home » Spring » The history of the emergence of parliament. Where and when did parliament appear in England? History of the English Parliament British Parliament in English briefly

The history of the emergence of parliament. Where and when did parliament appear in England? History of the English Parliament British Parliament in English briefly

Parliament is a common electoral body in any democratic country. It can be called differently. In the Russian Federation this is the Duma, in Israel - the Knesset, in Germany - the Bundestag. The history of the emergence of this authority took place in different countries according to the same historical laws. Using the example of the British government, we will try to tell where and when parliament appeared in England.

Prerequisites for the occurrence

The opportunity to trace the origins of the electoral system on the British Peninsula can be traced to the moment of the retreat of the Roman legionaries from these places. The stages of formation of statehood were very slow, and royal power was weak. The development of cities led to the birth of a new class - the bourgeoisie, which is trying to defend its interests along with large landowners at the state level.

The chronicles of some English counties provided evidence that the sheriffs of these places sent noble knights to advise the kings regarding taxation and other financial matters. The kings, naturally, did not need the thoughts of the knights and townspeople on this matter, but required complete agreement with the opinion of the crown. But the opinion of his subjects still had to be taken into account. It was under these conditions that representative assemblies arose in Western Europe, which had a restraining effect on the appetites of their monarchs - the Estates General of France, the Reichstag of Germany and the Parliament of England. The history of Britain connects the emergence of this institution of power with the name of one of the most influential persons of that time - Simon de Montfort.

Royal ambitions

The aggravation between the three ruling classes of England reached its peak at the beginning of the 13th century. The power of the barons was recognized as the head of England by the son of King John Henry III. He was a weak and cowardly monarch who was always under someone else's influence. By giving away lands and wealth to foreigners, he caused indignation among all segments of the population. In addition, for the sake of the ambitions of his own family, Henry was going to get involved in the war for the Sicilian crown, which he needed for his son. To wage the war, he demanded a third of all the country's income.

The first parliament in England had not been created by that time, so no one could provide firm and reasonable resistance to the king. Passages from the chronicles of the time say that the barons were so outraged by the exorbitant appetites of their own king that their “ears were ringing.” It was necessary to take decisive measures.

The answer to the question of where and when parliament appeared in England can be found in medieval chronicles, which for the most part gather dust in the archives of public libraries. In them you can find references to an event that took place in Oxford in 1258. Then the barons, outraged by the arbitrariness of their monarch, assembled a royal council in this city. It went down in history under the name “Mad (Frantic) Council.” According to the decision of the barons, the power of foreigners in the country was limited, ownership of lands and castles passed to the English nobles, and the king had to coordinate all important matters with large landowners.

Knight and revolutionary

Having achieved concessions from the king, the barons did not even think about taking care of ordinary knights and the bourgeoisie. Protests broke out across the country. The most radical wing of the rebels was led by Simon de Montfort. At first, the king's army was defeated, and the monarch himself and his son Edward were captured. Montfort entered London and began to rule England.

Representative meetings

Montfort understood that his power, not supported by any rights, was extremely fragile. In order to rule the country in his position, it was necessary to enlist the support of wide sections of society. Montfort's decision already answers the question for what purpose the parliament was created in England. This is, first of all, support from society, receiving regular financial injections, and strengthening royal power locally.

In 1265, a meeting of the three property classes of medieval England was convened in London. Ecclesiastical and secular magnates, as well as representatives of chivalry and the urban bourgeoisie, were invited to it. The language of communication of noble gentlemen then, as many years later, was French, and only peasants and artisans used English vernacular speech. Therefore, the parliament was named in the French manner. The root of this word is the French "parleu", which means "to speak".

The end of Montfort

Most invaders do not enjoy the benefits of their victories for long. So Montfort quickly lost power and was killed in the fight against supporters of Prince Edward. The king's power was restored, and a lesson was learned from what happened.

The elected assembly remained a government body even after Montfort. But where and when parliament appeared in England after these events is a completely different story.

London and parliament

The nobility and royal authorities were convinced by their own example that it would not be easy to govern England without the support of knights and townspeople. Even after Montfort's death, the parliament lived and performed certain functions. For example, in order to avoid new popular unrest, in 1297 King Edward signed a decree according to which no tax could be introduced in the kingdom without the approval of parliament.

The latter was built on the principles of compliance with the terms of contracts - thereby laying the principles of modern justice. The transparent terms of the deal between the state power and the royal subjects ensured that compliance with the agreements would be beneficial to both parties. Only the form of the elected assembly has changed somewhat since then.

How was parliament structured in England?

As a permanent body of power, parliament in England in the Middle Ages functioned fully since 1265. Representatives of the titled nobility and the upper clergy received personalized documents that allowed them to take part in the work of parliament, and for ordinary knights and townspeople there was a general invitation.

How the parliament was structured in England can be seen in the modern British government - after all, for 900 years, practically nothing has changed in the structure of this government body. The entire parliament is divided into two large chambers. The first - the House of Lords - includes the descendants of the very barons who participated in the “Mad Council”. These are representatives of the titled nobility and spiritual nobility. In the 14th century, the clergy left the meetings of Parliament, but later returned to its ranks. The lower house - the House of Commons - is occupied by the heirs of those to whom “general invitations” were sent in ancient times. These are the descendants of knights and wealthy townspeople. Currently, representatives include deputies from the local nobility, whom local society has entrusted to represent their interests in the capital.

