title: Central Africa

text: Over the next twenty years a large part of the Chad Basin was incorporated by treaty or by force into French West Africa. On 2 June 1909, the Wadai capital of Abéché was occupied by the French. The remainder of the basin was divided by the British in Nigeria, who took Kano in 1903, and the Germans in Cameroon.


title: Central Africa

text: The countries of the basin regained their independence between 1956 and 1962, retaining the colonial administrative boundaries. Chad, Gabon, the Republic of the Congo, and the Central African Republic became autonomous states with the dissolution of French Equatorial Africa in 1958, gaining full independence in 1960. The Democratic Republic of the Congo also gained independence in 1960 from Belgium, but quickly devolved into a period of political upheaval and conflict known as the Congo Crisis (19601965) which ended with the installment of Joseph Mobutu as president. Burundi claimed independence from Belgian Ruanda-Urundi in 1962, becoming a constitutional monarchy under Mwami Mwambutsa IV. Rwanda, also part of Ruanda-Urundi, gained independence in 1962 following the ethnic violence of the Rwandan Revolution, transitioning from a Tutsi monarchy to a Hutu-dominated republic. Equatorial Guinea gained independence from Spain in 1968, leading to the election of Francisco Macías Nguema, now widely regarded as one of the most brutal dictators in history. In 1961, Angola became involved in the Portuguese Colonial War, a 13-year-long struggle for independence in Lusophone Africa. It gained independence only in 1975, following the 1974 Carnation Revolution in Lisbon. São Tomé and Príncipe also gained independence in 1975 in the aftermath of the Carnation Revolution. In 2011, South Sudan gained its independence from the Republic of Sudan after over 50 years of war.


title: Central Africa

text: In the 21st century, many jihadist and Islamist groups began to operate in the Central African region, including the Seleka and the Ansaru.


title: Central Africa

text: Over the course of the 2010s, the internationally unrecognized secessionist state called Ambazonia gained increasing momentum in its home regions, resulting in the ongoing Anglophone Crisis in Cameroon.


title: Central Africa

text: The main economic activities of Central Africa are farming, herding and fishing. At least 40% of the rural population of northern and eastern Central Africa lives in poverty and routinely face chronic food shortages. Crop production based on rain is possible only in the southern belt. Slash-and-burn agriculture is a common practice. Flood recession agriculture is practiced around Lake Chad and in the riverine wetlands. Nomadic herders migrate with their animals into the grasslands of the northern part of the basin for a few weeks during each short rainy season, where they intensively graze the highly nutritious grasses. When the dry season starts they move back south, either to grazing lands around the lakes and floodplains, or to the savannas further to the south.


title: Central Africa

text: In the 2000–01 period, fisheries in the Lake Chad basin provided food and income to more than 10 million people, with a harvest of about 70,000 tons. Fisheries have traditionally been managed by a system where each village has recognized rights over a defined part of the river, wetland or lake, and fishers from elsewhere must seek permission and pay a fee to use this area. The governments only enforced rules and regulations to a limited extent. Local governments and traditional authorities are increasingly engaged in rent-seeking, collecting license fees with the help of the police or army.


title: Central Africa

text: Oil is also a major export of the countries of northern and eastern Central Africa, notably making up a large proportion of the GDPs of Chad and South Sudan.


title: Central Africa

text: Following the Bantu Migration, Central Africa is primarily inhabited by Bantu peoples and Bantu languages predominate. These include the Mongo, Kongo and Luba peoples. Central Africa also includes many Nilo-Saharan and Niger-Congo Ubangian communities: in north western Central Africa the Nilo-Saharan Kanuri predominate. Most of the Ubangian speakers in Africa (often grouped with Niger-Congo) are also found in Central Africa, such as the Gbaya, Banda and Zande, in northern Central Africa.


title: Central Africa

text: Notable Central African supra-regional organizations include the Lake Chad Basin Commission and the Economic Community of Central African States.


title: Central Africa

text: The predominant religions of Central Africa are Christianity and traditional faiths. Islam is also practiced in some areas in Chad and the Central African Republic.


title: Central Africa

text: Due to common historical processes and widespread demographic movements between the countries of Central Africa before the Bantu Migration into much of southern Central Africa, the cultures of the region evidence many similarities and interrelationships. Similar cultural practices stemming from common origins as largely Nilo-Saharan or Bantu peoples are also evident in Central Africa including in music, dance, art, body adornment, initiation, and marriage rituals.


title: Honey Irani

text: Honey Irani is an Indian actress and screenwriter, who works in Hindi cinema. She started her career as a child actor with roles in films such as Mahesh Kaul’s Pyar ki Pyas. She was probably four to five years old when the shooting of the movies "Chirag Kahan Roshni Kahan" and "Bombay Ka Chor" started.


title: Honey Irani

text: Irani is the youngest of five siblings, the others being Menaka, Bunny, Sarosh, and Daisy Irani. Irani's oldest sister, Menaka, is married to the stunt film-maker Kamran Khan. Her other sister Daisy, who was also a famous child-star like herself, was married (till his death) to screenwriter K.K. Shukla, and is the mother of three children.


title: Honey Irani

text: Irani met the script-writer and poet Javed Akhtar on the sets of Seeta Aur Geeta. They were married on 21 March 1972. She is the mother of film-makers Zoya Akther and Farhan Akther.


title: Honey Irani

text: Her career as a child star had already ended and his career as a script-writer had not yet properly begun. They had no place to live, and were given a room in the house of Irani's older married sister Menaka. Their daughter Zoya Akhtar was born in 1972 and their son Farhan Akhtar in the 1974. Irani became a devoted home-maker, but the marriage ended in divorce after her husband became involved with the actress Shabana Azmi in the mid-1970s. The couple separated in 1978 and divorced in 1985. While Akhtar married Shabana Azmi in 1984, Irani devoted herself to the care of her two young children, who were six years and four years old respectively in 1978. She even started doing embroidery on sarees as a way of earning money to support her children. Eventually, she managed to make a second career for herself as a writer of film scripts. Both of Irani's children (son Farhan Akhtar and daughter Zoya Akhtar) grew up to be successful filmmakers in the Hindi film industry.


title: Honey Irani

text: Honey Irani began her Bollywood career as a child actress with roles in films such as "Chirag Kahan Roshni Kahan" and "Bombay Ka Chor". She has acted in over 72 films.


title: Honey Irani

text: After her divorce, she started doing embroidery on sarees to support her family. Though she had been writing short stories all this while, she never shared them. She narrated the story idea of "Aaina" (1993) to Pam Chopra, wife of Yash Chopra for a TV series, but he developed it into a film. Yash Chopra had also previously asked her to develop a story idea, which went on to become her debut as a screenwriter, "Lamhe" (1991), starring Sridevi. The film saw mediocre success, but she won the Filmfare Award for Best Story for the film and it paved her way for a successful career as screenwriter. Both "Aaina" and "Lamhe" strengthen her bond with Yash Chopra who gave her his next film "Darr" (1993). However she parted ways with Yash Chopra after she was not given credit for her work on "Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge". She won the award again for "Kya Kehna" in 2002, besides winning Filmfare Award for Best Screenplay with Ravi Kapoor for the blockbuster "Kaho Naa... Pyaar Hai" in 2001.


title: The Angry Birds Movie

text: The Angry Birds Movie (also known simply as Angry Birds) is a 2016 computer-animated comedy film based on Rovio Entertainment's video game series of the same name, produced by Columbia Pictures and Rovio Animation, and distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing. It was directed by Clay Kaytis and Fergal Reilly in their directorial debuts, and written by Jon Vitti. The film features the voices of Jason Sudeikis, Josh Gad, Danny McBride, Maya Rudolph, Kate McKinnon, Sean Penn, Tony Hale, Keegan-Michael Key, Bill Hader, and Peter Dinklage. The film follows Red, a resident in an island of anthropomorphic birds, as he suspects the newly arrived crew of pigs of plotting an evil plan, and attempts to put a stop to them with the help of his newly-formed friends.


title: The Angry Birds Movie

text: "The Angry Birds Movie" was released in the United States and Canada on May 20, 2016. The critical consensus on Rotten Tomatoes calls it more entertaining than expected for a film based on an app, but the responses are mixed. The film was a commercial success, grossing $352 million worldwide. A sequel, "The Angry Birds Movie 2", was released on August 14, 2019, with Sony Pictures Animation (which was not involved with this film) co-producing.


title: The Angry Birds Movie

text: Red, an angry bird, has been an outcast from Bird Island ever since he was a hatchling due to his short temper and his huge, jet-black eyebrows. When he accidentally causes a premature hatching of another bird's egg, he is sentenced to anger management class, which is the highest penalty allowed on the island. Red's classmates Chuck, who is hyperactive and can move at hypervelocity, and Bomb, who can cause explosions with his anger and fear, try to befriend him, but he avoids them.


title: The Angry Birds Movie

text: One day, a boat docks at the island's shore, damaging Red's house. The birds greet two green-colored pigs, the captain Leonard and his assistant Ross, who claim to be peaceful explorers bringing offerings of friendship. They introduce the birds to various innovations, including a giant slingshot, but Red becomes suspicious of the pigs' motives and sneaks into Leonard's boat. He finds more pigs hidden below deck, contradicting Leonard's claim that he and Ross are alone. When he returns and shows everyone the other pigs, the birds accept Leonard's explanation that he only lied to see if Bird Island was safe for his simple-minded cousins.


title: The Angry Birds Movie

text: Still suspecting that there is something off about the pigs, Red recruits Chuck and Bomb to find Mighty Eagle, Bird Island's missing protector and the only bird who can fly. They find Mighty Eagle on top of Eagle Mountain, but he has become an overweight, self-absorbed slacker who has not flown for years. Red discovers the pigs planting dynamite around the island. He realizes that the pigs are planning to steal the birds' eggs while the birds are distracted by a party. When Mighty Eagle refuses to help them, Red admonishes him. Red, Chuck, and Bomb race back to sound a warning to the other birds and stop the pigs, but the pigs escape with the eggs and activate the dynamite, destroying the village. The other birds apologize to Red for not listening to him. Red forgives everyone and under his leadership, they organize an army and build a boat from the rubble to follow the pigs to Piggy Island.


