Speak on such rights as the right to work, the right to rest, the right to free education and medical service should they be written in Constitutions
________________________ UNIT 3_________________
1. Read and translate thetext. CONSTITUTIONS
1. The rock upon which a democratic government rests
is its constitution - the formal statement of its fundamen
tal obligations, limitations, procedures and institutions. The
constitution of the country is the supreme law of the land,
and all citizens, prime ministers to peasants alike, are sub
ject to its provisions. At a minimum, the constitution, which
is usually codified in a single written document, establishes
the authority of the national government, provides guaran
tees for fundamental human rights and sets forth the
government's basic operating procedures.
2. Despite their enduring, monumental qualities, con
stitutions must be capable of change and adaptation if
they are to be more than admirable fossils. The world's
oldest written constitution, that of the United States, con
sists of seven brief articles and 26 amendments. This written
document, however, is only the foundation for a vast struc
ture of judicial decisions, statutes, presidential actions
and traditional practices that has been erected over the
past 200 years — and kept the U.S. Constitution alive and
relevant.
_____ Учебное пособие для философов и политологов
3. This pattern of constitutional evolution takes place
in every democracy. In general, there are two schools of
thought about the process of amending, or changing, a na
tion's constitution. One is to adopt a difficult procedure,
requiring many steps and large majorities. As a result, the
constitution is changed infrequently, and then only for com
pelling reasons that receive substantial public support. This
is the model of the United States, whose Constitution is a
brief statement of the general principles, powers and limits
of government, together with a more specific listing of
duties, procedures and, in the Bill of Rights, the funda
mental rights of individual citizens.
4. A much simpler method of amendment, which many
nations use, is to provide that any amendment may be adopt
ed by approval of the legislature and passed by the voters
at the next election. Constitutions able to be changed in
this fashion can be quite lengthy, with specific provisions
that differ little from the general body of legislation.
5. No constitution like America's, written in the 18th
century, could have survived unchanged into the late 20th
century. Similarly, no constitution in force today will survive
into the next century without the capacity for change — while
still holding fast to principles of individual rights, due
process and government through the consent of the governed.