ANGLAIS JURIDIQUE

PART 1: From the Norman Conquest to the War of the Roses

The political system is how power is distributed. The separation of power is set in the Constitution.

FIRST LECTURE

The main characteristics of a constitution

The political system is how power is distributed. The separation of power is set in the
Constitution. The Constitution sets the basic principles and laws of a nation, state, or social
group that determine the powers and duties of the government and guarantees certain rights to
the people in it. Normally it is contained in single document and usually created after a huge crisis. It
is composed with articles.

Some peculiarities about the British constitution

There is no Constitution in England. The Scotts, Wells and English have no Constitution, like we
do. But there is a legislative branch. The House of Commons is the lower house, and The House
of Lords is the upper house. We can associate The House of Commons is like the Assemblée
Nationale and The House of Lords is like the Sénat. The executive branch is composed with The
Cabinet, led by the Prime Minister (Theresa May). The judicial branch, the third branch, is
composed with the judges of the Supreme Court of the UK and all lower courts. English people
also have individual rights, even if there is no Constitution to say it. The Head of State is the
Monarch, who is the head of the Church. In England, the Church and the State are not
separated. The Queen is involved in the legislative branch. When the Parliament opens, she gives
a speech of what is planned by the government for the next session. She is also the head of the
executive and the judiciary. In France, we insist on separating the different branches, whereas in
England the executive branch and the legislative branch are very close because de Head of the
Government is the chief of the majority in the Parliament. When the Parliament makes a law, it is
permanent. It is called the parliamentary sovereignty. The Parliament is the heart of English
democracy.

Where can you find the British constitution?

The UK does not have a codified constitution. Instead, the constitutional order has evolved over
time and continues to do so. It consists of various institutions, statutes, judicial decisions,
principles and practices that are commonly understood as constitutional.

An important event which took place in 1066

The Norman Invasion took place in 1066, led by William the Conqueror of Normandy. Before
1066, England was rarely ruled over by a single king. The feudal system was already in place.
The church already had a significant amount of power.

 The main immediate consequences of this event.

 It unified the country: it gave one king for the entire country. William took formal possession of
all land. He gave his land to his Norman allies. He also put Norman bishops in place. He kept the
basic social structure.

 The royal prerogative the Norman kings could use and abuse

He levied taxes through feudal incidents.

 How William’s successors up to King John changed royal government

When William died, he left the throne to William Rufus. Then it was Henry the First. The first
king facing a difficult situation was Henry II. Then, it was Richard the Lionheart. King John
was next. All those people started having difficult time keeping the royalty on. They stated
institutions to manage finances – the Exchequer. They also created lots of courts and tribunal.
They also continued to fight battles on the continent, which mean they had to keep on raising
taxes to pay for war. The also gave town their charters (kind of an authorization to build a town
somewhere) in return for large sums of money.

 The causes of the Barons’ Revolt which led to the Magna Carta

Too many taxes plus the fact that King John was not really appreciated (his nickname was Bad
King John) led to the problem that King John pissed the most valuable people in the land
(money and weapons) and the church. Pope Innocent III threatened King John to cut him off the
church. Also, King John wasn’t great at war: he suffered military losses. The last battle, the
Battle of Bovines, was the drop that made the bottle fall. All of this led to the Revolt of the
Barons. Several lords decided to renounce their feudal ties to John. In other terms, they did not
recognize John as their king anymore. They also had enough money to pay for their own army
and marched on London. They managed to take London over, which forced the king to flee, to
retreat. They send a messenger to announce a meeting at Runnymede. The obliged John to sign
a charter accepting to limit his royal power. This paper was the Magna Carta.

 The main aspects of the Magna Carta

It is one page, very small hand-writed. It limited his power to what was said in this document.
Firstly, it was a peace treaty. It obliges the king to do things: the king must ensure the freedom of
the church. He would not impose taxes, including the taxes imposed on towns. He would not
require high taxes to be paid by this feudal lord. The document included a limit. Also, he would
not detain a freeman arbitrarily. He would ensure trial by jury. He would accept a council of 25
barons to ensure that the Magna Carta was observed.

 The significance of the Magna Carta

In short term, none. The Pope Innocent III rejected it. King John quickly renounced it. It applied
only of freemen, and the council of 25 did not last very long. But it had a long-view impact. It
established certain principles, it limited the king’s arbitrary power. The idea that the king was
not above the law had value. More important, the king is subject to it. The idea of the council led
to the development of the seeds of Parliament. Certain rights were also created, like the right to
freedom from detention, or the right to a jury trial.

 Some important legal documents inspired by the Magna Carta

The Petition of Right of 1628 was inspired by the Magna Carta. Also, in 1689, the Bill of Rights
came through. This document is the most important, it is the closest to the Constitution. The
American were also inspired by the Magna Carta with The American Constitution in 1789 and The
 American Bill of Rights, 1791. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948. Some people
call the UDHR “the international Magna Carta for all men everywhere”.

 The main aspects of the Provisions of Oxford

The Parliament emerged under the reign of Henry III. The king had always had counsellors:
The Great Council. When he was in a weak position, he had to consult them. The counsellors
would soon no longer uniquely be lords and bishops. It was also composed with representatives
of the shires and the boroughs: it became more democratic. It was the future House of
Commons. In 1248, the magnates assembled at the Great Council and seven of them issued an
ultimatum to Henry: they told him that he had to listen to them, to reform how the king
governed. They proposed to form a council to look at how to determine what reforms were
needed. The council produced the Provisions of Oxford. It includes all the idea they had to reform the
country. One of the most revolutionary idea is that, for now one, the king’s officers will be
accountable to persons other than the king. The barons wanted the king to act in concert with
them. A council of 15 was appointed to oversee royal government. They were accountable to
Parliament, which was to meet 3 times a year. They also set a council of 4 which the aim was to
control the appointment of royal officials.

