politics essay irish constitution
Politics essay Q. Identify and explain the significance of any 2 amendments to bunreacht Na heireann? A. The two amendments I will be talking about in this essay are the amendments of divorce and the nineteenth amendment of the constitution of Ireland, the nineteenth amendment included changes to article two and three of the constitution required by the Good Friday agreement. Previous to 1999, articles 2 and 3 made the claim that the whole island of Ireland formed a single national territory. Because of the nineteenth amendment, articles 2 and 3 were changed to a goal towards creating a united Ireland peacefully. The 19th amendment was approved by referendum in 1998 but the Irish government did not want the changes to be made to articles 2 and 3 until other aspects of the GFA had been complied with. The 19th amendment was accepted by referendum on the 22 may 1998 and signed into law on the 3rd June on the same year. Before articles 2 and 3 were amended the whole island of Ireland consisted of national territory, meaning its island and its sea's. Until the re-addition of the national territory, and without unfairness to the parliament and government established by this constitution to exercise control over the whole of that territory, the laws acted by that parliament shall have the area and extent of claim as the law of saorstat eireann and the extra territorial effect.
Discuss the indepedence of the UK Judiciary
'Discuss the independence of the UK judiciary' Judicial independence can be defined in three basic points, these are; the independence of judges from the two other branches of government, that is the legislature and executive; the independence from various political ideologies, public and media pressure; and the independence of an individual judge from superiors in the judicial hierarchy, so that a judge can decide each case solely upon his or hers best view of what the law requires. So basically for the judiciary to be independent it must be exempt from interference in its conductivity by the other two branches of government, the legislature and executive, and also pressure exerted from various outside opinions e.g. media, public. In the 1740's a French political philosopher, Baron de Montesquieu came up with the idea of the 'separation of powers'. He suggested that in a democracy no single individual should serve in more than one branch of government, this in result would eliminate the possibility of dictatorship. He believed there were three essential elements of the government: the legislature (which makes the laws); the executive (which administers these laws); and the judiciary (which judges according to these laws). Montesquieu argued that as long as these three branches were kept separate the democracy would survive as a well organised political system. In contrast
What, If Anything, Would Be Achieved By The United Kingdom Adopting A Codified Constitution?
What, If Anything, Would Be Achieved By The United Kingdom Adopting A Codified Constitution? Before discussing as to whether or not the United Kingdom would benefit from a codified constitution, it is necessary to define the necessary terms. The HL Constitution Committee defined a constitution as, "the set of laws, rules and practices that create the basic institutions of the state, and its component and related parks, and stipulate the powers of those institutions and the relationship between the different institutions and between those institutions and the individual."1 As we can infer from the above, a constitution simply refers to a body of rules, regulating the system of government within a state. In a much narrower concept, a constitution can amount to a written statement of a state's constitutional rules in a single document, much like the constitutions of India and the U.S.A. The United Kingdom is unlike these two nations mentioned, instead of having a codified constitution, that is to have a single document or series of documents that contain the entire constitutional principles, the U.K possesses an uncodified constitution, meaning there is no and has not been an attempt to create a legal binding document containing all the constitutional rules. Whilst sources comprising the constitution are indeed in written form, i.e. Acts of Parliaments and Statutes, a majority
How and why has the role of the prime minister changed over the post-1945 period?
PIED 3160 Prime Ministers and British politics Section B 2) How and why has the role of the prime minister changed over the post-1945 period? Amongst the literature devoted to the various prime ministers that have held office since 1945, there is by no means a consensus that the job of the prime minister has changed in the last half century. Jones suggests that "the conventional wisdom expressed by some academics and journalists [is] that the position of the prime minister in the British system of government has altered significantly in recent years"(King, 1985, p195). However in an academic textbook, it is alleged that "the job of the prime minister has remained essentially unchanged for the past century"(Rose, 2001, p55) The world has changed so much since 1945 that inevitably the roles performed by prime ministers over the last 59 years have altered. Whilst prime minister's roles may have changed in order to adapt to different circumstances at different times, the job of prime minister has not necessarily developed new roles. As Hodder-Williams points out "all alterations are changes; development, on the other hand, implies a number of changes which move in one perceptible direction" (1995, p225). This serves to explain the confusion surrounding whether or not the job of the prime minister has changed since 1945. One reason why difficulties arise in demonstrating how
Which was more important in British Foreign Policy – Personality or Policy – between 1815 and 1851?
Michelle Clarke 12MA 4/20/2007 History Essay: Which was more important in British Foreign Policy - Personality or Policy - between 1815 and 1851? The years between 1815 and 1851 saw many changes in terms of British foreign policy, and also saw many different political figures at the top of the British democratic system. These leading politicians included: - Lord Liverpool - Prime Minister 1812 - 1827 Viscount Castlereagh - Foreign Secretary 1814 - 1822 George Canning - Foreign Minister 1822 - 1827 and Prime Minister in 1827 Robert Peel - Prime Minister 1834 - 1835 and 1841 - 1846 Lord Palmerston - Foreign Secretary 1830 - 1831 and 1846 - 1849 These five men had different personalities and introduced contrasting polices during the 36 years in question. It is difficult to say whether one of personality or policy was important without assessing each case separately. Lord Liverpool was often seen as a committed politician and was respected by some of his fellow politicians, Gladstone said of him that "England had never been better governed than between the years 1822 and 1830". This respect was due to the different policies he introduced and his attitude towards them. Liverpools policies were mainly associated with Domestic policy and being Prime Minister for 15 years he did have an influence on foreign policy but he left much of the hard work and policy ideas to his
Increase in Prime Ministerial power in recent years?