title: The Angry Birds Movie

text: The birds discover the pigs living in a walled city ruled by Leonard, whose full name is King Leonard Mudbeard. Deducing that the eggs are in the castle at the center of the city, the birds use the slingshot to attack by launching themselves over the walls and into the city's buildings, destroying them. Red, Chuck, and Bomb infiltrate the castle and discover that the eggs are inside a net; the pigs plan to lower the eggs into a giant pot, cook them, and eat them. Mighty Eagle arrives to retrieve Red's group and the eggs, having had a change of heart. One egg falls out of the net and Red battles Leonard for it, but learns to control his anger and distracts him long enough to retrieve the egg. Leonard accidentally ignites the pigs' reserve of dynamite. The giant pot in which the pigs had intended to use to cook the eggs collapses and lands on top of Red. The dynamite explodes, destroying the city, but Red and the egg he was holding are shielded by the pot.


title: The Angry Birds Movie

text: All the families, except for one, reunite with their eggs. Red emerges holding the egg, containing the Blues (Jay, Jake, and Jim), and returns the brothers to their parents. Mighty Eagle approaches Red, Chuck, and Bomb, claiming that he merely appeared lazy so that they could lose faith in him and find faith in themselves, and takes credit for saving the eggs. Red discovers that the other birds have rebuilt his house in the center of the village. The pigs survive their home's destruction, and Leonard plots a new plan.


title: The Angry Birds Movie

text: The film was officially announced in December 2012, although "IGN" noted that this was "after months of speculation". The success of the "Angry Birds Toons" series, according to Rovio employee Jami Laes, "validated" the idea of creating a feature film.


title: The Angry Birds Movie

text: The first image from the film was revealed in October 2014, with Jason Sudeikis, Josh Gad, Danny McBride, Bill Hader, Maya Rudolph, and Peter Dinklage revealed to be part of its cast. Gad at first refused to star in the movie, feeling that it was too similar to his role as Olaf in "Frozen" (2013) but the director eventually convinced him to sign through a 30-minute "visual pitch".


title: The Angry Birds Movie

text: The film's budget is estimated at $80 million (€75 million). Rovio and Sony Pictures announced that they would spend roughly €100 million for the marketing and distribution of the film, giving it the largest budget in the film industry in Finland, outvaluing "Big Game"'s (2014) €8.5 million. Despite the massive budget, Rovio CEO Mikael Hed stated that "it is the one that I don't ever lose any sleep over", calling it "tremendously strong as a story". During August 2015, Rovio announced that they were expecting to cut 250 jobs equaling 40% of the company, the only sector spared being personnel working on the movie.


title: The Angry Birds Movie

text: When multiple major studios approached Rovio to discuss the production of the film adaptation in 2010, Hed eventually decided to have Rovio establish its own in-house animation studio and have it work on the film, rather than risk losing creative control in allowing a third-party studio to produce it. David Maisel, the founding chairman of Marvel Studios, offered to help Hed and Rovio produce the film, as well as John Cohen from Illumination Entertainment and Catherine Winder from Lucasfilm, who later served as the film's producers. Animation services were handled by Sony Pictures Imageworks, while Skywalker Sound handled audio post-production services.


title: The Angry Birds Movie

text: The "Angry Birds" characters were not depicted in their anthropomorphized cinematic designs until the film's announcement so as to avoid spoiling it for audiences.


title: The Angry Birds Movie

text: The film's soundtrack, titled The Angry Birds Movie: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, was released on May 6, 2016.


title: The Angry Birds Movie

text: "Wonderful Life" was replaced in international screenings of the film in English with "You Should Be Dancing" by the Bee Gees. Michael Jackson's Bad (song) is on 2 trailers.


title: The Angry Birds Movie

text: The film's marketing budget was an estimated $300 million, which, along with its production budget of $400 million, was the biggest budget at the time for an animated Sony Pictures film. Tie-ins with McDonald's, Citroën, Ziploc, Panasonic, and a series of six Lego sets were used to promote the film. A balloon themed after Red debuted at the 2015 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.


title: The Angry Birds Movie

text: During the film's marketing campaign, the app icons for most "Angry Birds" games were changed to depict the cinematic version of Red. A series of free-to-play tie-in games were also produced: "Angry Birds Action!", "Angry Birds Evolution", and "Angry Birds Match".


title: The Angry Birds Movie

text: The film was initially scheduled to be released on July 1, 2016, but was later moved forward to May 20. The film was released in Finland on May 13, 2016, and in the United States on May 20, 2016 in RealD 3D and 4DX. An animated short film titled "The Early Hatchling Gets the Worm" was shown alongside the film in selected theaters.


title: The Angry Birds Movie

text: "The Angry Birds Movie" was released on digital HD on July 29, 2016, and on Blu-ray, 4K/3D Blu-ray, and DVD on August 16, 2016 by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, with four "Hatchlings" shorts included. The film topped the home video sales chart for the week ending on August 21, 2016.


title: The Angry Birds Movie

text: "The Angry Birds Movie" grossed $107.5 million in the United States and Canada and $244.8 million in other territories for a worldwide total of $352.3 million. It is the fourth highest-grossing video game film of all-time both worldwide (behind "Warcraft", "Detective Pikachu", and "Rampage") and domestically (behind "Sonic the Hedgehog", "Detective Pikachu", and ""), and is also the most successful Finnish-produced film of all time. "Deadline Hollywood" calculated the net profit of the film to be $72 million.


title: The Angry Birds Movie

text: In the United States and Canada, the film opened on May 20, 2016 alongside "" (2016) and "The Nice Guys" (2016), and was projected to gross $35–40 million or as high as $45 million from 3,932 theaters in its opening weekend. "Deadline" noted that the film had the benefit of being the only animated movie in theaters until "Finding Dory" (2016) on June 17. "The Angry Birds Movie" was the top selling film for the weekend, and grossed $800,000 from Thursday night previews and $11 million on its opening day. In its opening weekend it grossed $38.2 million, finishing first at the box office and marked the third biggest Sony animated opening of all time, behind "Hotel Transylvania" (2012) and "Hotel Transylvania 2" (2015). It also scored the second-best debut weekend ever for a video game adaptation, behind the $47 million debut of "Lara Croft: Tomb Raider". It dropped 51% in its second weekend, against "" (2016) and "Alice Through the Looking Glass" (2016), grossing $18.7 million.


title: The Angry Birds Movie

text: The website's critical consensus reads, ""The Angry Birds Movie" is substantially more entertaining than any film adapted from an app has any right to be—which may or may not be much of an endorsement." Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale.


title: The Angry Birds Movie

text: Lindsey Bahr of the Associated Press gave the film a positive review by writing, "Ultimately, "The Angry Birds Movie" does a decent job exploring the merits of anger. It's no "Inside Out", but it has heart and life, which isn't too shabby for any film—app or not." "Variety"s Guy Lodge called the film: "A fast, fizzy and frenetically entertaining extension of the manic gaming franchise that, at its zenith, had children of all ages glued to their smartphone screens". While Rafer Guzman of "Newsday" found the film's plot to be "pretty thin gruel," he thought the script was quite funny and that the animation was brightly colored and appealing.


title: The Angry Birds Movie

text: Glenn Kenny of "The New York Times" gave the film a negative review, writing, "The kids of today deserve better. So do I, come to think of it." In his review for "TheWrap", Alonso Duralde wrote, "Let's be clear, then: "The Angry Birds Movie" isn't pointless because it's based on an app. It's pointless because it's pointless."


title: The Angry Birds Movie

text: In August 2016, Rovio had begun working on a sequel to the film. The sequel, titled "The Angry Birds Movie 2", was released in the United Kingdom and Ireland on August 2, 2019 and later on August 14 in the United States, coinciding with the tenth anniversary of the original game. It was directed by Thurop Van Orman and John Rice. Cohen returned as producer, with Peter Ackerman, Eyal Podell, and Jonathon E. Stewart as writers. Sudeikis, Gad, Hader, McBride, Dinklage, Rudolph, Hale, and Padilla returned to voice their roles, with Nicki Minaj, Rachel Bloom, Sterling K. Brown, Eugenio Derbez, Zach Woods, Awkwafina, Lil Rel Howery, Dove Cameron, Beck Bennett, Tiffany Haddish, Brooklynn Prince, and Leslie Jones joining the cast.


title: Convergent evolution

text: Convergent evolution is the independent evolution of similar features in species of different periods or epochs in time. Convergent evolution creates analogous structures that have similar form or function but were not present in the last common ancestor of those groups. The cladistic term for the same phenomenon is homoplasy. The recurrent evolution of flight is a classic example, as flying insects, birds, pterosaurs, and bats have independently evolved the useful capacity of flight. Functionally similar features that have arisen through convergent evolution are "analogous", whereas "homologous" structures or traits have a common origin but can have dissimilar functions. Bird, bat, and pterosaur wings are analogous structures, but their forelimbs are homologous, sharing an ancestral state despite serving different functions.


title: Convergent evolution

text: The opposite of convergence is divergent evolution, where related species evolve different traits. Convergent evolution is similar to parallel evolution, which occurs when two independent species evolve in the same direction and thus independently acquire similar characteristics; for instance, gliding frogs have evolved in parallel from multiple types of tree frog.


title: Convergent evolution

text: Many instances of convergent evolution are known in plants, including the repeated development of C photosynthesis, seed dispersal by fleshy fruits adapted to be eaten by animals, and carnivory.