 De Montfort’s Parliament-1265
Not called a Parliament but very similar to contemporary= tried to implement the Provisions of
Oxford.
Short lived: Henry’s troop rallied, De Montfort was killed in 1265. No more Parliament without
him which gave the ability to the king to get the power back, as the legitimate king of England.

 Henry III’s returned to power

Henry summoned the Council and acknowledge the provision of Oxford. He made concessions to
maintain the balance of power between the barons and the king. He understood he had to
respect the barons who were very powerful.
Edward 1, Henry’s son, continued and re-issued the Magna Carta three times. He set up a
system for enforcing these things; some kind of a beginning of democracy.
He was a very popular king.

Edward II- A weak king and a powerful parliament

Edward II’s reign= 1284-1327

He was weak and Edward I’s son.
Criticism: - Too many taxes on barons
- Favouritism, bad appointments
- Homosexuality (he chose his members because he was sleeping with them)
In 1309= confrontation between the King and the barons.
1311: 13 ordinances reduce the King’s powers. Again, the same story. It didn’t make him a better
king.

Edward’s deposition

Edward repealed the 1311 Ordinances. Instead of cleaning up and choosing new people for his
council, he reinforced favouritism.
Meanwhile, the King had a wife; she was unusual. Isabella was strong and clever. She had a lover
too, Lord Mortimer. They were plotting against the King.
She was from the French royal family (sister of the king).
1326: Queens travelled to France and bought support to invade England.
Meanwhile, Edward lost his lords’ support (they knew what was coming). So he fled to Wales
and was arrested there and put in prison.
Edward’s deposition by parliament.

Isabella and Mortimer had to find a way to get rid of him legally. Obvious answer= the
Parliament. She went to talk to them and had to convince that deposition of King is necessary.
She managed it.
1327: Edward officially and unanimously deposed (no one in the Parliament opposed) and
later he was forced to abdicate= which means that the King cannot come back because.
He was replaced by his son, Edward III. (Isabella wanted him to get to power because she could
influence him). So, somehow she was the queen. She was the first feminist

Edward III and the good Parliament

His reign was not very successful. His reign was marked by military losses and corrupt royal
officials.
Main enemy = France.
He summoned a Parliament in 1376. The Commons held the initiative. They elected a
Speaker of the House of Commons to communicate with the King
Impeachment proceeding (procedure de destitution) against four corrupt royals.
The people who were impeached were convicted (condamné) by the house of Lords and
removed from office

From Good Parliament to Bad Parliament, another deposition –Richard II.

Richard II’s reign (1377-1399) marked by :

*Discontent with the church
* A lot of poverty. (Everything wrong was about the king)
*A new poll tax.
Richard had to face massive revolts of 1381. They had nothing to lose, so they went to London
and started killing people. London was stormed. The Chancellor and the Treasurer were killed by
the mob. They also burned building.

Richard’s authority undermined

Nobles were unhappy with Kings management of the 100-year war (1337-1453). He thought that
the best way to end it was to talk to the French.
1386, another Parliament was summoned: the Wonderful Parliament: commission to take over
country’s management. Richard continued his strategy (negotiations) and obliged judges to
convict the commission of treason.
Dissenters raised an army, and so did the Kingmilitary conflict. King was defeated and obliged
to summon a Parliament.

The merciless Parliament-1388

Accused the nobles who helped Richard:

*Exile of judges involved in treason case. They lost everything
*No real trials
*Executions of King’s councellors.
No mercy
If you were a King’s friend; your family would lose everything and you would be executed. The idea
was to make an example.
Parliament issued Bill of Attainder (very severe punishment for treasons)
Richard’s court: magnificent and French inspired.

Richard and Bolingbroke (Duke of Lancaster)

He stayed on the throne but became very paranoid and convinced that Bolingbroke was plotting
his deposition
He found a way to banish him to France and take away his lands (couldn’t kill him). Bolingbroke
was not weak: went to France, and raised an army with his money. He drew up an armed force
and invaded England while Richard was in Ireland. He won easily. Richard was held captive in the
Tower of London.

The deposition of Richard II: Parliament makes kings

Richard was “persuaded” to abdicate.

Parliament assembled and passed the Articles of Deposition unanimously (that’s what happened
to his great grand-father…)
Richard II was considered unfit to reign. There were no son, so they had to find a male heir.
Bolingbroke pronounced King Henry IV (descendant of Edward III). Bolingbroke had to
convince the Parliament that Henry was legitimated.

The war which led to the emergence of the Tudor Dynasty.

SECOND LECTURE

I) The consolidation of Royal Power by Henry VII and Henry VIII

England during the Tudor era

The country became more prosperous

The population grew
New territories were discovered
A new religion emerged: Protestantism : a protest against the catholic.
Merchants and big landowners increased their power. England became a merchant country
and had the biggest navy of the world.
The king increased his power, because the Tudors had a very high self-esteem. Thought he was sent
by god to rule England.

Henry VII’s consolidation of power

In 1487 settled the problem of retaining: the fact that lords retain large armies. If you are the
king you want the armies to be yours, and if lords have armies,
they can fight the king, just like it happened before. One of the reason for the civil strife in the
15th century. Nobles were no longer to retain armies.

 In 1487 he set up the Star Chamber Court: it’s a tribunal, and the judges are responsible
of all cases of reason. High treason (ex: plots against the King) and common treason. The
court had a large degree of flexibility. He sold it as a good idea but he chose the right
person to judge in order to get rid of rivals. Henry VII wanted to be the only master
 Henry was very clever and he knew that the main problem of Kings was money: and
Parliament was in charge of money. SO he wanted to be less independent of the
Parliament to get money= a new attempt to be more powerful. He also avoided wars (he
was pragmatic, wars cost money, less wars, less taxes, less revolts) and reduced royal
expenditure. He imposed heavy fines (amendes) on those who broke the law.
Important changes under Henry VIII (his son).

