Const. Law updated facts
 

[CENTER][U][B][FONT=Book Antiqua][SIZE=5][COLOR=DarkGreen]French Republic[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT][/B][/U]
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The current Constitution of France was adopted on October 4, 1958. It is typically called the Constitution of the Fifth Republic, and replaced that of the Fourth Republic dating from 1946. Charles de Gaulle was the main driving force in introducing the new constitution and inaugurating the Fifth Republic, while the text was drafted by Michel Debré. Since then the constitution has been amended eighteen times, most recently in 2008.


[COLOR=Black][B]Government type:[/B][/COLOR] Unitary, Semi-Presidential Republic

[B]Capital:[/B] Paris

[B] Administrative divisions:[/B] 26 Regions

[B]Constitution:[/B] adopted by referendum 28 September 1958; effective 4 October 1958; amended many times

[B]Legal System:[/B] civil law system with indigenous concepts; review of administrative but not legislative acts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

[B]Suffrage:[/B] 18 years of age; universal


[U][B] Executive Branch:[/B][/U]

[B]Chief of state:[/B] President Nicolas SARKOZY (since 16 May 2007)
[B]Term:[/B] 5 years (earlier 7)
[B]Limitations:[/B] A President cannot serve more than two consecutive terms

[B]Head of government:[/B] Prime Minister Francois FILLON (since 17 May 2007)
cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president at the suggestion of the prime minister

[B]Elections:[/B] President elected by popular vote for a five-year term (changed from seven-year term in October 2000); election last held 22 April and 6 May 2007 (next to be held spring 2012); prime minister appointed by the president, usually among the members of National Assembly.


[U][B]Legislative Branch: (Parliament)
[/B][/U]

[B]Upper House: Senate: Senate/Sénat
[/B]
[B]Members[/B]: 321 (343 in 2010)
[B]Leadership:[/B] President
[B]Meeting Place:[/B] Palais du Luxembourg, Paris
[B]Term:[/B] 6 years (earlier 9 years)


[B]Lower House: National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale
[/B]
[B]Members:[/B] 577 members known as députés (deputies); each elected by a single-member constituency
[B]Term:[/B] 5 years
[B]Official seat of the National Assembly:[/B] Palais Bourbon on the banks of the river Seine
[B]Leadership:[/B] Président


[U][B] Judicial Branch:
[/B][/U]

[B]Supreme Court of Appeals or Cour de Cassation[/B] (judges are appointed by the president from nominations of the High Council of the Judiciary)

[B] Constitutional Council or Conseil Constitutionnel[/B] (three members appointed by the president, three appointed by the president of the National Assembly, and three appointed by the president of the Senate)

[B]Council of State or Conseil d'Etat[/B]

[CENTER][U][B][FONT=Book Antiqua][SIZE=5][COLOR=DarkGreen]United Kingdom of Great Britain and Nothern Ireland[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT][/B][/U]
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[B]Government type:[/B] Parliamentary democracy, Constitutional monarchy, Unitary state

[B] Capital:[/B] London

[B]
[U]Administrative divisions:
[/U][/B]
[B]England:[/B] 34 two-tier counties, 32 London boroughs and 1 City of London or Greater London, 36 metropolitan counties, 46 unitary authorities
two-tier counties:

[B]Northern Ireland:[/B] 26 district council areas
Wales: 22 unitary authorities


[B]Constitution:[/B] unwritten; partly statutes, partly common law and practice

[U][B] Legal system:
[/B][/U]
based on common law tradition with early Roman and modern continental influences; has nonbinding judicial review of Acts of Parliament under the Human Rights Act of 1998; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations

[B]Suffrage:[/B] 18 years of age; universal

[U][B]Executive branch:[/B][/U]

[B]Chief of state:[/B] Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); Heir Apparent Prince CHARLES (son of the queen, born 14 November 1948)
[B]
Head of government:[/B] Prime Minister James Gordon BROWN (since 27 June 2007)
[B]
Cabinet:[/B] Cabinet of Ministers appointed by the prime minister

[B]Elections: [/B]the monarchy is hereditary; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition is usually the prime minister

[U][B]Legislative branch:[/B][/U]

[B]Bicameral Parliament
[/B]
[B]Upper House/House of Lords[/B]: (740 seats; consisting of approximately 622 life peers, 92 hereditary peers, and 26 clergy - as of 14 December 2009)

