The system of government of great britain

In theory, the British constitution has three branches: Parliament, which makes laws, the government, which 'executes' laws, and the law courts, which interpret laws. Although the Queen is officially head of all three branches, she has little direct power.

Parliament has two parts: the House of Commons and the House of Lords. Members of the House of Commons are elected by the voters of 650 constituencies. They are known as MPs, or Members of Parliament. The Prime Minister, or leader of the Government, is also an MP, usually the leader of tie political party with a majority in the House of Commons.

The Prime Minister is advised by a Cabinet of about twenty ether ministers. The Cabinet includes the ministers in charge of major government departments or ministries. Departments and ministries are run by civil servants, who are permanent officials.

Members of the House of Lords (peers) are not elected. About 70 per cent of them are «hereditary peers» because their fathers were peers before them. The other 30 per cent are «life peers», whose titles are not passed on to their children.

The Lords of Appeal (Law Lords) serve the House of Lords as the ultimate court of appeal. This appeal court consists of some nine Law Lords who hold senior judicial office. They are presided over by the Lord Chancellor and they form a quorum of three to five when they hear appeal cases.

Parliament

Functions of Parliament

• making laws

• providing money for government, through taxation

• examining government policy, administration and spending debating political questions.

The Government

Functions of the Prime Minister

• leading the majority party

• running the Government

• appointing Cabinet Ministers and other ministers

• representing the nation in political matters

 

The Law Courts

There are two main kinds of courts, and two main kinds of judicial officers to correspond with them. Courts of first instance are presided over by magistrates, who are normally Justices of the Peace (JPs); higher courts (crown courts) by judges, or in some cases, senior barristers specially appointed to perform judicial functions for part of their time.

 

THE SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES

 

The constitution adopted by the thirteen states in 1790 sets the basic form of government: three separate branches, each one having powers over the others. The ultimate power under the Constitution is not given to the President (the executive branch), or to the Congress (the legislative branch), or to the Supreme Court (the judicial branch). It belongs to "We the People", in fact and in spirit.

There are several basic principles' which are found at all levels of American government federal, state, county, local.

One of them says that legislators are elected from geographical districts directly by the voters.

Another fundamental principle of American government is that because of the system of checks and balances, compromise in politics is a matter of necessity, not choice.

Congress, the American Parliament, is made up of the Senate and the House of Representatives. There are 100 Senators, two from each state. The House has 435 members.

Congress makes all laws, and each house of Congress has the power to introduce legislation. Each can also vote against legislation passed by the other. Congress decides upon taxes and how money is spent. It regulates commerce among the states and foreign countries. It also sets rules for the naturalization of foreign citizens.

The President of the United States is elected every four years for a four-year term of office (8 years), but that's the maximum.

Within the Executive Branch, there are a number of executive departments. These are the departments of State, Treasury, Defense, Justice, Interior, Agriculture, Commerce, Labor, Health and Human Resources, Housing and Urban Development, Transportation, Energy and Education. The head of each department (called a Secretary) is appointed by the President.

The third branch of government is the federal Judiciary. Its main instrument is the Supreme Court, which watches over the other two branches. It determines whether or not their laws and acts are in accordance with the Constitution. The Supreme Court consists of a chief Justice and eight associate Justices. They are nominated by the President but must be approved by the Senate.

In addition to the Supreme Court Congress has established 11 federal courts of appeal and, below them, 91 federal, district courts. But the Supreme Court has direct Jurisdictions.

 

 

STATE SYSTEM OF RUSSIAN FEDERATION

 

Under the Constitution adopted in 1991 Russia is a Presidential Republic. The name of the country is stated by the Constitution as the Russia Federative Republic. The head of the state is President.

All legislative power in the country is vested in the Federal Assembly. It consists of two chambers. The Upper Chamber is the Council of Federation. It is made up of the representatives of all the subjects of the Federation (two representatives from each subject). The Council enforces federal laws adopted by the State Duma, and all the decrees issued by the President.

The Lower Chamber of the Federal Assembly is the State Duma. It is made up of 450 deputies. The Duma introduces, considers and adopts new bills. A new bill must be approved by a majority vote. In order to become a law, the bill must be also enforced by the Council and then by the President.

The members of the Federal Assembly are elected by popular vote for a four year term. Each Chamber is headed by a Speaker who is elected by the members of the Chambers.

The executive branch is represented by the President and the Government which is headed by the Prime Minister.

The President is the head of the state and the commander-in-chief of the Russian army. The President decides domestic and international matters, makes treaties, issues decrees, enforces federal laws adopted by the Federal Assembly. The President also forms the Government and appoints the Prime Minister whose candidacy must be approved by the State Duma. Thus the two powers balance each other.