Wales and England became a single legal unity: The Act of Union 1534
The Privy Council was established: like cabinet today: team of minister who are specialised with
issues and they can advise the king with those issues. It was headed by the king’s secretary:
played a very influential role.
Nobles continued to lose power while merchants and the landed gentry continued to gain
power.
The increased power of the monarch: the Statute of Proclamation 1539.
He had psychological problems…

Henry VII –Absolutism and reformation- the background

1491-1547
Thirsty for power and greatness. He was not supposed to be king, his brother died.
He married his brother’s wife (the marriage hadn’t been consumed)
Money spender (more revenues?): he envied the French court… He wanted to have that. So he
needed money.
Concerned with succession (no male heir) = his wife, Catherine of Aragon (king’s of spain
sister). She gave him a girl and no boy.
Anne Boleyn flirted with him; but never sleep with him; she wanted to have sex only if she was her
wife. Pope refused to grant him divorce. Henry VII decided that he should make his own
church, be the spiritual leader and give himself a divorce: he created the Anglican Church. He
made himself Spiritual and Temporal King.
The power of the Church:
Extremely powerful
1/5 of English land owned by monasteries.
Exempt from taxation: Henry had no more obligation to pay taxes to Rome, and get the money
for him. But members of the clergy , they were under the power of the Pope in Rome, like a
nation within the nation. The clergy was immune from prosecution. Henry wanted to be the
master of everyone in the country. But Churches were sacred and was literally not under
Henry’s control. So when he decided to go Anglican he decided to take over all churches.

Henry’s takeover of the church

In love with Anne Boleyn and desperate to have a son.

Need to have the pope annul his marriage to Queen Catherine of Aragon (mother of her
daughter, Mary) Pope refused.
Secession : 1534 Act of Supremacy : Church of England under King of England. The Act
was very significant for Parliament because it got to get involved in religion; the Act was
written by it. And Henry was finally able to get rid of her wife; but she refused to leave. He
exiled her in an awful castle. He married Anne. He also dissolved the monasteries and took over
the possessions.

The rise of Protestantism in Europe

It emerged from discontent with the Church.

Led by Martin Luther : came from Holland, and wanted to change the system. He wrote a
whole document about the Vatican saying that they were abusing of money and luxury and
challenge the church’s position. He proposed a number of reforms to improve it.
The abolition of buying salvation (you sin, you go to the church and you give money and you’re
forgiven) + The introduction of national languages as the language of the church rather than
Latin (you would go to church and wouldn’t understand a word…) + Emphasis on reading the
bible themselves (important because if you can read the bible you could know that what I’m saying
is shit. People would know the truth= they can make their own opinion) + Less dependence on
 Rome on priest (people can have their own opinion and rule their own churches)+ Priest should be
allowed to marry

Henry VIII’s brand of Protestantism:

Decided to leave a lot of Luther’s ideas out.
It was a “light Protestantism”. A lot of Catholic doctrine was retained. Henry’s reformation
had mainly political motives (he was not that spiritual)
But it began a process whereby religion became an important issue: 1534 Treason Act= made
it an offence not to recognise Henry as head of the church in England. BUT PROBLEM: hi
own daughter was very catholic.
It left England a divided country: Orthodox catholic were unhappy and Orthodox protestant
were unhappy. Even between Protestant (light and Luther).

Henry’s successors :
Edward VI (1547-53).
(Anne had a girl and not a boy… So he started to flirt with pretty much everything with boobs.
Henry turned away from her and wanted to get rid of her… He accused her of everything possible
(witch, slept with brother, and then trial and then executed). The third: exile the fourth: executed
the fifth: died and sixth: survived)
Edward VI pursued the reform of the church; he tries to reign a bit and dies.

Mary I (1553-58) “Bloody Mary” = catholic so she decided to kill all the protestant… And she
died before killing them all. She wanted to reversed the process by trying to establish the
Catholic Church. Not a good reputation. Died with no children.
One person remaining: Elisabeth I (1558-1603): a legend, nickname “Virgin Queen”=
prosperous period and she was much more intelligent that the rest of the family= she
understood that all those religion issues would lead the country to the end. So she passed the
act of Uniformity: 1559 = imposed Anglicanism, and people can be discreet to be catholic. The
problem was: she was not married, no kids. No more Tudor in the family tree. She went to the
Stuart’s branch (she hated Mary Queen of Scots) and she went so see Mary’s son : James I.

The Stuart kings and the battle with parliament _the background
James I wrote about being a king
_divinely-anointed
_absoluty monarchy

What did parliament and the king each want

 King : new taxes

 Parliament:

_more anti-Catholic laws

_ alliances with protestant countries
_control over how taxes were spent
_limits on royal prerogatives
_the selling of monopolies

Charles I (1625-1649) and parliament

1625_parliament refuses to vote taxes
The king dissolves the parliament

 Tired to rule without the parliament through “forced loans”

Those who refused to lend money were imprisoned without trial
 1628_ Charles need money summoned parliament
 Parliament gave him money in exchanges for concession

The petition of right

 Fundamental rights to be respected by the king

No taxing without the approval of parliament
No imprisonment by the king without trial
No imposition of martial law

Charles response to parliament’s defiance of is authority

 He accused parliament of sedition

 He arrested nine of that ringleaders
One of them died in the tower of London
 He dissolved parliament
 Ruled for 11 years on his own

Parliament regains power

1640: PARLIAMENT SUMMONED 5 KING NEDS MONEY°
Act requiring parliament to be summoned at least once every three years
Required parliament’s assent to dissolve itself…

The English civil war (1642-1651)

