第三章 英国政府与政治制度

     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。

    Part I. The Monarchy君主制

1.  Elizabeth Ⅰ, 1558年至1603年任英格兰王国和爱尔兰女王，是都铎王朝的第五位也是最后一位君主。她即位时不但成功地保持了英格兰的统一，而且在经过近半个世纪的统治后，使英格兰成为欧洲最强大的国家之一。英格兰文化也在此期间达到了一个顶峰，涌现出了诸如莎士比亚、弗朗西斯·培根这样的著名人物。

英国在北美的殖民地亦在此期间开始确立。在英国历史上在位时被称为“伊丽莎白时期”，亦称为“黄金时代”。 伊丽莎白是亨利八世和他的第二个王后安妮·博林唯一幸存的孩子。她出生时被指定为王位继承人，她的同父异母的姐姐玛丽成为她的服侍者。伊丽莎白三岁时，她的母亲被判叛逆罪处死，一年后亨利八世和他的第三个王后就生了一个男孩：爱德华。伊丽莎白和玛丽都成了爱德华的佣人。

伊丽莎白受到很好的教育，她受到古典、历史、数学、诗歌和语言的教育。在她统治期间她可以说和写六种语言：英语、法语、意大利语、西班牙语、拉丁语和希腊语。在她兄弟生前，她的地位比较稳定，但爱德华１５５３年就因肺结核或砒霜中毒而去世了。后来马丽一世继位，１５５８年玛丽无子而亡，伊丽莎白成了她的合法继承人。英国国会重申了亨利八世国王规定伊丽莎白作为继承人的安排。

What was Elizabethan age and what were the characteristics of the Elizabethan age?

 Elizabethan age refer to the period during the reign of Elizabeth Ⅰin British history. Most people associate the Elizabethan age with two things. The first is literature, especially the literature of Shakespeare. The second is adventure on the sea.

 This period in literature is called ‘the renaissance’（文艺复兴）, William Shakespeare(1564-1616) is the greatest of all English authors, his works are a great landmark in the history of world literature. He produced 37 plays, 2 narrative poems(叙事诗) and 154 sonnets（十四行诗）.

 2. 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“上帝神佑，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女王，英联邦元首，国教保护者伊莉莎白二世。”

3. 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。

4. The monarch actually has no real power. The monarch‘s power are limited by law and Parliament. Constitutional monarchy began after the Glorious Revolution in 1688.

   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。 

Part II. Parliament议会   

I. The origins of the English Parliament英国议会的起源  

    The Great Council is known to be the prototype of the current British Parliament. In 1265， Simon de Montfort summoned the Great Council， together with two knights from each county and two citizens from each town. It later developed into the House of Lords and the House of Commons. Its main role was to offer advice. There were no elections or parties. And the most important part of Parliament was the House of Lords.

  大议会是当今英国议会的原型。1265年，西门德孟福尔召开大议会，各县有两名骑士，各镇有两名市民参加。大议会发展到后来演变成议会，分为上议院和下议院。其作用是咨询而非决定；也没有选举和政党。议会的最重要的部分是上议院。  

2. 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。

3. 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。

4. The House of Lords is made up of the Lords Spiritual and the Lords Temporal. The main function of the House of Lords is to bring the wide experience of its members into the process of lawmaking. In other words， the non-elected House is to act as a chamber of revision， complementing but not rivaling the elect House.

    贵族院（上议院）由神职贵族和世俗贵族组成。它的主要作用是用议员的丰富经验帮助立法。换而言之，非选举的上议院是修正议院，补充而非反对由选举产生的下议院。

5. The House of Common 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.

   下议院（平民院）由成人普选产生，由651名议员组成。下议院拥有最终立法权。

6. Britain is divided 651 constituencies. Each of the constituencies returns one member to the House of Commons. A general Election must be held every five years and is often held at more frequent intervals.

