from the largest corporations to the individual taxpayer. Presidential decisions early in the country's history to contribute federal funds to road and canal projects helped boost the nation's economic development, and federal spending continues to drive growth in many areas. The President's ability to shape tariffs on imports affects the thousands of businesses that buy and sell goods to other countries. A President's power to regulate industries through the enforcement of safety requirements and environmental regulations affects nearly every workplace in America. The executive branch employs millions of workers, including clerks, investigators, lawyers, and others, and their pay rates help set a standard of living for millions of other citizens.
The President is the chief diplomat of the United States. The Constitution gives the President the power to negotiate treaties and appoint diplomatic representatives with the advice and consent of the Senate. The President also has the power to negotiate executive agreements with foreign countries that have the force and effect of law but do not require congressional approval. The President has the discretion to give official recognition to foreign governments. Democrat Woodrow Wilson, for example, refused to recognize the government of Mexico in 1913 because it had come to power through violence.
As Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces, the President has the power to formulate and direct military strategy and actions in times of war and peace. As the country's principal military commander, the President is responsible for the nation's security and the safety of its citizens. Although the Constitution grants Congress the power to declare war, historically the President has had nearly total freedom to send troops into combat. In the second half of the 19th century, many Presidents sent U.S. forces into Latin American countries to defend American business interests. Harry Truman made a much more substantial commitment of American soldiers in 1950 when he decided to fight the Korean War (1950-1953). A series of Presidents—Dwight Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, and Richard Nixon—waged war in Vietnam without a formal declaration of war from Congress. Since the establishment of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in 1947, nearly every President has used executive power to order the agency to conduct covert30 military operations abroad.
Appointive Powers
Subject to confirmation by a majority of the Senate, the President appoints the members of the Cabinet, the heads of independent federal agencies, and a large number of the administrative personnel of the federal executive departments and agencies. The President also appoints federal judges, including the justices of the Supreme Court of the United States; many federal employees; and the diplomatic representatives of the United States. The President also commissions, subject to congressional confirmation, all officers of the armed forces.
The appointive powers of Presidents include the freedom to spend substantial sums of money to facilitate their administration of the government and the exercise of their constitutional powers. Franklin Roosevelt, for example, authorized the Manhattan Project—a massive federal project to build an atomic bomb during World War II. Since the end of World War II, Presidents have used their budgetary authority to support the CIA's secret projects.
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PRESIDENTIAL SUCCESSION
Presidents can be removed from office only through death, resignation, an inability to discharge the powers and duties of their office, or by impeachment and conviction of treason, bribery, or other serious crimes and misdemeanors. Congress has conducted impeachment proceedings against only one President, Andrew Johnson. After the House voted to impeach Johnson in 1866, the Senate tried him in 1867 and acquitted him by one vote. Only one President has resigned, Richard Nixon in 1974, when the House Judiciary Committee drew up articles of impeachment for his crimes and misdemeanors in the Watergate scandal. Eight Presidents have died in office: William Henry Harrison (1841), Zachary Taylor (1850), Abraham Lincoln (assassinated 1865), James A. Garfield (assassinated 1881), William McKinley (assassinated 1901), Warren G. Harding (1923), Franklin D. Roosevelt (1945), and John F. Kennedy (assassinated 1963).
The order of succession upon the demise, removal, resignation, or incapacity of a President has been changed four times in the country's history. Under the Constitution, the Vice President is the undisputed successor to the President. But should both the President and Vice President be unable to govern, Congress mandated in 1792 that the President pro tempore of the Senate or the Speaker of the House, in that order, succeed to the presidency, but only for the purpose of ordering a new election. In 1886 Congress changed the succession rules so that if both the presidency and vice presidency were vacant, the Secretary of State and then other Cabinet members in their order of seniority would become President. In 1947 Congress again changed the order of succession and this order remains in effect today: the Speaker of the House, followed by the Senate's President pro tem, the Secretary of State, and then other members of the Cabinet assume the presidency if there is no President or Vice President. In 1967 the 25th Amendment to the Constitution described the conditions under which the Vice President could temporarily replace an incapacitated President. (1780)
TEXT 27 ELECTION TO THE PRESIDENCY
The power of the presidency makes it the most sought-after position in American politics. The keen competition for the post and high cost of waging an effective campaign limits the pool of candidates to a select few. The Constitution originally provided for the election of the President and Vice President by the Electoral College. Members of the Electoral College, who are called electors, represent their states by casting votes for two candidates, with the person receiving the greatest number of votes becoming President and the second-place finisher, Vice President. A tie vote in the 1800 election between Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr led to the enactment in 1804 of the 12th Amendment to the Constitution, which provides that the electoral college use separate ballots, one for President and one for Vice President.
By the mid-19th century the votes of the Electoral College had only symbolic importance. Electors from each state simply followed the will of the voting majority by giving their votes to the candidate receiving the most popular votes.
The President and Vice President are the only public officials in the United States chosen in a nationwide election, which takes place every four years. There are three major steps in a Presidential candidate's journey toward the White House: primary elections, the party convention31, and the campaign for the general election between party nominees. After winning election the President takes an oath of office on Inauguration Day. The long and expensive process from primary elections through the general election weeds out32 most potential candidates.
Political parties choose their Presidential nominees through primary elections and party caucuses (meetings). In these state contests the major political parties—the Democrats and Republicans—select delegates to attend their party conventions. Primary voters and caucus participants choose delegates who will support their favored candidate at the convention. The party conventions, held in the summer before the November general election, formally nominate the winner of the primaries and caucuses. Would-be candidates crisscross the states that hold the earliest primaries, especially New Hampshire, which holds the country's first primary, usually in mid-February. Most contenders33 also wage campaigns to win Iowa's party caucuses, which are usually held in February as well. These states are widely regarded as indicators of a candidate's chances in the overall primary process and in the general election. As a result, voters in the states with early primaries receive lavish attention from the primary contenders and the news media. In most states, only a party's registered voters can vote in the party primary. Some states, however, have open primaries, which allow voters to wait until Election Day to choose the party primary that they want to vote in. The expense and physical strain of campaigning across the dispersed primary states winnows the field of candidates. Many drop out due to lack of finances or after poor showings in the early contests.