 Charles suspected five MPs of treason
 He went to parliament with a group of soldiers to arrest them
 They had already fled
 Charles asked the speaker where they were
 The speaker refused to tell
 Charles left London and declared war on parliament
 Parliament defeated the royalists
 The king was captured
 Parliament organised the king’s trial
They voted to executed the king for treason
 Final phase of the war was mainly in Ireland and Scotland led by Olivier Cromwell

The commonwealth 1649-1660

 England was ruled as a republic
 The house of lord was abolished
 The monarch was replaced by a council of state
a) Headed by Cromwell
b) Similar role to a monarch
 Divisions appeared however
a) Radicals wanted further reform
b) Conservators wanted a return to monarchy

The restoration_1660-1689

 Cromwell’s son replaced by Charles II. Parliament restored to its pre-republican form
 It invited Charles II to resume the throne
All those involved in the civil war would be pardoned
All questions concerning religion would be started by parliament
 Tensions over religion

 New parliament’s law imposing Anglicanism

 Opposition of the king
 King suspected of catholic sympathies

Tensions over the succession

 Charles’s heir, his brother James, had converted to Catholicism

 Treat for protestant’s
 How to oblige Charles’s heir to be a parliament
Exclusion bill: no catholic on the throne
Supported by that Whigs
James II (1685-1688) and parliament
A lot of opposition and rebellions to his accession to the throne
He wanted a standing army but parliament vehemently opposed it
 Conflict over religions freedom
James attempted to suspend laws which

Parliament revolts against the kings

 In 1688 the queen gave birth to a son ( catholic dynasty)
 Parliament contacted William of orange
A Dutch protestant prince
He was married to James’s daughter Mary
They invented William and Mary to take the throne
William invaded in 1689
James fled the country

The glorious revolution

 Parliament assembled
 A declaration of right was drawn up
 William and Mary had to agree to abide by this
 There were crowned in February 1689
 They summoned a new parliament
 The declaration of right became the bill of rights

The bill of rights

 Outlines parliament’s grievances with king James II

 Declares 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
Members of parliament cannot be prosecuted for what they say in parliament
No excessive bail can be required or excessive punishments imposed
Parliament must be held regularly and by free election

Significance of the bill of rights

 A fundamental constitutional text
 It established the notion of parliament sovereignty
 It also inspired the declaration of independence and other constitutions

Avoiding future turmoil_ the succession question

 William and Mary died without heirs
 Succeeded by Mary’s sister, Anne who had no children
 Act of September
 Named Sophie of electrets of Hanover and her protestant descendants

Avoiding future turmoil_ the Scottish question

 The act of union was passed in 1707

 Scotland was now ruled from London
 Union jack flag

The emergence of the role of prime minister

 No law that defines the office of prime minister

 It has emerged gradually over the time

Sir Robert Walpole- first prime minister

 King George I (1714-1727) from Hanover

Didn’t speak English
Wasn’t interested in governing England
 Sir Robert Walpole: first lord treasurer and chancellor of the exchequer
Walpole was whip
He was able to maintain support in the hoC
 Precedence over that other ministers n cabinet = “ prime minister”

The Whig oligarchy

 Walpole was a Whig (liberal, open, to reform)
 In office from 1721 to 1742
 Used political patronage to keep the whips in government (awarded positions and
titles)
 The Tories ( conservative) were politically weak
 It was an oligarchy (government )

George III- a king who wanted to rule

 George III tried to have more control over government

Trouble in America

 The 13 British colonies in America wanted more independence from GB

Unhappy with the new taxes imposed by parliament “ no taxation without
representation “
Influenced by enlightenment class
Tension between the colonies and the English government
 War of independence (1775-83) won by the colonists who created the united
states of America

The consequences of the American war of independence

 George III had refused to compromise with the colonists
 After the war, he was obliged to appoint marquees of Rockingham as PM (a
Whig who had a majority in parliament)
 The king’s executive power was diminished
  1789 French revolution first admired
 But with intensification of the revolution
Revulsion toward the Reign of terror and military
 Threat continued under napoleon
 English radicalism largely suppressed
 Increasing presence of English anti-radical bourgeoisie in the establishment

Rebellion in Ireland

 Catholic majority oppressed

 United Irishmen tried to gain concessions
 When political methods failed, they tried rebellion
 1798 rebellion (assisted by French)
 It was suppressed and the government decided to unite the two kingdoms
Act of union 1801
Created the kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland

The reform ERA

 Radicalism returned to the political agenda after the defeat of napoleon

 Mass meetings to put pressure on the parliament
 Call for religious freedom
 Call for reforming the electoral system (too few voters, no secret ballot…)
The reform Act 1832
 Opened the right to vote in towns and in the countries
In towns men living in propriety paying £ 10 per year
Also extended the franchise to people in the country constituencies
 Abolished rotten boroughs
 Created new constituencies for new cities

Significance of the reform act

 Parliament legislated in response to an as movement

 Commons < house of lords
Considered by some to be the “beginning of modern democratic “in the UK

A new political force-the working class

 1871 trade union act

Helped the working class to organise itself as a political force
 1884 Reform act (gave most working men the right to vote)
 In 1900 the trade unions joined forces with three political organisations to create
the labour representation committee
Became known as the labour party in 1906 (= parti travailliste)

New political landscape

 three main parties
the liberals-formerly the Whigs
the Tories – the conservative party
 began to attract some of the traditional liberals
the labour party
 began to attract
 Parliament act 1911 : result of 1906 crisis
 1906 constitutional crisis ( HoL tries to block the budget voted by the commons =
undemocratic= clash
 The liberal gvt proposes a bill to limit the power of the HoL legislation
 HoL refuses (tory majority)
 The kings threatens to flood the house of lords with liberal peers
 Bill enacted

The Irish question

 Irish MP’s wanted home rule
 A small minority in Ireland decided to obtain independence through rebellion
 During world war I they organised the Easter ring in 1916
The British reaction shocked the Irish and increased support for complete
independence
Led eventually to the Irish war of independence

