Anglais juridique : Introduction to the British and American Political Institutions

ANGLAIS JURIDIQUE

• Introduction to the British and American Political Institutions

CM + module de grammaire en autonomie « English Booster » :

Cours : Remédiation en anglais - Grammaire (univ-lyon3.fr)

Section « GO further » sur Moodle : « ressources anglais juridiques », MyCow

Evaluation : annuelle coef. 6  QCM 1h30 à points négatifs pour réponse fausse/pas de réponse (60 q° CM/ 20 q° grammaire)

SEMESTER 1 : BRITISH INSTITUTIONS

• How political power is organised in UK?
• Historical reasons

What do you already know?

Main differences between the British and American political system: the British system is a monarchy  King Charles III (queen Camilla)

Head of state: Parliament: two chambers: house of Commons/ house of lords

The Prime Minister: relationship with king, parliament…

1.  THE MONARCHY

• How the monarchy works:

The UK’s system of gov = a hereditary monarchy: transmission

Several laws determine the rules 

The king must be protestant

Order of succession: 1. Descent: the first child, doesn’t matter the gender (recently)

 until the Succession to the Crown Act 2013

• Ended the system of male primogeniture
• Will apply to the royals born after 2011

•  Queen Elisabeth II: longest-reigning queen

What happens when the monarchy dies?

• The heir apparent automatically becomes queen/king
• They are officially, formally proclaimed king/queen with ceremonies
• They are coronated

• Will the change of monarch change anything in how the UK is governed?

Charles III is really implicated for the environment cause

The UK is a constitutional monarchy: the king shares his power with other institutions

Def: a system of government in which the head of state is a monarch whose power is shared with a constitutionally-organised gov  Different from a republic

Head of state = a president

The sovereign does have a role, essentially symbolic. Very important symbolic role in the three branches:

3 branches of gov:

• Executive branch: HM gov (gov)
• Legislative (Parliament)
• Judicial (the courts and judges)

Crown on the top of the logo de la Cour supreme

a)        The sovereign and the Executive Branch

The gov is known as His Majesty’s gov

The sovereign appoints/nominate the prime minister and the cabinet (ministers)

He can also use Royal Prerogatives:

• = the special rights of a king or queen
• Allow the sov to make certain decisions without approval by Parliament

The sov is head of the armed forces

(Cf film the queen)

• The king in parliament

The sov needs to approve of a bill which passes through Parliament before it becomes law= Rowal Assent

All laws are made in the name of the sovereign

b)         The sov and the legislative branch

• The Sovereign opens and prorogues every parliamentary session (every year)
• During the State Opening of Parliament: The Sovereign reads a speech explaining what laws their government plans to enact in the coming year = the king/queen speech

May 2022: Prince of Wales replaces Queen in Parliament due to health issues

c)         The Sovereign and the Judicial Branch

• The Sovereign is considered to be the Fount of Justice
• The most important judges are appointed by the Sovereign
• The courts are run in the name of the Sovereign

• Her/His Majesty’s Court and Tribunal Service

• Criminal cases are initiated by the Crown Prosecution Service

• On behalf of the crown
• R v Smith (=Regina/rex v Smith)

d)        How much real power does the Monarch have?

• Very little
• In the executive
• Remember: he appoints the Prime Minister and the Cabinet but in reality:

• The Prime Minister is the leader of the majority in the house of commons
• The Prime Minister tells the Sov who to appoints as ministers

• The Sov has royal prerogatives powers but in reality:

• The Royal Prerogative powers are almost all exercised on the advice of the Gov

• Head of the armed forces but in reality:

• Any important decision about the army is made by the Gov

• In the legislative branch:

• The monarch must give Royal Assent

• But in reality, the King will always follow the decisions of the Parliament  so: Royal Assent = a formality.
• The Sov always assents.

• The Queen/King’s Speech is actually written by the Gov
• The decision to prorogue or to dissolve Parliament is determined by law (ex: elections every 5 years)

• In the judicial branch:

• He appoints judges but almost all judges are chosen by a judicial appointment commission

CONCLUSION: 

• The legislative, executive and judicial power previously held by the Crown has greatly diminished.
• Right to be informed, to advise and to warn but not to make decisions.
• It now plays a symbolic role in these institutions (traces of the past when it held real power).

Maxim: “The Sov reigns but does not rule”

• Elisabeth II: sense of duty, never expressed any opinion, reserved

• How, then, did the Monarchs come to lose their power?

