The Constitution as Supreme Law

The US Constitution calls itself the “supreme law of the land”. This clause is taken to mean that when state constitutions or laws passed by state legislatures or the national Congress are found to conflict with the federal Constitution, they have no force.

Final authority is vested in the American people, who can change the fundamental law, if they wish, by amending the Constitution. The people do not exercise their authority directly, however. They delegate the day-to-day business of government to public officials, both elected and appointed.

The power of public officials is limited. Their public actions must conform to the Constitution and to the laws made in accord with the Constitution. Elected officials must stand for re-election at periodic intervals. Appointed officials serve at the pleasure of the person or authority who appointed them, and may be removed when their performance is unsatisfactory. The exception to this practice is the lifetime appointment by the president of justices of the Supreme Court and other federal judges, so that they may be free of political obligations or influence.

Most commonly, the American people express their will through the ballot box. The Constitution, however, does make provision for the removal of a public official from office, in case of extreme misconduct, by the process of impeachment. Article II. Section 4 reads:

The President, Vice President, and all civil officers of the United States, shall be removed from office on impeachment for, and conviction of, treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors.

Impeachment is a charge of misconduct brought against a government official by a legislative bode: it does not, as in commonly thought, refer to conviction on such charges. The House of Representatives must bring charges of misconduct by voting a bill of impeachment. The accused officials is then tries in the Senate, with the chief justice of the Supreme Court presiding at the trial.

Impeachment has been used on only rare occasions in the United States. The House of Representatives has voted articles of impeachment just 17 times in the history of the country. Thirteen of the 17 persons who have been impeached were federal judges, as well all seven individuals convicted by the Senate.

 

Vocabulary notes

final authority окончательное судебное решение

be vested переходить во владение

exercise one’s authority directly прямо осуществлять власть

conform to the constitution соответствовать конституции

make provision for the removal создать условия для смещения официального

of a public official лица

in cases of extreme misconduct в случаях серьезного нарушения

misdemeanor мисдиминор (наименее опасные преступления)

 

Task 2. Match the words with their definitions

1. draft a. to be given control over something or the power to do something

2. conform to b. to change the words of a law or a legal document

3. be vested c. a piece of writing that is done early to help prepare it in its final form

4. provision d. wrong or immoral behavior in a position of authority or responsibility

5. misconduct e. the act of considering the need for something and arranging for it

6. amend f. to behave according to a group’s usual standards and expectations

 

Task 3. Make up the sentences using these word combinations

passed by state legislatures; change the fundamental law; public officials; both elected and appointed; be limited; in accord with Constitution; lifetime appointment; remove from office; impeachment; bring charges of misconduct

 

Task 4. Find the word phrases with the following special terms in the text

federal, supremacy, fundamental, authority, appointment, official, impeachment, trial, conviction

 

Task 5. Agree or disagree

1. The people exercise their political authority directly.

2. Justices of the Supreme Court may be free of political obligations or influence.

3. Impeachment is a charge of misconduct brought against a justice of the Supreme Court.

4. The accused official is then tried in the Senate.

 

Task. 6. Answer the questions

1. What does the statement “supreme law of the land” mean?

2. How do American people exercise their authority?

3. How is the power of public officials limited?

4. What does “impeachment” mean and when is this measure taken?

 

Text 3.

Task 1. Read and translate the text

The English Constitution

The English Constitution is the organic law of Great Britain providing for the form and powers of government. It is rooted in historic traditions and principles of liberty, which, in many respects, antedate the promulgation of the Magna Carta in 1215 and which since the 19^th century, have been held to affirm popular sovereignty.

Unlike the US Constitution and most other constitutions, the English Constitution is not a systematic written statement of law but consists of a body of statutory law, customs and judicial interpretations; it is frequently called a customary or unwritten constitution. As an example, English law makes no provision for so essential a feature of the British government as the Cabinet, which originated in the 15^th century as an advisory council to the king and developed in connection with the rise of representative government, to its present status as the executive branch of the government.

Unlike constitutions that make explicit provision for their amendment and are often difficult to change, the English Constitution may be changed easily. It may be altered, and in the past it has been altered, through the slow accretion of custom, by an act of Parliament, or by judicial interaction.

Historians emphasize the antiquity and flexibility of the English Constitution. Its uninterrupted development may be traced over a period of more than 900 years, from the time of the Norman Conquest in 1066. Throughout this period it remained adaptable, serving in turn the needs of medieval society and the rule of the bourgeoisie who established representative government and the former British Empire. It is now compatible with such recent liberal measures as comprehensive social insurance and the nationalization of basic industries and the Bank if England.

 

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