Exercises. 1. Find the English equivalents in the text:

1. Find the English equivalents in the text:

1. открыть дорогу тирании

2. нарушение гражданских прав

3. свобода вероисповедания

4. лишить кого-то собственности

5. вызывать свидетеля

6. обыск и конфискация

7. принятие конституции

8. поправки к конституции

9. носить оружие

10. адвокат защиты

11. расквартирование солдат

Text 3: “The UK Constitution”

Task 1: read and translate the text

Constitutions organise, distribute and regulate state power. They set out the structure of the state, the major state institutions. Britain is unusual in having an unwritten or, to be more precise, 'uncodified' constitution. This means that, unlike in most modern democracies, there is no single document which sets out in one place the fundamental laws outlining how the state works.

Instead constitutional experts point to a number of treaties, laws and conventions (another word for 'habits') which together make up the constitution. These include:

• Acts of Parliament
• Treaties
• EU law
• Common Law
• Conventions
• Royal Prerogative
• Works of authority

This means it requires a considerable amount of study and probably a degree in politics or law to fully understand how Britain is governed.

Britain’s lack of a ‘written’ constitution can be explained by its history. The British Constitution has evolved over a long period of time. It has never been thought necessary to consolidate the basic building blocks of this order in Britain. In other countries, many of which have experienced revolution or regime change, it has been necessary to ‘start from scratch’, constructing new state institutions and defining in detail their relations with each other and their citizens.

It has been suggested that the British Constitution can be summed up in eight words: What the Queen in Parliament enacts is law. This means that Parliament, using the power of the Crown, enacts law which no other body can challenge. Parliamentary sovereignty is commonly regarded as the defining principle of the British Constitution. Other core principles of the British Constitution are often thought to include the rule of law, the separation of government into executive, legislative, and judicial branches, and the existence of a unitary state, meaning ultimate powers is held by ‘the centre’ – the sovereign Westminster Parliament.

An uncodified constitution creates two problems. First, it makes it difficult to know what the state of the constitution actually is. Second, it suggests that it is easier to make changes to the UK Constitution than in countries with written constitutions. The flexibility of the UK constitution is evident from the large number of constitutional reforms since 1997, including the abolition of the majority of hereditary peers in the House of Lords and the devolution of power to the regions.