IV. SPEAKING. 1. Suggest your ideas on the following statements:

1. Suggest your ideas on the following statements:

- It has been said that “America is the only true democracy in the western world”. Do you agree?

- Are you interested in politics? Should lawyers be politically active?

- What are the main differences in the Constitutions of the UK, the USA and our country?

- What kinds of monarchy can you name? What are the pluses and minuses of living in the country ruled by king or queen?

- If you were to appoint the members of the Cabinet of Ministers what criteria would you rely on and whose recommendations would you listen to?

NB! For rendering your ideas, you can use inserted components like the one given in the text (“ consequently ”). Among others “logical connectors” are: to begin with, firstly, secondly, notwithstanding, therefore, concluding the above-mentioned, summarizing this passage, etc.

Unit 2 States, Statutes and Constitutions Section 2 Types and Functions of Constitutions

I. LEAD-IN

What is the role of the constitution in establishing

- state and legal structure;

- human rights;

- legal procedures?

Read the text referring to the italicized terms:

TEXT 2

CONSTITUTIONAL LAW: TYPES AND FUNCTIONS OF CONSTITUTIONS

Constitutions are the framework for government and may limit or define the authority and procedure of political bodies to execute new laws and regulations. Not all nation states have codified constitutions though all law-governed states have law of land consisting of various imperative and consensual rules. They may include common law, conventions, statutory law and international rules.

Codified constitutions are considered rulemaking fundamentals, or rules about making rules to exercise power. They govern the relationships among the judiciary, the legislature and the executive bodies. One of the key tasks of constitutions within this context is to indicate hierarchies of power. For example, in a unitary state the constitution will vest ultimate authority in the central administration and legislature, and judiciary, though there is often a delegation of authority to local or municipal bodies. When a constitution establishes a federal state it will identify several levels government coexisting with exclusive or shared areas of jurisdiction over lawmaking, application and enforcement.

Human rights or liberties for citizens form a crucial part of a country’s constitution and govern the rights of the individual against the state. Most jurisdictions, like the United States, Ukraine and France, have a single codified constitution. A recent example is the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, which was intended to be included in the Treaty establishing a Constitution of Europe.

Some countries, like the United Kingdom, have no entrenched document setting out the fundamental rights – in this jurisdiction the constitution is composed of statute, case law and convention. Inspired by a famous philosopher John Locke, the fundamental constitutional principle is that the individual can do anything but that is forbidden by law, while state may do nothing but that is which authorized by law.

The function of codified constitution is also to describe the procedure by which parliaments may legislate. For instance, special majorities may be required to alter the constitution. In two-chamber legislatures there may be a process laid out for second or third readings of bills before a new law can be passed.