The Irish question continued

 A truce ( trève) was called in 1921
 The Anglo-Irish treaty 1921
Gave almost complete independence to Ireland
But the island was divided into two parts
 Free state_ 26 countries
effectively became a republic in 1937

The suffragette movement

 Campaigns for women’s right to vote during the 19th century
 Radicalised at the beginning of the 20th century
 Women’s role in WWI
 In 1918 they were given the right to vote
Over 30 for women
Over 21 for men

The abdication crisis

 Edward VIII wanted to marry Wallis Simpson
 She was an America divorce “unsuitable”
 If an Anglican married a divorce, he could no longer be a member of the church of
England
 Since Henry VIII, the monarch was the head of the church of England
 The king refused to change his opinion
 He was forced to abdicate by PM in 1936
 The monarch acts on the advice and consent of the government

Europe after WWII

 Two important institutions were created after WWWII
The council of Europe (1949)
The European coal and streel community
 Became the European union in 1933
 The UK joined both of these bodies
1949 the council of Europe
1973 the European economic community

Impact of European law on British law

 1988 human rights act to integrate the ECHR within British law (very much criticized)
 European union law has been directly enforceable since 1973
The European communities act 1972
Also criticised
Led to the EU referendum and Brexit

Northern Ireland
 Protestant majority in the north felt threatened by the catholic minority
 Catholic minority discriminated against economically and politically
 1960s : catholic organised civil rights marches
Insired

Other changes: reform of the HoL

 Peers
 Life peerages act 1958
Created life peers
Their children could not inherit their position
 House of Lords act 1998
Fewer peers
Fewer hereditary peers
 There have been calls for the house of lords to be an elected body

The British constitution

 Uncodified constitution
 “what the queen in parliament enacts is law”
 3 main actors:
The crown (no veto royal. She reigns but she not rules)
Parliament (lords and commons)
The government
 Constitutionnal monarchy
 The british legislature
The sovereign ( queen Elizabeth II)
Parliament’s two chambres
The house of lords ( HoL)
The house of commons

4 main roles for the Queen

 The queen and the government:
Head of the state
Politically neutral
“the queen reigns but does not rule”
3 main prerogative powers (constitutional duties):
- Appointing the prime minister. PM: the leader of the party that won more seats in
the HC. If no majority, discussions with between parties to form a government.
A hung parliament: a situation of no overall control. First chance at creating a
government: the government in power. Resignation of Gordon brown. leader of
the conservative party invited to form a government. Coalition government
between the conservations and the liberal democrats. 2015 general election;
turnout / 66,1%. Majority party: the conservatives
PM: David Cameron
Close relationship between the Queen and the PM: regular confidential meeting
once a week in Buckingham palace
- Opening and dissolving parliament: the annual state opening of parliament. The
queen’s speech: address to both houses of plt in the hl. Speech delivered by the
 queen but drafted by the PM. Review of the last parliamentary session. Outline of
the Gvt’s forthcoming policies and legislation. Then, debate in both houses on the
Gvt’s programme + vote in the HC. Under the terms of fixed term parliament act
2011. By the queen on the advice on the PM. Causes a general election to be held
- Giving royal assent to legislation voted by Plt : formal approval of bills before the
become laws/ acts . No refusal since Queen Anne’s. Queen Victoria
 The queen of the law
- Justice is carried in the name of the sovereign
- The “fount of justice”
- At the heart of the justice system
- HM’s courts, HM’s prisons
- All criminal proceedings conducted in her name: rex or regina (r) v Mr.x
 The queen ad church
- Temporal head of the church of England and Scotland
- Appoints archbishops and bishop
- Defender of the faith
- Recognizes and supports the various faiths practised in the UK and
commonwealth
 The queen and the armed forces
- The commander- in -chief of the armed forces
- Only one to declare war and peace on the advice of responsible ministers

 the cost of the monarch

3 sources of funding
- the sovereign grant
- was created in 2011
- replaces the civil list+ grants-in-aid
- 15% of the crown

Definition of parliament

 Parliament is the highest legislative authority in the UK made up of

-The house of commons (upper chamber)
-The house of lords (lower chamber)
-The queen

Definition (2) of Parliament

A parliament.
The period of parliamentary time between one General Election and the next.
Five parliamentary sessions of 12 months (parliamentary years) in one parliament.

A bicameral Parliament (because 2 houses)

The House of Commons (lower chamber)
The House of Lords (upper chamber)

2.1. The House of Commons

Representative Chamber of Parliament
650 MPs (Members of Parliament)
Elected by the people for 5 years
General Election
- By-Election when an MP dies or resigns
- Ex: death of Jo Fox in May 2016= was assassinated by a man
 There is a by-election to replace her.
Election= every 5 years

Role n°1: working in Parliament

To discuss “what the government has done, is doing and intends to do”
- Asking questions
- Each Wednesday PM’s Question Time (PMQs)
- Attending debates
To approve legislation
Internal procedure under the control of the Speaker of the House. There is a man (the
Speaker) and he sits on top of his cheer on the middle and he says who have to speak.
- An MP elected by the majority of the House
- Responsible for order and discipline during debates

The speaker of the House of Commons= he rules the house

Presides over the debates
Establishes the business of the day
Gives the permission to speak to each MP
Puts the question to the House= supervises the division
British= old system= the Division Bell
Power to evict a sitting Member. You can’t speak.
MPs immune from prosecution for defamatory statements made in Parliament

Role n°2: working in their constituency

650 constituencies= 650 MPs. Each constituency had his MP.
Elected their constituents
Meet them= “hold surgeries”

Role n°3: working for their political party

Attending the speeches in the Chamber
Taking part on the division
Attending committee meetings or party meetings. Most of them are independent (no
party socialist)

Whips (un fouet)

One for each party: elected MP in the HC
To keep the party members informed
To make sure they vote
To ensure party discipline
Circular (the Whip) sent every week to all members of Parliament from their Whip.
Vote underlined 3 times (a 3-line Whip) = MPs must go attended the parliament and
vote.
The Whip is a very important person.

