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?