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111-864: A member of the European Parliament ( MEP ) is a person who has been elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament . When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the European Coal and Steel Community ) first met in 1952, its members were directly appointed by the governments of member states from among those already sitting in their own national parliaments. Since 1979, however, MEPs have been elected by direct universal suffrage every five years. Each member state establishes its own method for electing MEPs – and in some states this has changed over time – but

222-437: A Condorcet method ; these methods are also gaining popularity for lesser elections in some countries where more important elections still use more traditional counting methods. While openness and accountability are usually considered cornerstones of a democratic system, the act of casting a vote and the content of a voter's ballot are usually an important exception. The secret ballot is a relatively modern development, but it

333-615: A barrister 's wig (a Bench Wig) would be worn in court. This tradition, however, is being phased out in Britain in non-criminal courts. In Oman , the judge wears a long stripe (red, green white), while the attorneys wear the black gown. In Portugal and in the former Portuguese Empire , the judges used to carry a staff that was red for ordinary judges and white for the judges from the outside . In Hong Kong , court proceedings are conducted in either English or Hong Kong Cantonese (a dialect of Yue Chinese ). Judges of Hong Kong retain many of

444-564: A direct democracy , one type of non-partisan democracy , any eligible person can be nominated. Although elections were used in ancient Athens, in Rome, and in the selection of popes and Holy Roman emperors, the origins of elections in the contemporary world lie in the gradual emergence of representative government in Europe and North America beginning in the 17th century. In some systems no nominations take place at all, with voters free to choose any person at

555-542: A free content work. Licensed under CC BY 4.0. Text taken from EU closes in on target for gender parity in the European Parliament​; , Kashyap Raibagi/VoxEurop, EDJNet. Election An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office . Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has operated since

666-706: A jury . In inquisitorial systems of criminal investigation , a judge might also be an examining magistrate . The presiding judge ensures that all court proceedings are lawful and orderly. The ultimate task of a judge is to settle a legal dispute in a final and publicly lawful manner in agreement with substantial partialities. Judges exercise significant governmental power. They can order police, military or judicial officials to execute searches, arrests, imprisonments, garnishments, detainment, seizures, deportations and similar actions. However, judges also supervise that trial procedures are followed, in order to ensure consistency and impartiality and avoid arbitrariness. The powers of

777-454: A motion of no-confidence ). This calculation depends on a number of variables, such as its performance in opinion polls and the size of its majority. Rolling elections are elections in which all representatives in a body are elected, but these elections are spread over a period of time rather than all at once. Examples are the presidential primaries in the United States , Elections to

888-755: A court is addressed as tisztelt bíró úr , which means "Honourable Mister Judge" and a female presiding judge is addressed as tisztelt bírónő , which means "Honourable Madam Judge". The court as a body can be addressed as tisztelt bíróság , which means "Honourable Court". Judges of the Supreme Court , Court of Appeal , or High Court are officially titled The Honourable Mr/Mrs/Ms/Miss Justice Surname ( Irish : An Breitheamh Onórach Uasal [surname] ), and informally referred to for short as Mr/Mrs/Ms/Miss Justice Surname . In court, they are addressed either by their respective titles or styles, as The Court ( An Chúirt ), or simply Judge ( A Bhreithimh ). In law reports ,

999-404: A first time offender failing to vote is a $ 20.00 fine, which increases to $ 50.00 if the offender refused to vote prior. Historically the size of eligible voters, the electorate, was small having the size of groups or communities of privileged men like aristocrats and men of a city ( citizens ). With the growth of the number of people with bourgeois citizen rights outside of cities, expanding

1110-606: A general expenditure allowance of €4,563 per month. The single statute represented a pay cut for MEPs from some member states (e.g. Italy, Germany and Austria), a rise for others (particularly the low-paid eastern European members) and status quo for those from the United Kingdom, until January 2020 (depending on the euro-pound exchange rate). The much-criticised expenses arrangements were also partially reformed. Members declare their financial interests in order to prevent any conflicts of interest. These declarations are published in

