In Britain with constitutional monarchy, the country is nominally the head of state; In real life, there is a theory that the cabinet and the prime minister are authoritarian; But in law, parliament has the supreme status.
The British Constitution gives Parliament "excellent and absolute power". The highest position of parliament is first embodied in its legislative power. Theoretically, it can enact any law, amend or abolish any existing law, and enact, amend or abolish laws of a constitutional nature. In addition to legislative power, the supremacy of parliament is also manifested in the following aspects: First, administratively, the lower house of parliament is the highest source of executive power. Both the Cabinet and the Prime Minister are born in the House of Commons, which is the only way to political power. Second, financially, the lower house of parliament controls the financial lifeline of the country. Third, in the relationship between the central and local governments, the parliament can authorize or withdraw the power of local governments.
The supremacy of parliament refers to its legal status, but it does not mean that it can do whatever it wants. Moreover, this legal status is not stipulated in any constitutional document, but a customary expression and people's acquiescence to it. Parliament is actually subject to many constraints: first, it must be bound by the will of the majority of British voters and must not make any laws that violate the national conditions of Britain; Secondly, constrained by public opinion, it is impossible to pass laws that will be generally opposed by the public, and even if such laws are passed, it is difficult to implement them; Furthermore, it cannot pass any laws that violate international law. For example, the British Parliament cannot pass any laws that conflict with EU laws.
Second, parliamentary privileges.
The supremacy of the British Parliament is also reflected in its privileges. In order to safeguard the authority and dignity of the parliament and enable it to work unhindered, it is necessary to give it special protection. This protection is fixed in the form of law, so that parliament can enjoy some special legal rights, that is, parliamentary privileges. The privileges enjoyed by the two houses of the British Parliament are generally similar. This privilege applies not only to the entire House of Representatives, but also to the staff and every member of the House of Representatives.
British parliamentary privileges include: the freedom of speech in the House of Commons, and the priority for members of the House of Commons to be summoned to attend meetings (which also means that members can be exempted from arrest in civil cases, and the right to serve on a jury or be forced to testify in court); The upper and lower houses as a whole have the right to approach the king; The upper and lower houses have the right to control their own work process; The right to determine the legal qualifications of the House of Commons and to declare vacant seats on this basis; And the right to punish anyone who undermines the privileges of parliament. As far as the lower house is concerned, there are five more meaningful privileges to safeguard its dignity and protect its normal work, namely, the right to freedom of speech, the right not to be arrested, the right to independent management, the right to punishment and the right to visit the king.
(a) Members' right to freedom of expression
This is one of the most important immunities enjoyed by parliamentarians. The right to freedom of speech means that members of parliament will not be punished or intimidated because of their speech or behavior in parliament. In other words, members can speak freely when debating and speaking in parliament, and their words and deeds will not be investigated outside parliament. This exempts members from the obligation to abide by the laws on defamation, incitement and disclosure of state secrets. Therefore, when trying civil or criminal cases, the court shall not cite the speeches of members as evidence. If the court really needs to quote the minutes of the House of Commons, it must obtain the permission of the House of Commons in advance. In addition to parliamentarians, people who enjoy the right to freedom of speech also include staff of the House of Commons, witnesses authorized by the House of Commons to testify in the House of Commons, committees and subcommittees of the House of Commons.
(2) the right of members not to be arrested
The purpose of granting this privilege to members is to ensure that members can attend the meetings of the House of Commons on time. The so-called right of members not to be arrested only means that members shall not be arrested for civil proceedings 40 days before and 40 days after the parliamentary session. However, in criminal proceedings, members of parliament do not enjoy the right not to be arrested. However, the House of Commons has always insisted that members who are imprisoned or detained must immediately notify the House of Commons and explain the reasons. Even in civil proceedings, members' right not to be arrested is limited. The bankruptcy law stipulates that bankrupt members cannot enjoy the right not to be arrested. Since the imprisonment of civil debtors has almost been abandoned, the right of parliamentarians not to be arrested is of little practical significance, mainly because it is a symbol of parliamentary privilege and status.
(3) the independent management power of the lower house
The independent management power of the lower house includes two aspects: first, the independent management power of the lower house to deliberate opinions; The second is the right to manage members. The decision-making power of the lower house includes the proceedings of the general assembly and the proceedings of the committees. The establishment, alteration and cancellation of committees of the lower house, the rules of procedure of the lower house, the maintenance of the order of the lower house assembly, the publication of the debate records of the lower house, etc. All of them are managed by the House of Commons itself, and no other institutions or personnel are allowed to intervene or interfere. The self-management of members of the House of Commons mainly includes qualification management and behavior management. At present, the management authority of the house of commons on the qualifications of parliamentarians is much worse than before. In the past, the house of commons ruled on disputes concerning the election of members of parliament, but now this power is given to the court. But at present, the lower house still has the right to decide the following matters: first, announce the vacancy of a certain constituency; Second, issue an order to hold a by-election; Third, disqualify those who it considers unfit to be members of parliament. The behavior management of MPs mainly refers to the management of MPs' part-time profit-making activities outside parliament. The House of Commons has long made it clear that members are prohibited from seeking personal gain through their functions and powers. Of course, not all off-campus part-time profit-making activities are improper. The House of Commons has never banned legal off-campus part-time activities, such as serving as a lawyer, a teacher and amateur writing. In 1975, the House of Commons clearly stipulated the management system of part-time jobs outside the hospital, requiring members to fully declare their part-time jobs and income, directly state the specific interest relationship between part-time jobs outside the hospital and his work in the hospital, and do not accept specific instructions from funders on his behavior in the hospital.
