Английский язык для юристов

41 The US Constitution consists of 7 articles and 27 amendments. The first 10 amendments are called the Bill of Rights. The Bill of Rights is a series of limitations on the power of the United States federal government, protecting the natural rights and liberties, property including freedom of religion, freedom of speech, a free press, free assembly, and free association, etc. The USA is a federal republic, which means power is divided between a national government and individual state governments. There is the system of checks and balances. Under this principle, each branch has certain duties to check the powers of the other branches. The executive branch consists of the President, the Vice President, the Cabinet and the 15 Departments, and also the independent agencies. Its responsibility is to enforce laws. The President is both the head of state and the head of government. According to the principle of checks and balances, the President has the power of veto to reject the bill of the Congress. He also nominates all Supreme Court Justices. The legislative branch is represented by the Congress which consists of the Senate and the House of Representatives. It is the responsibility of the Congress to propose and pass laws. Besides creating laws, Congress has the power to declare war, approve treaties, and manage the national budget. Each of the 50 states has two senators, regardless of its population. The number of representatives in the House of Representatives is based on its population. A member of the Senate is a senator, and a member of the House of Representatives is called a representative or congressman or congresswoman. The two major parties in America are the Democrats and the Republicans. The judicial system in the United States consists of the federal court system and the state court systems. The judicial power of the United States is vested in the Supreme Court – the highest judicial body of ...