title: Convergent evolution

text: In morphology, analogous traits arise when different species live in similar ways and/or a similar environment, and so face the same environmental factors. When occupying similar ecological niches (that is, a distinctive way of life) similar problems can lead to similar solutions. The British anatomist Richard Owen was the first to identify the fundamental difference between analogies and homologies.


title: Convergent evolution

text: In biochemistry, physical and chemical constraints on mechanisms have caused some active site arrangements such as the catalytic triad to evolve independently in separate enzyme superfamilies.


title: Convergent evolution

text: In his 1989 book "Wonderful Life", Stephen Jay Gould argued that if one could "rewind the tape of life [and] the same conditions were encountered again, evolution could take a very different course." Simon Conway Morris disputes this conclusion, arguing that convergence is a dominant force in evolution, and given that the same environmental and physical constraints are at work, life will inevitably evolve toward an "optimum" body plan, and at some point, evolution is bound to stumble upon intelligence, a trait presently identified with at least primates, corvids, and cetaceans.


title: Convergent evolution

text: In cladistics, a homoplasy is a trait shared by two or more taxa for any reason other than that they share a common ancestry. Taxa which do share ancestry are part of the same clade; cladistics seeks to arrange them according to their degree of relatedness to describe their phylogeny. Homoplastic traits caused by convergence are therefore, from the point of view of cladistics, confounding factors which could lead to an incorrect analysis.


title: Convergent evolution

text: In some cases, it is difficult to tell whether a trait has been lost and then re-evolved convergently, or whether a gene has simply been switched off and then re-enabled later. Such a re-emerged trait is called an atavism. From a mathematical standpoint, an unused gene (selectively neutral) has a steadily decreasing probability of retaining potential functionality over time. The time scale of this process varies greatly in different phylogenies; in mammals and birds, there is a reasonable probability of remaining in the genome in a potentially functional state for around 6 million years.


title: Convergent evolution

text: When two species are similar in a particular character, evolution is defined as parallel if the ancestors were also similar, and convergent if they were not. Some scientists have argued that there is a continuum between parallel and convergent evolution, while others maintain that despite some overlap, there are still important distinctions between the two.


title: Convergent evolution

text: When the ancestral forms are unspecified or unknown, or the range of traits considered is not clearly specified, the distinction between parallel and convergent evolution becomes more subjective. For instance, the striking example of similar placental and marsupial forms is described by Richard Dawkins in "The Blind Watchmaker" as a case of convergent evolution, because mammals on each continent had a long evolutionary history prior to the extinction of the dinosaurs under which to accumulate relevant differences.


title: Convergent evolution

text: The enzymology of proteases provides some of the clearest examples of convergent evolution. These examples reflect the intrinsic chemical constraints on enzymes, leading evolution to converge on equivalent solutions independently and repeatedly.


title: Convergent evolution

text: Serine and cysteine proteases use different amino acid functional groups (alcohol or thiol) as a nucleophile. In order to activate that nucleophile, they orient an acidic and a basic residue in a catalytic triad. The chemical and physical constraints on enzyme catalysis have caused identical triad arrangements to evolve independently more than 20 times in different enzyme superfamilies.


title: Convergent evolution

text: Threonine proteases use the amino acid threonine as their catalytic nucleophile. Unlike cysteine and serine, threonine is a secondary alcohol (i.e. has a methyl group). The methyl group of threonine greatly restricts the possible orientations of triad and substrate, as the methyl clashes with either the enzyme backbone or the histidine base. Consequently, most threonine proteases use an N-terminal threonine in order to avoid such steric clashes.


title: Convergent evolution

text: Several evolutionarily independent enzyme superfamilies with different protein folds use the N-terminal residue as a nucleophile. This commonality of active site but difference of protein fold indicates that the active site evolved convergently in those families.


title: Convergent evolution

text: "Conus geographus" produces a distinct form of insulin that is more similar to fish insulin protein sequences than to insulin from more closely related molluscs, suggesting convergent evolution. Although convergent evolution is not impossible in this example, the possibility of horizontal gene transfer cannot be ignored, and it provides the only reasonable explanation of the fish-like copper/zinc superoxide dismutase of "Photobacterium leiognathi".


title: Convergent evolution

text: Many examples of convergent evolution exist in insects in terms of developing resistance at a molecular level to toxins. One well-characterized example is the evolution of resistance to cardiotonic steroids (CTSs) via amino acid substitutions at well-defined positions of the α-subunit of Na,K-ATPase (ATPalpha). Variation in ATPalpha has been surveyed in various CTS-adapted species spanning six insect orders. Among 21 CTS-adapted species, 58 (76%) of 76 amino acid substitutions at sites implicated in CTS resistance occur in parallel in at least two lineages. 30 of these substitutions (40%) occur at just two sites in the protein (positions 111 and 122). CTS-adapted species have also recurrently evolved neo-functionalized duplications of ATPalpha, with convergent tissue-specific expression patterns.


title: Convergent evolution

text: Convergence occurs at the level of DNA and the amino acid sequences produced by translating structural genes into proteins. Studies have found convergence in amino acid sequences in echolocating bats and the dolphin; among marine mammals; between giant and red pandas; and between the thylacine and canids. Convergence has also been detected in a type of non-coding DNA, cis-regulatory elements, such as in their rates of evolution; this could indicate either positive selection or relaxed purifying selection.


title: Convergent evolution

text: Swimming animals including fish such as herrings, marine mammals such as dolphins, and ichthyosaurs (of the Mesozoic) all converged on the same streamlined shape. A similar shape and swimming adaptations are even present in molluscs, such as "Phylliroe". The fusiform bodyshape (a tube tapered at both ends) adopted by many aquatic animals is an adaptation to enable them to travel at high speed in a high drag environment. Similar body shapes are found in the earless seals and the eared seals: they still have four legs, but these are strongly modified for swimming.


title: Convergent evolution

text: The marsupial fauna of Australia and the placental mammals of the Old World have several strikingly similar forms, developed in two clades, isolated from each other. The body and especially the skull shape of the thylacine (Tasmanian tiger or Tasmanian wolf) converged with those of Canidae such as the red fox, "Vulpes vulpes".


title: Convergent evolution

text: As a sensory adaptation, echolocation has evolved separately in cetaceans (dolphins and whales) and bats, but from the same genetic mutations.


title: Convergent evolution

text: The Gymnotiformes of South America and the Mormyridae of Africa independently evolved passive electroreception (around 119 and 110 million years ago, respectively). Around 20 million years after acquiring that ability, both groups evolved active electrogenesis, producing weak electric fields to help them detect prey.


title: Convergent evolution

text: One of the best-known examples of convergent evolution is the camera eye of cephalopods (such as squid and octopus), vertebrates (including mammals) and cnidaria (such as jellyfish). Their last common ancestor had at most a simple photoreceptive spot, but a range of processes led to the progressive refinement of camera eyes — with one sharp difference: the cephalopod eye is "wired" in the opposite direction, with blood and nerve vessels entering from the back of the retina, rather than the front as in vertebrates. As a result, cephalopods lack a blind spot.


title: Convergent evolution

text: Birds and bats have homologous limbs because they are both ultimately derived from terrestrial tetrapods, but their flight mechanisms are only analogous, so their wings are examples of functional convergence. The two groups have independently evolved their own means of powered flight. Their wings differ substantially in construction. The bat wing is a membrane stretched across four extremely elongated fingers and the legs. The airfoil of the bird wing is made of feathers, strongly attached to the forearm (the ulna) and the highly fused bones of the wrist and hand (the carpometacarpus), with only tiny remnants of two fingers remaining, each anchoring a single feather. So, while the wings of bats and birds are functionally convergent, they are not anatomically convergent. Birds and bats also share a high concentration of cerebrosides in the skin of their wings. This improves skin flexibility, a trait useful for flying animals; other mammals have a far lower concentration. The extinct pterosaurs independently evolved wings from their fore- and hindlimbs, while insects have wings that evolved separately from different organs.


title: Convergent evolution

text: Flying squirrels and sugar gliders are much alike in their body plans, with gliding wings stretched between their limbs, but flying squirrels are placental mammals while sugar gliders are marsupials, widely separated within the mammal lineage from the placentals.


title: Convergent evolution

text: Insect mouthparts show many examples of convergent evolution. The mouthparts of different insect groups consist of a set of homologous organs, specialised for the dietary intake of that insect group. Convergent evolution of many groups of insects led from original biting-chewing mouthparts to different, more specialised, derived function types. These include, for example, the proboscis of flower-visiting insects such as bees and flower beetles, or the biting-sucking mouthparts of blood-sucking insects such as fleas and mosquitos.


title: Convergent evolution

text: Opposable thumbs allowing the grasping of objects are most often associated with primates, like humans, monkeys, apes, and lemurs. Opposable thumbs also evolved in giant pandas, but these are completely different in structure, having six fingers including the thumb, which develops from a wrist bone entirely separately from other fingers.


title: Convergent evolution

text: Convergent evolution in humans includes blue eye colour and light skin colour. When humans migrated out of Africa, they moved to more northern latitudes with less intense sunlight. It was beneficial to them to reduce their skin pigmentation. It appears certain that there was some lightening of skin colour "before" European and East Asian lineages diverged, as there are some skin-lightening genetic differences that are common to both groups. However, after the lineages diverged and became genetically isolated, the skin of both groups lightened more, and that additional lightening was due to "different" genetic changes.


title: Convergent evolution

text: Lemurs and humans are both primates. Ancestral primates had brown eyes, as most primates do today. The genetic basis of blue eyes in humans has been studied in detail and much is known about it. It is not the case that one gene locus is responsible, say with brown dominant to blue eye colour. However, a single locus is responsible for about 80% of the variation. In lemurs, the differences between blue and brown eyes are not completely known, but the same gene locus is not involved.