Party conventions have historically been tense, dramatic events as candidates struggled to organize enough delegate support to win the nomination. At the 1924 Democratic Convention, for example, delegates voted more than 100 times before settling on a candidate. Because more states adopted the primary system in the second half of the 20th century, most recent Democratic and Republican conventions created little suspense over the selection of a candidate. Because the outcome is often known in advance, the nominating conventions are usually symbolic affairs, serving to publicize the party's candidates and rally voter support in the months before the election.
Regardless of whether the party's choice is evident in advance, party conventions follow a carefully scripted routine. Parties begin their conventions by writing a party platform that outlines their political program for the country. Drafting the platform and winning the convention's support of this document marks an important milestone because it shows that the party has reached agreement between its competing factions.
After the platform has been approved by the convention, party leaders and invited guests make speeches to the convention delegates. During the speeches and party ceremonies, the potential candidates and their assistants roam through the convention to assess the strength of their support and to try to sway a majority of delegates to vote for their nomination. If a candidate has been particularly effective in the primary elections before the convention, he or she is likely to win the party nomination on the first or second convention vote. If the leading contender33 fails to win a majority of delegate votes and begins to lose votes on subsequent ballots, another contender may emerge as a compromise candidate.
As soon as the candidate wins the convention's nomination and gives his or her acceptance speech, the candidate and party leaders try to repair the divisions that tend to emerge during the convention. If the winning candidate has not already named his Vice-Presidential running mate, the choice is announced at the convention. The candidate must try to establish an image as a national leader who has experience in foreign and domestic affairs, and who is capable of attracting voter support in critical states. Equally important, the candidate must raise millions of dollars to pay for campaign costs, including funds for travel and an extensive network of campaign headquarters, but especially to pay for television advertisements.
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The campaign for the presidency traditionally begins in early September and ends on Election Day—the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November. Candidates often complain about the length of the campaign period, which can require grueling 20-hour days of speechmaking and traveling. The candidates rely on party organizers to ensure support from loyal party followers, but it is equally important for candidates to raise issues that appeal to undecided voters and those in opposing parties. Most campaigns rely on national radio and television appearances and on press coverage to spread their candidate's message to the nation. Since the 1960 election, nationally televised debates between presidential candidates have affected the outcome of most elections. Paid television advertisements have become increasingly important, sending campaign costs soaring. In 1996 the presidential campaigns of Democrat Bill Clinton and Republican Robert Dole spent a combined total of over $230 million, nearly half on television advertisements. In addition, the Republican and Democratic parties spent a combined total of over $30 million on advertisements backing their candidates.
Even as they spread campaign themes through national television and radio campaigns, the candidates also make hundreds of speeches in cities and towns across the country to appeal to specific groups of voters. Candidates make special attempts to curry favor in states with a large number of electoral votes, such as California, New York, and Texas. Because the candidate who wins the greatest number of popular votes in a state receives the entire electoral vote of that state, campaign strategists try to craft a plan to win in key populous states and to avoid wasting campaign resources on small or politically doubtful states.
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The nation knows who has won by the evening of Election Day or early the following morning. The formal balloting of the electoral college, however, does not take place until the first Monday after the second Wednesday of December, when the electors meet in each state. These results are transmitted to the secretary of the Senate and are counted publicly before a joint session of Congress on January 6. Under the original provisions of the Constitution, the President and Vice President were inaugurated on March 4 of the year following their election. In 1933 the 20th Amendment went into effect, moving the inauguration date up to January 20. At the inaugural ceremony, the new President recites an oath: "I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."
Although the Constitution specifies few qualifications for the presidency, as a practical matter the office is closed to most Americans. Today, a candidate who hopes to win the White House must have tens of millions of dollars and substantial political muscle34 if he or she hopes to make it through the arduous ordeal of presidential elections. The election process has changed through the course of American history, but the challenge has always been difficult, narrowing the field of viable candidates to a select few. The strongest contenders are usually former Vice Presidents, prominent senators, and governors of populous states, such as New York and California. Other strong candidates have come from the military, served as governors of small states, or otherwise distinguished themselves in remarkable ways. Nearly all serious candidates have enjoyed the backing of a major political party, although third-party candidates have made significant showings in a few elections. Ross Perot, for example, won 19 percent of the vote on the Reform Party ticket in the 1992 race, one of the strongest third-party showings in the 20th century. All successful presidential candidates have been men, and all but Democrat John F. Kennedy, a Catholic, were Protestant. An African American has never received a major party nomination, although Jesse Jackson's relatively strong candidacies in 1984 and 1988 helped shape the debates in the Democratic primaries. No woman has ever made a bid35 for the White House. Geraldine Ferraro was the only woman who has run on a national ticket36, winning the Democratic vice-presidential nomination in 1984.
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TEXT 28 THE CABINET
The cabinet of the U.S. government is made up of the administrative heads of the executive departments of the federal government, under the President. At present, the Cabinet consists of the Secretary of State, the Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of Defense, the Attorney-General, the Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of Commerce, the Secretary of Labor, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, the Secretary of Transportation, the Secretary of Energy, the Secretary of Education, and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs. The Vice President also participates, and the President may accord cabinet rank to other executive-branch officials.
Cabinet members are appointed by the President with the approval of the Senate and may be removed by the President either at will or as a result of censure or impeachment by Congress. Unless they resign or are removed, cabinet members serve for the duration of the term or terms of the President who appoints them. The salaries of cabinet officers are fixed by Congress.