(4) the punishment power of the house of commons
The punishment right of the lower house means that the lower house has the right to punish anyone inside or outside the court who destroys its privileges and despises its authority. The acts listed as "contempt for the authority of the lower house" by the lower house mainly include: making troubles in the courtyard and undermining the parliamentary order; Refusing to testify before the House of Commons committee; Perjury of the House of Commons Committee; Interfere with others to testify to the lower house Committee; Obstructing parliamentarians from entering and leaving the parliament building; Members deliberately lied to the house of commons; Bribery of parliamentarians; An attempt to threaten a member of parliament; Harassment of parliamentarians; Publishing defamatory materials of the House of Commons or members; Premature disclosure of minutes of meetings of committees of the House of Commons; Obstructing or attacking officials of the House of Commons who are performing their duties; Defame the character or justice of the Speaker or Deputy Speaker of the House of Commons.
The House of Commons has the right to punish those who despise its authority. The main means of punishment are: the speaker reprimands; Expelled from the House of Commons, or deprived of parliamentary qualification if he is a member; Detention during the meeting; Hand it over to the attorney general for prosecution. The punishment procedure is as follows: first, members of parliament present the facts and personnel who despise the house of commons to the speaker; Then the speaker will submit the contempt case to the general assembly of the whole hospital for priority consideration, and the general assembly of the whole hospital will debate and vote before the privileged Committee for investigation; The Privilege Committee reports the investigation results to the general meeting of the whole hospital and puts forward suggestions for handling; Finally, the general assembly voted to deal with it.
Although the penalty power of parliament conflicts with the judicial power of the court that insists on retaining the judicial power over the scope and nature of parliamentary privilege, on the whole, the court still recognizes this privilege of parliament and basically supports and cooperates with the practice of parliament to safeguard its privilege and dignity.
(5) all hail the king's rights
At present, this privilege is only symbolic, because the king actually has little influence on the work of the parliament, and members rarely visit the king because of their work needs.
Third, the relationship between parliament and the royal family.
The process of the supremacy of the British parliament is the process of constantly seizing power from the royal family and the process of transferring power from the royal family to the parliament.
Britain is a constitutional monarchy. Nominally, the monarch or king is the most powerful ruler. According to the British Constitution, the King of England is the hereditary head of state, a part of the legislature, the head of the court, the commander-in-chief of all the armed forces in the United Kingdom and the secular leader of the Anglican Church.
As far as the relationship between the king and parliament is concerned, on the one hand, the king is a part of parliament and the first of three parts. Although the king, as a part of the parliament, is limited to giving a speech and approving laws in the parliament building every time the parliament meets, because she is the first part of the parliament, the highest position of the parliament also has the king's share. On the other hand, the king's power to approve laws actually restricts the lower house. In other words, the king has the right to veto bills passed by parliament. Although the king has not exercised this power for more than 100 years, she can still use this veto if necessary. This invisibly restricts the legislation of the lower house, making the lower house try not to pass laws that go against the will of the majority of the public.
Four. The relationship between parliament and government
In Britain, the word "government" has a broad sense and a narrow sense. Government in a broad sense refers to state organs, including the king, the two houses of parliament, the judicial and administrative departments; In a narrow sense, the government refers to the executive branch, usually called "Her Majesty's Government", and the government led by the Prime Minister refers to the latter. The British Prime Minister is the head of government.
/kloc-Before the mid-0/9th century, especially in the "golden age" of19th century, the parliament held real power, and the government and cabinet were just an office that always implemented the parliament. Parliament not only controls its own work agenda, but also controls the government and cabinet. The great authority of parliament was closely related to the electoral system and party system at that time: the number of voters was small, the party organization was not perfect enough, and it would not be sanctioned by party discipline.
Since the parliamentary reform of 1867, the process of transferring power from parliament to government has begun. One of the main achievements of 1867 reform is to expand the right to vote, and the number of voters has greatly increased, which has promoted the development of political party organizations. Anyone who wants to become a member of parliament must first get the support of the political party, and when a member of parliament enters the parliament, he must obey the orders of the local leaders and abide by the party discipline. In this way, members rarely act according to their own will, but must always be unified with the party, and the parliament is actually in the hands of political parties. Because the cabinet members are mainly composed of the core tasks of the ruling party, in a certain sense, the parliament is controlled by the cabinet and the government. In the 1960s, Parliament changed from the master of the government to the servant of the government, which was completely controlled by the government-this change was also the inevitable result of the development and change of British society.
