Word: parliament
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...pomp and circumstance are not meaningless pageantry. Parliament's ritualized opening is a reminder of the enduring roles of British tradition, of the monarchy and of the two houses of Parliament. All contribute to an unwritten constitution etched in customs and laws but not contained in a single document. The constitution has evolved in this way, says Historian Philip Norton, because, since the Norman invasion in 1066, there has been no point at which the system "has been completely swept away, allowing those in power to sit down and create from first principles a new and clearly delineated form...
...first constitutional landmark dates back to King John's acceptance at Runnymede in 1215 of Magna Carta, which established limits on the power of the monarch. The House of Commons, which together with the House of Lords makes up Parliament, has its origins in Simon de Montfort's first gathering of commoners in 1265. Another prominent date is 1689, when Parliament passed a Bill of Rights guaranteeing freedom of elections and parliamentary debate...
...precise constitutional tenets are loosely defined, but basically they are laws adopted by Parliament, common law, international agreements, and "conventions," or unwritten rules that have developed over the centuries. For example, in theory the monarch has the right to withhold assent to any bill passed by Parliament. The last time that happened was in 1707, when Queen Anne vetoed the Scottish Militia Bill. Constitutional experts believe such an exercise in magisterial power today would cause a political crisis, possibly leading to the end of the monarchy...
Many Britons point out that an unwritten constitution gives their country more flexibility than it would have with a written document. Making any change in the law of the land is as simple as passing an act of Parliament. Over the centuries, Parliament has become the arbiter of British rights and freedoms because the courts lack the jurisdiction to rule on the validity of legislation...
...another Hitler by limiting the executive branch. Recalls Joachim von Elbe, a Bonn legal expert: "We did not want to make the Germans just imitate the American constitutional model but rely on themselves to reform, rebuild and overcome the Nazi period." The framers decreed that the Bundestag, or parliament, could not oust a Chancellor without first choosing a successor. That has helped prevent a return of the political chaos that brought the Nazis to power in the 1930s...