The ability to directly control power gave impetus to the development of local self-government - local assemblies were created in various counties, and city interests were defended in councils.

We hope that from this article it will become clear where and when parliament appeared in England. We looked in detail at the impact that the electoral system of self-government had on English kings in the Middle Ages.

In the United Kingdom and Royal Colonies. It is headed by the British Monarch. Parliament is bicameral, comprising an upper house called the House of Lords and a lower house called the House of Commons. The House of Lords is not elected, but consists of the Lords Spiritual (the highest clergy of the Church of England) and the Lords Temporal (members of the peerage). The House of Commons, on the other hand, is a democratically elected chamber. The House of Lords and the House of Commons meet in separate rooms in the Palace of Westminster in London. By custom, all ministers, including the prime minister, are chosen exclusively from within parliament.

Parliament evolved from the ancient royal council. In theory, power comes not from Parliament, but from the Queen-in-Parliament. the Crown in Parliament" - literally - "Crown in Parliament"). It is often said that only the Queen-in-Parliament is the supreme authority, although this is a controversial statement. Currently, power also comes from the democratically elected House of Commons; The monarch acts as a representative figure, and the power of the House of Lords is significantly limited.

The British Parliament is often called the “mother of all parliaments”, since the legislative bodies of many countries, and especially member countries of the British Commonwealth, are created on its model.

Story

Scottish Parliament

Scottish Parliament Chamber

Irish Parliament

The Irish Parliament was created to represent the English in the Irish dominion, while the native or Gaelic Irish did not have the right to vote or be elected. It was first convened in . The English then lived only in the area around Dublin known as the Dirty.

The principle of ministerial responsibility to the lower house was developed only in the 19th century. The House of Lords was superior to the House of Commons in both theory and practice. Members of the House of Commons were elected under an outdated electoral system in which the size of polling stations varied widely. So in Old Sarum (English) seven voters chose two members of parliament, as well as in Dunwich (English), which was completely submerged due to land erosion. In many cases, members of the House of Lords controlled small voting areas, known as "pocket places" and "rotten places", and were able to ensure the election of their relatives or supporters. Many seats in the House of Commons were the property of the Lords. Also at that time, voter bribery and intimidation were widespread in elections. Following the reforms of the nineteenth century (beginning in 1832), the electoral system was significantly streamlined. No longer dependent on the upper house, members of the House of Commons became more confident.

Modern era

The supremacy of the House of Commons was clearly established at the beginning of the 20th century. In , the House of Commons passed the so-called "People's Budget", which introduced numerous tax changes that were disadvantageous to wealthy landowners. The House of Lords, composed of the powerful landed aristocracy, rejected this budget. Taking advantage of the popularity of this budget and the unpopularity of the Lords, the Liberal Party won the election in 1910. Using the election results, the Liberal Prime Minister Herbert Henry Asquith proposed a parliamentary bill that would limit the powers of the House of Lords. When the Lords refused to accept this legislation, Asquith asked the king to create several hundred Liberal peers to dilute the Conservative Party's majority in the House of Lords. In the face of this threat, the House of Lords passed an Act of Parliament which only allowed the Lords to delay the passage of the law for three sessions (reduced to two sessions per session), after which it would go into effect despite their objections.

Compound

Parliament is headed by the British Monarch. The role of the Monarch, however, is largely ceremonial; in practice, he or she always acts on the advice of the Prime Minister and other ministers, who in turn are accountable to the two houses of Parliament.

The upper house, the House of Lords, is largely composed of appointed members (the "Lords of Parliament"). Formally the chamber is called The Right Honorable Lords Spiritual and Lords Temporal assembled in Parliament. The Lords Spiritual are the clergy of the Church of England, and the Lords Temporal are members of the peerage. The Lords Spiritual and the Lords Temporal are considered representatives of different classes, but they sit, discuss various issues and vote together.

Previously, the Lords Spiritual included all the highest clergy of the Church of England: archbishops, bishops, abbots and priors. However, during the Dissolution of the Monasteries under the reign of Henry VIII, abbots and priors lost their seats in Parliament. All diocesan bishops continued to sit in Parliament, but under the Bishopric of Manchester Act 1847 and later acts, only twenty-six senior bishops and archbishops are now Lords Spiritual. These twenty-six always include the people occupying the "five great sees", namely the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Archbishop of York, the Bishop of London, the Bishop of Durham and the Bishop of Winchester. The remaining Lords Spiritual are the most senior diocesan bishops, according to the order of ordination.

All Lords Temporal are members of the peerage. Previously, these were hereditary peers with the titles of Duke, Marquis, Earl, Viscount or Baron. Some hereditary peers were not entitled to sit in Parliament by birthright alone: after the unification of England and Scotland into Great Britain in , it was established that those peers whose peerage was created by the Kings of England had the right to sit in Parliament, but those whose peerage was created by the Kings Scotland had a limited number of "representative peers" elected. A similar provision was made in relation to Ireland when Ireland was annexed to Great Britain in 1801. But when Southern Ireland left the United Kingdom in 1800, the election of representative peers was discontinued. The Peerage Act 1963 also abolished the election of Scottish representative peers, with all Scottish peers gaining the right to sit in Parliament. According to the House of Lords Act 1999, only a life peerage (i.e. a peerage that is not inherited) automatically entitles its holder to sit in the House of Lords. Of the hereditary peers, only ninety-two are Earl Marshals. Earl Marshal) and Lord Chief Chamberlain (eng. Lord Great Chamberlain) and ninety hereditary peers, chosen by all peers, retain their seats in the House of Lords.

