INSTITUTIONS- The British political system vs The Italian political system

 

INSTITUTIONS- The British political system vs The Italian political system

INSTITUTIONS- The British political system vs The Italian political system

 

The United Kingdom is a constitutional monarchy and parliamentary democracy.

Up until the Second World War, Italy was ruled by kings. But in June 1946, Italians voted to abolish the monarchy in a referendum, and the country became a democratic republic.

Thus, Italy is today a parliamentary, democratic Republic.

 

The UK has no written constitution: the Constitution is made up of common law (laws established through court judgments) and legislation (laws passed by the legislature, parliamentary conventions); there is no single document that can be classed as the British Constitution.

The Italian Republic, on the contrary, has a written Constitution which is composed of 139 articles and came into force on 1 January 1948. 

 

 

 

In the UK the King is the head of the state: he is a hereditary member of the Royal family but he has very few formal powers.

The President of the Italian Republic represents the unity of the nation and has ceremonial duties. He is elected by the two chambers of Parliament in joint session for a period of seven years at the end of which he can be re-elected. He appoints the Prime Minister. He must be a native-born Italian citizen at least 50 years old.

 

 

 

Both, the King and our President, are the commander-in-chief of the armed forces.

 

Both English and Italian Parliaments have a Bicameral system.

The English Parliament is divided into the House of Commons with 650 members and the House of Lords with about 800 members.

The Italian Parliament is divided into the Chamber of Deputies with 400 members and the Senate of the Republic with 200 elected members.

“Modifiche agli articoli 56, 57 e 59 della Costituzione in materia di riduzione del numero dei parlamentari” è stata pubblicata nella Gazzetta Ufficiale n. 261 del 21 ottobre 2020. La legge costituzionale prevede la riduzione del numero dei parlamentari, da 630 a 400 deputati e da 315 a 200 senatori elettivi.

 

 

The main functions of English Parliament are: to pass law, to vote taxation, to discuss important political issues, to control the government.

The House of Lords has a limited power, because its members are not elected by people but they are either hereditary or appointed for life by the sovereign on the advice of the Prime Minister (Life Peers). The members are divided into Lords Temporal (Hereditary Peers and Life Peers) and Lords Spiritual (Archbishops and Senior Bishops). They examine and revise bills from the House of Commons. The majority are life peers. Members of the House of Lords bring experience and knowledge from a wide range of occupations. Many members continue to be active in their fields and have successful careers in business, culture, science, sports, academia, law, education, health and public service. They bring this knowledge to their role of examining matters of public interest that affect all UK citizens.

The number of members in the House of Lords is not fixed. As of 13 May 2024, it has 785 sitting members.

Any British, Irish or Commonwealth citizen who is a UK resident and taxpayer over 21 is eligible to be nominated or can apply to become a member.

 

The members of the House of Commons are elected by universal adult suffrage. General elections are held every five years. The UK is divided into 650 areas called constituencies. The candidate who gets the most votes in each constituency becomes the MP for that area until the next election.The leader of the party that wins most seats at a general election is invited by the King to form the Government.

Most MPs are members of one of the three main political parties in the UK - Labour, Conservative and Liberal Democrats. Other MPs represent smaller parties or are independent of a political party.

 

 

The Government is the center of the executive. The head of the Government is the Prime Minister who is appointed by the King in England.

The current Prime Minister in the UK is Rishi Sunak (leader of the Conservative Party)

As the leader of the majority party in the House of Commons, Sunak was appointed as prime minister by Charles III on 25 October 2022, becoming both the first British Asian and the first Hindu to take the office, and began to select his cabinet ministers.

The Cabinet is a coalition government  and they meet at 10 Downing Street. Government departments are the main instruments for giving effect to government policy. The principal departments are the Treasury, the Foreign Office and the Home Office.

The Judicial power is exercised by the Law Courts, which are divided into Criminal Courts and Civil Courts.