title: Convergent evolution

text: While convergent evolution is often illustrated with animal examples, it has often occurred in plant evolution. For instance, C photosynthesis, one of the three major carbon-fixing biochemical processes, has arisen independently up to 40 times. About 7,600 plant species of angiosperms use carbon fixation, with many monocots including 46% of grasses such as maize and sugar cane, and dicots including several species in the Chenopodiaceae and the Amaranthaceae.


title: Convergent evolution

text: A good example of convergence in plants is the evolution of edible fruits such as apples. These pomes incorporate (five) carpels and their accessory tissues forming the apple's core, surrounded by structures from outside the botanical fruit, the receptacle or hypanthium. Other edible fruits include other plant tissues; for example, the fleshy part of a tomato is the walls of the pericarp. This implies convergent evolution under selective pressure, in this case the competition for seed dispersal by animals through consumption of fleshy fruits.


title: Convergent evolution

text: Seed dispersal by ants (myrmecochory) has evolved independently more than 100 times, and is present in more than 11,000 plant species. It is one of the most dramatic examples of convergent evolution in biology.


title: Convergent evolution

text: Carnivory has evolved multiple times independently in plants in widely separated groups. In three species studied, "Cephalotus follicularis", "Nepenthes alata" and "Sarracenia purpurea", there has been convergence at the molecular level. Carnivorous plants secrete enzymes into the digestive fluid they produce. By studying phosphatase, glycoside hydrolase, glucanase, RNAse and chitinase enzymes as well as a pathogenesis-related protein and a thaumatin-related protein, the authors found many convergent amino acid substitutions. These changes were not at the enzymes' catalytic sites, but rather on the exposed surfaces of the proteins, where they might interact with other components of the cell or the digestive fluid. The authors also found that homologous genes in the non-carnivorous plant "Arabidopsis thaliana" tend to have their expression increased when the plant is stressed, leading the authors to suggest that stress-responsive proteins have often been co-opted in the repeated evolution of carnivory.


title: Convergent evolution

text: Phylogenetic reconstruction and ancestral state reconstruction proceed by assuming that evolution has occurred without convergence. Convergent patterns may, however, appear at higher levels in a phylogenetic reconstruction, and are sometimes explicitly sought by investigators. The methods applied to infer convergent evolution depend on whether pattern-based or process-based convergence is expected. Pattern-based convergence is the broader term, for when two or more lineages independently evolve patterns of similar traits. Process-based convergence is when the convergence is due to similar forces of natural selection.


title: Convergent evolution

text: Earlier methods for measuring convergence incorporate ratios of phenotypic and phylogenetic distance by simulating evolution with a Brownian motion model of trait evolution along a phylogeny. More recent methods also quantify the strength of convergence. One drawback to keep in mind is that these methods can confuse long-term stasis with convergence due to phenotypic similarities. Stasis occurs when there is little evolutionary change among taxa.


title: Convergent evolution

text: Distance-based measures assess the degree of similarity between lineages over time. Frequency-based measures assess the number of lineages that have evolved in a particular trait space.


title: Convergent evolution

text: Methods to infer process-based convergence fit models of selection to a phylogeny and continuous trait data to determine whether the same selective forces have acted upon lineages. This uses the Ornstein–Uhlenbeck (OU) process to test different scenarios of selection. Other methods rely on an "a priori" specification of where shifts in selection have occurred.


title: Flower of Evil (South Korean TV series)

text: Flower of Evil () is a South Korean television series starring Lee Joon-gi, Moon Chae-won, Jang Hee-jin, and Seo Hyun-woo. It aired on tvN every Wednesday and Thursday from July 29 to September 23, 2020, and streamed internationally on Netflix, iQIYI, Viki and ViuTV with multi-languages subtitles. Lee and Moon have previously starred in "Criminal Minds", and it was Lee's return to television after two years.


title: Flower of Evil (South Korean TV series)

text: Baek Hee-sung (Lee Joon-gi) is a man who hides his identity and past from his wife Cha Ji-won (Moon Chae-won), a detective. On the surface, they appear to be the perfect family: A loving couple with a beautiful six-year-old daughter who adores her parents.


title: Flower of Evil (South Korean TV series)

text: Cha Ji-won and her colleagues begin investigating a series of unexplained murders and is confronted with the reality that her seemingly perfect husband may be hiding something from her.


title: Flower of Evil (South Korean TV series)

text: On September 16, 2021, ABS-CBN announced a Philippine remake for the series. It was released on Viu on June 23, 2022, along with its television broadcast on Kapamilya Channel and A2Z which premiered on June 25, 2022.


title: Flower of Evil (South Korean TV series)

text: Duranga is the Hindi remake produced by Rose Audio Visuals with streaming partner ZEE5 after buying rights from Studio Dragon. The show was released on August 18, 2022. It is also the first official remake of a Korean drama in India.


title: Staphylococcus

text: Staphylococcus is a genus of Gram-positive bacteria in the family Staphylococcaceae from the order Bacillales. Under the microscope, they appear spherical (cocci), and form in grape-like clusters. "Staphylococcus" species are facultative anaerobic organisms (capable of growth both aerobically and anaerobically).


title: Staphylococcus

text: The name was coined in 1880 by Scottish surgeon and bacteriologist Alexander Ogston (1844–1929), following the pattern established five years earlier with the naming of "Streptococcus". It combines the prefix "staphylo-" (from ), and suffixed by the Modern (from ).


title: Staphylococcus

text: Staphylococcus was one of the leading infections in hospitals and many strains of this bacterium have become antibiotic resistant. Despite strong attempts to get rid of them, staph bacteria stay present in hospitals, where they can infect people who are most at risk of infection.


title: Staphylococcus

text: Staphylococcus includes at least 43 species. Of these, nine have two subspecies, one has three subspecies, and one has four subspecies. Many species cannot cause disease and reside normally on the skin and mucous membranes of humans and other animals. "Staphylococcus" species have been found to be nectar-inhabiting microbes. They are also a small component of the soil microbiome.


title: Staphylococcus

text: The taxonomy is based on 16s rRNA sequences, and most of the staphylococcal species fall into 11 clusters:


title: Staphylococcus

text: A twelfth group – that of "S. caseolyticus" – has now been removed to a new genus, "Macrococcus", the species of which are currently the closest known relatives of "Staphylococcus".


title: Staphylococcus

text: Two species were described in 2015 – "Staphylococcus argenteus" and "Staphylococcus schweitzeri" – both of which were previously considered variants of "S. aureus".


title: Staphylococcus

text: A new coagulase negative species – "Staphylococcus edaphicus" – has been isolated from Antarctica. This species is probably a member of the "S. saprophyticus" group.


title: Staphylococcus

text: Group A includes "S. aureus", "S. borealis", "S. capitis", "S. epidermidis", "S. haemolyticus", "S. hominis", "S. lugdunensis", "S. pettenkoferi", "S. simiae" and "S. warneri".


title: Staphylococcus

text: The "S. saprophyticus" and "S. sciuri" groups are generally novobiocin-resistant, as is "S. hominis" subsp. "novobiosepticus".


title: Staphylococcus

text: Members of the "S. sciuri" group are oxidase-positive due to their possession of the enzyme cytochrome c oxidase. This group is the only clade within the staphylococci to possess this gene.


title: Staphylococcus

text: Within these clades, the "S. haemolyticus" and "S. simulans" groups appear to be related, as do the "S. aureus" and "S. epidermidis" groups.


title: Staphylococcus

text: The taxonomic position of "S. lyticans", "S. pettenkoferi", "S. petrasii", and "S. pseudolugdunensis" has yet to be clarified. The published descriptions of these species do not appear to have been validly published.


title: Staphylococcus

text: Assignment of a strain to the genus "Staphylococcus" requires it to be a Gram-positive coccus that forms clusters, has an appropriate cell wall structure (including peptidoglycan type and teichoic acid presence) and G + C content of DNA in a range of 30–40 mol%.


title: Staphylococcus

text: "Staphylococcus" species can be differentiated from other aerobic and facultative anaerobic, Gram-positive cocci by several simple tests. "Staphylococcus" species are facultative anaerobes (capable of growth both aerobically and anaerobically). All species grow in the presence of bile salts.


title: Staphylococcus

text: All species of "Staphylococcus aureus" were once thought to be coagulase-positive, but this has since been disproven.


title: Staphylococcus

text: Growth can also occur in a 6.5% NaCl solution. On Baird-Parker medium, "Staphylococcus" species grow fermentatively, except for "S. saprophyticus", which grows oxidatively. "Staphylococcus" species are resistant to bacitracin (0.04 U disc: resistance = < 10 mm zone of inhibition) and susceptible to furazolidone (100 μg disc: resistance = < 15 mm zone of inhibition). Further biochemical testing is needed to identify to the species level.


title: Staphylococcus

text: One of the most important phenotypical features used in the classification of staphylococci is their ability to produce coagulase, an enzyme that causes blood clot formation.


title: Staphylococcus

text: Seven species are currently recognised as being coagulase-positive: "S. aureus", "S. delphini", "S. hyicus", "S. intermedius", "S. lutrae", "S. pseudintermedius", and "S. schleiferi" subsp. "coagulans". These species belong to two separate groups – the "S. aureus" ("S. aureus" alone) group and the "S. hyicus-intermedius" group (the remaining five).


title: Staphylococcus

text: "S. aureus" is coagulase-positive, meaning it produces coagulase. However, while the majority of "S. aureus" strains are coagulase-positive, some may be atypical in that they do not produce coagulase. "S. aureus" is catalase-positive (meaning that it can produce the enzyme catalase) and able to convert hydrogen peroxide (HO) to water and oxygen, which makes the catalase test useful to distinguish staphylococci from enterococci and streptococci.


title: Staphylococcus

text: "S. pseudintermedius" inhabits and sometimes infects the skin of domestic dogs and cats. This organism, too, can carry the genetic material that imparts multiple bacterial resistance. It is rarely implicated in infections in humans, as a zoonosis.


