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第七章
Government and Administration
英国政府机构
The United Kingdom is a constitutional monarchy, the head of state is a king or a queen. The United Kingdom is governed, in the name of the Sovereign by His or Her Majesty’s Government. The System of parliamentary government is not based on a written constitution, the British constitution is not set out in any single document. It is made up of statute law, common law and conventions. The Judiciary determines common law and interprets statutes.
联合王国是君主立宪制国家,国家的首脑是国王或女王。联合王国以君的名义,由国王或女王陛下政府治理。英国的议会制度并不是基于成文宪法,英国宪法不由单一文件构成,而由成文法,习惯法和惯例组成。司法部门裁定习惯法或解释成文法。
Constitutional monarchy 君主立宪制
The British monarchy is known as constitutional monarchy. It means the monarchy’s power are limited by law and Parliament. The monarchy actually has no ral power. Constitutional monarchy began after the Glorious Revolution in 1688.英国的君主体制是以君主立宪闻名的。君主政体实际已无实权。它的权力受限于法律和议会。君主立宪制是从1688年的光荣革命后开始。
1.Elizabeth II, her title in the United Kingdom is “Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and Her Other Realms and Territories, Queen, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith.
伊莉莎白二世，她的全称是“伊莉莎白二世承蒙大布列颠及北爱尔兰联合王国以及她的其他领土和领地的上帝之恩典，女王，英联邦元首，共同信仰的保护者。”
2.The Queen is the symbol of the whole nation. In law, She is head of the executive, an integral part of the legislature, head of the judiciary, the commander-in-chief of all the armed forces and the “supreme governor” of the Church of England. She gives Royal Assent to Bills passed by parliament.
女王是国家的象征。从法律上讲，她是行政首脑，立法机构的组成部分，司法首脑，全国武装部队总司令，英国国教“至高无上”的领袖。她任命首相和重要的政府官员。对议会通过的法案给予御准。
III.Parliament
议会
1.The United Kingdom is a unitary, not a federal, state. Parliament consists of the Sovereign, the House of Lords and the House of Commons.
英国是中央集权国家，而不是联邦制国家。议会由君主，上议院和下议院组成。
2.The main functions of Parliament are: (1) to pass laws; (2) to provide, by voting for taxation, the means of carrying on the work of government; (3) to examine government Policy and administrations, including proposal for expenditure; and (4) to debate the major issues of the day.
议会的主要作用是：(1)通过立法;(2)投票批准税为政府工作提供资金;(3)检查政府政策和行政管理，包括拨款提议;(4)当天的议题辩论。
The House of Lords 上院
The House of Lords is made up of the Lords Spiritual and the Lords Temporal.The Lords Spiritual are the Archbishops of Canterbury and Yord and 24 senior bishops of the Church of England.The Lords Temporal consist of 1) all hereditary peers and peeresses of England,Scotland,Great Britain and the United Kingdom(but not peers of Ireland);2)life peers created to assist the House in its judicial duties;3)all other life peers.The main function of the House of Lords is to bring the wide experience of its members into the process of law-making.上院由神职人员和世俗议员组成。神职包括坎特伯雷和约克大主教及24名高级主教。世俗议员包括1)所有英，苏，大不列颠及联合王国的世袭贵族，女贵族(但不包括爱尔兰);2)协助议院司法工作的终身贵族;3)其他终身贵族。上院的主要作用就是集中议员集体经验智慧制定法律。
The House of Commons 下院
The House of Commons is elected by universal adult suffrage and consists of 651 Members of Parliament (MPs).It is in the House of Commons that the ultimate authority for law-making resides.下院议员由成人普选产生，共有651名议员。最高立法权掌握在下院手中。
1) Parliamentary Electoral System议会选举制
A General Election must be held every five years and is often held at more frequent intervals.British citizens,together with citizens of other Commonwealth countries and citizens of the Irish Republic resident in Britain,may vote provided they are 1)aged 18 or over,2)included in the annual register of electors for the constituency,and 3)not subject to any disqualification.A candidate must deposit 500 pound.大选每5年一次，且经常不足5年就举行。英国公民包括其他英联邦国家公民和爱尔兰共和国在英国的居民都有选举权。选举条件1)18或18以上，2)选区全体选民的每年选民登记册上登记注册者 3)有资格参选者。候选人必须交纳500英镑保证金。
2)The Political Party System政党体制
Since 1945 either the Conservative Party or the Labour Parth has held power.自1945年以来，一直由保守党或工党轮流执政。