The commoners, the last of the estates of the Kingdom, are represented by the House of Commons, which is formally called Honorable Commoners assembled in Parliament. Currently the Chamber consists of 646 members. Before the 2005 elections, the House consisted of 659 members, but the number of Scottish MPs was reduced by the Scottish Parliament Act 2004. Each "Member of Parliament" or "MP" Member of Parliament) is elected by one constituency under the First-Past-the-Post electoral system. All persons over 18 years of age, citizens of the United Kingdom and citizens of Ireland and the British Commonwealth countries permanently residing in the United Kingdom have the right to vote. The term of office of a member of the House of Commons depends on the term of Parliament; General elections, in which a new parliament is elected, occur after each dissolution of Parliament.

The three parts of Parliament are separate from each other; no one can sit in the House of Commons and the House of Lords at the same time. The Lords of Parliament cannot by law vote in elections for members of the House of Commons, and the Sovereign customarily does not vote in elections, although there is no legal restriction on this.

Procedure

Each of the two houses of Parliament is headed by a speaker. In the House of Lords, the Lord Chancellor, a member of the cabinet, is the Speaker ex officio. If this position is not filled, the Speaker may be appointed by the Crown. Deputy Speakers, who replace him if he is absent, are also appointed by the Crown.

The House of Commons has the right to elect its own Speaker. In theory, the consent of the Sovereign is required for the results of an election to take effect, but according to modern custom it is guaranteed. The Speaker may be replaced by one of three deputies, who are known as the Chairman, the First Deputy Chairman and the Second Deputy Chairman. (Their names come from the Ways and Means Committee, which they once chaired, but which no longer exists.)

In general, the influence of the Lord Chancellor as Speaker over the House is seriously limited, while the power of the Speaker of the House of Commons over the House is great. Decisions on violations of the work order and punishment of unruly members of the chamber are made by the entire composition of the chamber in the Upper House, and individually by the speaker in the Lower House. In the House of Lords, speeches are addressed to the whole chamber (using the address "My Lords"), while in the House of Commons, speeches are addressed only to the Speaker (using the address "Mr Speaker" or "Madam Speaker").

Both houses can decide issues by oral vote, with Members of Parliament shouting "Aye" or "Nay" (in the House of Commons), or "Agree" ("Content") or "Disagree" (" Not-Content") (in the House of Lords), and the presiding officer announces the result of the vote. This result, as announced by the Lord Chancellor or the Speaker, may be disputed, in which case a counting vote (known as a split vote) is required. (The Speaker of the House of Commons may refuse a frivolous request for such a vote, but the Lord Chancellor has no such power.) When voting separately in each House, Members of Parliament go into one of the two halls adjacent to the House, their names being recorded by clerks and their votes are counted when they return from the halls back to the ward. The Speaker of the House of Commons remains neutral and votes only in the event of a tie. The Lord Chancellor votes along with all the other Lords.

Term of office

After the general elections, a new session of Parliament begins. Formally, Parliament is opened by the Sovereign, who is considered the source of Parliament's power, forty days before the start of work. On the day announced by royal proclamation, the two Houses assemble in their seats. After this, the commoners are called to the House of Lords, where the Lords Commissioners (representatives of the Sovereign) invite them to choose a speaker. The commoners vote; the next day, they return to the House of Lords, where the Lords Commissioners confirm the results of the vote and announce that the new Speaker has been confirmed by the Sovereign on his behalf.

Over the next few days, Parliament takes the Oath of Allegiance (UK). After members of Parliament from both houses have taken the oath of office, the opening ceremony of parliament begins. The Lords take their seats in the House of Lords, the Commoners stand outside the House of Lords, and the Sovereign takes his place on the throne. After this, the Sovereign reads the Speech from the Throne, the content of which is determined by the ministers of the crown, outlining the legislative agenda for the next year. After this, each chamber begins its legislative work.

According to custom, before discussing the legislative agenda, in each chamber pro format a bill is introduced; Select Vestries Bill in the House of Lords and Outlawries Bill in the House of Commons. These bills do not become laws, they are essentially an affirmation of the right of each house to debate laws independently of the crown. After the introduction of these bills, each of the chambers discusses the contents of the speech from the throne for several days. After each chamber sends its response to the speech from the throne, the normal work of parliament can begin. Each chamber appoints committees, elects officers, passes resolutions, and creates legislation.

The session of Parliament ends with a closing ceremony. This ceremony is similar to the opening ceremony, although much less well known. Usually the Sovereign is not present in person at this ceremony, but is represented by the Lord Commissioners. The next session of Parliament begins according to the ceremony described above, but this time there is no need to elect a Speaker or take the oath again. Instead, the opening ceremony begins immediately.

