1. Definition and purpose of a constitution. A constitution is a set of rules which define the relationship between the various organs of government and between the government and citizens of a country. Its purpose is to set the parameters of governmental power and the rights and duties if the citizens. Therefore, the constitution of any individual country will determine the system of government in that country. It is important that you have a clear understanding of what is meant by the ‘organs’ or ‘institution’ of government. In this context we mean the executive, the legislature and the judiciary. In addition, in the UK, the Monarch has an important constitutional role as head of state.
2. The nature of the constitution. Because the rules of a Constitution are laws of fundamental importance, it is not surprising that they are often embodied in a single written document. The constitution of USA was reduced to writing in 1787 and the document which comprises it lays down the fundamental law America today. The British constitution is just as important to its people as the US constitution is to the Americans. Nevertheless, it is not ‘written’, that is to say, it has never been wholly reduced to writing. Furthermore, since Parliament is ‘sovereign’ it can, without any special procedure, and by simple Acts, alter any law at any time, however fundamental it may seem to be. Although, therefore, our courts have always been astute to safeguard the rights of the subject and although certain legal remedies are designed to protect him, yet, under our Constitution, there are no guaranteed rights similar to the fundamental liberties safeguarded by the US Constitution.
Magna Carta(1215), Bill of Rights(1688),which set out the principal rights gainted by Parliament and the nation as the result of the seventeenth century constitutional struggles – the Act of Settlement(1700), and the Parliament Acts 1911 and 1949 and Common law.
3. Constitutionalism. - That the exercise of power by those given it must be within the legal limits conferred by Parliament, and that those given such power are accountable to the law .- Power should be exercised with due respect to the individual and individual citizens’ rights, regardless of legal authority .- That power conferred on institutions within a state, whether legislative, executive or judicial, should be dispersed among them to avoid an abuse of power through any one of them having too much power. This falls under the concept of the Separation of Powers .- That the government in formulating policy, and the legislature in legitimating that policy, is accountable to the electorate who have entrusted that power to the government.
8. Democracy and Human Rights (Which of the Human Rights are mostly overridden in your State?).
Группы прав:1 Личные 2 Политические 3 Экономические 4 Социальные 5 Культурные
1. Личные права. Право на жизнь. Право на достоинство. Право на свободу и личную неприкосновенность. Право на неприкосновенность жилища.
2. Политические права. Свобода печати и информации. Право на объединение в партии и союзы. Право на собрания и манифестации. Право на равный доступ к государственной службе. Право участвовать в отправлении правосудия.
3. Экономические. Социальные и Культурные. Право на экономическую деятельность. Право на частную собственность. Право на труд. Право на забастовку. Право на отдых. Право на социальное обеспечение. Право на жилище. Право на охрану здоровья. Право на благоприятную окружающую среду. Защита материнства, детства, семьи. Право на образование. Право на участие в культурной жизниВсе права нарушаются.
Groups of the rights:1.Personal 2.Political 3.Economic 4The social 5The cultural
1. Laws of persons. The right to life. The right to dignity. The right to freedom and security of person. The right to the inviolability of home.
2. Political rights. Freedom of the press and information. The right to association in consignments and the unions. The right to meetings and demonstrations. The right to equal access to public service. The right to participate in administration of justice.
3. Economic. Social and Cultural. The right to economic activities. The right to a private property. The right to work. The right to strike. A right to rest. The right to social insurance. A right to housing. A right to health protection. The right to favorable environment. Protection of motherhood, the childhood, a family. The right of education. The right to sharing in a cultural lifeAll rights are infringed.
10) Mass Media Law (What is Media Law concerned with?)
Media means “communication ” the means used to communicate information. We can use a variety of Media(slides, video) to communicate ideas through print media, newspapers, magazines, radio, TV, films and advertising. Much of the information transmitted by the media is neutral: does not offend anyone or interfere with the rights of others. However the right to communicate (freedom of expression) is limited with restrictions introduced to protect the rights to privacy, government secrecy, the right not to have one’s reputation ruined unjustifiably. Media Law, therefore, concerns itself with controlling the right to freedom of expression and considering whether these limits represent a reasonable balance between competing interests.
The actions in Mass Media causing trouble for which people bear legal responsibility are as follows:
1)Nation al security. Secret or official info should not be revealed in Mass Media. 2)Breach of Confidence. A person should not take advantage of confidence gained from the plaintiff or anonymous sources. 3) Defamation. Discreditation of someone’s reputation by libel and slander. 4) Obscenity –presentation of morally disgusting facts. 5) Blasphemy – speaking in an irrelevant and insulting way about God.
Freedom of expression is protected by Article 10- European Convention on Human Rights.