title: Staphylococcus

text: "S. epidermidis", a coagulase-negative species, is a commensal of the skin, but can cause severe infections in immunosuppressed patients and those with central venous catheters.


title: Staphylococcus

text: "S. saprophyticus", another coagulase-negative species that is part of the normal vaginal flora, is predominantly implicated in genitourinary tract infections in sexually active young women.


title: Staphylococcus

text: In recent years, several other "Staphylococcus" species have been implicated in human infections, notably "S. lugdunensis", "S. schleiferi", and "S. caprae".


title: Staphylococcus

text: Common abbreviations for coagulase-negative staphylococci are CoNS, CNS, or CNST. The American Society for Microbiology abbreviates coagulase-negative staphylococci as "CoNS".


title: Staphylococcus

text: The first "S. aureus" genomes to be sequenced were those of N315 and Mu50, in 2001. Many more complete "S. aureus" genomes have been submitted to the public databases, making it one of the most extensively sequenced bacteria. The use of genomic data is now widespread and provides a valuable resource for researchers working with "S. aureus". Whole genome technologies, such as sequencing projects and microarrays, have shown an enormous variety of "S. aureus" strains. Each contains different combinations of surface proteins and different toxins. Relating this information to pathogenic behaviour is one of the major areas of staphylococcal research. The development of molecular typing methods has enabled the tracking of different strains of "S. aureus". This may lead to better control of outbreak strains. A greater understanding of how the staphylococci evolve, especially due to the acquisition of mobile genetic elements encoding resistance and virulence genes is helping to identify new outbreak strains and may even prevent their emergence.


title: Staphylococcus

text: The widespread incidence of antibiotic resistance across various strains of "S. aureus", or across different species of "Staphylococcus" has been attributed to horizontal gene transfer of genes encoding antibiotic/metal resistance and virulence. A recent study demonstrated the extent of horizontal gene transfer among "Staphylococcus" to be much greater than previously expected, and encompasses genes with functions beyond antibiotic resistance and virulence, and beyond genes residing within the mobile genetic elements.


title: Staphylococcus

text: Various strains of "Staphylococcus" are available from biological research centres, such as the National Collection of Type Cultures.


title: Staphylococcus

text: Members of the genus "Staphylococcus" frequently colonize the skin and upper respiratory tracts of mammals and birds and also in marine sponge. Marine sponge associated "Staphylococcus" species are highly salt tolerant. Some species specificity has been observed in host range, such that the "Staphylococcus" species observed on some animals appear more rarely on more distantly related host species.


title: Staphylococcus

text: It is said that anyone can develop a staph infection, although certain groups of people are at greater risk, including people with chronic conditions such as diabetes, cancer, vascular disease, eczema, lung disease, and people who inject drugs. In healthcare facilities, the risk of more serious staph infection is higher because many patients have weakened immune systems or have undergone procedures. In healthcare, the risk of more serious staph infection is higher for patients in intensive care units (ICUs), patients who have undergone certain types of surgeries and patients with medical devices inserted in their bodies.


title: Staphylococcus

text: "Staphylococcus" can cause a wide variety of diseases in humans and animals through either toxin production or penetration. Staphylococcal toxins are a common cause of food poisoning, for they can be produced by bacteria growing in improperly stored food items. The most common sialadenitis is caused by staphylococci, as bacterial infections. Staphylococci break down leucine into isovaleric acid, the main odor of foot odor.


title: Constitution of the United Kingdom

text: The constitution of the United Kingdom or British constitution comprises the written and unwritten arrangements that establish the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland as a political body. Unlike in most countries, no attempt has been made to codify such arrangements into a single document, thus it is known as an uncodified constitution. This enables the constitution to be easily changed as no provisions are formally entrenched; the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom recognises that there are constitutional principles, including parliamentary sovereignty, the rule of law, democracy, and upholding international law.


title: Constitution of the United Kingdom

text: The Supreme Court also recognises that some Acts of Parliament have special constitutional status, and are therefore part of the constitution. These include Magna Carta, which in 1215 required the King to call a "common counsel" (now called Parliament) to represent people, to hold courts in a fixed place, to guarantee fair trials, to guarantee free movement of people, to free the church from the state, and to guarantee rights of "common" people to use the land. (Most of Magna Carta is no longer in force; those principles it established that still exist are mostly protected by other enactments.) After the Wars of the Three Kingdoms and the Glorious Revolution, the Bill of Rights 1689 and the Claim of Right Act 1689 cemented Parliament's position as the supreme law making body, and said that the "election of members of Parliament ought to be free".


title: Constitution of the United Kingdom

text: The Treaty of Union between England and Scotland in 1706, followed by two Acts of Union 1707, one in the Scottish, the other in the English parliament, unified England, Wales and Scotland. Ireland joined in a similar way through the Acts of Union 1801. The Irish Free State separated after the 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty took effect in 1922. Northern Ireland remained within the union.


title: Constitution of the United Kingdom

text: After a slow process of electoral reform, the UK guaranteed every adult citizen (21 years or older) the equal right to vote in the Representation of the People (Equal Franchise) Act 1928. After World War II, the UK became a founding member of the Council of Europe to uphold human rights, and the United Nations to guarantee international peace and security. The UK was a member of the European Union, whose predecessor the European Communities (the Common Market) it first joined in 1973, but left in 2020. The UK is also a founding member of the International Labour Organization and the World Trade Organization to participate in regulating the global economy.


title: Constitution of the United Kingdom

text: The leading institutions in the United Kingdom's constitution are Parliament, the judiciary, the executive, the and regional and local governments, including the devolved legislatures and executives of Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. Parliament is the supreme law-making body, and represents the people of the United Kingdom. It consists of the monarch and two houses. The House of Commons is elected by a democratic vote in the country's 650 constituencies. The House of Lords, historically dominated by hereditary peers, is now (and especially since 2000) mostly appointed by cross-political party groups from the House of Commons; since it lacks democratic legitimacy, it has no power to block legislation introduced in the Commons. To make a new Act of Parliament, the highest form of law, both Houses must read, amend, or approve proposed legislation three times and the monarch must give their consent. The judiciary interprets the law found in Acts of Parliament and develops the law established by previous cases. The highest court is the twelve-person Supreme Court, as it decides appeals from the Courts of Appeal in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, or the Court of Session in Scotland. It does not however hear criminal appeals from Scotland. British courts cannot declare Acts of Parliament to be unconstitutional, but can determine whether the acts of the executive are lawful (and invalidate them with quashing orders if so), or declare any law to be incompatible with the European Convention on Human Rights (which does not affect its validity and enforcement). The executive manages the United Kingdom day to day. The executive is led by the prime minister who is appointed by the monarch and invited to try to form a government, which by convention must have the support of Parliament. The prime minister appoints the cabinet of other ministers, who lead the executive departments, staffed by civil servants, such as the Department of Health and Social Care which runs the National Health Service, or the Department for Education which funds schools and universities. The monarch in their public capacity, known as the Crown, embodies the state. Laws can only be made by or with the authority of the Crown in Parliament, all judges sit in place of the Crown and all ministers act in the name of the Crown. The monarch is for the most part a ceremonial figurehead. When giving royal assent to new laws, the monarch has not refused to sign any new law since the Scottish Militia Bill in 1708, and it is a constitutional convention that the monarch follows the advice of ministers.


title: Constitution of the United Kingdom

text: Most litigation over the British constitution takes place in judicial review applications, to decide whether the decisions or acts of public bodies are lawful. All public authority ultimately derives from the Crown, either under the common law or as granted by Parliament. Every public body can only act in accordance with the law, as declared in Acts of Parliament and the decisions of the courts. Under the Human Rights Act 1998, courts may review government action to decide whether the government has followed the statutory obligation on all public authorities to comply with the European Convention on Human Rights. Convention rights include everyone's rights to life, liberty against arbitrary arrest or detention, torture, and forced labour or slavery, to a fair trial, to privacy against unlawful surveillance, to freedom of expression, conscience and religion, to respect for private life, to freedom of association including joining trade unions, and to freedom of assembly and protest.


title: Constitution of the United Kingdom

text: Although the British constitution is not codified, the Supreme Court recognises constitutional principles, and constitutional statutes, which shape the use of political power. The main sources of constitutional law are Acts of Parliament, court cases, and conventions in the way that government, Parliament and the monarch act. There are at least four main constitutional principles recognised by the courts. First, parliamentary sovereignty means that Acts of Parliament are the supreme source of law. Through the English Reformation, the Civil War, the Glorious Revolution of 1688 and the Acts of Union 1707, Parliament became the dominant branch of the state, above the judiciary, executive, monarchy, and church. Although there are a number of formal limitations on the laws Parliament can make, contained in the 1707 Treaty of Union between England and Scotland, it is sometimes asserted that Parliament can make or unmake any law, a fact that is usually justified by Parliament being democratically elected, and upholding the rule of law, including human rights and international law.


title: Constitution of the United Kingdom

text: Second, the rule of law has run through the constitution as a fundamental principle from the earliest times as "The king must [be] ... under the law, because the law makes the king" (Henry de Bracton in the 13th century). This principle was recognised in Magna Carta and the Petition of Right 1628. This means the government may only conduct itself according to legal authority, including respect for human rights. Third, at least since 1928, elections in which all capable adults participate have become a fundamental constitutional principle. Originally only wealthy, property-owning men held rights to vote for the House of Commons, while the monarch, occasionally together with a hereditary House of Lords, dominated politics. From 1832 onwards adult citizens slowly obtained the right to universal suffrage.


title: Constitution of the United Kingdom

text: Fourth, the British constitution is bound to international law, as Parliament has chosen to increase its practical power in cooperation with other countries in international organisations, such as the International Labour Organization, the United Nations, the European Convention on Human Rights, the World Trade Organization, and the International Criminal Court. However, the UK left membership of the European Union in 2020 after a referendum in 2016.