The cabinet as a governmental institution is not provided for in the US Constitution. It developed as an advisory body out of the President's need to consult the heads of the executive departments on matters of federal policy and on problems of administration. Aside from its role as a consultative and advisory body, the cabinet has neither function and wields no executive authority. The President may or may not consult the cabinet and is not bound by the advice of the cabinet. Furthermore, the President may seek advice outside the cabinet; a group of such informal advisers is known in American history as a kitchen cabinet. The formal cabinet meets at times set by the President, usually once a week.
According to the constitutional provision barring persons holding federal office from being members of the legislative branches of the federal government, cabinet officers may not be members of Congress. Cabinet members in the United States, therefore, unlike their counterparts in other countries, have no direct legislative function, but are consulted by or give testimony before congressional committees. A cabinet officer may speak in Congress by a special vote of the branch of the legislature desiring to hear him or her.
Because the executive departments of the federal government are equally subordinate to the President, cabinet officers are of equal rank, but ever since the administration of George Washington, the secretary of state, who administers foreign policy, has been regarded as the chief cabinet officer. In 1886 Congress enacted legislation stipulating the order of succession of cabinet officers to the presidency "in case of [the] removal, death, resignation, or inability of both the President and Vice President." The Secretary of State headed the list. In 1947 Congress, in order to give prior eligibility to elected members of the government in the order of succession to the presidency, modified the act of 1886, placing the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate, in that order, before any cabinet members.
The Cabinet of George Washington consisted of the Secretaries of State, the Treasury, and War, and the Attorney-General. In 1798, following the creation of a separate Navy Department, the Secretary of the Navy became a member. The Postmaster-General was added in 1829. As Congress created new executive departments, further additions to the cabinet were made as follows: the Secretary of the Interior in 1849, the Secretary of Agriculture in 1889, and the Secretary of Commerce and Labor in 1903. After the division of the department of Commerce and Labor into two separate departments in 1913, the Secretary of Labor became a cabinet officer. In accordance with legislation unifying the armed forces, in 1949 the Secretary of Defense, previously a coordinator of the three military departments, received cabinet rank. The Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare (now known as Health and Human Services) became a cabinet officer in 1953 when the department was created, as did the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development in 1965, the Secretary of Transportation in 1966, the Secretary of Energy in 1977, and the Secretary of Education in 1980, when those departments were created.
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TEXT 29 EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS
There are 14 major departments in the executive branch. They employ about 1.5 million civilian employees. In order of establishment the departments are:
Department of State
Department of the Treasury
Department of Defense
Department of the Interior
Department of Agriculture
Department of Justice
Department of Commerce
Department of Labor
Department of Health and Human Services
Department of Housing and Urban Development
Department of Transportation
Department of Energy
Department of Education
Department of Veterans Affairs
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Department of Defense was created by Congress in 1949. It is administered by a Secretary who is appointed by the President, with the approval of the Senate, and who is a member of the Cabinet and the National Security Council.
The department directs and controls the armed forces and assists the President in the direction of the nation's security.
By authority of the National Security Act of 1947, the National Military Establishment was created on September 18, 1947. The first secretary was primarily a coordinator, developing general policies for the three executive departments—the Department of the Navy, Department of the Army, and newly created Department of the Air Force. The act was amended in 1949, renaming the National Military Establishment the Department of Defense. The former War Department became part of the Department of the Army. A chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff37 was added, and the military departments were placed under the Defense Department without cabinet status. Major amendments in 1953, 1958, and 1977 resulted in increased responsibilities for the secretary, establishment of an operational chain of command to the unified and specified commands, and authority (for the secretary) to bypass the military departments on operational matters.
The major subdivisions are the Office of the Secretary, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the military departments, the unified and specified commands, the Armed Forces Policy Council, and the agencies. The staff of the Office of the Secretary is primarily civilian. It advises and assists the secretary in top-level management. Senior members include the deputy secretary, the undersecretary for policy, the undersecretary for acquisition, the director of defense research and engineering, and the assistant secretaries and their staffs who specialize in international security, personnel, logistics, and similar matters. Also at this level, the military, economic, and political elements associated with military preparedness are balanced to determine size and structure of the armed forces. The Armed Forces Policy Council advises the secretary on a broad range of policy matters.
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Department of Justice
Department of Justice is an executive department of the United States federal government, created by Congress in 1870 to assume the functions performed until then by the Office of the Attorney-General38. The department is headed by the Attorney-General, who is appointed by the President with the approval of the Senate.
The functions of the department include providing means for the enforcement of federal laws and investigating violations thereof; supervising the federal penal institutions; furnishing legal counsel in cases involving the federal government and conducting all suits brought before the US Supreme Court in which the federal government is concerned; interpreting laws relating to the activities of the other federal departments; and rendering legal advice, upon request, to the President and to cabinet members.
The Attorney General is assisted by the deputy Attorney-General and the Associate Attorney-General. Another high-ranking official of the department is the Solicitor-General39, who directs all US government litigation in the Supreme Court and who is concerned generally with the conduct of the appellate litigation of the government. Assistant Attorneys General head most of the divisions of the Justice Department. The functions of the department are carried out regionally by US Attorneys and US Marshals40; one of each is appointed to the 94 federal judicial districts by the President, with the consent of the Senate.
The department includes the antitrust, civil, civil rights, criminal, environment and natural resources, and tax divisions, as well as administrative offices. The Antitrust Division is charged with the enforcement of the federal antitrust laws and related enactments against industrial and commercial monopolies. The Civil Division and its seven major branches supervise all matters relating to civil suits and claims involving the United States and its departments, agencies, and officers. Among the varied areas of litigation handled by the Civil Division are patents and copyrights, fraud, tort claims, customs and immigration, international trade, veterans' affairs, and consumer affairs. In addition, it is charged with eliminating discrimination in programs that receive federal financial assistance.
