All the monarchies that have ever existed can be conditionally divided according to the type of restrictions and the type of device.
Monarchies by device type
Eastern despotism is the very first form of monarchy, in which the ruler had absolute power over all subjects in all spheres of the life of the state. The figure of the monarch was sacred and often equated with the figures of the gods.
The feudal monarchy is characterized by the leading role of the monarch, but representatives of other classes also have great influence. In certain historical periods, the supreme ruler was only "the first among equals." feudal monarchy in European countries passed through three main stages: the early feudal monarchy, the patrimonial monarchy and the estate-representative monarchy.
During the early feudal monarchy, the role of the supreme ruler remains dominant. Under a patrimonial monarchy, the role of large landowners (feudal lords or patrimonials) significantly increases, which have a strong influence on the decision-making of the monarch. The estate-representative monarchy expands this process. Access to power is obtained by representatives of all or most classes, there are early forms parliaments.
Theocratic monarchy can exist in any of the existing forms, but here the ruler of the state is the spiritual father of the nation, that is, the head of the church.
Monarchies by type of restriction
Absolute monarchy is characterized by legislative system and government institutions. At the same time, the power of the monarch is dominant in all spheres, however, class privileges are preserved and the actions of the monarch are more or less limited by law.
A constitutional monarchy- under this form of government, the power of the monarch is severely limited by the constitution. It exists in two forms: and dualistic.
Under a parliamentary constitutional monarchy, power is vested in an elected government agency, the monarch retains only nominal functions.
In a dualistic monarchy, the monarch and parliamentary bodies share power in the country, but both sides have restrictions, the degree of which is different in different countries.
There is also a rare form of elective monarchy in which the supreme ruler is elected by the royal court, parliament, or representatives of the estates. He can be elected either for life (Vatican) or for a limited period (Malaysia).
Monarchy- a form of government in which the supreme state power is concentrated in the hands of one head of state - the monarch and is inherited. The hallmarks of a monarchy are: - transfer of power by inheritance; - perpetuity of government; - Independence of the monarch from the population.
Among monarchies there are absolute and constitutional.
Absolute monarchy is a form of government characterized by a high degree centralization state power, i.e. the monarch single-handedly issues laws, directs the government, controls justice.
The main characteristics of an absolute monarchy are:
Unlimited, unaccountable power of the monarch; - Lack of representative institutions.
A form of absolute monarchy is theocratic monarchy- a form of government in which the head of state represents both secular and religious authorities (for example, the Vatican).
A constitutional monarchy- a form of government in which, by virtue of a special legal act - the constitution - there is a distribution of supreme power between the monarch and the elected body - parliament.
Constitutional monarchy can be parliamentary and dualistic.
parliamentary monarchy- a form of government in which the power of the monarch is significantly limited. Legislative power is wholly vested in Parliament, executive power is vested in the government, which is responsible for its activities to Parliament. The monarch performs representative functions, and also formally approves the composition of the government and signs laws adopted by parliament (Great Britain, Belgium, Denmark).
Dualistic monarchy- a form of government in which the division of state power between the monarch and parliament has a formal legal character. The executive power belongs to the monarch, and the legislative power belongs to the parliament, however, the latter is actually also subordinate to the monarch (Morocco, Jordan).
44. Islamic law as a kind of religious law, its main features and features of development
Muslim legal system represented by countries where the state religion is Islam of various currents: Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Tunisia, Morocco, Syria, Libya, Sudan and others.
This legal system has a theological basis, based on the idea of the divine origin of the state and law. Islamic Law - Sharia It is a system of legal norms based on Islam. It is characterized by an extremely voluminous sphere of regulatory regulation, widely covering and privacy of people. According to Islam, the true creator of law is Allah, who transmitted it through his prophet Muhammad. The norms of Islamic law are based on faith and should not have a logical, rational justification. Since they are considered divine revelation, any change, cancellation, or editing by the legislator is not allowed. The task of the legislator is to discover the norms of law in Islamic sources, and not to form them anew.
Islamic Law Source System is fourfold:
Koran- speeches and sermons of the Prophet Muhammad, set out in poetic form;
sunnah- a biographical description of the life and work of the Prophet, a collection of legends about his actions and statements;
Ijma- generally accepted interpretations and explanations of the Koran and the Sunnah, given by religious figures - muftis, judges - qadis and Islamic legal scholars, on issues that have not found an answer in these sources;
kiyas- judgment by analogy.
Muslim law is inherent in orthodoxy, traditional - conservative in nature, it is difficult to modernize and reform. In addition, it is characterized by lack of systematization, the absolute priority of duties and prohibitions over permissions.