• A gradual historical process
• A rise and fall
• Short summary:

• The monarchy strengthened its power during the Renaissance
• This brought the monarchy into conflict with Parliament  Parliament won

• History of British institutions: centuries of conflict between the monarch and parliament

1. THE KING AND THE FEUDAL SYSTEM

• Normal Invasion in 1066:

• Led by William the Conqueror
• Defeated King Harold at the Battle of Hastings
• Took control of most of England and Wales
• Governed using a feudal system
• Noble families who helped William win the throne were rewarded with lands
• In return they helped to maintain William on the throne

• Abuse of Royal Power:

• The relations between a King and his nobles were to always easy, if he:

• Ased them for too much money of military service
• Confiscated their lands
• Lost their lands in battle
• Abused his royal power

• 13th century: King John did all of these things

• The Baron’s Rebellion:

• The main noble families rebelled against John in 1215
• They forced him to promise that he would no longer abuse his royal power
• They wrote these promises down and made him sign them = The Magna Carta

•  The Magna Carta: main aspects:

• A peace treaty between the king, the barons and the church.
• The king agreed to limit his royal power. He would:

• Not require high taxes to be paid by his feudal lords
• Not detain a freeman arbitrarily (= habeas corpus, freedom from arbitrary detention)
• Ensure trial by jury
• Accept a council of 25 barons to ensure that the Magna Carta was observed.

• Significance of Magna Carta:

• Very significant symbolically in the long term

1. It established certain principles:

• The limitation of the king’s arbitrary power  the beginning of the RULE OF LAW (Etat de dt)

• The king is not above the law
• He is subject to it

1. The necessity of a consultative body for the king

• The seeds of Parliament (“parliament” is a word first used in the 13th century)

1. Certain rights

• Legacy of Magna Carta:

13th, 14th and 15th centuries:

• Unstable times for Kings
• Conflict with noble families  two Kings were deposed by nobles
• Powerful noble families battled for the throne  culminated in the War of the Roses (1455-1487): a civil war between two rival families competing for the throne (Lancaster + York = Tudor).

• The Tudors Rise to Power:

• At the end: Henry Tudor became King Henry VII
• He began the Tudor Dynasty

1. THE TUDORS: THE CONSOLIDATION OF ROYAL POWER

• 1485-1603
• The Tudor’s Consolidation of Royal Power – Henry VII

• Henry VII banned noble families from maintaining standing armies  end of the feudal period
• Henry VIII increased his political power  officialised the union between Wales and England through the Act of Union (1536)
• Increased his religious power:

• Before Henry VIII: England: part of the Roman Catholic Church  Head of the Church: The Pope (in Rome)

• Henry VIII reformed the Church  several causes

•  Why did Henry VIII take over the Church?

• Married to Catherine of Aragon  no male heir
• Fell in love with Anne Boleyn  Anne became pregnant  needed to marry her so that their child could be made legitimate
• To legalise their union, he needed to annul his marriage to Catherine
• Asked the pope for a divorce  The Pope refused
• So, goodbye to The Pope  Henry created a new church: the Anglican Church  A Protestant Church
• He placed himself at the Head of the Church  Act of Supremacy (1534)

• Why did Henry VIII place himself at the head of the Church?

• Other reasons:

• The Church: also, a source of enormous wealth
• The Protestant Reformation was already sweeping Europe  the conditions were ripe for Henry’s move

• The Rise of Protestantism in Europe:

• Led by Martin Luther
• Challenged the position of the Roman Catholic Church  proposed reforms (ex: Introduction of national languages as the language of the church, rather than Latin  direct, “personal” relationship with God through the Bible)
• More importance placed on the individual and less importance given to hierarchical structures
• The Catholic Church meant, hierarchy and authoritarianism, which they mistrusted.
• Later, these values played an important role in undermining royal power

• Henry VIII’s Legacy:

• More royal power
• Less national unity

• From then on, religion become a divisive issue

• The Anglican Church = a protestant Church
• But moderate Protestantism

• Still kept a lot of Catholic doctrine (ex: Church hierarchy (bishops))

• Divisions emerged between protestants and Catholics, moderates Protestants (Anglicans) and radical Protestants (ex: Puritans)

• Periods of religious intolerance and persecution

• Bloody Mary:

• Mary I (1553-1558)

• Re-established the Catholic Church
• Violent measures used (killed Protestants)

• Elisabeth (1558-1603)

• Re-established Anglicanism

• The End the Tudor Dynasty:

• Elisabeth died in 1603 without leaving an heir
• She was succeeded but her cousin James VI of Scotland

• He became James I on England
• He began the Stuart dynasty

1. THE STUARTS: THE CLASH WITH PARLIAMENT (16003-1714)

1. An absolutist visions

• James I and Charles I’s ideas about royal Power:

• Believed in the divine rights of kings
• Ignored Parliament

• ≠ Parliament: influenced by Protestant ideas of challenging absolute authority

• Idea of a social contract

• King  more takes
• Parliament  bigger role in government, limitation of royal prerogatives

• CLASH

1. Charles I and the English Civil Wars

• 1629: suspended Parliament and ruled for 11 years on his own  the 11 Years ‘Tyranny
• Until in 1640, Charles needs money  needs Parliament again

• A war broke on with Scottish Presbyterians who rebelled against Anglicanism
• Charles needed money to fund it  needed Parliament
• After 11 years of tyrannical rule, the balance of the power shifted.