The Criminal Division is entrusted with enforcing federal criminal statutes relating to such matters as organized crime, kidnapping, bank robbery, fraud against the government, racketeering, obscenity, corruption among public officials, narcotics and dangerous drugs, and certain civil matters such as extradition proceedings and seizure actions under the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetics Act. The Internal Security Section of the division is charged with the investigation and prosecution of all cases affecting national security (including espionage and sabotage), foreign relations, and the illegal export of strategic commodities and technology. The Environment and Natural Resources Division represents the US in litigation involving public lands and natural resources, Native American lands and claims, wildlife resources, and environmental quality, including enforcement of the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, and similar federal laws and of regulations promulgated by the Environmental Protection Agency. The Tax Division conducts all civil and criminal litigation arising out of the internal revenue laws, other than proceedings in the US Tax Court. The Office of Policy and Communications oversees policy development, public affairs, and other administrative areas.
Other agencies include the Federal Bureau of Investigation, which investigates violations of federal laws and collects evidence in cases in which the United States may be involved; the Bureau of Prisons; the US Parole Commission, which has the authority to release federal prisoners before they complete their entire sentences; the Office of Justice Programs, which provides financial and technical assistance to state and local law enforcement, supports research into justice issues, and accumulates and disseminates criminal justice statistics; the U.S. Marshals Service, which provides protection and other services for the federal courts and responds to emergency situations related to law enforcement; the Drug Enforcement Administration; the Immigration and Naturalization Service; the Executive Office for Immigration Review; the US National Central Bureau-International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol); and the Foreign Claims Settlement Commission.
Special sections include the Community Relations Service, which mediates racial disputes in U.S. communities; the pardon attorney41, who receives and investigates applications to the President for pardon or clemency; the US Trustee program, which supervises the administration of bankruptcy cases and trustees; and the Executive Office for US Attorneys, which provides executive assistance to and oversight of the offices of U.S. attorneys throughout the nation.
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Department of State
Department of State is a department of the executive branch of the United States federal government, whose principal responsibility is the conduct, under the direction of the President, of United States foreign policy. The Department of State was created in 1789 to replace the Department of Foreign Affairs (1781-89) of the Confederation government. Crucial decisions on foreign policy are made by the President, usually on the basis of information acquired, summarized, and interpreted by the State Department. The department then has the responsibility of implementing the President's decisions. The main objective of the State Department in the conduct of foreign affairs is the long-range interests and security of the United States.
Contact between other nations and the United States is maintained by the State Department through the representatives of foreign governments accredited to this country and abroad through the diplomatic and consular offices of the U.S. Foreign Service. Through the Foreign Service, the department protects American citizens and interests abroad and promotes US foreign trade. The State Department also negotiates agreements and treaties with foreign governments. It represents the nation in international organizations, and it participates in more than 800 international conferences each year. The department issues passports to American citizens who wish to travel abroad and visas to foreigners who want to visit or immigrate to the United States.
The Department of State is administered by the Secretary of State, who is appointed by the President with the approval of the Senate. The Secretary is the chief presidential adviser on foreign affairs and, as the highest ranking member of the cabinet, is fourth in the line of succession to the presidency. The Secretary is also a member of the National Security Council.
Assisting the Secretary of State is a large staff headed by the deputy secretary, who on occasion serves as acting head of the department, and four undersecretaries—for political affairs, economic and agricultural affairs, security assistance, and management.
A new concept in the functioning of the department is that of country-team organization, in which representatives of various department agencies who work with the problems relating to one country meet together to produce the best overall solutions. This method is followed in many American embassies abroad; the ambassador calls all the representatives of the various branches of the State Department operation together at the same time to provide advice on their respective fields in that country.
The State Department has five regional bureaus: the African, East Asian and Pacific, European and Canadian, Near Eastern and South Asian, and Inter-American. The bureaus, each headed by an assistant secretary, are responsible for the general conduct of relations with the countries in their respective areas. Directors within the bureaus work closely with US ambassadors abroad to be sure that US foreign policy directives are both understood and implemented.
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TEXT 30 LOCAL GOVERNMENT
Local Government is an agency organized to provide and supervise administrative, fiscal, and other services to the people who reside within its territorial boundaries. It is the level of government most directly accountable to the public. In the United States local governmental units consist of five major types: county, town and township, municipality, special district, and school district.
Organized county governments exist in every state of the United States except Connecticut and Rhode Island; they are called boroughs in Alaska and parishes in Louisiana. There are also a few independent cities in Maryland, Missouri, and Virginia that exercise county responsibilities.
Counties have a local authority, most often called the county board of commissioners or board of supervisors, which levies taxes; performs various administrative, legislative, and judicial functions; and has some power over county officials. In many cases, however, this structure has been modified to include either an appointed manager or an elected executive to administer the governing board's policy.
Township units serve people in 20 states of the United States. The category includes areas designated as towns in several states, as plantations in Maine, and as locations in New Hampshire. In New England the town meeting, or primary assembly of voters, convening annually, elects officers, makes appropriations, and has legislative powers. Governments in the other states are more closely patterned after those of municipalities.
Municipalities
Municipal or city government (including that of villages, boroughs, and incorporated towns) serves people in more than 19,000 municipalities. Nearly all such governments are patterned after one of the three following plans: the mayor-council plan; the council-manager plan; and the commission plan.
In order to meet various public needs more efficiently, special districts have been created throughout the United States, each often concerned with a single service such as sewerage, parks and recreation, fire protection, soil and water conservation, hospitals, or libraries. Often their boundaries are not coterminous with other local jurisdictions, thereby creating questions of jurisdictional overlapping. Most districts are administered by a board with members called commissioners, trustees, or supervisors; board members may be either appointed or elected. With the establishment of new and more extensive suburban areas near large cities, the number of special districts continues to increase.
School Districts
School districts are special districts concerned with the administration and operation of public schools. They exist in the U.S. as independent, local governmental units. Local authority is vested in a board, usually directly elected by the voters of the school district. Because of consolidation and reorganization, the number of independent school districts is slowly decreasing.