Why, and to what extent, has the power of the Prime Minister increased in recent years? Blair making the Bank of England in charge of the interest rates was a demonstration of his dominant power as Prime Minister; he did not even consult the cabinet about what they believed should be done about the situation illustrating the prime ministers prerogative powers which have proved controversial in the past. However, the prime ministers powers are limited as he is held accountable to parliament where they hold parliamentary sovereignty. Prime ministers are making a habit of not consulting a full cabinet when making decisions which is consequently making them more powerful than before. Cabinets differ in length depending on the prime minister; Thatcher's lasted an hour and a half whereas Tony Blair's lasted a mere 40 minutes. This decline in cabinet meetings, along with the dismissal of consulting cabinet at all has meant that the prime minister's power has looked increasingly more dominant as they now tend to do things by themselves with as little help as possible and from people that are share the same political ideology. An example of this would be Blair only consulting Brown when putting the Bank of England in charge of interest rates; his Cabinet had not even discussed it showing that the prime minister does have an increased amount of power than in previous years. Blair had
How Effectively Are Rights Protected In The UK?
How Effectively Are Rights Protected In The UK? Human Rights within the UK were not totally established within an act or laid down in law until fairly recently, in 2000 when the Human Acts Right of 1998 from the EU came into effect. This single act has allowed judges more power to help protect the rights and civil liberties of the citizens of the United Kingdom. One of the main ways in which rights are upheld is through the use of judicial reviews, which helps to protect individuals against public authorities and government. For example, in 2000 when 9 Afghan men hijacked a plane in order to escape the Taliban, they came to the UK in order to seek asylum and safety; and after serving prison sentences, the government attempted to deport them back to Afghanistan, but a judge ruled that it would be in breech of their human rights as it would undoubtedly lead to their death. Despite the condemnation from the government and its own wishes, the judges kept themselves separate from politics and effectively protected the rights of those involved. Through judicial reviews, individuals and groups can also have their rights upheld. In 1981, there were only 600 judicial reviews, but in the year 2007 there were around 6,000. This rise in numbers gives clear support to the fact that human rights are being protected, or at the very least, they are being challenged. Judges filter out the
What powers does the PM have over his or her cabinet?
: What powers does the PM have over his or her cabinet? The Prime minister's powers are descended from those held by the Monarch in previous centuries. As is the cabinet descended from the monarchs privy council. The twos related history gives us an understanding of why the PM has got power over the cabinet and they are not on level terms in decision making etc, The cabinet is always looking to the PM and following his lead. One reason for this is the fact that it is the PM who decides upon who is going to make up the cabinet, known as 'the power of patronage'. Although this also applies to all areas of the executive it is an important point for cabinets. PM's tend to appoint like minded members of Parliament to be in the cabinet as this will lead to them having a more agreeable stance on the issues which the issues which the PM chooses to bring up in for example cabinet meetings, a working example of this is Tony Blair who would rather appoint Blairites than say Brownites for the reason that they will not go against him on important topics. As well as the PM being able to appoint ministers he can also sack them, this leads to the ministers being more inline with his ideas even if in principle they disagree with them, for example Margaret Thatcher would sack 'wets' from her cabinet during cabinet reshuffles. Another of the PM's powers over the cabinet is his ability to
Political Awareness
Political Awareness Introduction For this assignment I shall research all the relevant information needed to complete this assignment. I shall research all of the key government figures, functions and it's movements and actions since it has been in power (New Labour 2001). I shall research the key positions in this government and explain their roles and responsibilities e.g. Tony Blair is the representative of the 'New Labour' and one of his responsibilities are to choose who shall be in the cabinet. when I have finished all the tasks I shall give my conclusion and include the relevant references and bibliography. What is the cabinet? The Cabinet is composed of about 20 ministers, although the number can vary. They are chosen by the Prime Minister and may include departmental and non-departmental ministers. The functions of the Cabinet are to initiate and decide on policy, the supreme control of government and the co-ordination of government departments. The exercise of these functions is vitally affected by the fact that the Cabinet is a group of party representatives, depending upon majority support in the House of Commons. Prime Minister, First Lord of the Treasury and Minister for the Civil Service-The Rt. Hon. Tony Blair, MP Born in Scotland in May 1953 Tony Blair went to school at Durham and Edinburgh. He read Law at Oxford University and qualified as a barrister
How effective a Party leader was Peel in the years 1834-41?
How effective a Party leader was Peel in the years 1834-41? In the years 1834-41, Peel was limited in his effectiveness as leader of the Conservative Party. However, he was looked upon by the Tories to be the most capable man to lead the party out of its serious difficulties as a result of the Reform Bill Crisis. Although on the other hand, he was greatly ineffective of upholding Tory polices and beliefs. Also as leader of the Opposition, Peel was not favoured within his party on a number of occasions example- the Ultra Tories during the 'Bed Chamber Crisis', because of the significant proportion of Ultra Tories within the party Peel faced a dire relationship with them. However, Peel did attempt to reorganise the party, in an attempt to appeal to the newly enfranchised middle-classes, strengthened the Conservatives image and presented a party that was capable of operating a stable government. We could not describe Peel's personality as one that would normally be related to a popular leader. G. Kitson Clarke claimed Peel worked with a 'Blurred background, pollarded principles and no ardent or extensive ideas', he was also described as being cold 'his smile was like the silver plate of a coffin' - Daniel O'Connell, and 'like an iceberg with a slight thaw on the surface' - Lord Ashley. He was very unpopular with a large section of his party who accused him of betraying