Each Parliament, after a certain number of sessions, completes its work, either by order of the Sovereign, or after the lapse of time, which has recently happened more often. The dissolution of Parliament occurs by decision of the Sovereign, but always with the advice of the Prime Minister. If the political situation is favorable to his party, the Prime Minister may ask for the dissolution of parliament in order to gain more seats than there are in the elections. Additionally, if the Prime Minister loses the support of the House of Commons, he can either resign or ask for the dissolution of Parliament to renew his mandate.

There was originally no limit on the length of Parliament, but the Terennial Act of 1694 set a maximum length of Parliament at three years. As frequent elections seemed inconvenient, the Semiannual Act of 1716 extended the maximum duration of Parliament to seven years, but the Act of Parliament of 1911 reduced it to five years. During the Second World War, the term was temporarily increased to ten years. After the end of the war, the period continued to remain equal to five years. Modern Parliaments, however, rarely serve a full term; they are usually dissolved earlier. For example, the fifty-second parliament that met in was dissolved after four years.

Previously, the death of the Sovereign automatically meant the dissolution of Parliament, since the Sovereign was considered his caput, principium, et finis(beginning, base and end). However, it was inconvenient not to have Parliament at a time when the succession to the throne could be contested. During the reign of William III and Mary II, a statute was passed that Parliament should continue to function for six months after the death of the Sovereign, unless it was first dissolved. The Representation of the People Act of 1867 abolished this provision. Currently, the death of the Sovereign does not affect the duration of Parliament.

After the end of Parliament, general elections are held to elect new members of the House of Commons. Members of the House of Commons do not change when Parliament is dissolved. Each Parliament meeting after elections is considered different from the previous one. Therefore, each Parliament has its own number. The current Parliament is called Fifty-fourth Parliament of the United Kingdom. This means the fifty-fourth Parliament since the formation of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland in 1801. Previously, the Parliaments were called the "Parliament of Great Britain" or the "Parliament of England"

Legislative functions

Parliament meets in the Palace of Westminster.

The Parliament of the United Kingdom can make laws by Acts. Some acts are valid throughout the kingdom, including Scotland, but since Scotland has its own legislative system (the so-called Scots law, or Scots law) many acts are not valid in Scotland and are either accompanied by the same acts, but valid only in Scotland, or ( c) laws passed by the Scottish Parliament.

The new law, in its draft form called bill, may be proposed by any member of the upper or lower house. However, bills are usually introduced by the king's ministers. A bill introduced by a minister is called a "Government Bill", and a bill introduced by an ordinary member of the House is called a "Private Member's Bill". Bills are also differentiated by their content. Most bills that affect the entire community are called "Public Bills". Bills that give special rights to an individual or a small group of people are called "Private Bills". A private bill that affects the wider community is called a "Hybrid Bill".

Private Members' Bills account for only one-eighth of all House Bills, and are much less likely to pass than Government Bills because the time available for debate is so limited. There are three ways for an MP to introduce his or her Private Member's Bill.

One way is to put it to a vote on the list of bills proposed for discussion. Typically, about four hundred bills are added to this list, then voting takes place on these bills, and the twenty bills that received the most votes receive time for discussion.
Another way is the “ten minute rule”. According to this rule, members of parliament have ten minutes to propose their bill. If the chamber agrees to accept it for discussion, it goes to the first reading, otherwise the bill is eliminated.
The third way is, according to Order 57, by notifying the Speaker one day in advance, to formally put the bill on the list for discussion. Such bills are adopted extremely rarely.

A great danger for bills is parliamentary filibustering, when opponents of a bill deliberately stall for time in order to ensure that the time allotted for its discussion expires. Private Members' Bills have no chance of being passed if they are opposed by the government of the day, but they are introduced to raise moral issues. Bills to legalize homosexual acts or abortion were private members' bills. The government may sometimes use private members' bills to pass unpopular laws with which it does not want to be associated. Such bills are called “sowout bills.”

Each bill goes through several stages of discussion. The first stage, called the first reading, is a pure formality. At the next stage, in the second reading, the general principles of the bill are discussed. On second reading, the House may vote to reject a bill (by refusing to say "That the Bill be now read a second time"), but rejection of government bills is very rare.

After the second reading, the bill is sent to committee. In the House of Lords it is a committee of the whole house or a grand committee. Both are made up of all members of the House, but the larger committee operates under a special procedure and is used only for non-controversial bills. In the House of Commons, legislation is usually referred to a sitting committee of 16-50 members of the House, but for important legislation a committee of the whole House is used. Several other types of committees, such as a select committee, are rarely used in practice. The committee reviews the bill clause-by-clause and reports proposed amendments to the full House, where further discussion of the details takes place. A device called kangaroo(Existing Order 31) allows the Speaker to select amendments for debate. Typically this device is used by the committee chair to limit committee discussion.

After the House has considered the bill, a third reading follows. Amendments are no longer introduced in the House of Commons, and the passage of the motion “That the Bill be now read a third time” means the passage of the entire bill. However, amendments may still be introduced in the House of Lords. After the third reading, the House of Lords must vote on the motion "That the Bill do now pass." After passing in one chamber, the bill is sent to the other chamber. If it is adopted by both Houses in the same version, it may be submitted to the Sovereign for approval. If one chamber disagrees with the other chamber's amendments and they cannot resolve their differences, the bill fails.