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JUDICIAL BRANCH
TEXT 31 COURTS IN THE UNITED STATES
Courts in the United States are the government institutions that resolve legal disputes by trial and that hear appeals from such cases. The United States has a federal system of government in which power is divided between a central (national) authority and smaller local units of government. Correspondingly, it has a dual system of federal and state courts that are independent of one another. Because each state has its own system, there are essentially 52 court systems in the United States (the federal system, 50 state systems, and the court system in the District of Columbia).
The authority of a court to decide a case is called its jurisdiction. Courts have jurisdiction only within geographical boundaries. A city court cannot usually try cases that arise outside the city limits and courts in one state rarely have jurisdiction over events happening or people living in other states. Jurisdiction is also limited by types of cases. A court with general jurisdiction may hear many different sorts of cases. The jurisdiction of other courts is limited to particular types of cases - for example, minor crimes, claims against the government, or child custody.
Trial courts42 conduct trials, at which the parties present evidence and ask a judge or jury for a decision or verdict. Appellate courts hear appeals from the trial courts - that is, they review the lower court's decision to see whether a legal error was made.
Development of Courts in the United States
The settlers who came to England's colonies in North America brought their legal traditions with them. Like the English courts from which they descended, early American state courts had five principal functions: (1) they conducted criminal trials, (2) they heard cases falling under common law (judge-made law), (3) they heard cases involving statutes, which legislatures sometimes enacted to supplement the common law and even to change it, (4) certain state courts, often called chancery courts, heard special equity cases that did not fall under common law; the chancery courts provided relief based on equity (fairness) and were less restricted by technical legal rules, and (5) a few state courts heard appeals from the decisions of lower courts.
Until the states adopted the Constitution of the United States in 1789, no national courts existed. Article III, Section 1, of the Constitution established the Supreme Court of the United States and gave Congress the power to create other federal courts. In the Judiciary Act of 1789 Congress created two sets of "inferior" (lower) federal courts—district courts and circuit courts—and gave each jurisdiction to hear certain types of cases. Paradoxically, until the late 19th century federal courts were not permitted to hear cases that involved most types of federal legal issues. Instead, to avoid state courts favoring their own citizens, federal courts were primarily used to settle ordinary common law disputes between citizens of different states.
Unlike state courts, federal courts have no authority to create a general common law, either for a state or the country as a whole. The common law is a body of law developed by the courts in the absence of statutes enacted by the legislature. A federal court cannot pronounce new common law; it may only interpret the law contained in statutes or regulations.
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TEXT 32 FEDERAL COURTS
Over the past 200 years the federal judiciary has evolved from a simple set of courts with limited caseloads into a complex arrangement of courts that interact with one another and the state courts. The modern system resembles a three-tier pyramid. At the base lie the US District Courts, which are trial courts for both criminal and civil matters. At the top sits the US Supreme Court. In between are the U.S. Courts of Appeals, which hear appeals from District Courts. All these courts operate under procedures established by the Supreme Court.
Federal courts have jurisdiction to hear only those cases allowed under the Constitution and by federal law. These include cases interpreting the Constitution and federal laws and treaties, cases affecting ambassadors and similar foreign officials, disputes between states, admiralty and maritime cases (which concern commerce and navigation on the seas), controversies to which the United States is a party, and disputes between citizens of different states (called diversity jurisdiction cases).
Under federal law, some cases may be heard only by federal courts—for example, patent and copyright disputes. But if jurisdiction is not exclusive, the parties may file cases involving federal claims in state courts instead of in federal court. In diversity jurisdiction cases in which the parties seek monetary damages, federal courts hear only cases that involve claims of $75,000 or more. Cases involving smaller amounts must be heard in state courts.
Federal judges serve lifetime appointments, except for those on some specialized courts. All federal judges must be appointed by the President and confirmed by a majority vote of the Senate.
District Courts
Congress has divided the United States into 94 federal districts and authorized about 650 judges to serve in the courts of those districts. Each district is contained within a state and no district overlaps state boundaries. Every state has at least one federal district. Some states have more than one district—New York and California have four. District Court trials are presided over by individual judges, who are responsible for controlling every aspect of the cases assigned to them. US district judges are frequently involved in assessing the facts of the cases presented. The District Court judge's findings of fact are ordinarily not appealable, but the appellate court may review the District Court judge's rulings of law.
A defendant facing federal criminal prosecution is entitled to a jury trial. The parties in most federal civil trials are entitled to juries if they wish.
Courts of Appeals
The 13 US Courts of Appeals hear appeals from judgments and orders of the US District Courts and from many federal administrative agencies, such as the Environmental Protection Agency. Of the 13 Courts of Appeals, 12 are located in federal geographic units known as circuits. The states are grouped into 11 circuits, with no state divided between circuits; the formal names for these courts are the US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, and so on through the 11th circuit. The 12th and smallest circuit—the District of Columbia Circuit—is in Washington, D.C. The 13th circuit court, the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, is not defined geographically but is instead specialized by subject. It hears appeals in cases involving international trade, patents, trademarks, money claims against the United States, and veterans affairs.
Congress has authorized approximately 150 federal appeals court judgeships. Their numbers range from 6 in the First Circuit (Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts) to 28 in the Ninth Circuit, the largest circuit (seven Western states, including California). The judges within a circuit are divided into rotating three-judge panels when deciding cases. Occasionally all the judges of the circuit may sit together to decide a case.
The term circuit derives from the original structure of these courts. Under the Judiciary Act of 1789, trials of certain cases were required to be held before three-judge circuit courts consisting of two Supreme Court justices and the federal trial judge in the District Court. In addition to their regular duties, Supreme Court justices were required to ride circuit, traveling from district to district within their assigned circuit, often covering great distances. In 1891 Congress established the modern Courts of Appeals and abolished Supreme Court circuit riding.
Courts of Special Jurisdiction
In addition to the District and Appeals Courts, Congress has established several specialized courts to hear particular types of cases. These include the US Tax Court and the US Court of Federal Claims, which hears claims against the United States (except personal injury and other tort cases, which can be filed in the District Courts). The US Court of Federal Claims also has jurisdiction to hear claims involving land and related disputes among Native American tribes. Other courts include the Court of International Trade; the US Court of Veteran Appeals; and the U.S. Court of Military Appeals, which hears appeals from general courts-martial . Judges on many of these courts are appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate, but they serve for limited terms, not for a lifetime.