October 2011
Motion in the HC calling for a referendum on Britain’s relationship with EU (UE).
PM David Cameron ordered his party member to oppose this motion with a 3-line
whip
81 of Cameron’s MPs voted for the motion instead against it.
2 of them were excluded from the Party. You can be excluded if you have not
respected the order.

Some vocabulary
Frontbenchers= important people (example the member of government)
Backbenchers= not important
 The room is divided in two parts:
- The government party (the Tories)
- The Opposition Party/ the Shadow Party/ Her Majesty’s Opposition (the Labour). You
cannot sit with the opposition.
There is also:
- “My honourable friend”/ “the honourable member for”

2.2. The General Election

Every five years on the first Thursday in May (the next one in 2020).

What is it all about?

If Parliament votes a no confidence (pas de confiance) motion in the Government. An
election is possible before the five years are complete.
If 2/3 of Parliament resolves “that there shall be an early parliamentary election”.

650 parliamentary constituencies

533 in England
59 in Scotland
40 in Wales
18 in Northern Ireland

System of election
Simple majority system= if you have the highest percent of vote you win
One person= one vote
There is no second turn.
Every voter votes fort the candidate they prefer. People have to choose one person.
The candidate with the most votes becomes the MP fort than constituency.
The first past the post system.

Results of the 2015 General Election

Video BBC

Referendum 2011
Referendum on the adoption of the Alternative Voting system in 2011
Turnout (la participation): 42%
Result: Yes-32% // No-68%

Results of the 2015 General Election

Overall majority
326
A majority of 322 is effectively needed.
The Speaker +3 MPs cannot vote.
In case of a tied vote, the Speaker must vote to maintain the status quo.

The main political parties in the UK

 The Conservative Party.
Right party.
Also known as the Tories.
Current leader, Theresa May

 The Labour Party = left

Current leader Jeremy CORBYN.

 The Scottish National Party (SNP)= search the independence

The 3rd biggest political in Parliament.
Current leader Nicola STURGEON.

 The Liberals Democrats

Current leader Tim FARRON.

 The Democratic Unionist Party

Current leader Arlene FOSTER. Is enemy= Gerry Adams.
She wants the Northern Ireland with the UK.

 Sinn Fein
Current leader Gerry Adams. He wants the all of Ireland independent.

 Plaid Cymru= the party of Wales.

This is a social-democratic political party in Wales advocating for an independent
Wales from the United Kingdom within the European Union.
Current leader Leanne WOOD.
  The Social and Democratic Labour Party
Current leader Colum EASTWOOD.

 The Ulster Unionist Party

Current leader Mike NESBITT.

We can see that there is no communist.

 The Green Party

Current leader Natalie BENNETT.

 The UK Independence Party (UKIP). This is the nationalist party. They want the
independence and they win.
Former leader Nigel FARAGE.

2.3 The House of Lords

≈ le sénat
Parliament’s second chamber
Significant contribution to Parliament’s work
Subject to much criticism because unelected chamber
The HC have more prerogative than the HL.

Impact of the reform of the HL on the House

The Parliamentary Acts 1911 and 1949= Limited power of veto.
The Life Peerage Act 1958= Category of life peers.
The House of Lords Reform Act 1999= limited number of hereditary peers.
The Constitutional Reform Act 2005= no more Law Lords in the HL.
The Peerages Act 1963= peers can give up their title to become an MP.
We want to made this chamber more democratic.

Current composition of the HL

798 unelected appointed for life lords, including 205 women (baronesses)
26 Lords Spiritual (archbishops and bishops of the Church of England). The queen is
the head of the Church and she is represented by them.
Lords Temporal
- 682 life peers
- 90 hereditary peers

Appointment of life peers

By the monarch, “on the advice of the PM”.
Does not take the decision himself.
Distinction between:
- Political peers
- Non-political peers

Political peers
Or “working peers” because vote along party lines.
Each party provides a list of appointees.
Each appointment is vetted by the House of Lords Appointment Commission (2000).

Non-political peers
The House of Lords Appointments Commission recommends individual for
appointment as non-party-political life peers
 Also called cross-benchers= they can sit in any side. They go left, they go right, they
go where they want.

Role n°1: making laws

Members involved in the process of:
- Proposing legislation (except money bills= projet de loi)
- Revising legislation
- Amending legislation

Role n°2: in-depth consideration of public policy

They investigate public policy.
Select committees to consider specific policy areas.
They usually published a report.

Role n°3: holding government to account

Question and debate decisions made by ministers and government departments.
Question Time and debate in the HL.

3. Parliament and the government

The parliament
- The House of Commons with MPs
- The House of Lords with Lords
The government: Group of party members from the political party that won the most
seats at a General Election the PM and ministers.

Parliament
Two Houses.
Represents the interest of British subjects.
Make sure these interests are taken into account by the Government.
To look closely at the Government’s plans and policies (politique appliquée d’un
government).

The government
Group of Party members from the political party that won the most seats at a General
Election.
Decides how the country is run.
In charge of public money and public services.

Parliament works to make sure that Government’s decisions are:

- Open and transparent: questioning government ministers and requesting information.
- Workable (faisable) and efficient: examining new proposals and suggesting improvements,
tracking how new laws are implemented.
- Fair and non-discriminatory: checking that bills and government decisions comply with
equalities and human right laws.