An Act of Parliament limited the power of the House of Lords to reject bills passed by the House of Commons. The restrictions were strengthened by an Act of Parliament in 1949. Under this act, if the House of Commons passed a bill in two successive sessions, and both times it was rejected by the House of Lords, the House of Commons could refer the bill to the Sovereign for assent, notwithstanding the refusal of the House of Lords to pass it. In each case, the bill must be passed by the House of Commons at least one month before the end of the session. This regulation has no effect in relation to bills proposed by the House of Lords, legislation intended to extend the term of Parliament and private bills. A special procedure applies to bills recognized by the Speaker of the House of Commons as “Money Bills”. The money bill concerns only tax issues or public money. If the House of Lords does not pass a money bill within one month after its adoption by the House of Commons, the lower house may refer it to the Sovereign for assent.

Even before the Acts of Parliament, the House of Commons had greater power in financial matters. According to ancient custom, the House of Lords cannot introduce bills relating to taxation or the budget, or make amendments relating to taxation or the budget. The House of Commons may temporarily grant financial privilege to the House of Lords to enable the House of Lords to pass amendments relating to financial matters. The House of Lords can refuse to pass bills relating to budget and taxation, although this refusal can be easily circumvented in the case of Money Bills.

The final step in passing a bill is obtaining Royal Assent. In theory, the Sovereign can give consent (that is, pass a law) or withhold it (that is, veto a bill). According to modern ideas, the Sovereign always makes laws. The last refusal to give consent occurred when Anne did not approve the bill “to create a Scottish militia.”

A bill, before becoming a law, receives the consent of all three parts of Parliament. Thus, all laws are made by the Sovereign, with the consent of the House of Lords and the House of Commons. All Acts of Parliament begin with the words “BE IT ENACTED by the Queen's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows "

Judicial functions

In addition to legislative functions, Parliament also performs some judicial functions. The Queen-in-Parliament is the highest court in most cases, but some cases are decided by the Privy Council Court (for example, appeals from ecclesiastical courts). The judicial powers of Parliament derive from the ancient custom of petitioning the House for the redress of injustice and the administration of justice. The House of Commons stopped considering petitions to overturn court decisions, essentially turning the House of Lords into the country's highest judicial body. Now the judicial functions of the House of Lords are not exercised by the whole House, but by a group of judges who have been granted a life peerage by the Sovereign under the Appeal Act 1876 (the so-called "Lords of Appeal in Ordinary") and other peers with judicial experience ("Lords of Appeal" ). These Lords, also called "Law Lords", are Lords of Parliament, but do not usually vote or speak out on political issues.

At the end of the 19th century, the appointment was allowed Scottish Lords of Appeal in Ordinary, which stopped appeals from criminal cases relating to Scotland to the House of Lords so that the Supreme Criminal Court of Scotland became the highest criminal court in Scotland. The House of Lords Judicial Committee now includes at least two Scottish judges to provide the expertise in Scottish Law necessary to hear appeals from Scotland's High Civil Court.

Historically, the House of Lords also performs several other judicial functions. Until 1948, it was the court that tried peers accused of treason. Peers are now subject to ordinary jury trials. Additionally, when the House of Commons begins impeachment proceedings, the trial is conducted by the House of Lords. Impeachment, however, now occurs very rarely; the last one was in . Some members of Parliament are trying to resume this tradition and have signed a petition to impeach the Prime Minister, but they are unlikely to be successful.

Relations with the Government

The UK government is accountable to Parliament. However, neither the Prime Minister nor members of the government are elected by the House of Commons. Instead, the Queen asks the person with the most support in the House, which is usually the leader of the party holding the most seats in the House of Commons, to form a government. To ensure that they are accountable to the lower house, the Prime Minister and most of the cabinet ministers are selected from members of the House of Commons rather than the House of Lords. The last Prime Minister from the House of Lords was Alec Douglas-Home, who became Prime Minister in . However, to comply with custom, Lord Home renounced his peerage and was elected to the House of Commons after becoming Prime Minister.

English regional assemblies

Reserve questions

Local government
Greater London Authority

Elections: - -
Human rights
International relationships

Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland(English) Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland listen)) is the highest legislative body in the United Kingdom and the Royal Overseas Territories. It is headed by the British Monarch. Parliament is bicameral, comprising an upper house called the House of Lords and a lower house called the House of Commons. The House of Lords is not elected, but includes the Lords Spiritual (the highest clergy of the Church of England), the Lords Temporal (peers) and the Lords of Appeal. List of Lords of Appeal ). The House of Commons, on the other hand, is a democratically elected chamber. The House of Lords and the House of Commons meet in separate rooms in the Palace of Westminster in London. By custom, all ministers, including the prime minister, are chosen exclusively from within parliament.

Parliament evolved from the ancient royal council. In theory, power comes not from Parliament, but from the Queen-in-Parliament. the Crown in Parliament" - literally - "Crown in Parliament"). It is often said that only the Queen-in-Parliament is the supreme authority, although this is a rather controversial statement. Currently, power also comes from the democratically elected House of Commons; The monarch acts as a representative figure, and the power of the House of Lords is significantly limited.