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TEXT 33 STATE COURTS
The vast majority of legal cases in the United States are decided in state courts. In every state the purpose of the courts is the same: to prosecute crimes and settle disputes. However, the states differ broadly in how their court systems are organized. Every state arranges its courts in a hierarchy similar to the federal system. Trial courts try cases, intermediate appellate courts consider appeals from trials, and supreme courts hear further appeals. But in many states the trial court system is not unified - that is, the common law and equity courts have not been merged and a single court cannot provide both common law and equitable remedies. An example of an equitable remedy43 is an injunction44—a court order directing a defendant to act or refrain from acting in a certain way.
Within a state's court system many different courts, with specialized jurisdiction, present a bewildering maze for lawyers and their clients. For example, New York City has 11 separate trial courts, each operating under different rules but often with overlapping jurisdiction. These include a general trial court to try felony criminal prosecutions and major civil cases, a Family Court, a Surrogate’s Court to administer wills, a Civil Court for cases valued at less than $25,000, and a Housing Court to handle landlord-tenant disputes.
Historically, judges on many state courts—including state supreme courts—have been elected and serve for various terms, some as long as 15 years. In an attempt to reduce the influence of politics on the courts, many states now require the governor to appoint judges. In many states, the initial appointment is for a period of years (ranging from 1 to 14), after which a retention election is held. Beginning in the 1980s, many governors asked panels of attorneys and others to provide lists of candidates from which to make their selections. By longstanding tradition all judges appointed to the federal courts are lawyers, but some judges on smaller, limited-jurisdiction state courts are not. In many states, for example, lay judges serve on rural traffic courts45 and as justices of the peace.
Trial Courts
Courts of Limited Jurisdiction
In every state, most cases come to trial in courts of limited jurisdiction, such as small-claims, juvenile, and traffic courts. These are specialized courts that hear only one or a relatively few types of cases. They are the most numerous type of court in the United States and in some states these courts handle more than 80 percent of all trials. About 100 million cases come through these courts annually, but the overwhelming majority of these are simple traffic cases in which motorists plead guilty by mail.
Courts of General Jurisdiction
Felony prosecutions and major civil trials take place in courts of general jurisdiction, which are empowered to hear many kinds of cases. These courts are often called superior courts, although the name varies by state. Every year more than 10 million cases or prosecutions are filed in these courts. Fewer than 2 percent of these ever come to trial. Most civil cases are settled by the parties and most criminal defendants enter plea bargains46 - that is, they plead guilty to the crime charged or to a lesser offense.
Intermediate Appellate Courts
In 1948 only 11 states had an intermediate appellate court system. By the late 1990s nearly 40 states had established such courts to relieve the pressure on their supreme courts, which were being inundated by appeals. As in the federal system, state intermediate appellate courts hear appeals from both criminal and civil trial courts within their geographic regions. The larger states generally have more than one intermediate appellate court.
Supreme Appellate Courts
Every state has a final Appellate Court. In most states these are called Supreme Courts, but in New York and Maryland they are known as the Court of Appeals. Oklahoma and Texas have two such courts, one for criminal and the other for civil appeals. The State Supreme Courts hear appeals mostly from Intermediate Appeals Courts. Most Supreme Courts may choose which cases to review, and all have the final word on matters of state law—that is, common law, statutes, and the state constitution. Not even the US Supreme Court may overturn their decisions about what the state constitution or state law means, although it may rule against the state if it concludes that a state law or constitutional provision conflicts with the US Constitution. State Supreme Courts typically consist of between five and nine members who rule as a panel.
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TEXT 34 THE SUPREME COURT
Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States and the chief authority in the judicial branch, one of three branches of the United States federal government. The Supreme Court hears appeals from decisions of lower federal courts and State Supreme Courts, and it resolves issues of constitutional and federal law. It stands as the ultimate authority in constitutional interpretation, and its decisions can be changed only by a constitutional amendment.
Nine judges sit on the Court: the Chief Justice of the United States and eight Associate Justices. The President of the United States appoints them to the Court for life terms, but the US Senate must approve each appointment with a majority vote. Justices and Court staff work in the Supreme Court Building, constructed in 1935, across the street from the Capitol in Washington, D.C. Before 1935 the Justices met in various rooms in the Capitol and elsewhere.
The Supreme Court wields complete authority over the federal courts, but it has only limited power over state courts. The Court has the final word on cases heard by federal courts, and it writes procedures that these courts must follow. All federal courts must abide by the Supreme Court's interpretation of federal laws and the Constitution of the United States. The Supreme Court's interpretations of federal law and the Constitution also apply to the state courts, but the Court cannot interpret state law or issues arising under state constitutions, and it does not supervise state court operations.
The Supreme Court's most important responsibility is to decide cases that raise questions of constitutional interpretation. The Court decides if a law or government action violates the Constitution. This power, known as judicial review, enables the Court to invalidate both federal and state laws when they conflict with its interpretation of the Constitution. Judicial review thus puts the Supreme Court in a pivotal role in the American political system, making it the referee in disputes among various branches of government, and as the ultimate authority for many of the most important issues in the country. The Court's constitutional decisions have affected virtually every area of American life, from the basic ways in which business and the economy are regulated to freedom of speech and religion.
POWER OF THE SUPREME COURT
The Supreme Court is the only court mentioned by name in the Constitution. Article III establishes the Court as the top of the country's judicial branch, making it equal to the executive branch (the President) and the legislative branch (Congress). Article III also gives the Court jurisdiction (authority to review) broad classes of cases. In 1803 in Marbury v.47 Madison the Court interpreted its own authority, ruling that the Constitution gave it the power to strike down unconstitutional acts of government—that is, laws or other government conduct that violate the Constitution. This decision created the power of judicial review, an essential component in the American system of checks and balances, which is intended to safeguard Americans from government abuses of power.