1221-411: A high salary, in the U.S. the median salary of judges is $ 101,690 per annum, and federal judges earn $ 208,000–$ 267,000 per annum. In many civil law countries in Europe the majority of judges are women: in 5 countries ( Slovenia , Latvia , Luxembourg , Greece and Hungary ) women make more that 70% of judges of the first instance. In contrast, in common law countries ( UK , Ireland , Malta and

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1332-416: A judge are checked by higher courts such as appeals courts and supreme courts. The court usually has three main legally trained court officials: the judge, the prosecutor and the defence attorney. The role of a judge can vary between legal systems. In an adversarial system (common law), as in effect in the U.S. and England, the judge functions as an impartial referee, mainly ensuring correct procedure, while

1443-445: A man or Meretíssima Juíza when a woman (meaning "Most Worthy Judge") or as Vossa Excelência ("Your Excellency") when not specifying gender. In Romania , judges during trial are addressed as Onorata Instanta (Your Honor). In Russia, Vasha Chest ( Russian : Ваша Честь , lit.   'Your Honour') is used for criminal cases only with the one judge presiding. For civil, commercial and criminal cases presided over by

1554-429: A mechanism for selecting rulers. On the other hand, elections began to be seen as a way for the masses to express popular consent repeatedly, resulting in the triumph of the electoral process until the present day. This conceptual misunderstanding of elections as open and egalitarian when they are not innately so may thus be a root cause of the problems in contemporary governance . Those in favor of this view argue that

1665-563: A national of that state. The following citizens have been elected in a state other than their native country; It is conventional for countries acceding to the European Union to send a number of observers to Parliament in advance. The number of observers and their method of appointment (usually by national parliaments) is laid down in the joining countries' Treaties of Accession. Observers may attend debates and take part by invitation, but they may not vote or exercise other official duties. When

1776-678: A panel of judges the right address is Honorable Court . In Spain, magistrates of the Supreme Court, magistrates and judges are addressed to as "Your Lordship" ( Su Señoría ); however, in formal occasions, magistrates of the Supreme Court are addressed to as "Your Most Excellent Lordship" ( Vuestra Señoría Excelentísima or Excelentísimo Señor / Excelentísima Señora ); in those solemn occasions, magistrates of lower Courts are addressed as "Your Most Illustrious Lordship" ( Vuestra Señoría Ilustrísima or Ilustrísimo Señor / Ilustrísima Señora ); simple judges are always called "Your Lordship". In Sweden,

1887-458: A panel. In some civil law systems, this panel may include lay judges . Unlike professional judges, lay judges are not legally trained, but unlike jurors, lay judges are usually volunteers and may be politically appointed. Judges are often assisted by law clerks , referendaries and notaries in legal cases and by bailiffs or similar with security. There are both volunteer and professional judges. A volunteer judge, such as an English magistrate ,

1998-577: A political election. Impartiality is often considered important for rule of law . Thus, in many jurisdictions judges may be appointed for life, so that they cannot be removed by the executive. However, in non-democratic systems, the appointment of judges may be highly politicized and they often receive instructions on how to judge, and may be removed if their conduct does not please the political leadership. Judges must be able to research and process extensive lengths of documents, witness testimonies, and other case material, understand complex cases and possess

2109-614: A quarter of that at €32,000. However, in July 2005, the Council agreed to a single statute for all MEPs, following a proposal by the Parliament. Thus, since the 2009 elections, all MEPs receive a monthly pre-tax salary set at 38.5 percent of that of a judge at the European Court of Justice . As of July 1, 2019, the monthly salary is of €8,932.86 , or just over €107,000 per year. MEPs also receive

2220-617: A register and are available on the Internet. They must also make a detailed declaration of private interests, listing their memberships of company boards, associations, and public bodies (including those held during the three years prior to their election). They must also publish on-line all meetings that they have had with lobbyists and representatives of third country governments. They may not accept gifts, other than courtesy gifts valued at less than €150. They must declare all sources of outside income if their total outside income exceeds €5000. Under

2331-416: A return to sortition-based selection mechanisms. The extent to which sortition should be the dominant mode of selecting rulers or instead be hybridised with electoral representation remains a topic of debate. Judge The powers, functions, method of appointment, discipline, and training of judges vary widely across different jurisdictions . In some jurisdictions, the judge's powers may be shared with