The British Parliament is often popularly called the “mother of all parliaments”, since the legislative bodies of many countries, and especially member countries of the British Commonwealth, are created on its model.

Story

Scottish Parliament

Scottish Parliament Chamber

Irish Parliament

The Irish Parliament was created to represent the English in the Irish dominion, while the native or Gaelic Irish did not have the right to vote or be elected. It was first convened in 1264. The English then lived only in the area around Dublin known as the Dirty.

The principle of ministerial responsibility to the lower house was developed only in the 19th century. The House of Lords was superior to the House of Commons in both theory and practice. Members of the House of Commons were elected under an outdated electoral system in which the size of polling stations varied widely. So in Gatton, seven voters chose two members of parliament, as well as in Dunwich ( English), which completely went under water due to land erosion. In many cases, members of the House of Lords controlled small voting areas, known as "pocket places" and "rotten places", and were able to ensure the election of their relatives or supporters. Many seats in the House of Commons were the property of the Lords. Also at that time, voter bribery and intimidation were widespread in elections. Following the reforms of the nineteenth century (beginning in 1832), the electoral system was significantly streamlined. No longer dependent on the upper house, members of the House of Commons became more confident.

Modern era

The supremacy of the House of Commons was clearly established at the beginning of the 20th century. In 1909, the House of Commons passed the so-called "People's Budget", which introduced numerous tax changes that were disadvantageous to wealthy landowners. The House of Lords, composed of the powerful landed aristocracy, rejected this budget. Taking advantage of the popularity of this budget and the unpopularity of the Lords, the Liberal Party won the election in 1910. Using the election results, the Liberal Prime Minister Herbert Henry Asquith proposed a parliamentary bill that would limit the powers of the House of Lords. When the Lords refused to accept this legislation, Asquith asked the king to create several hundred Liberal peers to dilute the Conservative Party's majority in the House of Lords. In the face of this threat, the House of Lords passed an Act of Parliament which only allowed the Lords to delay the passage of legislation for three sessions (reduced to two sessions in 1949), after which it would go into effect despite their objections.

Organization of activities

Compound

The UK Parliament is bicameral, that is, based on a bicameral system, and consists of the House of Commons and the House of Lords. However, as a national representative body, parliament is a triune institution, including not only both houses, but also the monarch, the “Queen-in-Parliament”. Crown-in-Parliament), since only the presence of all three elements constitutes, in a legal sense, what is called the British Parliament. This connection is due to the peculiarity of the principle of separation of powers, which consists in the fact that in the system of government bodies of Great Britain such a division is both actually and formally absent: the monarch is an integral part of each of the branches of government. Thus, one of the political prerogatives of the monarch is his right to convene and dissolve parliament. In addition, no law can take legal effect until it has received royal assent, that is, until it has been approved by the monarch. The Queen heads Parliament, however, her role is largely ceremonial: in practice, she traditionally acts on the recommendations of the Prime Minister and other members of the government.

The term "parliament" is usually used to refer to both houses, but sometimes parliament refers to its main part, the House of Commons. Thus, only members of the House of Commons are called "Members of Parliament". The government is responsible only to the House of Commons, and this responsibility is called "parliamentary". It is the House of Commons that exercises what is called “parliamentary control”.

House of Commons

House of Lords

General parliamentary procedure

Issues of procedure in the British Parliament are given extremely great importance, but unlike most states there is no single written document that would set out the rules for the internal organization of the chambers - it is replaced by standing rules (English). Standing Orders), developed over centuries of practice, including session rules approved at the beginning of each session. It should be noted that these rules, operating in both chambers and acting as an analogue of parliamentary regulations in other countries, do not form a single legal act, but are a collection of various norms adopted by each chamber separately and at different times. In addition, parliamentary procedure is governed by various unwritten rules - customs. custom and practice) .

Convocation and dissolution of parliament

The convening of Parliament is the prerogative of the monarch, carried out on the proposal of the prime minister within 40 days after the end of parliamentary elections by issuing a royal proclamation. Royal Proclamation). Parliamentary sessions are convened annually, usually in late November - early December, and last most of the year, with breaks for holidays. Each session begins with a speech from the throne by the monarch. Speech from the Throne), which is traditionally drawn up by the prime minister and contains the government's program of activities for the coming year. During the speech from the throne, parliament sits in full.

Extension of powers and dissolution of parliament are also possible on the basis of the formal expression of the will of the monarch. Custom and numerous precedents allow the Prime Minister to propose to the Monarch the dissolution of Parliament at any time without the Monarch having any grounds for refusal.

After the end of parliament, regular elections are held to elect new members of the House of Commons. The composition of the House of Lords does not change with the dissolution of Parliament. Each parliament meeting after new elections has its own serial number, and the countdown begins from the moment of the unification of Great Britain and Northern Ireland into the United Kingdom, that is, from 1801. The current parliament is already the fifty-fifth in a row.

Ceremony

Parliamentary meetings

The procedure for holding parliamentary meetings is strictly regulated. They begin with the so-called “question hour”. Question Time) to the Prime Minister and members of the government. Next, parliamentarians move on to the most urgent matters, as well as government and private statements, and then to the main agenda, that is, lawmaking, which includes debates and voting.