The government's control over parliament is first embodied in controlling the work agenda of parliament. 1902' s reform in Belfo made the government basically control the agenda of parliament. More than 50% of the time in the lower house is controlled by the government, 25% by the opposition, and the rest is reserved for dealing with private bills proposed by backbenchers and local governments. Because the government controls a lot of parliamentary time, it can arrange the agenda according to its own needs, or increase the time in the motion debate, or cut off the deliberation. The opposition can't do this.
The government gradually plays a leading role in decision-making, legislation and finance, while the parliament only plays a supporting role. The first is decision making. With the rapid development of economy and society, the government undertakes more and more responsibilities, the scope of decision-making is expanding, and the technology is getting higher and higher. Accordingly, the number of government departments has increased, and the types of specialties have also increased, but the parliament has not changed accordingly, so it is difficult to meet the needs of decision-making. In particular, the working characteristics of parliament are not suitable for making efficient decisions. As a result, the cabinet and the government naturally became the center of decision-making, and the parliament gradually lost its ability to intervene in government decision-making. By the end of 19, important government documents will no longer be made public to the parliament. Secondly, legislation. It is natural that the parliament of a parliamentary democracy has legislation, and the British Constitution does give it legislative power. However, the reality is that the government controls the legislative work. Today, the government has become the initiator of most bills, and whether the bills can be adopted depends largely on the government. Finally, finance. With the strengthening of government power, the actual power of fiscal legislation has been transferred to the government. Since the end of 19, the budgets of successive governments have been passed. Although there is a Budget Committee in the House of Commons to investigate government expenditure, its role is quite limited.
Although parliament has become a "slave" of the government, it still plays a very important role in political life as far as its relationship with the government is concerned. First, the legitimacy of the government comes from parliament. The government must come from parliament. The British general election is to elect members of the House of Commons, who belong to different political parties. The party that wins the majority of seats in the general election is the ruling party (sometimes less than the opposition party), and its leader is appointed by the Queen as the Prime Minister, who is responsible for organizing the government. Only the government established in this way has legitimacy, otherwise the government formed by coup, uprising and other means is illegal and will not be accepted by the public. Second, legalize the government's motion. Although both bills and government budgets are proposed by the government, bills can never become law and budgets can never be implemented without the approval of parliament. If the bill or budget proposed by the government is rejected by the parliament, the prestige and ruling ability of the government will be affected, although the government is still legal. Third, supervise and influence the behavior of the government. Since the government comes from the parliament, legally speaking, the power of the government is granted by the parliament, which has the right to supervise and investigate the government's behavior, thus affecting the government's ruling process. Fourth, provide senior officials for the government. Legally speaking, government ministers and other senior officials are not required to be members of both houses of parliament. The formation of such a convention meets the needs of British politics. Britain's political elites are all in parliament, and so are the elites of all parties. Becoming a member of parliament after fierce elections is itself an excellent process of selecting cadres.
V. Relationship between Parliament and the Judiciary
There is no unified judiciary in Britain, and its judicature is divided into three systems: England and Wales as one system, Scotland as one system and Northern Ireland as one system. The British judiciary is relatively independent. Constitutional convention stipulates that cases that have been tried or are awaiting trial should not be debated in parliament, and the two houses of parliament should not question the professional behavior of judges unless they are dismissed from their posts.
However, the separation of powers in Britain is not strict, and an important aspect is the close relationship between legislation and justice. This is mainly manifested in the fact that the upper and lower houses of parliament (especially the upper house) have certain judicial power. The British House of Lords is both a legislative body and a judicial body, and it is the highest judicial body. It has the final jurisdiction over cases decided by civil and criminal courts, and is the final judicial organ and the highest appeal level. The trial procedure of British criminal cases is: local court-circuit criminal court-upper house of parliament; The trial procedure of civil cases is: county court-high court-court of appeal-upper house of parliament. The Chief Justice is not only the President of the Supreme Court, but also the Speaker of the House of Lords and an ex officio member of the Cabinet. The ruling of the upper house is binding on all lower courts and the upper house itself. As the highest court of appeal, the House of Lords applies to the whole United Kingdom in civil cases, but only to England, Wales and Northern Ireland in criminal cases. The lower house of parliament also has certain judicial power, mainly the right to try members' illegal acts, and also the right to try criminal acts that violate parliamentary privileges. Generally speaking, the relationship between parliament and judiciary is far less close than that between parliament and royal family and government.
Excerpt from: Jiang Jinsong: Mother of Parliament, China Democracy and Legal Publishing House; , Liu and Zhu (ed. ) British Parliament, Huaxia Publishing House; History: The Political System of Contemporary Countries-Britain, Lanzhou University Press.