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2442-532: A study exploring the results of the election in terms of gender balance. EU institutions have focused on how to achieve a better gender balance (at least 40 per cent) or gender parity (50 per cent) in the next Parliament, and for other high-level posts in other institutions. In the 2019 elections 308 female MEPs were elected (41 per cent). Sweden elected the highest percentage of female MEPs: 55 per cent. Overall, thirteen countries elected 45 to 55 per cent female MEPs, with seven countries reaching exactly 50 per cent. On

2553-806: A third of MEPs have previously held national parliamentary mandates, and over 10 per cent have ministerial experience at a national level. There are usually a number of former prime ministers and former members of the European Commission . Many other MEPs have held office at a regional or local level in their home states. Current MEPs also include former judges, trade union leaders, media personalities, actors, soldiers, singers, athletes, and political activists. Many outgoing MEPs move into other political office. Several presidents, prime ministers or deputy prime ministers of member states are former MEPs, including former Presidents of France Nicolas Sarkozy , Francois Hollande , Jacques Chirac and Francois Mitterrand ,

2664-501: A thorough understanding of the law and legal procedure, which requires excellent skills in logical reasoning, analysis and decision-making. Excellent writing skills are also a necessity, given the finality and authority of the documents written. Judges work with people all the time; by the nature of the job, good dispute resolution and interpersonal skills are a necessity. Judges are required to have good moral character , i.e. there must be no history of crime. Professional judges often enjoy

2775-402: A variety of political, organizational, and corporate settings. Many countries hold elections to select people to serve in their governments, but other types of organizations hold elections as well. For example, many corporations hold elections among shareholders to select a board of directors , and these elections may be mandated by corporate law . In many places, an election to the government

2886-404: Is laamanni ( lawspeaker ). They are assisted by notaries ( notaari ), assessors ( asessori ) and referendaries ( viskaali ) who may sometimes even chair sessions. In appeals courts ( hovioikeus ) an ordinary judge has the title hovioikeudenneuvos , the chairman of a section is hovioikeudenlaamanni and the court is led by a presidentti . In the Supreme Court, judges are titled oikeusneuvos and

2997-537: Is a variety of schedules, for example, presidents: the President of Ireland is elected every seven years, the President of Russia and the President of Finland every six years, the President of France every five years, President of the United States every four years. Predetermined or fixed election dates have the advantage of fairness and predictability. They tend to greatly lengthen campaigns, and make dissolving

3108-408: Is an election that is held purely for show; that is, without any significant political choice or real impact on the results of the election. Sham elections are a common event in dictatorial regimes that feel the need to feign the appearance of public legitimacy . Published results usually show nearly 100% voter turnout and high support (typically at least 80%, and close to 100% in many cases) for

3219-456: Is common for political scientists to attempt to predict elections via political forecasting methods. The most expensive election campaign included US$ 7 billion spent on the 2012 United States presidential election and is followed by the US$ 5 billion spent on the 2014 Indian general election . The nature of democracy is that elected officials are accountable to the people, and they must return to

3330-470: Is interference from the incumbent government. Dictators may use the powers of the executive (police, martial law, censorship, physical implementation of the election mechanism, etc.) to remain in power despite popular opinion in favour of removal. Members of a particular faction in a legislature may use the power of the majority or supermajority (passing criminal laws, and defining the electoral mechanisms including eligibility and district boundaries) to prevent

3441-407: Is no special form of address; ordinary politeness is sufficient and the procedure lacks arcane rituals. Accordingly, the chairman of the panel is addressed as herra/rouva puheenjohtaja ("Mr./Ms. Chairman"). Finnish judges use gavels, but there are no robes or cloaks used in any Finnish courts. In a district court ( käräjäoikeus ), ordinary judges work with the title käräjätuomari and the chairman