45. Neolithic theory of the origin and essence of the state
This theory is based on the Neolithic Revolution (from the Greek Neolithic - the new stone age). It is similar to the Marxist theory of the origin of the state and has the same patterns this is the next chain of events:
IN ecological disaster, global glaciation followed by warming, leads humanity to the transition from consumption to production, primarily food;
As a result of production, the nomadic way of life changes to a settled one;
The sedentary way of life breaks kinship ties and entails the emergence of a neighboring community;
The process of division of labor leads to an increase in the standard of living and the stratification of society into classes;
The existence of a neighboring community and the emergence of class contradictions entails the need to create a community management apparatus to resolve general issues and conflict containment. This apparatus does not produce anything and lives on the funds of the community.
Neolithic theory, having similarities with Marxist, considers the essence of the state as a general social one.
46. Normativist theory of law: basic ideas. Methodological significance and shortcomings
For the first time, the theoretical provisions of normativism were outlined Stammler. The main provisions of normativism are outlined by a lawyer Kelsen.
The essence of normative theory make up the following provisions: - law is a pyramid of norms;
At the head of this pyramid is a "sovereign norm" that determines the meaning of other norms (the constitution);
Each norm in this hierarchy draws its legal force from the superior and, ultimately, from the sovereign norm;
The force of law depends on the reasonableness of the construction of the entire hierarchical legal system;
Law "lives" only in codified legal norms, that is, there can be no law outside the norms;
Law must be studied and perceived outside of religion, philosophy, morality, that is, "in its purest form."
Proceeding from its scientific ideas, the normativist theory defended the idea of legal statehood. Modern supporters of the normativist school also support the concept of the primacy of international law over domestic law and the idea of the possibility of creating a "world state" and "world government".
To the virtues of the theory can include the following:
Recognition of the need to structure the legal system, that is, to build it in the form of a hierarchy - from individual acts to the sovereign norm of the highest legal force;
The idea of a sovereign norm - the basic law of supreme legal force, which crowns the entire legal system;
Recognition as law only of codified legal norms, separation of law from philosophy, morality.
Allocation of formal features of law, which constitute its legal essence.
Main disadvantage theories- Increased attention to the formal side of law.
47. Regulatory and individual acts, their difference and features of application
Regulations as a form of law differ significantly from non-normative acts, primarily from acts of application of the law or individual acts.
Both regulatory and individual acts are legal in nature. But their fundamental difference lies in the following. First contain general prescriptions in the form of legal norms and are designed for repeated use, while second contain only individual prescriptions. Regulations addressed to a wide, indefinite range of legal and individuals, while individual acts are addressed to strictly defined persons or a circle of persons and are published for a very specific reason (hiring). Regulatory legal acts covers a very wide range of social relations, and individual acts designed only for strictly certain kind public relations. The action of an individual act is terminated with the termination of the existence of specific relations (in connection with the fulfillment of the terms of the contract), while the legal acts continue to be valid regardless of whether the specific relations provided for by this act exist or not. The effect of such an individual act as a court verdict in a specific criminal case is terminated upon its execution. But this does not at all mean the termination of the law providing for this or that measure of criminal punishment for the commission of such a crime.
48. Rules of law: classification and types
Rule of law- it is an established or sanctioned by the state, provided with state protection, universally binding, formally defined rule general acting as a general regulator of social interactions.
The monarchy as a form of government is very heterogeneous and has shown over the centuries its flexibility and variability, thanks to which it managed to "survive" in modern highly developed democratic states.
With great reservations, it is possible to build the following scheme for the development of the monarchical form of government from its inception to the present day. Historically, the early feudal monarchy was the first, followed by the estate-representative monarchy, which then turned into an absolute monarchy. As a result of the bourgeois-democratic revolutions, the absolute monarchy was abolished and replaced by a constitutional (also called limited) monarchy. The constitutional monarchy, in turn, went through two phases of development: from a dualistic monarchy to a parliamentary one. Parliamentary monarchy is the final stage in the development of this institution.
The early feudal monarchy has now disappeared without a trace, so we will not dwell on this type in detail.
The estate-representative monarchy also no longer exists, however, in some countries its relics (remnants) have been preserved, enshrined in state law. Class representation is a principle of organizing representative power, according to which deputies of representative institutions do not represent the entire population of the country or its separate territorial parts, but closed social groups - estates from which these deputies are directly elected (or appointed). Estate representation was historically the first system of representation (in Western Europe, the first estate-representative monarchies appeared as early as the 12th century) and existed in many European states until the beginning of the 20th century, when it finally gave way to national representation. At present, the vestige of estate representation is, for example, the House of Lords of the British Parliament, where hereditary and personal spiritual and secular lords sit, i.e. members of the clergy and nobility.