Government statement ministerial statement) - an oral statement by a member of the Cabinet of Ministers on issues of domestic and foreign policy of the government - both current (oral statement) and planned (written statement). At the end of the speech, parliamentarians can respond to the statement or add their own comments to it, as well as ask the minister relevant questions.

Both houses can punish violations of their privileges. Contempt of Parliament, such as disobeying a subpoena issued by a parliamentary committee, may also be punishable. The House of Lords can imprison a person for any finite period, the House of Commons can also imprison a person, but only until the end of the parliamentary session. The punishment imposed by either House cannot be challenged in any court.

Authority

Legislative process

Parliament meets at the Palace of Westminster

The Parliament of the United Kingdom can make laws by Acts. Some acts are valid throughout the kingdom, including Scotland, but since Scotland has its own legislative system (the so-called Scots Law). Scots law )), many acts do not apply in Scotland and are either accompanied by the same acts, but valid only in Scotland, or (since 1999) laws passed by the Scottish Parliament.

The new law, in its draft form called bill, may be proposed by any member of the upper or lower house. Bills are usually introduced by the king's ministers. A bill introduced by a minister is called a "Government Bill", and one introduced by a member of the House is called a "Private Member's Bill". Bills are also differentiated by their content. Most bills that affect the entire community are called "Public Bills". Bills that give special rights to an individual or a small group of people are called "Private Bills". A private bill that affects the wider community is called a "Hybrid Bill".

The first way is to put it to a vote on the list of bills proposed for discussion. Typically, about four hundred bills are added to this list, then a vote is taken on these bills, and the twenty bills with the most votes are given time for debate.
Another way is the “ten minute rule”. According to this rule, members of parliament have ten minutes to propose their bill. If the chamber agrees to accept it for discussion, it goes to the first reading, otherwise the bill is eliminated.
The third way is, according to Order 57, by notifying the Speaker one day in advance, to formally put the bill on the list for discussion. Such bills are adopted extremely rarely.

A great danger for bills is “parliamentary filibustering,” when opponents of a bill deliberately delay time in order to ensure that the time allotted for its discussion expires. Private Members' Bills have no chance of being passed if they are opposed by the government of the day, but they are introduced to raise moral issues. Bills to legalize homosexual acts or abortion were private members' bills. The government may sometimes use private members' bills to pass unpopular laws with which it does not want to be associated. Such bills are called “sowout bills.”

Each bill goes through several stages of discussion. The first reading is a pure formality. In the second reading, the general principles of the bill are discussed. On second reading, the House may vote to reject a bill (by refusing to say "That the Bill be now read a second time"), but rejection of government bills is very rare.

After the second reading, the bill is sent to committee. In the House of Lords it is a committee of the whole house or a grand committee. Both are made up of all members of the House, but the grand committee operates under a special procedure and is used only for non-controversial bills. In the House of Commons, legislation is usually referred to a sitting committee of 16-50 members of the House, but for important legislation a committee of the whole House is used. Several other types of committees, such as a select committee, are rarely used in practice. The committee reviews the bill clause-by-clause and reports proposed amendments to the full House, where further discussion of the details takes place. A device called kangaroo(Existing Order 31) allows the Speaker to select amendments for debate. Typically this device is used by the committee chair to limit committee discussion.

After the House has considered the bill, a third reading follows. Amendments are no longer introduced in the House of Commons, and the passage of the motion “That the Bill be now read a third time” means the passage of the entire bill. However, amendments may still be introduced in the House of Lords. After the third reading, the House of Lords must vote on the motion "That the Bill do now pass". After passing in one chamber, the bill is sent to the other chamber. If it is adopted by both houses in the same version, it can be submitted to the sovereign for approval. If one chamber disagrees with the other chamber's amendments and they cannot resolve their differences, the bill fails.

An Act of Parliament in 1911 limited the power of the House of Lords to reject bills passed by the House of Commons. The restrictions were strengthened by an Act of Parliament in 1949. Under this act, if the House of Commons passed a bill in two successive sessions, and both times it was rejected by the House of Lords, the House of Commons could refer the bill to the sovereign for assent, notwithstanding the refusal of the House of Lords to pass it. In each case, the bill must be passed by the House of Commons at least one month before the end of the session. This regulation has no effect in relation to bills proposed by the House of Lords, bills intended to prolong the term of Parliament, or private bills. A special procedure applies to bills recognized by the Speaker of the House of Commons as “Money Bills”. The Money Bill concerns only matters of taxation or public money. If the House of Lords does not pass a money bill within one month after its adoption by the House of Commons, the lower house may refer it to the sovereign for assent.

The final step in passing a bill is obtaining Royal Assent. Royal Assent ). In theory, the sovereign can give consent (that is, pass a law) or withhold it (that is, veto a bill). According to modern ideas, the sovereign always makes laws. The last refusal to give consent occurred in 1708, when Queen Anne did not approve the bill "to create a Scottish militia".

A bill, before becoming a law, receives the consent of all three parts of Parliament. Thus, all laws are made by the sovereign, with the consent of the House of Lords and the House of Commons. All Acts of Parliament begin with the words “BE IT ENACTED by the Queen's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows "

Judicial functions

In addition to legislative functions, Parliament also performs some judicial functions.