 

In Italy, there are three branches of power in Italy: executive, legislative, and juridical.

The legislative is vested in the two houses- the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate, which can introduce bills and holds the majority in the Parliament.

The executive power is in the hands of the Council of the Ministers, presided over by the President of the Council - more commonly known as the Prime Minister (officially referred to as President of the Council).The ministers are responsible for executing laws and other political decisions. This is usually done by presenting bills to parliament, but can also be done by passing decrees - this happens in cases of urgency, or if parliament gives the council the authority to do so.

The judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislative branches.It is headed by the High Council of Judiciary.

 

 

The Chamber of Deputies is elected by direct and universal suffrage by voters who are 18. All voters who are 25 are eligible to be deputies.

The Senate is elected by direct and universal suffrage by voters who are 18.

La legge costituzionale 18 ottobre 2021, n. 1 “Modifica all'articolo 58 della Costituzione, in materia di elettorato per l'elezione del Senato della Repubblica” è stata pubblicata nella Gazzetta Ufficiale n. 251 del 20/10/2021.

Finalmente i giovani tra i 18 e i 25 anni potranno votare per l’elezione del Senato.Viene così abrogata la previsione che limitava l’elettorato attivo per il Senato a coloro che avevano compiuto il venticinquesimo anno di età.

 

All voters who are 40 on the election day are eligible to be senators.

There is a small number of senators for life, appointed  "for outstanding merits in the social, scientific, artistic or literary field" - and there are also the  former Presidents of the Republic, who are ex officio life senators.

 

 

1.     Basic Understanding:

1)What are the names of the political systems in Italy and England respectively?

2)Can you briefly describe the structure of each system?

2.     Head of State and Government:

1)Who is the head of state in Italy? What about in England?

2)Who holds the position of head of government in both countries?

3.     Executive Branch:

1)How is the executive branch structured in Italy?

2)How does the executive branch in Italy differ from that of England?

4.     Legislative Branch:

1)What is the name of the legislative body in Italy? How is it structured?

2)What is the equivalent legislative body in England, and how does it differ in structure?

5.     Constitutional Basis:

1)What is the constitutional basis of the Italian system?

2)How does this differ from the constitutional basis of the English system?

6.     Public Participation and Representation:

1)How are citizens represented in the political processes in Italy?

2)Compare this to the representation of citizens in the political processes in England.

7.     Personal Reflection:

1)Based on your understanding of the Italian and English systems of government, which aspects do you find most interesting or significant? Why?

 

 

 1)WORDSWORTH (AGENDA 2030)

EDUCAZIONE CIVICA

Obiettivo 13: Adottare misure urgenti per combattere i cambiamenti climatici e le loro conseguenze

SDG 13 Targets: Climate Action

Improve education, awareness and human and institutional capacities relating to climate change, mitigation and early warning. Promote mechanisms to enhance the capacity for effective climate change planning and management in the least developed countries.

 

GLOBAL WARMING -EFFECTS

Consequences include, among others, intense droughts, water shortages, severe fires, rising sea levels, floods, melting of the poles, catastrophic storms and declining biodiversity.

 

To limit global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels, emissions should already be declining and need to be nearly halved by 2030. 

In this regard, communities must work towards a low-carbon economy, where renewable energies and the electricity sector have a crucial role. Decarbonisation of the economy is vital to halt climate change, and this can only be achieved with clear investment in electrification and clean energies.

IMPORTANT THINGS TO DO.

closure of all coal-fired power plants.

planting of millions of  trees by 2030

 2)DICKENS

THE CONVENTION ON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD

 

The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child is the most complete statement of children’s rights ever produced and is the most widely-ratified international human rights treaty in history.

The Convention has 54 articles that cover all aspects of a child’s life and set out the civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights. The convention is universal—these rights apply to every child. It also explains how adults and governments must work together to make sure all children can enjoy all their rights.