IN modern world two historical types of monarchy are preserved - absolute And constitutional. The constitutional monarchy, as mentioned above, exists in two forms, differing in the degree of limitation of the power of the monarch: dualistic and parliamentary. monarchy. Absolute monarchy also exists today in two forms - secular and theocratic (Vatican).
So, absolute monarchy is a kind of monarchical form of government, characterized by the legal and actual concentration of all the fullness of state power (legislative, executive, judicial), as well as spiritual (religious) power in the hands of the monarch (according to the formula of Petrovsky Military Regulations - “an autocratic monarch who I should not give an answer to anyone in the world about my affairs”).. Currently, 8 absolute monarchies remain in the world: Bahrain, Brunei, Vatican, Qatar, Kuwait, UAE, Oman, Saudi Arabia. In some of these countries, the first steps towards the transition to a constitutional monarchy have been taken in recent decades. In particular, constitutions were adopted in Kuwait (in 1962), the United Arab Emirates (in 1971), Qatar (in 1972), Bahrain (in 1973), and elections to legislative parliaments were also held in Kuwait and Bahrain (subsequently loose). However, these reforms have not yet changed the absolute character of monarchies. IN Saudi Arabia and Oman have no constitutions, and the relevant relations are regulated by separate state-legal acts (in Saudi Arabia, the country's constitution is officially considered Koran), According to the constitutions and other state-legal acts in absolute monarchies the monarch exercises executive power jointly with the government, and legislative - with the help of various kinds of legislative bodies (elected or appointed). Legislative bodies are a special category of state bodies whose main function is to consider bills without the right to adopt them. However, in terms of their formation and operation procedure, they may resemble parliamentary institutions.
A special kind of absolute monarchy is the absolute theocratic monarchy - a special form of state organization. authority under which the latter belongs to the church hierarchy. The current example of such a monarchy. is the Vatican City State. Legislative, executive and judicial power in the Vatican belongs to dad elected for life by the College of Cardinals. From the theocratic monarchy, the so-called. clerical state.
A constitutional (limited) monarchy is a special kind of monarchical form of government in which the power of the monarch is limited. constitution, there is an elected legislature - parliament and independent courts. Constitutional (limited) monarchy first arose in Great Britain at the end of the 17th century. as a result of the bourgeois revolution. The characteristic institutions of this type of monarchy are the so-called. countersignature and civil list.
A countersignature (countersignature) is a fastening of an act of the monarch by the signature of the head of government or a minister, which means that the minister who fastened it bears legal and political responsibility for this act. K. is formally explained by the fact that the monarch, as head of state, is not responsible for his actions. In fact, the countersignature was introduced in England at the beginning of the 18th century as an effective means of limiting the power of the king. It is the appearance of the countersignature that can be considered the moment of the final victory of the constitutional monarchy in England, as in other countries.
Civil List - the amount of money annually allocated for the maintenance of the monarch in constitutional monarchies. The size of this amount is fixed by law at the beginning of each reign and may be further increased, but not reduced.
The dualistic monarchy is historically a transitional form from absolute monarchy to the parliamentary Under a dualistic monarchy, the power of the monarch is limited constitution, but the monarch both formally (i.e., due to constitutional norms) and even more actually (due to weakness, underdevelopment of democratic institutions) retains extensive powers of authority, which puts him at the center of the entire political system of a given state. So, under a dualistic monarchy, the government formally bears dual responsibility to the monarch and parliament, but in reality it is subject, as a rule, to the will of the monarch. It is as a dualistic monarchy that one can characterize the form of government that existed in Russian Empire from October 17, 1905 to the February Revolution of 1917, as well as in Kaiser's Germany (1871-1918). Currently D.m. exists in Morocco, Jordan, Thailand, Nepal, Malaysia.
Parliamentary monarchy - a more progressive kind constitutional monarchy. It is characterized by the fact that the monarch purely nominally performs his functions. Even if the constitution gives him great powers (as, for example, in the Netherlands, Denmark), he, by virtue of constitutional and legal custom, cannot use them on his own. All acts emanating from the monarch require the official approval of the ministers. In a number of parliamentary monarchies (Japan, Sweden), the monarch, according to the constitution, does not even formally have any significant powers. The government under a parliamentary monarchy is formally and actually responsible to the parliament, which, in accordance with the constitution, has formal supremacy among other organs of the state.
