UNIT 5 - CONSTITUTION
Constitution of a state may be defined as the body of rules relating to the structure,
functions and powers of the organs of state, their relationship to one another, and to private
citizens. It also means the organic and fundamental law of a nation or state, which may be
written or unwritten, establishing the character and conception of its government, and
regulating, distributing and limiting the functions of its different departments, and prescribing
the extent and manner of the exercise of sovereign powers. The word constitution is also used
to refer to a document defining the fundamental principles of governance of the people. In
countries having a written constitution, the word constitutional means “in conformity with the
Constitution”, and the word unconstitutional means “in violation of the Constitution”.
The U.S. Constitution is a grant of power from the 50 sovereign states to the U.S.
Powers not expressly delegated to the federated U.S. by the Constitution are reserved to
individual states. The United States thus possesses the express powers given to it, each state
possesses the remaining or residuary powers. The U.S. Constitution does not limit the
conduct of private individuals. The Constitution was adopted in 1789. The first ten
amendments to the Constitution, called the Bill of Rights, were added in 1791. They assure
individual rights and freedoms and include provisions for freedom of speech, of the press and
worship, the right of citizens to meet peacefully, the right to be secure in one´s own home
against unreasonable searches and seizure of persons and property, and the right of any person
charged with breaking the law to have a speedy trial by a jury of fellow citizens.
The Constitution divides the powers of the government into three branches – the Executive,
headed by the President, the Legislative, which includes both houses of Congress, and the
Judicial, which is headed by the Supreme Court. The three branches are independent, but each
has the power to restrain the other branches in a system of checks and balances. The system
was designed to prevent one branch from becoming too powerful and abusing its power.
Examples include impeachment, the president´s power to veto, congressional investigations of
actions by the president or other executive officials. One of the most visible and important
checks of one branch on another is the courts´power of judicial review. It enables a court to
cancel any law passed by Congress that conflicts with the Constitution. For example,
Congress might pass a law prohibiting media criticism of elected officials. This law would be
declared invalid and unconstitutional because it violates the freedom of press guaranteed in
the First Amendment.
As the U.S. is composed of 50 states and 19 dependencies and territories, their system of
government is slightly different. The state governments follow much the same pattern as the
federal government. Each has a governor as the chief executive, with power divided among
the Executive, Legislative and Judicial branches. State governments manage such affairs as
maintaining order, educating children, building highways. The federal government deals with
national problems and international relations and regional problems that involve more than
one state. Laws affecting the daily lives of citizens are enforced by police in the cities and
towns. Agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation track down criminals who cross state
borders or who break federal laws.
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The President of the United States is chosen in a national election for a four-year
term of office, and may be re-elected for a second term. He must be a native-born citizen at
least 35 years old. As head of the Executive Branch, the President must
carry out the government programs enacted into law by Congress. He
recommends programs and laws to Congress and requests money for
federal government operations. If a President vetoes a bill passed by the
Congress, his veto may be overruled by a two-thirds vote of both houses
of Congress. The President appoints federal judges, ambassadors and
hundreds of government officials, and assigns duties to the Vice
President. If a President dies, resigns or becomes permanently disabled,
the Vice President assumes the office until the next election. Under the
U.S. Constitution a sitting President may be removed from office before
his term expires only by an impeachment process that begins with the
House of Representatives. If there is enough evidence, the House drafts a “bill of
impeachment”, which must be approved by two-thirds of its membership. Trial in the Senate,
with the Chief Justice of the U.S. acting as the judge and the Senators as the jury, follows.
Only two American Presidents have been impeached: Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton.
The supreme legislative body in the U.S. is the Congress of the U.S.A. Its lower
chamber, the House of Representatives, comprises 435 representatives. The number
representing each state is determined by population but every
state is entitled to at least one representative. Members are
elected by the people by district for 2-year terms, all terms
running for the same period. Representatives must be at least 25
years of age, citizens of the U.S. for at least 7 years and live in
the state they represent. Members of the House of
Representatives are called congressmen.