An important role in the Russian state system plays the Constitutional Court. It represents the judicial branch. The Constitutional Court may veto any federal law adopted by the Federal Assembly, or a decree issued by the President if the Court regards them contradictory to the Constitution.

The symbol of Russia is a three-colored flag which replaced the red one in 1991, It has three horizontal stripes: white, blue and red. White represents peace, blue represents loyalty, and red stands for valor.

The emblem of Russia is a double-headed eagle, the most ancient symbol going back to the dynasty of the Ruricovichies.

 

COMPUTER CRIME

Computer crime is broadly defined as unauthorized access to, use of, alteration of, or taking of another person's computer systems or files. This activity is illegal even if the person does not intend to do any harm.

Corporate and government computer systems are the most popular targets of computer crime. Some people who work for corporations or the government may try to sell information to business rivals or foreign governments. Others may use computers to embezzle money.

Most of those who gain unauthorized access to computer systems are "hackers." Hackers, sometimes high-school or college-age persons, intentionally try to break into computer systems. Once hackers enter a system, they usually look at confidential or classified files. Occasionally, a hacker may copy a file and distribute it Hackers annually cause an estimated $1 billion worth of damage to computer files. There is disagreement on how hackers should be punished. Many persons feel that hackers are dangerous and should receive jail terms and pay large fines like other white-collar criminals. Others argue that hackers break into systems as a hobby, do not intend any harm, and can be rehabilitated.

Some hackers release "viruses" or "worms" into computer systems. Viruses are computer programs designed to play practical jokes or destroy data and damage computer files. Worms are designed to slow down computer systems but not to destroy data. Both viruses and worms are prohibited by computer crime laws.

The federal government (USA) has also been carefully watching computer bulletin board systems. Bulletin boards allow users to exchange computer files and messages using computers and modems. Some of these bulletin boards make commercial software programs available to users. However, making the programs available without the publisher's permission is illegal.

Another type of computer crime occurs when someone illegally copies software he or she has purchased. Software companies lose over $2 billion each year to illegal copying. A person who opens a software package is agreeing to use the software on one computer only. This person is allowed to make copies of the software only to use as a backup. Placing software on more than one computer without the publisher's permission is illegal and violates federal copyright laws. The violator is subject to a possible jail term and a fine of up to $250,000. Violators can include individuals, businesses, and schools.

Despite the attention given to computer crimes, most probably go unreported. Many companies are reluctant to publicize their vulnerability to computer criminals. Also, many are discouraged by the resources and time needed to prosecute individuals.

 

MY FUTURE PROFESSION

Now I am a cadet of the Voronezh Institute of the Russian Ministry of the Interior. I am a future militia officer. I'd like to work as a detective. As to my friend Alex he is going to work as an investigator. Our graduates work in all militia services. Before entering the Militia Institute some students worked in militia, so they know this work. We all consider this work to be necessary and important while crime exists in our country.

The principal task of our militia is to fight crime. And one of the main duties of militia officers is to prevent crime. But if a crime has been committed the militia officers should do all they can to detect the offender; it means to locate and apprehend him.

We know that quick and accurate solution of a crime greatly depends on the professional skills of the investigating officers, on their training. That is why we try to master a special course of Detective Activity, various branches of Law, Criminalistics, Crime Psychology and many other special subjects. Nobody can say what crime you will have to face tomorrow, so the militia officers should be educated persons. It is not so easy to investigate crimes, it is difficult to trace and locate criminals. We must know how to interview witnesses, interrogate criminals, we learn all that at our Institute.

Very often the solution of a crime is in the crime scene. When the investigator arrives at the crime scene he examines the scene very carefully. He makes a plan of the investigation. All the evidence in the crime scene must be found, collected and preserved for court presentation. The effectiveness of an investigator largely depends upon his ability to obtain information. The elements of the offence must be established. Identification must be obtained. The investigator works in close cooperation with other officers of the operative group.

The officer of the Criminal Detection Department (a detective) is responsible for the detection of the perpetrator. A great part of detective work is devoted to «finding» missing or wanted person. The search for a person may be a simple matter, but in many cases, however, it may become a complicated task. The solving of a case frequently depends upon locating the perpetrator. The proper presentation of a case in court involves the discovery and identification of witnesses. The detective also takes measures for search, discovery and seizure of the stolen property and instruments of the crime.

There are some people in our society who don't want to live an honest life, who try to profit at the expense of our state. The task of an officer of Economic Crimes Department is to reveal the criminal activity of such people and to provide their punishment. Some of us will work as divisional inspectors. The divisional inspectors are responsible for maintaining public order in their areas.

Our future work whatever it would be is noble and necessary. Our objective is to protect life and property of our people.