title: Constitution of the United Kingdom

text: Parliamentary sovereignty is often seen as a central element in the British constitution, although its extent is contested. It means that an Act of Parliament is the highest form of law, but also that "Parliament cannot bind itself". Historically, Parliament became sovereign through a series of power struggles between the monarch, the church, the courts, and the people. Magna Carta in 1215, which came from the conflict leading to the First Barons' War, granted the right of Parliament to exist for "common counsel" before any tax, against the "divine right of kings" to rule.


title: Constitution of the United Kingdom

text: Common land was guaranteed to people to farm, graze, hunt or fish, though aristocrats continued to dominate politics. In the Act of Supremacy 1534, King Henry VIII asserted his divine right over the Catholic Church in Rome, declaring himself the supreme leader of the Church of England. Then in the "Earl of Oxford's case" in 1615, the Lord Chancellor (both the King's representative and head of the judiciary) asserted the supremacy of the Court of Chancery over the common law courts, contradicting Sir Edward Coke's assertion that judges could declare statutes void if they went "against common right and reason".


title: Constitution of the United Kingdom

text: After the Glorious Revolution of 1688, the Bill of Rights 1689 cemented Parliament's power over the monarch, and therefore over the church and courts. Parliament became "sovereign", and supreme. Only 18 years later however, the English Parliament abolished itself in order to create the new "Union" Parliament following on the Treaty of Union between England and Scotland, while the Scottish Parliament did likewise. Power struggles within Parliament continued between the aristocracy and common people. Outside Parliament, people from the Chartists to the trade unions fought for the vote in the House of Commons. The Parliament Act 1911 ensured the Commons would prevail in any conflict over the unelected House of Lords. The Parliament Act 1949 ensured the Lords could only delay legislation by one year, and not delay any budgetary measure over a month.


title: Constitution of the United Kingdom

text: In a leading case, "R (Jackson) v Attorney General", a group of pro-hunting protestors challenged the Hunting Act 2004's ban on fox hunting, arguing it was not a valid Act because it was passed avoiding the House of Lords, using the Parliament Acts. They argued that the 1949 Act itself was passed using the 1911 Act's power to override the Lords in two years. The claimants argued that this meant the 1949 Act should not be considered a valid law, because the 1911 Act was limited in scope and could not be used to amend its own limitation of the Lords' power. The House of Lords, sitting as the UK's highest court, rejected this argument, holding both the Parliament Act 1949 and the Hunting Act 2004 to be valid. However, in "obiter dicta" Lord Hope argued that Parliamentary sovereignty "is no longer, if it ever was, absolute", and that the "rule of law enforced by the courts is the ultimate controlling factor on which our constitution is based", and cannot be used to defend unconstitutional Acts (as determined by the courts). There is not yet a consensus on the meaning of "Parliamentary sovereignty", except that its legitimacy depends on the principle of "the democratic process".


title: Constitution of the United Kingdom

text: In recent history, Parliament's sovereignty has evolved in four main ways. First, since 1945 international cooperation meant Parliament augmented its power by working with, not dominating, other sovereign nations. The British Empire, which once colonised a quarter of the world's population and a third of its land, declined after World War I and disintegrated after World War II. While Parliament had nearly uncontested military power before, and so was thought by writers of the Imperial period to be able to "make or unmake any law whatever", the UK chose to join in the League of Nations in 1919, and after its failure, the United Nations 1945 to participate in building a system of international law in place of Empire.


title: Constitution of the United Kingdom

text: The Treaty of Versailles in 1919 recalled that "peace can only be established if it is based upon social justice", and the UN Charter, "based on the principle of the sovereign equality of all its Members", said that "to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war, which twice in our lifetime has brought untold sorrow to mankind", the UN would "reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights", and members should "live together in peace with one another as good neighbours". The Bretton Woods Agreements Act 1945, United Nations Act 1946 and International Organisations Act 1968 wrote the UK's funding and membership of the United Nations, the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, and other bodies, into law. For example, the UK bound itself to implement by order UN Security Council resolutions, up to the actual use of force, in return for representation in the General Assembly and Security Council.


title: Constitution of the United Kingdom

text: Although the UK has not always clearly followed international law, it has accepted as a formal duty that its sovereignty would not be used unlawfully. Second, in 1950 the UK helped to write and joined the European Convention on Human Rights. While that convention reflected norms and cases decided under British statutes and the common law on civil liberties, the UK accepted that people could appeal to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, if domestic remedies were not enough. In the Human Rights Act 1998, Parliament decided that the British judiciary should be required to apply human rights norms directly in determining British cases, to ensure a more speedy, human rights-based resolution to case law, and effectively influence human rights reasoning more.


title: Constitution of the United Kingdom

text: Third, the UK became a member of the European Union after the European Communities Act 1972 and through its ratification of the Maastricht Treaty in 1992. The idea of a Union had long been envisaged by European leaders, including Winston Churchill, who in 1946 had called for a "United States of Europe". EU law has long been held to prevail in any conflict between Acts of Parliament for the limited fields in which it operates, but member states and citizens gain control over the scope of EU law, and so extend their sovereignty in international affairs, through joint representation in the European Parliament, Council of the European Union, and the Commission. This principle was tested in "R (Factortame Ltd) v Secretary of State for Transport", where a fishing business claimed that it should not be required to have 75% of British shareholders, as the Merchant Shipping Act 1988 said. Under EU law, the principle of freedom of establishment states that nationals of any member state can freely incorporate and run a business across the EU without unjustified interference. The House of Lords held that, because the EU law conflicted with the sections of the 1988 Act, those sections would not be enforced, and disapplied, because Parliament had not clearly expressed an intention to renounce the 1972 Act. According to Lord Bridge "whatever limitation of its sovereignty Parliament accepted when it enacted the [1972 Act] was entirely voluntary". It was, therefore, the duty of the courts to apply EU law.


title: Constitution of the United Kingdom

text: On the other hand, in "R (HS2 Action Alliance Ltd) v Secretary of State for Transport" the Supreme Court held that certain fundamental principles of British constitutional law would not be interpreted by the courts as having been given up by membership of the EU, or probably any international organisation. Here a group protesting against the High Speed 2 rail line from London to Manchester and Leeds claimed that the government had not properly followed an Environmental Impact Assessment Directive by whipping a vote in Parliament to approve the plan. They argued that the Directive required open and free consultation, which was not fulfilled if a party whip compelled party members to vote. The Supreme Court unanimously held the Directive did not require that no party whip occurred, but if a conflict had existed a Directive would not be able to compromise the fundamental constitutional principle from the Bill of Rights that Parliament is free to organise its affairs.


title: Constitution of the United Kingdom

text: Fourth, devolution in the United Kingdom has meant Parliament gave power to legislate on specific topics to nations and regions: the Scotland Act 1998 created the Scottish Parliament, the Government of Wales Act 1998 created the Welsh Assembly, the Northern Ireland Act 1998 created a Northern Ireland Executive following the historic Good Friday Agreement, to bring peace. In addition, the Local Government Act 1972 and the Greater London Authority Act 1999 give more limited powers to local and London governments. Practically, but also constitutionally, it has become increasingly accepted that decisions should not be taken for the UK which would override, and run counter to, the will of regional governments. However, in "R (Miller) v Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union", a group of people who sought to remain in the European Union contested the government on whether the Prime Minister could trigger Article 50 to notify the European Commission of the UK's intention to leave, without an Act of Parliament. This followed the Brexit poll of 2016 where 51.9% of those voting voted to leave.


title: Constitution of the United Kingdom

text: The claimants argued that, because Brexit would obliterate rights that Parliament had conferred through Acts of Parliament (such as the right of free movement of British citizens in the EU, the right to fair competition through merger control, and the right to vote for EU institutions) only Parliament could consent to notifying the intention to negotiate to leave under Article 50. They also argued that the Sewel Convention for devolved assemblies, where the assembly passes a motion that the Westminster Parliament can legislate on a devolved matter before it does so, meant the UK could not negotiate to leave without the Scottish, Welsh or Northern Ireland legislatures' consent. The Supreme Court held that the government could not begin the process of leaving purely through royal prerogative; Parliament must pass an Act enabling it to do so. However, the Sewel convention could not be enforced by courts, rather than observed. This led Prime Minister Theresa May to procure the European Union (Notification of Withdrawal) Act 2017, giving her power to notify the intention to leave the EU.


title: Constitution of the United Kingdom

text: The rule of law has been regarded as a fundamental principle of modern legal systems, including the UK. It has been called "as important in a free society as the democratic franchise", and even "the ultimate controlling factor on which our constitution is based". Like parliamentary sovereignty, its meaning and extent is disputed. The most widely accepted meanings speak of several factors: Lord Bingham of Cornhill, formerly the highest judge in England and Wales, suggested the rule of law ought to mean that law is clear and predictable, not subject to broad or unreasonable discretion, applies equally to all people, with speedy and fair procedures for enforcement, protects fundamental human rights, and works according to international law.


title: Constitution of the United Kingdom

text: Other definitions seek to exclude human rights and international law as relevant, but largely stem from visions of pre-democratic scholars such as Albert Venn Dicey. The rule of law was explicitly recognised as a "constitutional principle" in section 1 of the Constitutional Reform Act 2005, which limited the judicial role of the Lord Chancellor and recast the judicial appointments system to entrench independence, diversity and merit. As statute gives no further definition, the practical meaning of the "rule of law" develops through case law.


title: Constitution of the United Kingdom

text: At its core, the rule of law, in English and British law, has traditionally been the principle of "legality". This means that the state, government, and any person acting under government authority (including a corporation), may only act according to law. In 1765, in "Entick v Carrington" a writer, John Entick, claimed that the King's Chief Messenger, Nathan Carrington, had no legal authority to break into and ransack his home, and remove his papers. Carrington claimed he had authority from the Secretary of State, Lord Halifax, who issued a search "warrant", but there was no statute that gave Lord Halifax the authority to issue search warrants. Lord Camden CJ held that the "great end, for which men entered into society, was to secure their property", and that without any authority "every invasion of private property, be it ever so minute, is a trespass." Carrington acted unlawfully and had to pay damages.