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3552-441: Is not required to have legal training and is unpaid. Whereas, a professional judge is required to be legally educated ; in the U.S., this generally requires a degree of Juris Doctor . Furthermore, significant professional experience is often required; for example, in the U.S., judges are often appointed from experienced attorneys . Judges are often appointed by the head of state . However in some jurisdictions, judges are elected in

3663-411: Is now considered crucial in most free and fair elections, as it limits the effectiveness of intimidation. When elections are called, politicians and their supporters attempt to influence policy by competing directly for the votes of constituents in what are called campaigns. Supporters for a campaign can be either formally organized or loosely affiliated, and frequently utilize campaign advertising . It

3774-620: Is prohibited as of 2009. In the 2004–2009 Parliament, a small number of members still held a dual mandate. Ian Paisley and John Hume once held triple mandates as MEP, Member of Parliament in the House of Commons , and Members of the Northern Ireland Assembly simultaneously. Women are generally under-represented in politics and public life in the EU, as well as in national parliaments, governments and local assemblies. The percentage of women in

3885-511: Is the judge, who will do the presiding, judging and sentencing on his own. As such, the judge is expected to apply the law directly, as in the French expression Le juge est la bouche de la loi ("The judge is the mouth of the law"). Furthermore, in some systems even investigations may be conducted by the judge, functioning as an examining magistrate. Judges may work alone in smaller cases, but in criminal, family and other significant cases, they work in

3996-452: Is the study of results and other statistics relating to elections (especially with a view to predicting future results). Election is the fact of electing, or being elected. To elect means "to select or make a decision", and so sometimes other forms of ballot such as referendums are referred to as elections, especially in the United States . Elections were used as early in history as ancient Greece and ancient Rome , and throughout

4107-433: Is usually a competition among people who have already won a primary election within a political party . Elections within corporations and other organizations often use procedures and rules that are similar to those of governmental elections. The question of who may vote is a central issue in elections. The electorate does not generally include the entire population; for example, many countries prohibit those who are under

4218-552: The 1995 and 2002 presidential referendums in Saddam Hussein's Iraq . In Mexico , all of the presidential elections from 1929 to 1982 are considered to be sham elections, as the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) and its predecessors governed the country in a de facto single-party system without serious opposition, and they won all of the presidential elections in that period with more than 70% of

4329-636: The 2014 Crimean status referendum , as well as the 2014 Donbass status referendums and the 2022 annexation referendum in Russian-occupied Ukraine ), the 2018 and 2024 Venezuelan presidential election , the 1928 , 1935 , 1942 , 1949 , 1951 and 1958 elections in Portugal, those in Indonesia during New Order regime, the 1991 and 2019 Kazakh presidential elections , those in North Korea ,

4440-427: The 2014 European Parliament election 11 countries of 28 reached this goal in their own quota of elected candidates. While in nine EU countries there were mechanisms in place to facilitate female representation, only in four of these countries did women exceeded 40 per cent of elected candidates. On the other hand, in eight countries this goal was reached despite the absence of such systems. The FEMM Committee requested

4551-810: The Chief Justice of Ireland has the postnominal CJ , the Presidents of the other Courts have the postnominal P , and all other judges J , e.g. Smith J . Judges of the Circuit Court are titled His/Her Honour Judge Surname and are addressed in Court as Judge . Before 2006, they were addressed as My Lord ( A thiarna ) . Judges of the District Court are titled Judge Surname and addressed in Court as Judge . Before 1991 these judges were known as District Justices and addressed as Your Worship ( d'Onóra ). In Italy,

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4662-557: The Ephors of Sparta in 754 BC, under the mixed government of the Spartan Constitution . Athenian democratic elections, where all citizens could hold public office, were not introduced for another 247 years, until the reforms of Cleisthenes . Under the earlier Solonian Constitution ( c.  574 BC ), all Athenian citizens were eligible to vote in the popular assemblies, on matters of law and policy, and as jurors, but only

4773-527: The Maryland Supreme Court wear distinct dress. In Italy and Portugal , both judges and lawyers wear particular black robes. In some countries, especially in the Commonwealth of Nations , judges wear wigs . The long wig often associated with judges is now reserved for ceremonial occasions, although it was part of the standard attire in previous centuries. A short wig resembling but not identical to