Every child has rights “without discrimination of any kind, irrespective of the child’s or his or her parent’s or legal guardian’s race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national, ethnic or social origin, property, disability, birth or other status” (Article 2).

We should think of the Convention as a whole: each of the rights enshrined within it are inter-linked and no right is more important than another. Therefore, the right to relax and play (Article 31) and the right to freedom of expression (Article 13) have equal importance as the right to be safe from violence (Article 19) and the right to education (Article 28).

The Convention is also the most widely ratified human rights treaty in the world. All UN member states except for the United States have ratified the Convention. The Convention came into force in the UK in 1992.

Article 32

1. States Parties recognize the right of the child to be protected from economic exploitation and from performing any work that is likely to be hazardous or to interfere with the child's education, or to be harmful to the child's health or physical, mental, spiritual, moral or social development.

2. States Parties shall take legislative, administrative, social and educational measures to ensure the implementation of the present article. To this end, and having regard to the relevant provisions of other international instruments, States Parties shall in particular:

(a) Provide for a minimum age or minimum ages for admission to employment;

(b) Provide for appropriate regulation of the hours and conditions of employment;

(c) Provide for appropriate penalties or other sanctions to ensure the effective enforcement of the present article.

IN ITALIA.

L’età minima di ammissione al lavoro è fissata al momento in cui il minore ha concluso il periodo di istruzione obbligatoria e comunque non può essere inferiore a 16 anni.

Sono previste deroghe in caso d'assunzione con contratto d'apprendistato per la qualifica e il diploma professionale oppure per attività lavorative di carattere culturale, artistico, sportivo o pubblicitario e nel settore dello spettacolo. 

 3) JANE EYRE Obiettivo 5:Raggiungere l’uguaglianza di genere ed emancipare tutte le donne e le ragazze

Gender equality is not only a fundamental human right, but a necessary foundation for a peaceful, prosperous and sustainable world.

There has been progress over the last decades: More girls are going to school, fewer girls are forced into early marriage, more women are serving in parliament and positions of leadership, and laws are being reformed to advance gender equality.

Despite these gains, many challenges remain:

TARGETS

·        5.1 End all forms of discrimination against all women and girls everywhere

·        5.2 Eliminate all forms of violence against all women and girls in the public and private spheres, including trafficking and sexual and other types of exploitation

·        5.3 Eliminate all harmful practices, such as child, early and forced marriage and female genital mutilation

·        5.4 Recognize and value unpaid care and domestic work through the provision of public services, infrastructure and social protection policies and the promotion of shared responsibility within the household and the family as nationally appropriate

·        5.5 Ensure women’s full and effective participation and equal opportunities for leadership at all levels of decision making in political, economic and public life

·        5.A Undertake reforms to give women equal rights to economic resources, as well as access to ownership and control over land and other forms of property, financial services, inheritance and natural resources, in accordance with national laws

 

What happens to your brain when you scroll through your phone?

 

why your phone is making you sad

 

How your phone is changing you

 

Here are 10 sentences to be converted from direct speech to reported speech:

 

Here are 10 sentences to be converted from direct speech to reported speech:

1. Direct speech: She said, "I am going to the gym."

   ......................................................................................................................

2. Direct speech: "We won the match," he exclaimed. ......................................................................................................................

3. Direct speech: "I love chocolate," she confessed. ......................................................................................................................

4. Direct speech: "They are coming tomorrow," he informed us. ......................................................................................................................

5. Direct speech: "Please, be quiet," the teacher said. ......................................................................................................................

6. Direct speech: "I will call you later," she promised. ......................................................................................................................

7. Direct speech: "I have finished my homework," he announced. ......................................................................................................................

8. Direct speech: "I don't like seafood," she admitted. ......................................................................................................................

9. Direct speech: "It's my birthday next week," he reminded them. ......................................................................................................................

10. Direct speech: "We are going on vacation next month," they told us. ......................................................................................................................