JURISDICTION
Article III gives the Supreme Court two types of jurisdiction. The Court’s most important jurisdiction is appellate, the power to hear appeals of cases decided in lower federal courts and State Supreme Courts. Under Article III, the Court's appellate jurisdiction extends to seven classes of cases: (1) cases arising under the Constitution, federal law, or treaty; (2) those involving admiralty and maritime matters; (3) those in which the United States itself is a party; (4) cases between two or more states; (5) cases between citizens of different states or foreign countries; (6) cases between a state and individuals or foreign countries; and (7) cases between citizens of the same state if they are disputing ownership of land given by different states. The first category is the most important. In these cases, part of the federal question jurisdiction, the Court issues its most far-reaching constitutional decisions and other major rulings involving federal law.
The Supreme Court has a far less important authority known as its original jurisdiction, which includes cases that have not been previously heard in other courts. This gives the Court the power to sit as a trial court to hear cases affecting ambassadors and other foreign officials, and in cases in which a state is a party. The Court rarely exercises its original jurisdiction, since Congress has granted concurrent jurisdiction over most of these cases to the lower courts. Only disputes between two or more states must be heard initially in the Supreme Court. In 1997 and 1998, for example, it heard a dispute between New York and New Jersey over the ownership of Ellis Island.
Congress cannot alter the Supreme Court's original jurisdiction, but Article III of the Constitution gives it power to control the Court's appellate jurisdiction. The Court may not exercise any of its appellate jurisdictions without congressional authorization, and Congress may limit the appellate jurisdiction however it chooses. Congress has authorized the Court to use its full appellate jurisdiction, except on rare occasions.
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JUDICIAL REVIEW
The Supreme Court's principle power is judicial review - the right of the Court to declare laws unconstitutional. This authority is not expressly stated in the Constitution. The Supreme Court has exercised judicial review since 1803, when Chief Justice John Marshall first announced it in Marbury v. Madison. Marshall deduced the necessity of such a power from the purpose and existence of the Constitution. He reasoned that judicial review was necessary to implement the Constitution's substantive and procedural limits on the government. If the Court could not strike down a law that conflicted with the Constitution, Marshall said, then the legislature would have a "real and practical omnipotence." Judicial review is both a powerful and controversial tool because it allows the Supreme Court to have the ultimate word on what the Constitution means. This permits the Court justices - who are appointed rather than elected - to overrule decisions already made by Congress and legislatures throughout the country.
MEMBERSHIP AND QUALIFICATIONS
The Constitution does not specify the number of justices on the Supreme Court, leaving the issue to Congress. The first Supreme Court in 1789 consisted of five justices. Initially the justices' duties included traveling through the country to hear cases in federal circuit courts. Congress added a sixth seat in 1790 and a seventh in 1807 to ease the strain on justices as the number of circuit courts increased. Congress added the eighth and ninth seats in 1837. Membership stayed at nine until 1863, when Congress added a tenth seat, only to abolish it when a justice died in 1865. In 1867 Congress reduced the seats to seven to limit the opportunity of President Andrew Johnson to appoint new members. Congress restored the number of seats to nine in 1869, and in 1891 abolished the Supreme Court justices’ circuit-riding burden. The number of justices has remained fixed at nine, making tie votes unlikely unless circumstances prevent a justice from participating in deliberations.
The Constitution does not specify formal qualifications for membership on the Supreme Court. From the beginning, though, justices have all been lawyers, and most pursued legal and political careers before serving on the Court. Many justices served as members of Congress, governors, or members of the Cabinet. One President, William Howard Taft, was later appointed Chief Justice. Some Justices came to the Court from private law practice, and others were appointed from positions as law professors. Many Justices appointed in the second half of the 20th century had experience in the United States Courts of Appeal and other lower courts. Only one Justice, Charles Evans Hughes, served on the Court twice. President Taft appointed Hughes, then governor of New York, to the Court in 1910. Hughes gave up his Court seat in 1916 to run for President, but he lost in a close race against Woodrow Wilson. In 1930 President Herbert Hoover returned Hughes to the Court as chief justice.
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APPOINTMENT AND CONFIRMATION
Justices of the Supreme Court are appointed by the President and must be confirmed by a majority vote in the Senate. The President usually chooses the nominees carefully to minimize the possibility that the justice will veer far from the administration's own agenda after he or she is confirmed. The President must also be careful to select a nominee with strong chances for Senate confirmation, otherwise the administration may lose prestige in a bruising confirmation battle with the Senate. Presidents often try to secure Senate support by balancing the Court's geographic and regional background. Many 20th-century Presidents have also tried to balance the Court's religious, racial, ethnic, and gender makeup.
Only Protestants served on the Court until 1836, when the Senate confirmed President Andrew Jackson's nomination of Roger B. Taney, a Catholic. Since then there has almost always been a Catholic on the Court.
On average, the Senate rejects about 20 percent of all nominees to the Supreme Court. The President's choice must face questioning by the Senate Judiciary Committee, which then makes a recommendation to the Senate as a whole. The Senate began asking nominees to appear before the Judiciary Committee only in 1925, when President Calvin Coolidge's nomination of Harlan Fiske Stone was in jeopardy. Felix Frankfurter, a nominee of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee in 1939. Such appearances before the committee became accepted practice in 1955, when John M. Harlan testified.
Confirmation hearings are sometimes polite, quiet affairs, but some have been intensely political dramas that have gripped the nation. In 1987, for example, the Senate held 12 days of rancorous hearings into President Ronald Reagan's nomination of Judge Robert Bork. Although Bork had strong qualifications, his conservative views led many groups throughout the country to oppose his nomination. Some senators charged that he had undergone a "confirmation conversion"—contradicting his earlier published views to secure appointment. The full Senate defeated the nomination by a vote of 58 to 42. In 1991 President George Bush nominated Judge Clarence Thomas to replace the ailing Thurgood Marshall. An initial debate over his qualifications gave way to a nationally televised drama over a leaked accusation by Oklahoma University Law School Professor Anita Hill that Thomas had sexually harassed her. Thomas bitterly denied the allegations, charging that he was the victim of a "high-tech lynching." The Senate eventually confirmed him by a vote of 52 to 48, the second closest vote in history.