The Senate as the upper chamber is composed of 100 members,
2 from each state, who are elected to serve for a term of 6 years. One-third of the Senate is
elected every 2 years. Members of the Senate are called senators.
The British Constitution is not set out in any single document. The constitutional
principles, rules and practices of the U.K. have never been codified. Instead, the British
constitution is made up of statute law, common law and conventions. Conventions are rules
and practices which are not legally enforceable but which are regarded as necessary to the
working of government. The constitution can be altered by an Act of Parliament, or by
general agreement. The constitution is thus adaptable to changing political conditions.
The Queen is not only head of State, but also an important symbol
of national unity. Although the seat of the monarchy is in Britain, the
Queen is also head of state of a number of Commonwealth states. In
each such state the Queen is represented by a Governor-General,
appointed by her on the advice of the ministers of the country
concerned and completely independent of the British Government.
The Queen is head of the executive, an integral part of the legislature,
head of the judiciary, the commander-in-chief of all armed forces of
the Crown and the “supreme governor” of the Church of England.
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The Queen still takes part in some important acts of government, such as summoning,
proroguing and dissolving Parliament, and giving Royal Assent to Bills passed by Parliament.
The Queen also appoints ministers, judges, officers in the armed forces, governors, diplomats,
bishops and some other senior clergy of the Church of England. She also pardons people
convicted of crimes and confers peerages, knighthoods and other honours. An important
function is appointing the Prime Minister: by convention the Queen invites the leader of the
political party which commands a majority in the House of Commons to form a government.
In international affairs the Queen has the power to declare war and make peace, to recognize
foreign states and governments, to conclude treaties and to annex and cede territory.
United Kingdom Parliament is the supreme legislative body in the U.K. Its lower
house, the House of Commons, consists of 651 Members of
Parliament (MPs) directly elected by the voters in each of Britain´s
651 parliamentary constituencies. The House of Lords as the
upper house of the British Parliament is made up of hereditary
lords (spiritual and temporal), life peers, leading judges and
bishops. The House of Lords is also the court of final appeal in
most civil cases and has jurisdiction over impeachment.
The Constitution of the Czech Republic was adopted on December 16, 1992,
and has been amended four times. It replaced the constitution of Czechoslovakia which split
into Slovakia and the Czech Republic by act of parliament on January 1, 1993, through the socalled velvet divorce. The Constitution recalls the Charter of Fundamental Rights and
Freedoms and establishes the republic as a democratic, law-abiding state, deriving its
sovereignty from the people. It vests legislative power in the Czech Parliament consisting of
two chambers, the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate. It provides for the election of the
President by the Parliament. The Prime Minister is appointed by the President of the Republic
who shall appoint on the Prime Minister´s proposal the other members of the Government,
Deputy Prime Ministers and Ministers. The Government is accountable to the Chamber of
Deputies. The Constitution establishes the Constitutional Court and Independent Judiciary.
Judges are appointed for life by the President. The Constitution establishes The Supreme
Control Office and the Czech National Bank, and divides the territory of the republic into
self-governing territorial districts and regions. It states that the CR shall observe its
obligations under international law. An approval of the Parliament is required to ratify an
international agreement unless a constitutional law requires an approval from a referendum.
The Constitution may be supplemented or amended only by a constitutional act. The national
symbols of the Czech Republic shall be the large and the small state coat-of-arms, the national
colours, the national flag, the standard of the President of the Republic, the state seal and the
national anthem (the first verse from “Kde domov můj” from Fidlovačka – lyrics by Josef
Kajetán Tyl, music composed by František Škroup).
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The President of the Czech Republic shall be the head of state. The Parliament
shall elect the President at a joint session of both chambers. The President assumes his office
upon taking the oath of office. The term of office of the President
shall last five years, beginning on the day he takes the oath. Any
citizen eligible for election to the Senate may be elected President.
No person may be elected President more than twice in succession.