[B]Lower House/House of Commons[/B]: (646 seats since 2005 elections; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms unless the House is dissolved earlier)

[B]Elections:[/B] House of Lords - no elections (note - in 1999, as provided by the House of Lords Act, elections were held in the House of Lords to determine the 92 hereditary peers who would remain there; elections are held only as vacancies in the hereditary peerage arise);

House of Commons - last held 5 May 2005 (next to be held by June 2010)


[U][B]Judicial branch:
[/B][/U]
[B]Supreme Court of the UK [/B](established in October 2009 taking over appellate jurisdiction formerly vested in the House of Lords)

[B]Senior Courts of England and Wales [/B](comprising the Court of Appeal, High Court of Justice, and the Crown Courts)
[B]
Court of Judicature[/B] (Northern Ireland); Scotland's Court of Session and High Court of the Justiciary

[CENTER][U][B][FONT=Book Antiqua][SIZE=5][COLOR=DarkGreen]United States of America[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT][/B][/U]

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[B]
President:[/B] Barack Obama
[B]Vice President:[/B] Joe Biden
[B]Speaker of the:[/B] Nancy Pelosi
[B]Chief Justice:[/B] John Roberts


[B]Government type:[/B] Constitution-based federal republic; strong democratic tradition

[B]Capital:[/B] Washington, DC

[B]Administrative divisions:[/B] 50 states and 1 district - District of Columbia

[B]Independence:[/B] 4 July 1776 (from Great Britain)

[B]Constitution:[/B] 17 September 1787, effective 4 March 1789

[U][B] Legal system:
[/B][/U]
federal court system based on English common law; each state has its own unique legal system, of which all but one (Louisiana, which is still influenced by the Napoleonic Code) is based on English common law; judicial review of legislative acts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

[B]Suffrage:[/B] 18 years of age; universal


[U][B]Executive branch:
[/B][/U]
[B]Chief of state:[/B] President Barack H. OBAMA (since 20 January 2009);
Vice President Joseph R. BIDEN (since 20 January 2009); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government

[B]Head of government:[/B] President Barack H. OBAMA (since 20 January 2009); Vice President Joseph BIDEN (since 20 January 2009)
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president with Senate approval

[B]Elections:[/B] president and vice president elected on the same ticket by a college of representatives who are elected directly from each state; president and vice president serve four-year terms (eligible for a second term); election last held 4 November 2008 (next to be held on 6 November 2012)
[B]
Term:[/B] 4 years


[U][B]Legislative branch:
[/B][/U]
[B]Bicameral Congress[/B]
[B]
Upper House - Senate[/B] (100 seats, 2 members are elected from each state by popular vote to [B]serve six-year terms[/B]; one-third are elected every two years)

[B]Lower House - House of Representatives[/B] (435 seats; members are directly elected by popular vote to serve [B]two-year terms[/B])

[B]Elections: [/B]Senate - last held 4 November 2008 (next to be held November 2010); House of Representatives - last held 4 November 2008 (next to be held in November 2010)


[U][B]Judicial branch:
[/B][/U]
[B]Supreme Court[/B] ([B]nine justices[/B]; nominated by the president and confirmed with the advice and consent of the Senate; appointed to serve for life);

[B]United States Courts of Appeal

United States District Courts

State and County Courts[/B]

[CENTER][U][B][FONT=Book Antiqua][SIZE=5][COLOR=DarkGreen]Republic of India[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT][/B][/U]

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[B]Government type:[/B] Federal republic, Parliamentary democracy

[B] Capital:[/B] New Delhi

[B] Administrative divisions:[/B] 28 states and 7 union territories

[B] Independence:[/B]15 August 1947 (from the UK)

[B] Constitution:[/B] 26 January 1950; amended many times

[B]Legal system:
[/B]
Based on English common law; judicial review of legislative acts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; separate personal law codes apply to Muslims, Christians, and Hindus

[B]Suffrage:[/B] 18 years of age; universal

[U][B]
Executive branch:
[/B][/U]
[B]Chief of state:[/B] President Pratibha PATIL (since 25 July 2007);
Vice President Hamid ANSARI (since 11 August 2007)

[B] Head of government:[/B] Prime Minister Manmohan SINGH (since 22 May 2004)