The Queen-in-Parliament is the highest court in most cases, but some cases are decided by the Privy Council Court (for example, appeals from ecclesiastical courts). The judicial powers of Parliament derive from the ancient custom of petitioning the House for the redress of injustice and the administration of justice. The House of Commons stopped considering petitions for annulment of judgments in 1399, essentially turning the House of Lords into the highest judicial body in the country. Now the judicial functions of the House of Lords are performed not by the whole House, but by a group of judges who have been granted a life peerage by the sovereign under the Appeal Act 1876 (the so-called Lords of Appeal in Ordinary) and other peers with judicial experience (Lords of Appeal). These Lords, also called Law Lords, are Lords of Parliament but do not usually vote or speak out on political issues.

At the end of the 19th century, the appointment of Scottish Lords of Appeal in Ordinary was allowed, which ended appeals in criminal cases relating to Scotland to the House of Lords, so that the Supreme Criminal Court of Scotland became the highest criminal court in Scotland. The House of Lords Judicial Committee now includes at least two Scottish judges to provide the expertise in Scottish law needed to hear appeals from Scotland's High Civil Court.

Historically, the House of Lords also performs several other judicial functions. Until 1948, it was the court that tried peers accused of treason. Peers are now subject to ordinary jury trials. Additionally, when the House of Commons begins impeachment proceedings, the trial is conducted by the House of Lords. Impeachment, however, now occurs very rarely; the last one was in 1806. Some members of Parliament are trying to resume this tradition and have signed a petition to impeach the Prime Minister, but they are unlikely to be successful.

Relations with the government

The UK government is accountable to Parliament. However, neither the Prime Minister nor members of the government are elected by the House of Commons. Instead, the Queen asks the person with the most support in the House (which is usually the leader of the party holding the most seats in the House of Commons) to form a government. To ensure that they are accountable to the lower house, the Prime Minister and most of the cabinet ministers are selected from members of the House of Commons rather than the House of Lords. The last Prime Minister from the House of Lords was Alex Douglas-Home in 1963. However, to comply with custom, Lord Hume renounced his peerage and was elected to the House of Commons after becoming Prime Minister.

Using their initial majority in the House of Commons, the government usually dominates the legislative work of Parliament, and sometimes uses its patronage power to appoint supportive peers to the House of Lords. In practice, the government can get any legislation it wants unless there is a major split in the ruling party. But even in this situation, it is unlikely that the government's proposed legislation will not be passed, although dissenting members of parliament may be able to extract concessions from the government. IN

The British Parliament is the oldest in the world. It originated in the 12th century as Witenagemot, the body of wise councilors to consult the King in his policy. The BritishParliament consists of the House of Lords and the House ofCommons and the Queen as its head. The House of Commons plays them major role in law-making. It consists of Members of Parliament(called MPs for short). Each of them represents an area in England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland. MPs are elected either at ageneral election or at a by-election following the death orretirement. Parliamentary elections are held every 5 years and it is the Prime Minister who decides on the exact day of the election. The minimum voting age is 18. And the voting is takenby secret ballot. The election campaign lasts about 3 weeks, TheBritish parliamentary system depends on political parties. The party which wins the majority of seats forms the government and its leader usually becomes Prime Minister. The Prime Ministerchooses about 20 MPs from his party to become the cabinet ofministers. Each minister is responsible for a particular area in the government. The second largest party becomes the officialopposition with its own leader and "shadow cabinet". The leaderof the opposition is a recognized post in the House of Commons.The parliament and the monarch have different roles in the government and they only meet together on symbolic occasions, such as coronation of a new monarch or the opening of the parliament.In reality, the House of Commons is the one of three which hastrue power. The House of Commons is made up of six hundred and fifty elected members, it is presided over by the speaker, a member acceptable to the whole house. MPs sit on two sides of the hall, one side for the governing party and the other for the opposition. The first 2 rows of seats are occupied by the leading members of both parties (called "front benches") The back benchesbelong to the rank-and-life MPs. Each session of the House of Commons lasts for 160-175 days. Parliament has intervals duringhis work. MPs are paid for their parliamentary work and have toattend the sittings. As mentioned above, the House of Commons plays the major role in law making. The procedure is the following: aproposed law (“a bill”) has to go through three stages in order to become an act of parliament, these are called “readings”. Thefirst reading is a formality and is simply the publication of theproposal. The second reading involves debate on the principles of the bill, it is examination by parliamentary committy. And the third reading is a report stage, when the work of the committy is reported on to the house. This is usually the most importantstage in the process. When the bill passes through the House ofCommons, it is sent to the House of Lords for discussion, whenthe Lords agree it, the bill is taken to the Queen for royalassent, when the Queen sings the bill, it becomes act of theParliament and the Law of the Land. The House of Lords has morethan 1000 members, although only about 250 take an active part inthe work in the house. Members of this Upper House are notelected, they sit there because of their rank, the chairman ofthe House of Lords is the Lord Chancellor. And he sits on aspecial seat, called "Wool Sack." The members of the House of Lordsdebate the bill after it has been passed by the House of Commons.Some changes may be recommended and the agreement between the twohouses is reached by negotiations.

Views