Anglais juridique

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Appointment and honours :

The Queen is the fountaine of honour, she creates peerages (pairs qui siègent à la chambre des lords) and knight hoods (chevalier de la légion...) on the advices of the prime minister. She is the one who names hereditary and life peers. Still on the advice of the prime minister, she appoints the ministers, the judges, the senior church men, the members of the diplomatic court, the colonial officials, the olders of public office, the senior officers of the army and the members of the royale comission.

Powers relating to the judicial system :

The monarch is like a fountaine of justice that means all the prosecution are conducted in the name of the crown and on the advice of the secretary of justice, she can exercise the royale prerogative of mercy. The Queen has the power to conclude traitees, to declare war, to conclude peace and to annex a territory.

Immunities and the Crown proceeding :

The Monarch as a private person can do no wrong, she is also imune from communal and civil proceeding that mean she cannot be sued in the court of law. The immunity is not extend to the royale family. She has no voting right. She pays taxes but just for her personnal assets not for Buckingham Palace. She have to encourage voluntary work, to promote voluntary work around the country.

→ She is the fount of justice, the head of the armes force, the defender of faith.

IV.The executive branch.

Prime minister under Elisabeth II :

- Winston Churchill (1952-1955)

- Anthony Eden (1955-1957)

- Harold Macmillan (1957-1963)

- Alec Douglas-Home (1963-1964)

- Harold Wilson (1964-1970)

- Edward Heath (1970-1974)

- Harold Wilson (1974-1976)

- James Callaghan (1976-1979)

- Margaret Thatcher (1979-1990)

- John Major (1990-1997)

- Tony Blair (1997-2007)

- Gordon Brown (2007-2010)

- David Cameron (2010-actually)

A./.The Government : composition and the functionning

The executive is composed to three part : the Crown (ceremonial role), a magistis government (political part, composed by the body of minister) , and the formulation of government policy.

- The central government department (ministère) : administrative part, composed by civil servants (fonctionnaires), responsible for implimenting the government decisions. White hall (quartier des ministères)

- 10 Downing Street : prime minister.

By convention , the government is formed by the political parties or by the general election : majority of seats in the house of commons. Ministers are chosen by the prime minister and appointed by the Queen. The prime minister must be a member of the house of commons. Some ministers seats in the house of commons and some seats in the house of Lords. The government is composed of all the ministers (environ 100). At the top of the pyramide of the government there is the Prime Minister (effective head of the british government but not directly elected by the british people), cabinet ministers (most important ministers : specific department responsibility : defense, education... also called secretary of state), non cabinet ministers (ministers of state equivalent des secrétaires d'états chez nous), junior ministers (parlementary under secretaries, served the secretary of state or ministers : selected by the prime minister, to assist a minister in a parlementary work but also represent a minister)

B./.The cabinet

Composition :

Not fixe numbers of members but shouldn't exceed 20 person (always between 20-23), traditionnaly : prime minister, the lord chancelor + important minister :foreign secretary, home secretary, chancelor of the justice, secretary of state for defense, trade and industry, employment, social services, environment. But depends of the government.

.The prime minister decides which ministers are going to be part of the cabinet, the cabinet meets every weeks.

Cabinet comitees :

Cabinet comitees are create to facilitate the work of cabinet :

- Standing comitees : permanent, regular continuing functions, environ 20

- Haddock comitees (temporary mater).

Prime minister is the chief of this comitees. Into these comitees we can find : senior civil servant and experts. They exist for secure a coordination between the different department, a decision taken in a comitee have the same importance that a decision taken in the cabinet.

Until 1992, the composition and the members of the cabinet comitees was kept secret to fight against lobbying. There are comitees concerning : Domestic affairs, economic affairs and productivity, national health service, public services reform, enironment, immigration...

Role and function of cabinet :

The cabinet is the nuclons of the government, enormous power, major decision taken by him, executive action initiating by the cabinet, policy coordinated by the cabinet. Complexe structure which coordinate all activity. The Prime minister is the chief of the cabinet, he can hire and fire person at the cabinet, he fixes the cabinet agenda (ordre du jour), he controles the flow of informations to the cabinet, he decides the organisation and composition of cabinet comitees, he is in charge of keeping the Queen informed. He has the last word in a conflict at the cabinet. Insure the stability of the cabinet, when a decision is taken, every members should defend this decision.

The cabinet office :

Cabinet office can meet at any time anywhere but usually twice a week at 10 downing street : the hub of the government, central machinary, under the direction of the secretary of the cabinet. His function is to do everything they can for the government run easily and correctly. Central statistical