Like many other concepts, the monarchy has a Greek etymology and means autocracy. In the monarchical form of the state structure, power belongs to one person and is inherited by him. However, there are several variants of government according to the monarchical type, which differ from each other in the degree of authority of the monarch, as well as in the presence or absence of additional independent authorities.
Monarchy and its types according to the traditional structure
Ancient Eastern. This is not only the very first form of monarchy, but also of state government in general. Here the power of the rulers was controlled by the nobility or popular assemblies which could influence the decisions made by the monarch.
Feudal. It is also called medieval. Under this form, a policy that emphasizes agricultural production is common, and society is divided into two groups: feudal lords and peasants. It had several stages of its development, the last of which is the main type of monarchy - absolute.
Theocratic. Here the head of the church receives complete power, it is also possible to rule simply by a religious leader. The clergy in this case plays a crucial role in society, and the arguments of certain actions of the head are reduced to their original divine origin: signs, revelations and laws that God sent.
In addition to these three types, the monarchy is distinguished by the degree of restrictions: absolute, constitutional, parliamentary, dualistic.
Types of monarchy: absolute
Here the unconditional rule of the monarch is manifested, in his hands, in fact, all the legislative and executive, as well as in some cases religious, are concentrated. In the 17th and 18th centuries, absolutism flourished, which eventually ceased to be relevant.
The very rationale for absolute monarchy is interesting here: the head, his predecessors and heirs are supposedly of divine origin, which on earth was accompanied by exaltation and demonstration of this with the help of magnificent palaces and etiquette. The monarchs were supported by the nobles, who were one step below, but at the lowest were slaves or peasants, whose task was to live in poverty and obey. For this, the king allowed them to live.
Types of monarchy: constitutional
At the same time, the power of the monarch is somewhat limited, not only legally, but also in fact. He shares it with the parliament, and depending on who the executive remains behind, a dualistic and parliamentary monarchy is distinguished.
Types of monarchy: parliamentary
Here the government has more powers than the monarch, it is responsible for its actions in the first place before the parliament. At the same time, the monarch plays an exclusively ceremonial role and in fact does not have an executive and legislature, which are shared between the parliament and the government.
Types of monarchy: dualistic
Under this form of government, the monarch is a responsible authority figure whose governmental actions are limited by constitutional clauses. The monarch can dissolve the parliament and form the government, therefore, in fact, his power is preserved, but divided with the parliament according to the formal principle: the monarch implements the executive, and the parliament implements the legislative.
Types of monarchies in the modern world
Currently, there are states in which the monarchy reigns. The absolute view is implemented in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Brunei and Oman.
The constitutional dualist is represented in Morocco, Liechtenstein, UAE, Luxembourg, Kuwait, Monaco and Jordan.
The constitutional parliamentary system is manifested in Nevis, Saint Kitts, the Grenadines, Saint Vincent, Jamaica, Tonga, New Zealand, Great Britain, Belgium, Cambodia, Japan, Denmark, Thailand, Norway, Canada, Sweden, Bhutan, Spain, Andorra, etc.
Thus, the monarchy is a fairly common phenomenon these days, but the tendency to predominate it more suggests that it is perceived more as a tribute to tradition than effective form government in its classical sense.
Do they exist in the modern world? Where on the planet are countries still ruled by kings and sultans? Find answers to these questions in our article. In addition, you will learn what a constitutional monarchy is. You will also find examples of countries of this form of government in this publication.
The main forms of government in the modern world
To date, there are two main models government controlled: monarchist and republican. By monarchy is meant a form of government in which power belongs to one person. It can be a king, emperor, emir, prince, sultan, etc. Second distinguishing feature monarchical system - the process of transferring this power by inheritance (and not by the results of popular elections).
Today there are absolute, theocratic and constitutional monarchies. Republics (the second form of government) are more common in the modern world: they are about 70%. The republican model of government assumes electivity supreme bodies authorities - parliament and (or) the president.
The most famous monarchies of the planet: Great Britain, Denmark, Norway, Japan, Kuwait, United United Arab Emirates(UAE). Examples of country-republics: Poland, Russia, France, Mexico, Ukraine. However, in this article we are only interested in countries with a constitutional monarchy (you will find a list of these states below).
Monarchy: absolute, theocratic, constitutional
There are three types of monarchical countries (there are about 40 of them in the world). It can be theocratic, absolute and constitutional monarchy. Let us briefly consider the features of each of them, and dwell on the last in more detail.
In absolute monarchies, all power is concentrated in the hands of one person. He makes absolutely all decisions, realizing the internal and foreign policy of their country. The clearest example of such a monarchy can be called Saudi Arabia.
