The Judiciary

Political Parties

As a result of the electoral system two parties have usually been predominant in Britain, at different times Tories and Whigs, Conservatives and Liberals, and since the 1930s Conservatives and Labour, with one party normally obtaining a majority of seats in the House of Commons and the other having its role limited to criticising Government policy.

The Conservative Party was formed by Robert Peel from what was left of the old Tory party in 1830s.

Peel and his successor Benjamin Disraeli (the first Conservative Prime Minister) together shaped modern Conservatism. Originally the party of church, aristocracy and landed gentry, it has increasingly been supported by large business interests. The Labour Party was formed by James Keir Hardie in 1892 to represent the workers and was more or less the parliamentary wing of the Trade Unions, with whom the party continues to be closely associated. James Ramsay MacDonald became the first socialist Prime Minister in 1924.

In 1981 a new party was formed to try to break the dominance of Conservatives and Labour. Some Conservatives and Labour MPs left their own parties to join the new Social Democrats. The new party then agreed to fight elections in alliance with the small but long-established Liberals, forming the Alliance. Their problem, under the “first past the post” system, was to turn their popular votes into parliamentary seats. In 1987 the two parties of the Alliance agreed to merge to form a new party, the Liberal Democrats, although some Social Democrats preferred to remain independent.

British law comes from two main sources: laws made in Parliament (usually drawn up by government departments and lawyers), and Common Law, which is based on previous judgments and customs. Just as there is no written constitution, so England and Wales have no criminal code or civil code and the interpretation of the law is based on what has happened in the past. The laws which are made in Parliament are interpreted by the courts, but changes in the law itself are made in Parliament.

A person charged by the police with an offence is sent to a magistrates’ court, the most common type of law court in England and Wales. There are 700 magistrates’ courts and about 30,000 magistrates.

Magistrates’ courts are presided over by groups of three unpaid, lay magistrates (also known as “justices of the peace” or JPs), who often have no legal qualifications, although they are given basic training when appointed and are advised on points of law and procedure by a legally-qualified clerk. There are also a few stipendiary magistrates – full-time, legally-qualified magistrates who sit alone. Magistrates hear and decide in cases concerning minor offences and refer more serious cases to the Crown Court, which has 90 branches in different towns and cities. A defendant can always choose, however, to be tried by a jury in the Crown Court.

The Crown Court deals with trials of a more serious nature or appeals from magistrates’ courts and is presided over by a judge, who must be a barrister or a solicitor with at least ten years experience.

Defendants who declare themselves not guilty of a crime are tried by a jury of 12 people. The judge decides on points of law, sums up evidence for the jury and instructs it on the relevant law (as well as determining fines and sentences). It is the jury alone, however, which decides whether a defendant is guilty or not guilty.

Civil cases (for example, divorce or bankruptcy cases) are dealt with in County courts. Appeals are heard by higher courts. For example, appeals from magistrates’ courts are heard in the Crown Court, unless they are appeals on points of law. The highest court of appeal in England and Wales is the House of Lords. (Scotland has its own High Court in Edinburgh, which hears all appeals from Scottish courts.) Certain cases may be referred to the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg. In addition, individuals have made the British Government change its practices in a number of areas as a result of petitions to the European Court of Human Rights.

The legal system also includes juvenile courts (which deal with offenders under seventeen) and coroners’ courts (which investigate violent, sudden or unnatural deaths). There are administrative tribunals which make quick, cheap and fair decisions with much less formality. Tribunals deal with professional standards, disputes between individuals, and disputes between individuals and government departments (for example, over taxation).

Дата добавления: 2015-01-03