Read and translate the text. Put the stages of a Bill from task 2 in a logic order

Vocabulary

Put the stages of a Bill from task 2 in a logic order.

Think what way a Bill should go to become a law.

During 10 minutes look through the text and give its summary in Russian.

Make a drawing of the arrangement of seats in the House of Commons. Discuss it in class.

7. Case study: Imagine that you are a representative of the district you come from. Introduce yourself (name, age, education, current occupation etc.), speak about your constituency and figure out its problems.

The British Parliament is bicameral, i.e. consists of two chambers: the House of Lords and the House of Commons and the Queen is the official head of the Parliament. But the monarch does not participate in the British government, has no real political power and rules with the support of the Parliament. The Parliament makes all the decisions and the Prime Minister is the figure that runs the country.

The House of Lords appeared first as King's council of the nobility.

The House of Commons originated later, in the second half of the 14th century." Commons" were the representatives of different local communities.

When speaking about General Election, election to the House of Commons is meant. Of its 659 members 529 represent constituencies in England, 40 – in Wales, 72 – in Scotland and 18 – in Northern Ireland (119 MPs are women).

Making new laws: Bills and Acts

2. Guess about the meanings of the following phrases and match them with their Russian equivalents:

to refuse a Bill обсудить законопроект

to introduce a Bill внести поправку в законопроект

to debate a Bill отложить принятие законопроекта

to amend a Bill принять законопроект

to delay the passage of a Bill выдвинуть законопроект

to pass a Bill отклонить законопроект

a Bill	билль, законопроект
a Public Bill	общественный законопроект
a Private Bill [’praɪvɪt]	частный законопроект
an Act of Parliament	парламентский акт
the Royal Assent [ə’sent]	королевская санкция
a Statute Law[’stætʃu:t]	статутный закон(писаный закон)
a Money Bill	финансовый законопроект
an amendment [ə’mendmənt]/to amend	поправка/вносить поправки

Every year Parliament passes about a hundred laws directly, by making Acts of Parliament.

No new law can be passed until it has completed a number of stages in the House of Commons and the House of Lords. The Monarch also has to give a Bill the Royal Assent, which is now just a formality. Since 1707 no sovereign has refused a Bill. Whilst a law is still going through Parliament it is called a Bill. There are two main types of Bills - Public Bills which deal with matters of public importance, and Private Bills which deal with local matters and individuals.

When a Bill is introduced in the House of Commons, it receives a formal first reading. It is then printed and read a second time, when it is debated but not amended. After the second reading the Bill is referred to a committee, either a special committee made up of certain members of the House, or to the House itself as a committee. Here it is discussed in detail and amended, if necessary. The Bill is then presented for a third reading and is debated. If the Bill is passed by the Commons it goes to the Lords, and provided it is not rejected by them, it goes through the same procedure as in the Commons. After receiving the Royal Assent the Bill becomes an Act of Parliament. In order to be enforced, it must be published in Statute form becoming a part of Statute Law. The power of the Lords to reject a Bill has been severely limited. A Money Bill must be passed by the Lords without amendment within a month of being presented in the House. The Act of 1949 provides that any Public Bill passed by the Commons in two successive parliamentary sessions and rejected both times by the Lords, may be presented for the Royal Assent, even though it has not been passed by the Lords. The Lords, therefore, can only delay the passage of a Bill, they cannot reject it.

4. Find in the text the equivalents to the following Russian words and phrases:

Принять закон, пройти определенное число стадий, наложить королевскую санкцию, касаться вопросов общественного значения, касаться вопросов местного характера, направить билль в комитет, обсудить подробно (в деталях), пройти аналогичную процедуру.

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