    英国被划分为651个选区，每个选区选一名下议院议员。大选必须五年举行一次，但经常不到五年就进行一次选举。

7. Whigs and Tories辉格党人和托利党人

      These two party names originated with the Glorious Revolution （1688）。

    这两个政党名称皆起源于1688年的光荣革命。

    The Whig were those who opposed absolute monarchy and supported the right to religious freedom for Nonconformists. The Whig were to form a coalition with dissident Tories in the mid-19th century and become the Liberal Party.

   辉格党人是指那些反对绝对王权，支持新教徒宗教自由权利的人。辉格党人在19世纪中叶与持不同意见的托利党人组盟组成自由党。

    The Tories were those who supported hereditary monarchy and were reluctant to remove kings. The Tories were the forerunners of the Conservative Party.

    托利党人是指那些支持世袭王权、不愿去除国王的人。托利党是保守党的前身。

8. Britain has a number of parties， but there are only two major parties. These two parties are the Conservative Party and the Labour Party. Since 1945， either the Conservative Party or the Labour Party has held power. The party which wins sufficient seats at a General Election to command a majority of Government. The leader of the majority party is appointed Prime Minister. The party which wins the second largest number of seats becomes the Official Opposition， with its own leader and “shadow cabinet ”。 The rule of Opposition is to help the formulation of policy. Criticizes the Government and debate with the Government.

    英国有很多政党，但有两个主要的政党—保守党和工党。从1945年以来，两党一直轮流执政，在大选中获多数议席因而在下议院拥有多数支持者的政党组建政府，多数党领袖由君主任命为首相。获得第二多数议席的政党则正式成为“反对党”，有自己的领袖和影子内阁。反对党的目的是帮助制定政策，它可以经常给政府提出批评性的建议和修正议案。

Part III. The Cabinet and Ministry    内阁和内阁部长

    1. The Prime Minister presides over the Cabinet， is responsible for the allocation of functions among ministers and informs the Queen at regular meetings of general business of the Government. Cabinet members hold meetings under the chairmanship of the Prime Minister for a few hours each week to decide Government policy on major issues.

  首相主持内阁，负责分配大臣们的职能，在定期会见女王时向女王报告政府事务。内阁在 首相的主持下，每周开会几小时，以决定在重大问题上政府的政策。

2. Ministers are responsible collectively to Parliament for all Cabinet decisions； individual Ministers are responsible to Parliament for the work of their department.

   内阁的所有决定由大臣集体向议会负责，各大臣又为各自部门的工作向议会负责。

    一. The Privy Council枢密院

     1. The Privy Council was formerly the chief source of executive power in the state and give private advice to the King. So the Privy Council was also called the King‘s Council in history. Today its role is largely formal， advising the sovereign to approve certain government decrees.

    枢密院原来是政府行政权力的源泉，给君主提供“私人”建议。它在历史上也称为国王议会。今天它的主要作用是礼节性的，如建议君主批准政府的法令。

    2. Its membership is about 400， and includes all Cabinet ministers， the speaker of the House of Common and senior British and Commonwealth statement.

    它的主要成员有400人左右，包括内阁阁员，下议院院长及英国，英联邦的高级政治家等。

二. Government Department and the Civil Service   政府各部和公务员部

  1. The principal Government department main includes： the Treasury， the House of office， the Foreign and Commonwealth office， the Ministry of Defense…

    主要的政府部门包括：财务部，内务部，外交部，国防部等。

  2. Members of the Civil Service are called Civil Services. They staff government departments. Civil Servants are recruited mainly by competitive examination. Civil servants do not belong to any political party. Changes of Government do not involve changes in departmental staff， There are about 541800 civil servants in Britain now.

    文职人员部的成员被成为公务员。公务员主要是通过竞争考试录用。公务员部门不属于任何政党，政府的变更并不影响部门职员的变更。英国现约有541800名公务员。

   三. Local Government地方政府部门

  1. There are two main tiers of local authority throughout England and Wales： counties and the smaller districts. Now， England and Wales are divided into 53 counties which are sub-divided into 369 districts.

