System of government
American
The USA was created on 4th July 1776 by the Declaration of Independence. It was primarily written by Thomas Jefferson and it declared independence from Great Britain. This document gave the people the right to control their own government and it also enabled them to give and take away power from government.
The U.S. Constitution was established 1789 and that makes it the oldest constitution still in practice. It was crated by people in order to have more cooperation between the states, to establish justice, to create a peaceful community, to defend the nation, to serve the people’s needs and to guarantee all future Americans have freedom of choice. It is made up of seven articles and amendments. The first are the Bill of Rights.
The Constitution divides government into 3 branches. Its purpose is to control the power of the government thus one branch controls the other two. The branches are: executive (represented by the President, the Vice-President and secretaries appointed by the President), legislative (represented by Congress) and judicial (represented by the Supreme court and other courts).
Executive. The president’s term is 4 years and a person can serves two terms only. You have to be 35 years old and above and have to be born citizen of the USA. Plus you have to have been living in the USA at least for 14 years. Presidential duties: power to enforce the laws and make appointments (federal judges), has ultimate authority over military operations, power to make treaties, head of own political party, carries out ceremonial functions of the office.
The president may also veto congressional laws and grants pardons.
Judicial. It is consisted of the Supreme court, appellate courts and district courts. This branch interprets laws and treaties. It also decides whether executive and congressional actions are constitutional.
The legislative branch makes all laws, approves treaties, declares war and passes taxes. It is consisted of the House of Representatives (term is 2 years, 25 years old, U.S. citizen for at least 7 years) and Senate (term is 6 years – every two years 1/3 of all senators are reelected; 30 years, U.S. citizen for at least 9 years). The House of R. has 435 members and a state’s population dictates its number of representatives. Senate has 100 members – 2 for each state.
The legislative branch may override President’s veto, may reject presidential appointments, may charge the President and judges.
People have the right to vote from the age of 18 and they vote the President and the legislative branch.
There are 2 major political parties – Democrats (liberal, more power to government, pro-choice in abortion) and Republicans (conservative, less power to government, pro-life in abortion).
British
Britain is a parliamentary democracy with a constitutional monarch as a head of state. Britain’s system is long established and well tried.
The head of state is the Sovereign (the Queen). The Sovereign is impartial, acts on the advice of her ministers and her reign is life. She appoints the Prime Minister (she chooses the leader of the party with a majority in the House of Commons). She sees the Prime Minister each week and she also sees other ministers. She receives copies of important government papers and a summary of debates in Parliament. She summons, dissolves and opens Parliament each year with a speech from the throne.
The government is formed by the party with majority support in the Commons. It is consisted of about 20 ministers and the Prime Minister. The second largest party forms the official Opposition, with its own leader and shadow cabinet, which criticizes government policies. There are three main political parties: the Conservative Party, the Labour Party and the Liberal-Democratic Party.
The law-making body is Parliament, which consists of the House of Commons and the House of Lords. There are 650 members in the House of C. The elections take place every five years. Voting is from the age of 18. The House of L. consists of hereditary and life peers and peeresses and the Lords Spiritual (bishops). The center of parliamentary power is the House of Commons.
The British constitution is not written as a single document. It is formed by statute, common law and convention.
Czech
The Czech republic was established on 1st January 1993. Its government is divided into 3 branches.
The legislative branch is represented by the Parliament which consists of two chambers – the Chamber of Deputies (200 members for 4 years) and the Senate (81 senators, every 2 years one third is renewed). The parliament is a law-making body, ratifies international treaties, decides on sending troops abroad. Every citizen from the age of 18 has the right to vote.
- law – the Chamber of Deputies ® the Senate ® approve by the government ® signed by the president.
The president represents the state and together with the government makes up the executive branch. The president is elected every five years by the Parliament but no one can serve more than two terms. His duties: appoints judges and other officials, commander-in-chef. He has the power of veto – law is returned to the Parliament. He can grand pardon to a convinced person. He also appoints the prime minister.
The government is composed of the premier, the vice-premier and the ministers. Election takes place every 4 years. Tasks: enforces laws, makes the budget.
The judicial branch is composed of the Constitutional Court, the Supreme Court and other lower courts. The courts check the constitutionality of existing laws and they interpret laws.
Czech – ministers
British and American – secretary