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Question or Term
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Answer
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Briefs to the court by individuals or groups trying to influence the court in reaching its decision, being one of the most common methods of pressure group activity in the US
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Amicus Curiae Briefs
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That country's Supreme Court the membership of which is composed of 9 Justices with life tenure appointed by the President and approved by the Senate, who all hear cases unless recused, presided over by the Chief Justice, and removable only by impeachment and trial
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United States of America
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That which in the UK the modern form of which was given rise to by the three structural changes of the Troubles, Devolution, and EU Membership (UKIP, Brexit Party)
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Party System
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That US body the defining powers of which are that it is the final court of appeal for federal and state supreme court cases, rules on the constitutionality of federal and state law and actions of federal and state executives, interprets the Constitution, and is subject to no higher authority
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Supreme Court
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That UK party the origins and ideology of which are differentiated from what is most often considered its US counterpart in that it formed out of the trade union movement and has been socialist for most of its existence
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Labour Party
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That country the lower first past the post elected chamber of which has more parties and thus less proportionality due to the country being multinational as well as one non-contiguous region being in a unique political situation
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United Kingdom
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That which is stronger in Congress than in Parliament in that separation of powers grants it relative freedom from the executive, it can better check the executive (making appointments, ratifying treaties, etc.) and the Senate can better check executive actions than the House of Lords
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Power
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Those the disadvantages of which are that they can lead to intra-party power struggles and in-fighting, potentially harming electoral performance
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Party Factions
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That court which in the UK lacks the fundamental ability to overrule Parliament or strike down Acts of Parliament unlike its US counterpart
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Supreme Court
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That which is differentiated from Parliament in that there is; no government legislative programme, less party discipline, many more bills are introduced - many by individual members -, few bills pass, the committee stage is earlier with standing committees being permanent and policy specialist, bills are considered concurrently by both chambers which have equal powers and are elected, and the head of state has significant veto power of it
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Congress
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That which is regulated in the US in that FECA introduced maximum donations with loopholes closed by the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act many regulations of which were overturned by Citizens United v FEC, allowing for the formation of Super PACs which can make unregulated party donations
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Party Finance
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That which in the UK is differentiated from its US counterpart in that it cannot - due to the absence of a codified constitution - declare acts unconstitutional (though it can make declarations of incompatibility and rule whether the rule of implied repeal applies)
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Supreme Court
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That body that changed with the extension of the franchise in that it lost much of its power and hereditary nature under the 1911 and 1949 Parliament Acts and 1999 House of Lords Act, becoming subservient to the elected lower house
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House of Lords
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That the weaknesses of which are that executive branch officials can appear only before committees, the President very rarely gives direct evidence, it shares legislative power with the Senate, and it experiences short election cycles, as well as gridlock, partisanship, and divided government
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House of Representatives
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That approach which is useful for comparing legislatures in that such bodies are comprised of individuals able to act in their own interest to different degrees, i.e. the Lords are free of executive and constituency constraints than the Senate, while Representatives are more free of executive pressure than MPs
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Rational Approach
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The different types of sovereignty and emphasised by the US and UK respectively, the former in the form of initiatives, primaries, and very regular elections, and the latter in the form of an appointed upper house, unelected head of government and no popular candidate selection
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Popular and Parliamentary
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That voting system that is considered a principal though debatable weakness that Parliament shares with Congress
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First Past the Post
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That attribute of the party or coalition that government stability and survival are reliant on in the UK that it is not in the US
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Unity
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That which in the UK is most often directed at the executive branch due to the fusion of powers and its pre-eminence unlike in the US where it is aimed equally at congressional committees, executive departments, and the Supreme Court
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Lobbying
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Those characteristics of which are that they change and evolve to reflect new circumstances, may exist for brief or very long periods of time, may be based entirely among professional politicians, the grassroots, or both, and may be formal groups or loose coalitions of the like-minded
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Party Factions
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