REMOVAL FROM OFFICE
Justices serve lifetime appointments. Under the Constitution they can be removed from the Court only by first being impeached (accused) by a majority vote of the US House of Representatives and then convicted by a two-thirds vote of the Senate. There is no precise standard for determining whether a Justice has committed an impeachable offense, though the consensus is that removal should be for criminal or ethical lapses, not for partisan political reasons. No Justice has ever been removed through this process, and only one Justice of the Supreme Court has ever been impeached. In 1805 Justice Samuel Chase was impeached in the House by his political enemies, but the Senate failed to convict when it became apparent that Chase's opponents were after him not because he had committed any wrongdoing but because they disagreed with his decisions. The possibility of impeachment may have been a factor in the resignation of Justice Abe Fortas, who left the Court in 1969 after allegations surfaced that he had accepted a questionable fee from a private foundation. Some conservative groups rallied for the removal of Chief Justice Earl Warren in the 1960s, but their efforts failed.
In the wake of the controversy over Abe Fortas's financial practices, the Court became more restrained in its public activities. Once confirmed to the Court, Justices try to ensure that their investments and outside income do not bring their integrity into question. Common practice now dictates that Justices also remove themselves from politics, refraining from speaking out about controversial issues or pending legislation48. The Justices can make public speeches, but these are usually confined to subjects related to the law in general and to the federal court system. In these and other questions of judicial ethics the Court usually follows the American Bar Association (ABA) Code of Judicial Conduct, although these rules are not binding on the Court.
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THE WORK OF THE COURT
The Supreme Court hears only a tiny fraction of the cases that come before it. When the Court declines to hear a case, the decision of the lower court stands as the final word on the case. Each year the Court receives thousands of petitions to hear cases, but it usually decides to consider only a few. In 1995, for example, the Court had 7565 cases on its docket49, and the justices heard oral arguments in just 90 and issued signed opinions—written explanations of its decisions—in only 75. Ten years earlier the Court's docket had been much smaller, consisting of 5185 cases, although it issued signed opinions in 151 cases.
The growth in petitions has many causes: a larger population, a more complex economy, and the proliferation of business and other relationships. Adding to the Court's workload is a steady growth in congressional and state legislation that requires judicial interpretation, and an increasing number of constitutional and other issues that can be reviewed in the federal courts.
By law the Court's term begins the first Monday in October and usually runs through the end of June, after disposing of all cases that have been argued during the term. On rare occasions, when a critical case has arisen, the Court has heard arguments and issued decisions in the summer; for example, in 1974 the Court issued its decision in United States v. Nixon, the Watergate tapes case, on July 24.
The Court does not meet continuously in formal sessions during its nine-month term. Instead, the Court divides its time into four separate but related activities. First, some time is allocated to reading through the thousands of petitions for review of cases that come annually to the Court. This time is not formally assigned but is available during the summer and during those periods when the Court is not sitting to hear cases. Second, the Court allocates blocks of time for oral arguments - the live discussion in which lawyers for both sides present their clients' positions to the Justices. From October through April, the Justices meet in blocks of two consecutive weeks on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays to hear oral arguments. These public sessions run from 10 AM to 3 PM, with a one-hour lunch recess, giving the Court time to hear from lawyers in four cases each day.
During the weeks of oral arguments the Court sets aside its third allotment of time, for private discussions of how each justice will vote on the cases they have just heard. Time is also allowed for the Justices to discuss which additional cases to hear. These private discussions are usually held on Wednesday afternoons and Fridays during the weeks of oral arguments. The Justices set aside a fourth block of time to work on writing their opinions—the statements of what the justices have decided and their reasoning in the case. This writing period is usually in the weeks following each two weeks of oral argument.
The Chief Justice presides at the justices' conferences and assigns a Justice to write opinions. The Chief Justice also acts as spokesperson for the Court and for the federal judicial system, and supervises the Court's budget and administrative staff. But in the central matter of hearing and deciding cases, the Chief Justice and the Associate Justices are equals.
For a major government institution, the Supreme Court has a relatively small staff of about 325 people. The Court's annual budget is about $30 million, a tiny fraction of the total budget for the federal judiciary, which stood at $3.1 billion in 1996. Congress's annual budget that year was about $2 billion. In 1996 Congress set the Chief Justice's salary at $171,500, and the Associate Justices' at $164,100.
The clerk of the Court serves as the Supreme Court's chief administrative officer, supervising a staff of 30 under the guidance of the chief justice. The marshal of the Court supervises all building operations. The reporter of decisions oversees the printing and publication of the Court's decisions. Other key personnel are the librarian and the public information officer. In addition, each Justice is entitled to hire four law clerks, almost always recent top graduates of law schools, many of whom have served clerkships in a lower court the previous year.
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NOTES
THE UNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITAIN AND NORTHERN IRELAND
to find a loophole in the law – найти лазейку, чтобы обойти закон
front-bencher – 1) ключевой министр; 2) лидер оппозиции
borough [´b r ] – 1) небольшой город, поселок городского типа, имеющий в соответствии с королевской хартией (Royal Charter) муниципальный совет; 2) район крупного города
petty session – малые сессии – местные суды, рассматривающие в суммарном порядке дела о мелких преступлениях
10. floor debates – обсуждение в палате законодательного органа
20. colloquy [´k l kwi] – зд.: собеседование
leading contender - лидирующий кандидат (имеющий максимальные шансы на победу)
СПИСОК ИСПОЛЬЗОВАННЫХ ИСТОЧНИКОВ