[B]Cabinet:[/B] Cabinet appointed by the president on the recommendation of the prime minister

[B]Elections: [/B]

[B]President[/B] elected by an electoral college consisting of elected members of both houses of Parliament and the legislatures of the states for a five-year term (no term limits); election last held in July 2007 (next to be held in July 2012)

[B] Vice President[/B] elected by both houses of Parliament for a five-year term; election last held in August 2007 (next to be held August 2012)

[B] Prime Minister[/B] chosen by parliamentary members of the majority party following legislative elections; election last held April - May 2009 (next to be held no later than May 2014)


[U][B]Legislative branch:[/B][/U]


[B]Bicameral Parliament
[/B]
[B]Upper Chamber - Council of States or Rajya Sabha[/B] (a body consisting of not more than 250 members up to 12 of whom are appointed by the president, the remainder are chosen by the elected members of the state and territorial assemblies; [B]members serve six-year terms[/B])

[B] Lower Chamber - Lok Sabha[/B] (545 seats; 543 elected by popular vote, 2 appointed by the president; [B]members serve five-year terms[/B])

[B] Elections:[/B] People's Assembly - last held in five phases 16, 22-23, 30 April and 7, 13 May 2009 (next must be held by May 2014)


[U][B]Judicial branch:
[/B][/U]
[B]Supreme Court[/B] (one chief justice and 25 associate justices are appointed by the president and remain in office until they reach the age of 65 or are removed for "proved misbehavior")
[B]
High Courts


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[CENTER][U][B][FONT=Book Antiqua][SIZE=5][COLOR=DarkGreen]Islamic Republic of Pakistan[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT][/B][/U]
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[B]


Government type:[/B] Federal Republic

[B]Capital:[/B] Islamabad

[B] Administrative divisions:[/B] 4 provinces, 1 territory*, and 1 capital territory**; Balochistan, Federally Administered Tribal Areas*, Islamabad Capital Territory**, North-West Frontier Province, Punjab, Sindh

[B]note:[/B] the Pakistani-administered portion of the disputed Jammu and Kashmir region consists of two administrative entities: Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan
[B]
Independence:[/B] 14 August 1947 (from British India)
[B]
Constitution:[/B]

12 April 1973; suspended 5 July 1977, restored 30 December 1985; suspended 15 October 1999, restored in stages in 2002; amended 31 December 2003; suspended 3 November 2007; restored on 15 December 2007

[B]Legal system:[/B]

based on English common law with provisions to accommodate Pakistan's status as an Islamic state; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations

[B]Suffrage:[/B]

18 years of age; universal; joint electorates and reserved parliamentary seats for women and non-Muslims

[U][B]Executive branch:[/B][/U]

[B]Chief of state:[/B] President Asif Ali ZARDARI (since 9 September 2008)

[B]Head of government:[/B] Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza GILANI (since 25 March 2008)

[B]Cabinet:[/B] Cabinet appointed by the president upon the advice of the prime minister

[B]Elections:[/B]

the president is elected by secret ballot through an Electoral College comprising the members of the Senate, National Assembly, and the provincial assemblies for a five-year term; election last held on 6 September 2008 (next to be held not later than 2013); note - any person who is a Muslim and not less than 45 years of age and is qualified to be elected as a member of the National Assembly can contest the presidential election; the

Prime Minister is selected by the National Assembly; election last held on 24 March 2008


[U][B]Legislative branch:[/B][/U]

[B]Bicameral Parliament or Majlis-e-Shoora [/B]

Upper Chamber - Senate (100 seats; members indirectly elected by provincial assemblies and the territories' representatives in the National Assembly to serve six-year terms; one half are elected every three years)

[B]Lower Chamber - National Assembly [/B](342 seats; 272 members elected by popular vote; 60 seats reserved for women; 10 seats reserved for non-Muslims; serve five-year terms)

[B]Elections:[/B] Senate - last held on 3 March 2009 (next to be held in March 2012); National Assembly - last held on 18 February 2008 with by-elections on 26 June 2008 (next to be held in 2013)
Judicial branch:
[B]
Judiciary:[/B]

[B]Supreme Court[/B] (justices appointed by the president)

[B]Federal Islamic or Sharia Court[/B]
[B]
High Courts[/B]

[B]PM of UK:[/B] David William Donald Cameron (David Cameron)