England is a unique country. It seems to be a monarchy, but the role of the monarch there today lies practically only in the performance of representative functions. It seems to be the Constitution, but it turns out that in England, unlike the vast majority of countries, it is unwritten.
What is the difference between a constitutional monarchy and an absolute?
Raising the question: “Why did England come to be called a constitutional parliamentary monarchy?”, We must first understand the difference between constitutional and absolute monarchy.
And the difference is significant. Under absolute monarchy, the king (tsar) owns all the fullness of power in the state. All existing state bodies are completely subordinate to him and are obliged to fulfill any of his will. The constitutional monarchy is essentially a completely different system in which the power of the king (king) is limited by the powers of the parliament.
The main features of a parliamentary monarchy
The constitutional parliamentary monarchy is characterized by such key points as:
- limitation of the power of the monarch;
- legislative power passes from the king (king) to parliament;
- The Cabinet of Ministers is formed exclusively by the legislative body, although the king formally submits the candidacy of the Prime Minister to the parliament;
- All acts of the king acquire legal force only after their approval by parliament.
In fact, we see all the main signs of a parliamentary form of government. The presence of a king in such a coordinate system is most likely worth considering as devotion to traditions, although this figure does not fulfill any special role.
The main documents of the parliamentary monarchy in England
We will try to understand why England began to be called a constitutional parliamentary monarchy, based on the norms of important laws. This form of government arose in the state gradually. Although the king’s completely limited power took shape in the 17-18th century, certain points can be traced back to the 12th century. By the way, it is worth noting the uniqueness of the British public administration system. The fact is that England is one of the few states in the world with an unwritten Constitution. The rights and obligations of state authorities are regulated by individual constitutional laws, adopted even during the rule of completely different dynasties of kings.
The first important constitutional document that answers the question: “Why did England come to be called a constitutional parliamentary monarchy?” - Magna Carta. The uniqueness of Article 12 of this document lies in the fact that usually during an absolute monarchy, the parliament or its prototype did not actually have any functions. Here, the Council of the Kingdom (the prototype of the English parliament, which consisted of feudal lords) was given the exclusive right to allow or prohibit the monarch from collecting taxes.
In the Bill of Rights of 1689, the king was forbidden:
- repeal laws adopted by parliament;
- to levy taxes without the consent of the legislative body (repeated the norm from the Magna Carta);
- recruit an army in peacetime without special permission;
- freedom of parliamentary elections (elements of a modern democratic society are traced);
- freedom of expression of politicians in parliament, it was forbidden to prosecute members of parliament for statements during parliamentary sessions;
- The frequency of parliamentary convocations should be frequent.
The role of the Cabinet of Ministers in the formation of the constitutional monarchy in England
If we analyze the entire period of English history until the mid-17th century, we will see that there was no government as such, because all power belonged to the king. In the 17th century, the English monarchs kept the Privy Councils at court. The number of members of these meetings was not static; the name also constantly changed. Under King George, who did not know English and, accordingly, did not participate in meetings of the Council, the need arose to elect a presiding officer.
Gradually, the form of the Council was evolving, which essentially turned into the Cabinet of Ministers, controlled and accountable to parliament.
Conclusion
In this article we tried to answer the question: "Why did England come to be called a constitutional parliamentary monarchy?" We have identified the main reasons for the transformation of the management system. The formation of a parliamentary monarchy in England as a form of government by the state has shown its effectiveness.