Civics Chapter 22

Japanese Legislative Branch

-Called the Diet. -2 houses. - House of Counselors 252 people for 6 terms. Comparable to our Senate can't be dissolved, -House of Representatives - 500 members elected to five year terms. 300 districts, so each individual is represented by more than one person. Can dissolve itself and have all 500 up for reelection. - Have a Prime Minister (Shinzo Ave). -Cabinet has 14 members, they are also members of the Diet. -is a bureaucracy -Japan is divided into areas called Prefectures. Funding comes from central

Magna Carta

-King of England was forced sign. -Restricted the power of the government/king. - King has almost no owner today, though recognized in countries like Canada and Australia

Law v. Convention

-Magna Carta - Petition of Right - Bill of Rights -Dangers

Legislative Powewrs

1. House of Lords- doesn't do much. Appointed by king / queen or by heredity. 2. House of Commons - does everything. Almost a unitary legislature. Prime Minister David Cameron, 5 years. No limit to term for Prime Minister.

Cabinet ("Government")

22 ministers from the House of Commons that advise. Include Prime Minister.

Mexico Nationalization

??

British Government

A lot of the government is not in writing. Based on past procedures

Devolution

Allowing power to go out to pieces of the country. Ex. In US, power goes to states, cities. Etc. in Great Britain is Scotland, Wales, England, Ireland. Called "Federalism" in US. UK government oversees England, but the others have their own government. -Scottish Parliment - 3 types of courts. Shierff's Court (minor things) Court of Session (Supreme Court of civil cases), Court of Justiciary (Supreme Court of criminal cases).

Monarchy Today

Almost no power

Mexico

Broke away from Spain in early 1800s. Marked the beginning of the end of the Spanish Empire.

Japanese Constitution

Constitution: has bill of rights. -military clause: they will not have an army, navy, or air force. This works because US has agreed to defend them if needed. They do have a defense force.

Dangers

Convention- things are not written, just how things have always been done. Government could change very quickly because of this.

Conservative Party

Current majority.

Mexico 1821

Declared independence from Spain.

Parliment

Great Britain is a Constitutional Monarchy. Executive Branch and Legislative branch are the same thing. Parliament is name for legislative branch. Head of legislative branch is Prime Minister, sort of similar to our President. Prime Minister is head of majority party and elected by the party and not by the people.

Elections

Happen somewhere within a 5 year time span. Not set like ours. Never sure how long you'll be electing someone for. Majority party decides when elections are, beneficial to them because they can guarantee themselves 5 years.

Prime Minister

Leader of UK government. Member of majority party. No separate executive branch because PM is part of Parliament. David Cameron (currently been serving for 5 years) is part of Conservative Party. Labor party is similar to Democratic Party in US.

NAFTA

North America Free Trade Agreement. Mexico, US, Canada agreed not to tax imports. Problems because companies could move factories to Mexico where labor is cheaper and then pay no tax when the products come into the U.S. Very controversial.

Mexico President

Only elected for one term of 6 years. This way they don't worry about reelection and can focus on the country. Bad is that since they don't worry about reelection, they may not care about being in the good public opinion. President can propose amendment to the Constitution, can send it straight to the states for approval rather than having to go through congress. Must be a natural citizen, a Mexican resident for 20 years, and must have at least one parent that is a natural born citizen. must be 35 years old. **Cannot be a religious leader **cannot be an active member of the military for 6 months prior to being elected **cannot currently be the Secretary of State, the Attorney General, or Governor of a state.

Mexico 1823

Overthrew monarchy, started democracy. Not many people could participate.

Institutional Revolutional Party (PRI)

Party that has had the most power in government since the 1980s. Divides its members into 4 groups based on income. (Peasants, organized labor, military, and popular sector)

Petition of Right

Restriction on taxing, taxing must be representative. Until then, King's were levied for wars. No taxes must be levied by elected officials.

Mexico 1857

Revised constitution, after Mexican-American War. More rights for poor.

Mexico 1917

Rewrote Constitution after a revolution.

General Congress

Senate: smaller of the 2. -64 senators with 6 year terms. Half elected every 3 years. Chamber of Deputies: 500 members. (Similar to our House of Representatives) -300/500 are directly elected from districts. 200 left are decided proportionately by party. Congress meets for 4 months. Must work quickly.

Bill of Rights

Similar to ours, where we got the idea from

Japanese History

Used to be a king as leader, then head of military, then nobles, then soldiers (samurai). Built a large military and took over many areas. When they lost WWII, they created an entirely new government. Created a constitution.