Differences And Similarities Between Ireland And The United States

One of the most important factors regarding a government regime is how laws come about. Every country has a different process on how to do this and due to this, some are more successful than others. Known to most, the United States of America and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland are both prosperous democracies, however; they have vast differences and few similarities with reference to their constitution, or lack of, and branches of government. To begin, the American political system is distinctly constructed based on the US Constitution. In 1776, a group of white, wealthy men wrote the Declaration of Independence in hopes to make a nation in which “all men are created equal and endowed by their certain inalienable

The judiciary’s central purpose is to interpret the law. The practice of common law originated in the UK, but was adopted by many former colonies, including the US. Since both countries rely on precedent, rather than code law, they share the ruling of stare decisis. This translates to “let the decisions stand” (Orvis 290). However, with these similarities come differences. Though most democracies have judicial review (ability to rule a law unconstitutional), the UK’s principle of parliamentary sovereignty eliminated the practice. Essentially, the Parliament has the final say in all decisions with the absence of a written constitution. The United State, however; completely enforces the use of judicial

One similarity is that they are both bicameral legislatures. The Parliament of the United Kingdom consists of a lower house, House of Commons, and an upper house, House of Lords. The House of Commons, without a doubt, has dominant power over the House of Lords. The people directly elect the members of parliament in the Commons. There, they debate major political issues and bring up new laws. Once a week they hold Question Time in which the prime minister and her cabinet must contest against the opposing. Debate is very crucial to the Commons because it can be seen as a “check” on the majority party with the absence of checks and balances (Wood 136). The House of Lords is made up of about 780 members known as “peers.” They are not elected, but are appointed by the prime minister. The leftover 92 seats are reserved for aristocrats who inherit their status as a Lord (“Differences Between the House of Lords and House of Commons”). Since there is far less power amongst the Lords, the benefits of bicameralism are not fully taken advantage of. They debate new laws and can amend legislation, but the House of Commons can easily delete the changes with a majority