In a theocratic monarchy, power belongs to the highest church (spiritual) minister. The only example of such a country is the Vatican, where the absolute authority for the population is the Pope. True, some researchers classify Brunei and even Great Britain as theocratic monarchies. It's no secret that the Queen of England is also the head of the church.
A constitutional monarchy is...
A constitutional monarchy is a model of government in which the power of the monarch is significantly limited.
Sometimes he can be completely deprived of supreme authority. In this case, the monarch is only a formal figure, a kind of symbol of the state (as, for example, in Great Britain).
All these legal restrictions on the power of the monarch, as a rule, are reflected in the constitution of a particular state (hence the name of this form of government).
Types of constitutional monarchy
Modern constitutional monarchies can be parliamentary or dualistic. In the first, the government is formed by the country's parliament, to which it reports. In dualistic constitutional monarchies, ministers are appointed (and removed) by the monarch himself. Parliament only has the right of some vetoes.
It is worth noting that the division of countries into republics and monarchies sometimes turns out to be somewhat arbitrary. After all, even in the most individual aspects of the succession of power (the appointment of relatives and friends to important government posts) can be observed. This applies to Russia, Ukraine and even the United States.
Constitutional Monarchy: Examples of Countries
To date, 31 states of the world can be attributed to constitutional monarchies. The third part of them is located in the Western and Northern Europe. About 80% of all constitutional monarchies in the modern world are parliamentary, and only seven are dualistic.
The following are all countries with a constitutional monarchy (list). The region in which the state is located is indicated in brackets:
- Luxembourg (Western Europe).
- Liechtenstein (Western Europe).
- Principality of Monaco (Western Europe).
- Great Britain (Western Europe).
- Netherlands (Western Europe).
- Belgium (Western Europe).
- Denmark (Western Europe).
- Norway (Western Europe).
- Sweden (Western Europe).
- Spain (Western Europe).
- Andorra (Western Europe).
- Kuwait (Middle East).
- UAE (Middle East).
- Jordan (Middle East).
- Japan (East Asia).
- Cambodia (Southeast Asia).
- Thailand (Southeast Asia).
- Bhutan (Southeast Asia).
- Australia (Australia and Oceania).
- New Zealand (Australia and Oceania).
- Papua - New Guinea(Australia and Oceania).
- Tonga (Australia and Oceania).
- Solomon Islands (Australia and Oceania).
- Canada (North America).
- Morocco (North Africa).
- Lesotho (South Africa).
- Grenada (Caribbean).
- Jamaica (Caribbean).
- Saint Lucia (Caribbean).
- Saint Kitts and Nevis (Caribbean).
- Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (Caribbean).
On the map below, all these countries are marked in green.
Is constitutional monarchy the ideal form of government?
There is an opinion that the constitutional monarchy is the key to the stability and welfare of the country. Is it so?
Of course, a constitutional monarchy is not capable of automatically solving all the problems that arise before the state. However, it is ready to offer society a certain political stability. After all, in such countries a constant struggle for power (imaginary or real) is absent a priori.
The constitutional-monarchical model has a number of other advantages. As practice shows, it was in such states that it was possible to build the world's best social security systems for citizens. And we are talking not only about the countries of the Scandinavian Peninsula.
You can take, for example, the same countries of the Persian Gulf (UAE, Kuwait). They have much less oil than in the same Russia. However, in a few decades, from poor countries, whose population was exclusively engaged in grazing in oases, they were able to turn into successful, prosperous and fully established states.
The most famous constitutional monarchies of the world: Great Britain, Norway, Kuwait
Great Britain is one of the most famous parliamentary monarchies on the planet. (as well as formally another 15 Commonwealth countries) is Queen Elizabeth II. However, one should not think that she is a purely symbolic figure. The British Queen has a powerful right to dissolve Parliament. In addition, it is she who is the commander-in-chief of the British troops.
The Norwegian king is also the head of state, according to the Constitution, which has been in force since 1814. To quote this document, Norway is a "free monarchical state with a limited and hereditary form of government". Moreover, initially the king had broader powers, which gradually narrowed.
Another parliamentary monarchy since 1962 is Kuwait. The role of the head of state here is played by the emir, who has broad powers: he dissolves the parliament, signs laws, appoints the head of the government; he also commands the troops of Kuwait. It is curious that in this amazing country women are absolutely equal in their political rights with men, which is not at all typical for the states of the Arab world.
Finally
Now you know what a constitutional monarchy is. Examples of this country are present on all continents of the planet, except for Antarctica. These are the gray-haired wealthy states of the old Europe, and the young richest
Is it possible to say that the most optimal form of government in the world is precisely a constitutional monarchy? Examples of countries - successful and highly developed - fully confirm this assumption.