4884-453: The Parliament for much of its life, continuously holding between 40 and 70 per cent of the seats together. No single group has ever held a majority in Parliament. As a result of being broad alliances of national parties, European groups parties are decentralised and hence have more in common with parties in federal states like Germany or the United States than unitary states like the majority of

4995-866: The Urdu equivalent Janab or Judge Sahab . In Sri Lanka , judges of most courts are addressed as Your Honour ; however, the Chief Justice is addressed as Your Lordship . Judges of the Supreme Court and the Appeal Court receives the title The Honourable . Judges in Vietnam are addressed as Quý tòa (literally the "Honorable Court"). In Bulgaria before 1989 during the communist regime, judges were addressed as drugarju ( Bulgarian : другарю , lit.   'comrade'). After 1989, gospodín sŭdiya (Bulgarian: господин съдия , lit.   'mister judge') or gospožo sŭdiya (Bulgarian: госпожо съдия , lit.   'madam judge'). There

5106-418: The 17th century. Elections may fill offices in the legislature , sometimes in the executive and judiciary , and for regional and local government . This process is also used in many other private and business organisations, from clubs to voluntary associations and corporations . The global use of elections as a tool for selecting representatives in modern representative democracies is in contrast with

5217-478: The 18th century, some societies in Western Europe used sortition as a means to select rulers, a method which allowed regular citizens to exercise power, in keeping with understandings of democracy at the time. The idea of what constituted a legitimate government shifted in the 18th century to include consent , especially with the rise of the enlightenment . From this point onward, sortition fell out of favor as

5328-614: The District of Columbia had mandatory retirement ages for State court judges, which ranged from 70 to 75 for most (but is as high as 90 in Vermont ). A 2020 study by the National Bureau of Economic Research found significant positive effects on the performance of state Supreme Courts with mandatory retirement age for judges. The authors advocated the adoption of mandatory retirement ages for all federal and state judges, although they felt, that

5439-463: The EU parliament has increased from 15.2 per cent after the first European Parliament election in 1979 to 41 per cent after 2019 European Parliament election . To reach gender parity, women should hold 50 per cent of seats and positions of power. However, according to the goal set by the European Institute for Gender Equality , a ratio between 40 and 60 per cent is considered acceptable. After

5550-716: The EU states. Although, the European groups, between 2004 and 2009, were actually more cohesive than their US counterparts. Aside from working through their groups, individual members are also guaranteed a number of individual powers and rights within the Parliament: Every month except August the Parliament meets in Strasbourg for a four-day plenary session. For the rest of the time, it is based in Brussels, where some six supplementary plenary sessions are held for two days each, and where

5661-815: The English tradition. In writing, the post-nominal letters PJ is used to refer to a permanent judge of the Court of Final Appeal and NPJ to a non-permanent judge. In the High Court, the abbreviation JA is used to denote a justice of appeal, and the letter J refers to a judge of the Court of First Instance. Masters of the High Court are addressed as Master . When trials are conducted in Chinese, judges were addressed, in Cantonese, as Fat Goon Dai Yan ( Hong Kong Cantonese : 法官大人 , romanized:  faat3 gun1 daai6 jan4 , lit.   'Judge, your lordship') before

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5772-636: The English traditions such as wearing wigs and robes in trials. In the lower courts, magistrates are addressed as Your worship , and district court judges as Your Honour . In the superior courts of record, namely the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal and the High Court of Hong Kong (which consists of the Court of Appeal and the Court of First Instance ), judges are addressed as My Lord or My Lady and referred to as Your Lordship or Your Ladyship , following

5883-571: The European Parliament (where, due to differing election laws in each member state, elections are held on different days of the same week) and, due to logistics, general elections in Lebanon and India . The voting procedure in the Legislative Assemblies of the Roman Republic are also a classical example. In rolling elections, voters have information about previous voters' choices. While in

5994-616: The High Courts were addressed as Your Lordship or My Lord and Your Ladyship or My Lady , a tradition directly attributable to England. The Bar Council of India had adopted a resolution in April 2006 and added a new Rule 49(1)(j) in the Advocates Act . As per the rule, lawyers can address the court as Your Honour and refer to it as Honourable Court . If it is a subordinate court, lawyers can use terms such as sir or any equivalent phrase in