title: Constitution of the United Kingdom

text: Today this principle of legality is found throughout the European Convention on Human Rights, which enables infringements of rights as a starting point only if "in accordance with the law". In 1979, in "Malone v Metropolitan Police Commissioner" a man charged with handling stolen goods claimed the police unlawfully tapped his phone, to get evidence. The only related statute, the Post Office Act 1969 Schedule 5, stated there should be no interference in telecommunications unless the Secretary of State issued a warrant, but said nothing explicit about phone tapping. Megarry VC held there was no wrong at common law, and refused to interpret the statute in light of the right to privacy under the European Convention on Human Rights, article 8. On appeal, the European Court of Human Rights concluded the Convention was breached because the statute did not "indicate with reasonable clarity the scope and manner of exercise of the relevant discretion conferred on the public authorities." The judgment, however, was overshadowed by the government swiftly passing a new Act to authorise phone tapping with a warrant. By itself the principle of legality is not enough to alone preserve human rights in the face of ever more intrusive statutory powers of surveillance by corporations or government.


title: Constitution of the United Kingdom

text: The rule of law requires the law is truly enforced, though enforcement bodies may have room for discretion. In "R (Corner House Research) v Director of the Serious Fraud Office", a group campaigning against the arms trade, Corner House Research, claimed the Serious Fraud Office acted unlawfully by dropping an investigation into the UK–Saudi Al-Yamamah arms deal. It was alleged that BAE Systems plc paid bribes to Saudi government figures. The House of Lords held the SFO was entitled to take into account the public interest in not pursuing an investigation, including the security threats that might transpire. Baroness Hale remarked that the SFO had to consider "the principle that no-one, including powerful British companies who do business for powerful foreign countries, is above the law", but the decision reached was not unreasonable. When enforcement or court proceedings do take place, they should proceed swiftly: anyone who is detained must be charged and put on trial or released.


title: Constitution of the United Kingdom

text: People must also be able to access justice in practice. In "R (UNISON) v Lord Chancellor" the Supreme Court held the government's imposition of £1200 in fees to bring an employment tribunal claim undermined the rule of law, and was void. The Lord Chancellor had statutory authority to create fees for court services, but in the case of employment tribunals, his Order led to a 70% drop in claims against employers for breach of labour rights, such as unfair dismissal, unlawful wage deductions or discrimination. Lord Reed said the "constitutional right of access to the courts is inherent in the rule of law". Without access to courts, "laws are liable to become a dead letter, the work done by Parliament may be rendered nugatory, and the democratic election of Members of Parliament may become a meaningless charade." In principle every person is subject to the law, including government ministers, or corporate executives, who may be held in contempt of court for violating an order.


title: Constitution of the United Kingdom

text: In other systems the idea of a separation of powers is seen as an essential part of maintaining the rule of law. In theory, originally advocated by Baron de Montesquieu, there should be a strict separation of the executive, legislature and judiciary. While other systems, notably the United States, attempted to put this into practice (e.g. requiring the executive does not come from the legislature), it is clear that modern political parties may undermine such a separation by capturing all three branches of government, and democracy has been maintained since the 20th century despite the fact that "there is no formal separation of powers in the United Kingdom". The Constitutional Reform Act 2005 did, however, end the practice of the Lord Chancellor sitting as the head of the judiciary, while also being a Member of Parliament, and sitting in the cabinet. Since the Act of Settlement 1700, there has been only one instance of a judge being removed, and a suspension cannot happen without the Lord Chief Justice and the Lord Chancellor following a judge being subject to criminal proceedings. There is now a duty on all ministers to "uphold the continued independence of the judiciary", including against assault by powerful corporations or the media.


title: Constitution of the United Kingdom

text: The principle of a "democratic society", with a functioning representative and deliberative democracy, that upholds human rights, legitimises the fact of Parliamentary sovereignty, and it is widely considered that "democracy lies at the heart of the concept of the rule of law". The opposite of arbitrary power exercised by one person is "administration is in the hands of the many and not of the few". According to the preamble to the European Convention on Human Rights, as drafted by British lawyers following World War II, fundamental human rights and freedoms are themselves "best maintained ... by "an effective political democracy". Similarly, this "characteristic principle of democracy" is enshrined by the First Protocol, article 3, which requires the "right to free elections" to "ensure the free expression of the opinion of the people in the choice of the legislature". While there are many conceptions of democracy, such as "direct", "representative" or "deliberative", the dominant view in modern political theory is that democracy requires an active citizenry, not only in electing representatives, but in taking part in political life.


title: Constitution of the United Kingdom

text: Its essence lies in not simply majority decision-making, nor referendums that can easily be used as a tool of manipulation, "but in the making of politically responsible decisions" and in "large-scale social changes maximising the freedom" of humankind. The legitimacy of law in a democratic society depends upon a constant process of deliberative discussion and public debate, rather than imposition of decisions. It is also generally agreed that basic standards in political, social and economic rights are necessary to ensure everyone can play a meaningful role in political life. For this reason, the rights to free voting in fair elections and "general welfare in a democratic society" have developed hand-in-hand with all human rights, and form a fundamental cornerstone of international law.


title: Constitution of the United Kingdom

text: In the UK's "modern democratic constitution", the principle of democracy is manifested through statutes and case law which guarantee the right to vote in fair elections, and through its use as a principle of interpretation by courts. In 1703, in the landmark case of "Ashby v White", Lord Holt CJ stated that the right of everyone "to give [their] vote at the election of a person to represent [them] in Parliament, there to concur to the making of laws, which are to bind [their] liberty and property, is a most transcendent thing, and of an high nature". This has meant that the courts actively ensure that votes cast are counted, and that democratic elections are conducted according to law. In "Morgan v Simpson" the Court of Appeal held that if a vote "was conducted so badly that it was not substantially in accordance with the law as" then it would be declared void, and so would even minor irregularities that would affect the result.


title: Constitution of the United Kingdom

text: A considerable body of regulation, for instance in the Representation of the People Act 1983 or the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000, restrict spending or any foreign interference because, according to Baroness Hale "each person has equal value" and "we do not want our government or its policies to be decided by the highest spenders". More broadly, the concept of a "democratic society" and what is "necessary" for its functioning underpins the entire scheme of interpretation for the European Convention on Human Rights as applied in British law, particularly after the Human Rights Act 1998, because each right can usually only be restricted if "in accordance with law" and as "necessary in a democratic society". The place of the social welfare state that is necessary to support democratic life is also manifested through courts' interpretation. For instance, in "Gorringe v Calderdale MBC", Lord Steyn, giving the leading judgement, said it was "necessary" to view the law of negligence in the context of "the contours of our social welfare state". More generally, the common law has been increasingly developed to be harmonious with statutory rights, and also in harmony with rights under international law.


title: Constitution of the United Kingdom

text: Like other democratic countries, the principles of international law are a basic component of the British constitution, both as a primary tool of interpretation of domestic law, and through the UK's consistent support and membership of major international organisations. As far back as Magna Carta, English law recognised the right to free movement of people for international trade. By 1608, Sir Edward Coke wrote confidently that international commercial law, or the , is part of the laws of the realm, while the constitutional crises of the 17th century centred upon Parliament halting the King's attempting to tax international trade without its consent. Similarly in the 18th century, Lord Holt CJ viewed international law as a general tool for interpretation of the common law, while Lord Mansfield in particular did more than any other to affirm that the international "is not the law of a particular country but the law of all nations", and "the law of merchants and the law of the land is the same".


title: Constitution of the United Kingdom

text: In 1774, in "Somerset v Stewart", one of the most important cases in legal history, Lord Mansfield held that slavery was lawful "in no country" and therefore in common law.


title: Constitution of the United Kingdom

text: In modern case law it has been consistently accepted that it "is a principle of legal policy that [British] law should conform to public international law." The House of Lords stressed that "there is a strong presumption in favour of interpreting English law (whether common law or statute) in a way which does not place the United Kingdom in breach of an international obligation." For example, in "Hounga v Allen" the Supreme Court held that a young lady who had been illegally trafficked to the UK had a right to bring a race discrimination claim against her employers, even though she had herself been in violation of the Immigration Act 1971. In doing so, the court unanimously drew upon international treaties signed by the UK, known as the Palermo protocols, as well as the European Convention on Human Rights, in interpreting the scope of the common law doctrine of illegality, and held it was no bar for the claimant to assert her legal rights. It has been further debated whether the UK should adopt a theory of that sees international law as part of UK without any further act (a "monist" theory), or whether it should still be required for international law principles to be translated into domestic law (a "dualist" theory). The current position in European Union law is that while international law binds the EU, it cannot undermine fundamental principles of constitutional law or human rights.


title: Constitution of the United Kingdom

text: Since the World Wars brought an end to the British Empire and physically destroyed large parts of the country, the UK has consistently supported organisations formed under international law. From the Treaty of Versailles in 1919, the UK was a founding member of the International Labour Organization, which sets universal standards for people's rights at work. After the failure of the League of Nations and following World War II, the UK became a founding member of the United Nations, recognised by Parliament through the United Nations Act 1946, enabling any resolution of the Security Council except the use of force to be implemented by an Order in Council. Due the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948, the continuation of the British Empire lost substantial legitimacy under international law, and combined with independence movements this led to its rapid dissolution.


title: Constitution of the United Kingdom

text: Two fundamental treaties, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in 1966, saw the UK ratify most rights from the Universal Declaration. Codifying the Ponsonby Rule from 1924, the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010 section 20 stipulates that a treaty is ratified once it is laid before Parliament for 21 days and no adverse resolution is passed against it. Regionally, the UK participated in drafting the 1950 European Convention on Human Rights which sought to guarantee basic standards of democracy and human rights to preserve peace in post-war Europe. At the same time, following long-held visions for European integration with the UK "at the centre", democratic European countries sought to integrate their economies both to make war vain, and to advance social progress.