• The Outbreak of the English Civil War:

• He summoned Parliament again
• However, … Parliament didn’t want to be only an instrument to raise taxes
• Passed an act to curb the king’s power  Charles declared war on Parliament

• The English Civil Wars (1642-1651):

• Royalists’ vs Parliamentarians  Parliament raised an army, led by Oliver Cromwell
• The king was captured
• 1649: Parliament organised the King’s trial
• They voted to execute the King for treason

1. THE COMMONWEALTH AND THE RESTORATION

1. The Commonwealth: England as a Republic

• Short-lived: 1649-1660
• The Monarch was replaced by a Council of State headed by Cromwell

• Monarchy soon restored

1. The Restoration of the Monarchy and the religious question

• The Restoration (1660-1689)
• But Parliament was now in a much stronger position than before the Civil War

• Passed laws imposing Anglicanism and restricting religious freedom

• Parliament Revolts Against the King:

• 1685: King James II: had converted to Catholicism
• A lot of opposition from Parliament

• King tried to suspend laws restricting religious freedom

• Parliament decided to act

• Contacted William of Orange
• Invited William and May (James II’s daughter) to take over the throne

• James II fled the country

• The King was replaced without blood being shed

1. THE GLORIOUS REVOLUTION: THE LIMITATION OF THE MONARCH’S POWER

1. William and Mary

• William and Mary were crowned in 1689
• Condition (set by Parliament): they agreed to abide by (= respect) a Bill of Rights

1. The Bill of Rights

1. Outlined Parliament’s grievances (= doléances) with King James II

• Mainly: suspending laws without the consent of Parliament

1. Declared rights which the crown cannot violate:

• Parliament must give its consent to any change in the law proposed by the monarch
• Only Parliament can raise taxes
• Parliament must be held regularly and be free election
• Members of Parliament cannot be prosecuted for what they say in Parliament

• The Significance of the Bill of Rights:

• A fundamental constitutional text
• It established the notion of parliament sovereignty

• The law made by Parliament can only invalidated by Parliament
• The monarch, the gov and the courts are subject to Parliament’s laws

• It also the American Declaration of Independence and other C°s

• Heads of state must be subject to the law
• Citizens have certain rights which cannot be taken away = unalienable

• It these rights are denied, they can rebel the head of state and replace him

• Avoiding Future Turmoil: The Succession Question:

• William and Mary  Queen Anne, who had no heir
• Parliament decided to settle the question once and for all:

• Passed the Act of Settlement (1701)
• Took the question of royal succession out of the hands of monarchs
• = example of supremacy of Parliament

• Act of Settlement:

• Named the Hanovers (Protestants) as the heirs to the throne

• Any heir who became a Catholic or married a Catholic was disqualified
• Since the Succession to the Crown Act (2013): an heir car marry a Catholic

1. TOWARDS A CEREMONIAL MONARCHY: FROM THE 18th CENTURY TO THE PRESENT

• King George succeeded Queen Anne (1714)

• Spoke little English – not interested in governing

• He left the work to a group of ministers

• Headed by the PM

 emergence of a new role

• A Ceremonial Monarchy:

• 19th century: Queen Victoria (1837-1901)
• The pageantry associated with the monarchy became more important
• A way of rallying the people and glorifying the nation
• The monarch became a consensual non-political figure

• Crises:

• The monarchy was not immune from crisis (20TH century)

• Windsor dynasty

• Ex: Abdication crisis (1936)
• King Edward VIII wants to marry Wallis Simpson (an American divorcee)
• Pb: as the Head of the Church of England, he could not

 Forced to abdicated by the PM

“The monarch reigns but does not rule”

• The monarch acts on the advice and the consent of the gov
• Ex: Death of Princess Diana (1997)
• Ex: 2020: Harry and Meghan announced they would step down as senior royals

• Controlling their image

• Opposition to the monarchy?

• Archaic? Costly?
• No alternative has ever really gathered enough political support

Now: opinion polls show that most people support the monarchy

...