3.1 The functions of the Prime Minister

 Leader of the majority party in the HC.
- At the origin of all fundamental laws.
- Answers questions in the HC every Wednesday.
- Meets the Queen one a week= a weekly meeting. Elisabeth II is a very good listener.
 Appoints the members of the government, including the members of the Cabinet.
 Appoints also life peers, Heads of Royal Commissions, bishops of the Church of
England, etc.
 Can dismiss any minister.
  Head of the Cabinet.
- Controls the agenda.
- Presides over the debate.
- Has a casting vote.
- Influences the policy of the Cabinet= she is the head.

Vocabulary
 The Chancellor of the Exchequer= le ministre du budget
 The Lord Chancellor= le ministre de la justice

3.2 The Cabinet

Committee at the center of the British political system.
The supreme decision-making body in government.
Coordinates the work of ministeries.
Weekly meeting at 10 Downing street chaired by the PM.

3.3 10 Downing Street

 Home= Residence of the PM and her family
 Office= Place of work for the PM and the Cabinet
 Heart of government= meeting place of the Cabinet

10 Downing Street
 Place of reception for dignitaries from around the world.

Government Departments
 24
 Responsible for implementing government policy
 2 heads: a political one (minister)/ an administrative head (permanent)
Whitehall departments

The functions of the Prime Minister

 Fulfills public duties (obligation)
 Represents the country
 Has a Press Office= Theresa May
 Represents the nation in international conferences and summits
 The most influential character in the country

Limits to the PM’s power

 The Queen can oppose the PM ( on paper)
 The Queen can dismiss a government
 The lords can delay a HC bill for one year
 Pressure of public opinion and lobbies
 Existence of the shadow cabinet

The shadow cabinet

 Team of senior spokespeople chosen by the leader of the opposition
 To mirror the cabinet in government
 To question and challenge their counterparts in the cabinet
 An alternative government -in-waiting

The end of the UK?

Devolution in Britain
  Decentralization of governmental power
 Referendums in 3 countries of the UK
The Scottish parliament
The national assembly for wales
The Northern Ireland assembly
 Transfert of power

Diiferents modes of election

 Parliament
The first post system, devolved legislatures. The first past the post system+ proportional

Scotland

 Two parliaments since 1999

The one in Edinburgh for devolved matters since the Scotland act 1998
The other at Westminster for UK issues

Scotland Pt

 Full legislative powers over devolved matters

 Acts of the Scottish parliament (ASPs)
 129 members of the Scottish parliament
73 constituency MSPs(FPTP)
56 regional members (PR)

Devolved matters

 Areas of government where decision-making has been delegated by parliament to devolved

institutions. Ex : education, health

Reserved matters

 Decisions that are still taken by the UK parliament at Westminster though they have effect in
Scotland, Northem Ireland and wales. Ex: UK defense, foreign policy

Scottish parliament

 Power to pass primary legislation

 Cannot legislate on reserved matters
 Convention that the Gvt will not introduce legislation on devolved areas without the
agreement of the Scottish pt

Wales

 Devolution step 1
1998: creation of an assembly for wales with 60 member ( assembly members Ames)
elected for 4 years
 Devolution step 2
2006: PRIMARY LEGISLATIVE POWER IN 20 areas devolved to Wales

Northern Ireland
  April 1998: The Belfast agreement
 May 1998: referendum
 Establishment of the Northern Ireland assembly
 108 elected members six from each of the 18 Westminster constituencies
 First minister + deputy first minister

Conclusion on devolution

 More and more powers devolved to Scotland, wales and Northern Ireland
 But the UK plt remains sovereign

Brexit

Campaign led by two opposite sides

 The remainders
 Britain stronger in Europe
 Cross-party campaign by the politicians by Cameron, Osborne, Jeremy Corbyn
 Remaining campaigning led by the SNP
 The leavers = vote leave
 Senior conservatives such as Boris Johnson
 Separate campaign led by the UKIP

Next steps in the hands of the Brexiteers

Brexiteer N°1

 Boris Johnson , former London’s mayor

 New foreign secretary

Brexiteer N°2

 David davis , secretary of state for exiting the EU

 Ead of the department of “department for exiting the Europe union”

Brexiteer N°3

 Liam fox, former defense secretary

 New international trade secretary

What happens now?

Step 1

 Parliament votes t invoke article 5à ( created in 2009 never used so far)

Step 2&3

 Plt will oversee the negotiation process

 Plt will ratify any new agreement

Step 4: “domestic disentanglement form EU law”

  Plt will review , repeal, amend and replace legislation passed to enable EU law to have
effect in the UK

Is the breakup of the UK

Scottish independence

 2014: referendum on wheter Scotland should become an independent country

 No ( 55%)

Possible second referendum

 Nicole sturgeon current Scottish first minister and Theresa May

 “ second independence referendum is higly likely”

Irish reunification

 “ the whole island should now be able to vote on reunification” deputy first minister
martin McGuiness

The commonwealth

 The UK is also a member of the commonwealth

 The Queen
The head of the commonwealth
Head of the state of 16 commonwealth countries
 voluntary association of 53 independent states
 2.2bn people
 Some are former British colonies
 Some have no historical ties to the British empire

Party II: The US American institutions current state and origins

Part 1: the current state of affairs

1. Us politics and politicians

Vocabulary
Politics: the activities associated with the governance of a country or area, especially the debate
between parties having power
Policy: a course or principle of action adopted or proposed by an organization or individual

a) A two-party system: republicans and democrats

GOP (grand old party) Democratic party

Founded in 1824 Founded in 1854
Color: red Color: blue
Symbol: elephant Symbol: donkey
Famous president: Abraham Lincoln Famous president: Franklin Roosevelt
Ronal Regan john F Kennedy
Bush Sr, Bush Jr Bill Clinton, Barack Obama
 Conservative Liberal
Individual responsibility Community and social responsibility
Heavy military budget Decreased military budget
Divided on gay marriage in majority against In majority in favour of same-sexmarriage
In majority pro-life on abortion In majority pro-choice on abortion
In majority in favour of death penaltyIn majority against death penalty
Pro-guns Majority in favour of gun control
Flat tax Minimum wages and progressive taxation
Free market capitalism Government regulation to protect consumers
Private healthcare system Universal healthcare
Divided over immigration.
Majority opposed to amnesty for undocumented, more federal funds for the protection of borders
Moratorium on deportation of undocumented with no
criminal record and a 5-year minimum residency/pathway to citizenship

b) A third-party option?