title: Constitution of the United Kingdom

text: In 1972, the UK joined the European Communities (reorganized and renamed the European Union in 1992) and committed to implement EU law in which it participated, in the European Communities Act 1972. In 1995, the UK also became a founding member of the World Trade Organization. To ensure that the European Convention was directly applied by the courts, the Human Rights Act 1998 was passed. Parliament also passed the International Criminal Court Act 2001 to enable prosecution of war criminals, and subjected itself to the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court. In 2016 the UK voted in a referendum on whether to leave the European Union, resulting—with a 72.2% turnout—in a margin of 51.9% favouring "leave" and 48.1% favouring "remain". Some allegations were made of misconduct taking place in the campaigns in support of both referendum options, whilst authorities found nothing considered serious enough to affect results and little to chastise.


title: Constitution of the United Kingdom

text: While principles may be the basis of the UK constitution, the institutions of the state perform its functions in practice. First, Parliament is the sovereign entity. Its two chambers legislate. In the House of Commons each Member of Parliament is elected by a simple plurality in a democratic vote, although outcomes do not always accurately match people's preferences overall. Elections must be held within five years after the previous election of a Parliament, though historically they have tended to occur each four years. Election spending is tightly controlled, foreign interference is prohibited, and donations and lobbying are limited in whatever form. The House of Lords reviews and votes upon legislative proposals by the Commons. It can delay legislation by one year, and cannot delay at all if the proposed Act concerns money.


title: Constitution of the United Kingdom

text: Most Lords are appointed by the Prime Minister, through the King, on the advice of a Commission which, by convention, offers some balance between political parties. Ninety-two hereditary peers remain. To become law, each Act of Parliament must be read by both houses three times, and given royal assent by the monarch. The Sovereign does not veto legislation, by convention, since 1708. Second, the judiciary interprets the law. It can not strike down an Act of Parliament, but the judiciary ensures that any law which may violate fundamental rights has to be clearly expressed, to force politicians to openly confront what they are doing and "accept the political cost".


title: Constitution of the United Kingdom

text: Under the Constitutional Reform Act 2005, the judiciary is appointed by the Judicial Appointments Commission with cross-party and judicial recommendations, to protect judicial independence. Third, the executive branch of government is led by the prime minister who must be able to command a majority in the House of Commons. The Cabinet of Ministers is appointed by the Prime Minister to lead the main departments of state, such as the Treasury, the Foreign Office, the Department of Health and the Department for Education. Officially the "head of state" is the monarch, but all prerogative power is exercised by the Prime Minister, subject to judicial review. Fourth, as the UK matured as a modern democracy, an extensive system of civil servants, and public service institutions developed to deliver UK residents economic, social and legal rights. All public bodies, and private bodies that perform public functions, are bound by the rule of law.


title: Constitution of the United Kingdom

text: In the British constitution, Parliament sits at the apex of power. It emerged through a series of revolutions as the dominant body, over the church, courts, and the monarch, and within Parliament the House of Commons emerged as the dominant chamber, over the House of Lords that traditionally represented the aristocracy. The central justification for Parliamentary sovereignty is usually thought to be its democratic nature, although it was only upon the Representation of the People (Equal Franchise) Act 1928 that Parliament could be said to have finally become "democratic" in any modern sense (as property qualifications to vote were abolished for everyone over 21), and not until after the Second World War that decolonisation, university constituencies and lowering of the voting age took place. Parliament's main functions are to legislate, to allocate money for public spending, and to scrutinise the government.


title: Constitution of the United Kingdom

text: In practice many MPs are involved in Parliamentary committees which investigate spending, policies, laws and their impact, and often report to recommend reform. For instance, the Modernisation Committee of the House of Commons in 2002 recommended publishing draft bills before they became law, and was later found to have been highly successful. There are 650 Members of Parliament (MPs) in the House of Commons, currently elected for terms of up to five years, and 790 peers in the House of Lords. For a proposed Bill to become an Act, and law, it must be read three times in each chamber, and given royal assent by the monarch.


title: Constitution of the United Kingdom

text: Today, the House of Commons is the primary organ of representative government. Section 1 of the Representation of the People Act 1983 gives the right to all registered citizens of the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and the Commonwealth aged 18 and over to elect Members of Parliament to the House of Commons. Sections 3 and 4 exclude people who are convicted of an offence and in a penal institution, or detained under mental health laws. These restrictions fall below European standards, which require that people who are convicted of very minor crimes (such as petty theft or drug offences) have the right to vote. Since 2013, everyone has to register individually to vote, instead of households being able to register collectively, but an annual household canvass is conducted to increase the number of registered people.


title: Constitution of the United Kingdom

text: As far back as 1703, "Ashby v White" recognised the right to "vote at the election of a person to represent him or [her] in Parliament, there to concur to the making of laws, which are to bind his liberty and property" as "a most transcendent thing, and of an high nature". This originally meant that any interference in that right would lead to damages. If the denial of voting would have changed the result, or if a vote was "conducted so badly that it was not substantially in accordance with the law" the vote would have to be run again. So, in "Morgan v Simpson" the Court of Appeal declared that an election for a Greater London Council seat was not valid after it was found that 44 unstamped ballot papers were not counted. These common law principles predate statutory regulation, and therefore appear to apply to any vote, including elections and referendums.


title: Constitution of the United Kingdom

text: Election spending is tightly controlled today by statute. A maximum of £20 million can be spent by political parties in national campaigns, plus £10,000 in each constituency. Political advertisements on television are prohibited except for those in certain free time slots, although the internet remains largely unregulated. Any spending over £500 by third parties must be disclosed. While these rules are strict, they were held in "Animal Defenders International v UK" to be compatible with the Convention because "each person has equal value" and "we do not want our government or its policies to be decided by the highest spenders." Foreign interference in voting is completely prohibited, including any "broadcasting" (also over the internet) "with intent to influence persons to give or refrain from giving their votes".


title: Constitution of the United Kingdom

text: Donations by foreign parties can be forfeited in their entirety to the Electoral Commission. Domestic donations are limited to registered parties, and must be reported, when they are over £7,500 nationally or £1,500 locally, to the Electoral Commission. The system for electing the Commons is based on constituencies, whose boundaries are periodically reviewed to even out populations. There has been considerable debate about the first-past-the-post system of voting the UK uses, as it tends to exclude minority parties. By contrast, in Australia voters may select preferences for candidates, although this system was rejected in a 2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum staged by the Cameron-Clegg coalition. In the European Parliament, voters choose a party from multi-member regional constituencies: this tends to give smaller parties much greater representation. In the Scottish Parliament, the Welsh Parliament and London Assembly, voters have the choice of both constituencies and a party list, which tends to reflect overall preferences best. To be elected as an MP, most people generally become members of political parties, and must be over 18 on the day of nomination to run for a seat, be a qualifying Commonwealth or Irish citizen, not be bankrupt, found guilty of corrupt practices, or be a Lord, judge or employee of the civil service. To limit the government's practical control over Parliament, the Ministerial and other Salaries Act 1975 restricts higher payment of salaries to a set number of MPs.


title: Constitution of the United Kingdom

text: Along with a hereditary monarch, the House of Lords remains an historical curiosity in the British constitution. Traditionally it represented the landed aristocracy, and political allies of the monarch or the government, and has only gradually and incompletely been reformed. Today, the House of Lords Act 1999 has abolished all but 92 hereditary peers, leaving most peers to be "life peers" appointed by the government under the Life Peerages Act 1958, law lords appointed under the Appellate Jurisdiction Act 1876, and Lords Spiritual who are senior clergy of the Church of England. Since 2005, senior judges can only sit and vote in the House of Lords after retirement. The government carries out appointment of most peers, but since 2000 has taken advice from a seven-person House of Lords Appointments Commission with representatives from the Labour, Conservatives and Liberal-Democrat parties. A peerage can always be disclaimed, and ex-peers may then run for Parliament. Since 2015, a peer may be suspended or expelled by the House. In practice the Parliament Act 1949 greatly reduced the House of Lords' power, as it can only delay and cannot block legislation by one year, and cannot delay money bills at all.


title: Constitution of the United Kingdom

text: Several options for reform have been debated. A House of Lords Reform Bill 2012 proposed to have 360 directly elected members, 90 appointed members, 12 bishops and an uncertain number of ministerial members. The elected Lords would have been elected by proportional representation for 15-year terms, through 10 regional constituencies on a single transferable vote system. However, the government withdrew support after backlash from Conservative backbenches. It has often been argued that if the Lords were elected by geographic constituencies and a party controlled both sides "there would be little prospect of effective scrutiny or revision of government business." A second option, like in Swedish Riksdag, could simply be to abolish the House of Lords: this was in fact done during the English Civil War in 1649, but restored along with the monarchy in 1660. A third proposed option is to elect peers by work and professional groups, so that health care workers elect peers with special health knowledge, people in education elect a fixed number of education experts, legal professionals elect legal representatives, and so on. This is argued to be necessary to improve the quality of legislation.


title: Constitution of the United Kingdom

text: The judiciary in the United Kingdom has the essential functions of upholding the rule of law, democracy, and human rights. The highest court of appeal, renamed from the House of Lords officially from 2005, is the Supreme Court. The Lord Chancellor's role changed dramatically on 3 April 2006, as a result of the Constitutional Reform Act 2005. Due to the Constitutional Reform Act of 2005, the make up of the Judiciary is clearly demonstrated for the first time inside the Constitution. This form of enshrined law presents a new branch of government. An independent Supreme Court has been established, separate from the House of Lords and with its own independent appointments system, staff, budget and building.