The President appoints and recalls the Prime Minister and other
members of the government, he summons and dissolves sessions of
the Chamber of Deputies, appoints judges, may pardon sentences
imposed by courts, has the right to return to the Parliament acts it has
adopted (with the exception of constitutional acts), signs acts of
Parliament. The President also represents the state externally,
negotiates and ratifies international treaties, is commander-in-chief of
the armed forces, receives heads of foreign countries´ representative
missions, may confer and award state honours (The White Lion
Order, The Tomas Garrigue Masaryk Order, The Medal for Heroism, The Medal of Merit).
The President has the right to take part in the sessions of both chambers of Parliament and in
the meetings of the Government. The President may neither be arrested or prosecuted for
criminal acts, for misdemeanors or for other administrative offences committed during the
period in which he held the office of the Presidency. The President may only be prosecuted
for high treason, and only before the Constitutional Court on the basis of a charge by the
Senate. The only penalty that may be imposed is the loss of the Presidency and of further
eligibility for the office.
The Czech Republic Parliament is composed of the lower house, The Chamber of
Deputies, and the upper house, The Senate. The Chamber
of Deputies is made up of 200 deputies elected for a fouryear term on the basis of proportional representation. The
Senate has 81 members elected for a six-year term on the
basis of a two-round majority system. Every two years, onethird of the Senate´s seats come up for re-election. The
government has the right to ask the Chamber of Deputies for
a vote of confidence, and the Chamber of Deputies may
express non-confidence in the government.
VOCABULARY
Governance of the people
A vote of confidence
Adopt the constitution
Amendment
Annex and cede territory
Anthem
Appoint
Arrest or prosecute
Vládnutí lidu
Hlasování o důvěře
Přijmout ústavu
Dodatek
Zabrat a postoupit území
Hymna
Jmenovat
Zatknout či stíhat
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Assume the office
Bishop
Checks and balances
Church of England
Clergy
Coat-of-arms
Codify
Commander-in-chief of all
armed forces
Confer peerages, knighthoods
and other honours
Constituency
Constitutional
Czech National Bank
Declare war and make peace
Executive branch
Express powers
Flag
Freedom of speech
of the press
of worship
Governor
Governor-General
Hereditary lords
High treason
Impeachment
In succession
Joint session
Judicial branch
Judicial review
Legislative branch
Life peers
Pardon
Proportional representation
Residuary powers
Royal Assent
Seal
Search and seizure of persons
and property
Speedy trial
Spiritual and temporal
Summon, prorogue and
dissolve Parliament
Supreme Control Office
Take the oath
Term
Převzít úřad
Biskup
“systém brzd a protiváh”
Anglikánská církev
Duchovenstvo
Znak, erb
Uzákonit
Vrchní velitel ozbrojených sil
Udělit šlechtický a rytířský
titul a další vyznamenání
Volební okrsek
Ústavní
Česká národní banka
Vyhlásit válku a uzavřít mír
Výkonná moc
Výslovné pravomoci
Vlajka
Svoboda projevu
Svoboda tisku
Svoboda náboženství
Guvernér
Generální guvernér v
dominiích
Dědiční lordi
Velezrada
Kvazisoudní řízení proti
vysokému činiteli, obžaloba
ze zneužití pravomoci
Po sobě (následně)
Společné zasedání
Soudní moc
Soudní přezkoumání
Zákonodárná moc
Doživotní šlechtici
Udělit milost
Poměrné zastoupení
Zbylé, zbytkové pravomoci
Královský souhlas
pečeť
Prohlídka a zabavení/zadržení
Urychlený proces
Duchovní a světští
Svolat, odročit a rozpustit
parlament
Nejvyšší kontrolní úřad
Složit slib
Volební období
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The Bill of Rights-Am, The
Charter of Fundamental
Rights and Freedoms
Treason
Two-round majority system
Unconstitutional
Vest power
Vice President
Listina základních lidských
práv a svobod
(vlasti)zrada
Neústavní, protiústavní
Udělit moc
Viceprezident
Sources:
http://www.hrad.cz
Vladimíra Zavázalová, Alena Lukáčová – Angličtina pro veřejnou správu
Radoslava Šopovová – Úvod do právnické angličtiny
Kamila Tozzi, Eva Přidalová – Legal English
Marta Chromá – New Introduction to Legal English 1
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