   英格兰和威尔士实行两级地方政府制—郡和比郡小的区。现在英格兰和威尔士分为53个郡，郡下分为369个区。

2. Greater London is divided into 32 boroughs.

    大伦敦被分为32个行政区。

Part IV.  Justice and the law法律与司法机构 （只需了解既可）

    There is no single legal system in the United Kingdom. A feature common to all systems of law in the United Kingdom is that there is no complete code. The sources of law include （1） statutes； （2） a large amount of “unwritten” or common law； （3） equity law； （4） European Community. Another common feature is the distinction made between criminal law and civil law.

    联合王国不实行完全统一的法律制度。联合王国所有法律制度的一个共同特点是没有以部完整的法典。法典来源包括：（1）成文法；（2）大量的“不成文法”或习惯法；（3）衡平法；（4）欧共体法。另一个共同的特点是刑法和民法之间的区别。

    I. Criminal Proceedings

    刑事诉讼程序

   1. In England and Wales， once the police have charged a person with a criminal offence， the crown Prosecution Service assumes control of the case reviews the evidence to decide whether to prosecute.

    在英格兰和威尔士，一旦警察指控某人犯有刑事罪，皇家检察总署就要接管此案，并独立地审核证据以决定是否起诉。

  2. In Britain all criminal trial are held in open count because the criminal law presumes the innocence of the accused until he has been proved guilty beyond reasonable doubt. The prosecution and the defense get equal treatment. No accused person has to answer the question of the police before trial. He is not compelled to give evidence in count. Every accused person has the right to employ a legal adviser to conduct his defense. If he can not afford to pay， he may be granted aid at public expense. In criminal trial by jury， the judge passes sentence， but the jury decided the issue of guilt or innocence. The jury composed of 12 or ordinary people. If the verdict of the jury can not be unanimous， it must be a majority.

    在英国，所有的刑事审判都在法院公开进行。因为刑法认为，在消除合理怀疑证明被告有罪之前，他是无辜的。原告与被告同样平等，审判时被告不必回答警察的问题，不许强迫被告提供证据。每位被告都有权雇佣律师为其辩护。如果他不能支付律师费，可以用公用费用提供帮助。在由陪审团进行的刑事审判中，法官判刑，但陪审团决定是否有罪。陪审团一般由12人组成。如果陪审团不能做出一致判决，也必须是多数决定。

3.A verdict of “ not guilt” means acquittal for the accused， who can never again be charged with that specific crime.

    “无罪”裁决意味着被告无罪，并且永远不得再以此罪名对其指控。

II. Criminal Courts刑事法庭

    1. Criminal Courts in England and Wales英格兰和威尔士的刑事法庭

       Magistrates‘ Courts which try summary offences and “either way” offences. A magistrates’ court， which is open to the public and the media， usually consists of three unpaid “lay” magistrates-known as justices of the peace-who are advised on point of law and procedure by a legally qualified assistant. A Magistrates‘ court sits without a jury.

    治安（警事）法庭，负责审理判决犯罪，也审理“任意方式”罪行。治安法庭对公众和媒体公开，通常由三位无薪的“外行”地方官——地方治安官组成，由懂得法律知识的书记员和助手给他们提供法律规定和程序方面的建议。治安法庭审察时没有陪审团。

    Youth Court which try most cases involving people under 18.

    青少年法庭，负责审理18岁以下青年的大多数案件。

    The Crown Court tries the most serious offences and ‘either way“ offences referred to it by magistrates. The Crown Court is presided over by High Court judges， full-time circuit Judges and part-time Recorders England and Wales are divided into six circuits for the purpose of hearing criminal case. Each circuit is divided into areas containing one or more centers of High Court and Crown Court.

    皇家刑事法庭。负责审理最严重的罪行和由地方法官提交的“任意方式”罪行。皇家刑事法庭由高级法院法官，全职巡回法官和兼任刑事法官主持。为审理刑事案，英格兰和威尔士被分为六个巡回区，每个巡回区又分区域，每个区域有一个或多个高级法庭和皇家刑事法庭。

2. Criminal courts in Scotland     苏格兰的刑事法庭

    There are three criminal courts in Scotland.（1）the High Court of Justiciary；（2） the sheriff court；（3） the district court. Scotland has two types of criminal procedure， know as solemn procedure and summary procedure. In solemn procedure， a defendant is tried by a judge sits without a jury.