6105-693: The Medieval period to select rulers such as the Holy Roman Emperor (see imperial election ) and the pope (see papal election ). The Pala King Gopala (ruled c.  750s  – 770s CE) in early medieval Bengal was elected by a group of feudal chieftains. Such elections were quite common in contemporary societies of the region. In the Chola Empire , around 920 CE, in Uthiramerur (in present-day Tamil Nadu ), palm leaves were used for selecting

6216-520: The Parliament's committees, political groups, and other organs also mainly meet. The obligation to spend one week a month in Strasbourg was imposed on Parliament by the member state governments at the 1992 European Council meeting in Edinburgh. The total cost of the European Parliament is approximately €2.247 billion per year according to its 2023 budget, with the cost of translation and interpretation, and

6327-551: The United States . At the same time the Kingdom of Great Britain had in 1780 about 214,000 eligible voters, 3% of the whole population. Naturalization can reshape the electorate of a country. A representative democracy requires a procedure to govern nomination for political office. In many cases, nomination for office is mediated through preselection processes in organized political parties. Non-partisan systems tend to be different from partisan systems as concerns nominations. In

6438-1034: The United States interfering between 1946 and 2000 in 81 elections and Russia or the Soviet Union in 36. In 2018 the most intense interventions, utilizing false information, were by China in Taiwan and by Russia in Latvia ; the next highest levels were in Bahrain, Qatar and Hungary. This can include falsifying voter instructions, violation of the secret ballot , ballot stuffing , tampering with voting machines, destruction of legitimately cast ballots, voter suppression , voter registration fraud, failure to validate voter residency, fraudulent tabulation of results, and use of physical force or verbal intimation at polling places. Other examples include persuading candidates not to run, such as through blackmailing, bribery, intimidation or physical violence. A sham election , or show election ,

6549-737: The United States) the situation is reverse: over 70% of judges of the first instance are men. On the other hand, women are underrepresented in the Supreme Courts in the USA and all EU countries, except for Romania (in Romanian High Court of Cassation and Justice over 80% of judges are women). In the United States, federal judges are appointed "for good behavior", which means in practice, that federal judges work until they die, voluntarily retire or are impeached. The death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg in

6660-402: The age of majority from voting. All jurisdictions require a minimum age for voting. In Australia, Aboriginal people were not given the right to vote until 1962 (see 1967 referendum entry ) and in 2010 the federal government removed the rights of prisoners serving for three years or more to vote (a large proportion of whom were Aboriginal Australians). Suffrage is typically only for citizens of

6771-573: The balance of power in the body from shifting to a rival faction due to an election. Non-governmental entities can also interfere with elections, through physical force, verbal intimidation, or fraud, which can result in improper casting or counting of votes. Monitoring for and minimizing electoral fraud is also an ongoing task in countries with strong traditions of free and fair elections. Problems that prevent an election from being "free and fair" take various forms. The electorate may be poorly informed about issues or candidates due to lack of freedom of

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6882-468: The basis of universal suffrage . There is no uniform voting system for the election of MEPs; rather, each member state is free to choose its own system, subject to three restrictions: The allocation of seats to each member state is based on the principle of degressive proportionality , so that, while the size of the population of each nation is taken into account, smaller states elect more MEPs than would be strictly justified by their populations alone. As

6993-502: The bench). American judges frequently wear black robes. American judges have ceremonial gavels , although American judges have court deputies or bailiffs and contempt of court power as their main devices to maintain decorum in the courtroom. However, in some of the Western United States , like California, judges did not always wear robes and instead wore everyday clothing. Today, some members of state supreme courts , such as

7104-412: The cost of its buildings in two main locations, being significant extra burdens not faced by national parliaments. Until 2009, MEPs were paid (by their own Member State) exactly the same salary as a member of the lower House of their own national parliament. As a result, there was a wide range of salaries in the European Parliament. In 2002, Italian MEPs earned €130,000, while Spanish MEPs earned less than