The libertarian party: growing strong (poll: 10% votes in general elections)

 Founded in 1971
 Civil liberties
 Non-interventionism
 Economic laissez-faire
 Abolition of welfare state
 Individual choice and responsibilities

Other third parties and independents

 Green party (environment issues, very liberal)

 America’s party (very conservative, Christian, founded in 2008)
 Constitution party (Christian, paleo conservative, founded in 1991)

2. First step into the presidential journey: the primaries

a) What are primaries for?
 April 2015: candidates start announcing whether they are running
 Party-affiliated candidates/ independents
 Some presumptive candidates eventually announce their decision not to run (VP to
joe Biden, Sen. Elizabeth Warren)

Entering/ withdrawing from the race

 By august 2015: 24 candidates in total (6candidates entered in july)
 Outstanding member of republican candidates
 July 2015-july 2016: down to 4 candidates
 20 candidates withdrew from the race
 Why did they withdraw from the race

Each party will ultimately endorse ONE NOMINEE during its national convention
= possibility to run as an independent (no party affiliation): rarely done
The nominee is the candidate who is most likely to win the general elections and who will defend the
political platform (=agenda) pf the party
= possible tension between party supports and party establishment (=leaders)

b) When do primaries take place?

 = Scheduled state by state
= from fedruary to june
= in most states, primaries for rep and dem on same day.
= results of Early primaries (super Tuesday) impact all primaries (Iowa, New Hampshire)
=late primaries almost meaningless (California, Montana, New Mexico)
= candidates withdraw in case of bad results so list of candidates changes from one month to
another.

c) How do primaries work?

 2 modes of selection: primaries/ caucuses
 2 categories of voters: registered party members/ independents (not registered in party)
 3 types of primaries: closed/ semi-closed/ open

Caucus
 Paid for by political party
 Private political events
 Most dedicated voters, lowers
 Mass public meetings of 20 to 200
members
 Discussions and debates to narrow
down in the first of candidates
(physical vote with vote reallocation
in D./secret ballots in R.)
 Long, time-consuming process, less
representative
Primary
 Paid by state
 Similar to general elections
 Higher turnout (=participation)
 Secret voting in polling station
(=bureau de vote) and absentee’s
ballot
 Short, fair efficient process
 Proportional or winner-takes-it all
result depending states

How and when do you know that you have won the primaries
 When you have more than 51% of popular vote all primaries? No
 Primaries and caucuses results determine the number of delegates a candidate will have to
vote for him/ her at the party’s convention
 Vote choose= delegates who will elect= the party’s nominee at the party convention
 Voters do not directly vote for their candidate
 Delegated act as filters/ representatives
 More convenient in huge country
 System that mirrors the general election
 Question: how to be sure that the delegate you send to the convention will vote for your
candidate?
 The PLEDGED delegates
 The most numerous
 Obligated to vote for the candidate they officially endorsed and were elected to vote for
= Guarantee of respect for the will of voters (democratic process)
 Reallocation of delegates according to state rules
 Different from one state to another
 Elections: state matters, not federal matters
 Unpledged delegates (R)/ Super delegates (D)
 Why are the super delegates?
= for fear of too much popular weight on political choice ( historical suspicion of majority)
 Who is most critical of the Super delegates
 = candidates with strong popular support but weak party establishment support (trump,
sanders)

Democratic party Republican party

 Super delegates include party
leaders and elected officials
 The battle to win the super delegates
is called invisible primary and starts
before the beginning of primary
elections
 714 super delegates/4,765 delegates
in total
 Unpledged/ unbound delegates
(Rep.party) are not able to vote for
whomever they want (2015 party
decision)
 168 unpledged delegates/ 2,472
delegates

d) What is a convention
 Major political evet during which candidate with majority of delegates is officially
nominated by party
 Disputed/brokered/open convention: no candidate with a majority of delegates.
Delegates have to sort it out. (rare nowadays)

F) crowning and celebrating the winners : the convention show

•
official announcement of nominée
•
o....... of ticket (a team with 2 people) : presidenctial and vice présidentiel candidates

 endossement by party leaders and celebrities (speeches, songs, etc..)

•
acceptante speech by candidate + political platform
•
official oppenning of général élection : the end of the primary
The primary campain trail :
a)
financing a campain: how much does it cost ?
772m for D / 600m for R
2012: over one billion dollars
Where does the money comme from ?
1- personal funds :
-cash and hands (personal wealth)
-disbursement and loans (money from banks)
Capaign financing ruled by FECA (federal election campaign act), 1971
-
Public money option available under conditions
-
most candidates opt out
-
the public money option puts limits on how much money candidates can spend
-
candidates generally raise more money than what they can get out of the public option
2-individual donations:
-
cap (highest amount) on donor’s contribution
-
categories: small donors (common people) => ... big donors (companies, etc..)
Self-proclamed socialist Democratic Bernie Sanders calls small donor to say thanks (filmed and
released by Sander’s official campaign)
3- PACs (Political Action Committees)
-
special interest group (businesses, unions, ideological association)
-
gather money through members contributions
-
spend money on TV, radio advertissement, movies, events in support of candidates and parties
who share the same interests and ideas
-
donate money to candidates/political parties
-
Cap on donations: $5,000 / $15000
examples of PACs :
NRA National Riffle Association all about the 2nd amendment.../ The
Chamber of Commerce / New Hampshire Right to Life / HPAC