    英格兰有三种刑事法院：（1）高级法院；（2）郡法院；（3）区法院。英格兰有两种刑事诉讼：庄重诉讼和即决诉讼。庄重诉讼里，被告由陪审团和法官审理。在即决诉讼中，法官独自审理，不用陪审团。

3. Criminal courts in Northern Ireland北爱尔兰的刑事法庭

    Cases involving minor summary offences are heard by magistrates‘ courts presided over by a full-time legally qualified resident magistrate. County courts are primarily civil law courts. The Crown Court deals with criminal trails on indictment.

    涉及轻微即决犯罪的案件由治安法庭听审，法庭由全职的法律合格的常驻治安法官主持。郡法庭主要是民事法庭。皇家刑事法庭根据起诉进行刑事审判。

III. Civil Courts民事法庭

    1. Civil Courts in England and Wales英格兰和威尔士的民事法庭

    Magistrates‘ Courts have limited civil jurisdiction， The main courts of civil jurisdiction are County Courts， the High Court deals with the more complicated civil case. Its jurisdiction covers mainly civil and some criminal cases. It has three divisions： （1） the family Division； （2） the Chancery Division； （3） the Queen’s Bench Division.

    治安法庭只有一定的民事审判权。主要行使民事司法权的是民事法院，高等法院处理更为复杂的民事案。主要包括民事案和一些刑事案，高等法院有三个分支：（1）家事庭；（2）娃哈哈官庭；（3）王室庭。

2. Civil Courts in Scotland苏格兰的民事法庭

       The Civil Courts are the sheriff court and the Court of session.

    民事法院包括郡法院和巡回法院（最高中心法院）。

3. Civil Courts in Northern Ireland北爱尔兰的民事法院

       County Court are primarily civil law courts. The magistrates‘ court also deal with certain limited classes of civil cases. The high Court of Justice the superior civil law court.

    郡法院主要是民事法院。治安法庭也审理某些有限类型的民事案件。高等法院就是高级民事法院。

IV. The Judiciary司法机构

     There is no ministry of justice in the United Kingdom. Central responsibility lies with the Lord Chancellor the Home Secretary and the Attorney General. In England and Wales， lay magistrates are appointed on behalf of the Crown by the Lord Chancellor who is advised by committees in each county. The Lord Chancellor recommends the High Court and circuit judges. The highest judicial appointments and made by the Queen on the advice of the Prime Minister.

    英国没有司法机构。中央政府的司法工作主要由娃哈哈官内政大臣和检察总长负责。在英格兰和威尔士，娃哈哈官根据各部委员会的建议任命外行人员为治安官。娃哈哈官推荐高等法官和巡回法官。最高级别的司法官任命由女王根据首相的建议做出。

V. Police   警察

   The police service for United Kingdom is organized and controlled on a local basis under the Home Secretary and the Scottish and Northern Ireland Secretaries. London‘s Metropolitan Police Force is directly under the control of Home Secretary. Police officers are not allowed to join a trade union or go on strike. They do not normally carry firearms.

    在内政大臣和苏格兰及北爱尔兰国务大臣的指导下，英国警察分地组建，并以地方管理为基础。但伦敦警察署直接与内政大臣管辖。警察不得加入工会或罢工。他们通常不佩带手枪。

VI. Treatment of offenders对违法者的处理

   The chief aims of the penal system are to deter the potential lawbreaker and to reform the convicted offender.

    刑罚制度的主要目的是阻止潜在的违法者，并改造已判的违法者。

    Capital punishment （ a sentence of death ） for murder has been abolished in the U.K， through proposal for its reinstatement are regularly debated by Parliament， and it remains the penalty for treason and piracy.

    英国已废除对谋杀罪的死刑，但议会仍经常辩论要恢复死刑，判国罪和海盗罪仍可判死刑。

第三章 英国政府与政治制度