7215-414: The costs (barriers to entry) associated with raising one's political profile. Ultimately, the result is the election of candidates who are superior (whether in actuality or as perceived within a cultural context) and objectively unlike the voters they are supposed to represent. Evidence suggests that the concept of electing representatives was originally conceived to be different from democracy . Prior to

7326-404: The countries then become full member states, these observers become full MEPs for the interim period between accession and the next European elections. From 26 September 2005 to 31 December 2006, Bulgaria had 18 observers in Parliament and Romania 35. These were selected from government and opposition parties as agreed by the countries' national parliaments. Following accession on 1 January 2007,

7437-405: The country, though further limits may be imposed. In the European Union, one can vote in municipal elections if one lives in the municipality and is an EU citizen; the nationality of the country of residence is not required. In some countries, voting is required by law. Eligible voters may be subject to punitive measures such as a fine for not casting a vote. In Western Australia, the penalty for

7548-553: The court is led by a presidentti . In France, the presiding judge of a court is addressed as Monsieur le président or Madame le président , whilst associated judges are addressed as Monsieur l'Assesseur or Madame l'Assesseur . Out of the courtroom, judges are referred to as Monsieur le juge or Madame le juge . In Germany, judges are addressed as Herr Vorsitzender or Frau Vorsitzende , which translate as "Mister Chairman" and "Madam Chairwoman", or as Hohes Gericht , which translates as "High Court". The male presiding judge of

7659-491: The drop, Malta still elected 50 per cent women in 2019. Cyprus dropped from 17 per cent in 2014 to zero women this year, while Estonia dropped from 50 to 33 per cent. Hungary , Lithuania and Luxembourg made the greatest gains (19, 18 and 17 percentage points respectively) when we compare 2019 with 2014, followed by Slovenia and Latvia , both increasing their percentage of women MEPs by 13 points. Luxembourg, Slovenia and Latvia all elected 50 per cent female MEPs. As of 2019,

7770-420: The elected delegates). Electoral systems are the detailed constitutional arrangements and voting systems that convert the vote into a political decision. The first step is for voters to cast the ballots , which may be simple single-choice ballots, but other types, such as multiple choice or ranked ballots may also be used. Then the votes are tallied, for which various vote counting systems may be used. and

7881-413: The election to prevent them from running. Ballots may contain only one "yes" option, or in the case of a simple "yes or no" question, security forces often persecute people who pick "no", thus encouraging them to pick the "yes" option. In other cases, those who vote receive stamps in their passport for doing so, while those who did not vote (and thus do not receive stamps) are persecuted as enemies of

7992-476: The first elections, there may be plenty of hopeful candidates, in the last rounds consensus on one winner is generally achieved. In today's context of rapid communication, candidates can put disproportionate resources into competing strongly in the first few stages, because those stages affect the reaction of latter stages. In many of the countries with weak rule of law , the most common reason why elections do not meet international standards of being "free and fair"

8103-476: The former Deputy PM of the United Kingdom Nick Clegg , current Prime Minister of Italy Giorgia Meloni , Danish former Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt , and Belgian former PM Elio Di Rupo . A dual mandate, in which an individual is a member of both their national parliament and the European Parliament , was officially discouraged by a growing number of political parties and member states, and

8214-779: The history of elections. Males, the dominant cultural group in North America and Europe, often dominated the electorate and continue to do so in many countries. Early elections in countries such as the United Kingdom and the United States were dominated by landed or ruling class males. By 1920 all Western European and North American democracies had universal adult male suffrage (except Switzerland) and many countries began to consider women's suffrage . Despite legally mandated universal suffrage for adult males, political barriers were sometimes erected to prevent fair access to elections (see civil rights movement ). Elections are held in

8325-417: The individual authorities should decide on the specific age for themselves. A variety of traditions have become associated with the rank or occupation. Gavels (a ceremonial hammer) are used by judges in many countries, to the point that the gavel has become a symbol of a judge. In many parts of the world, judges wear long robes (often in black or red) and sit on an elevated platform during trials (known as

8436-548: The judges of Madras HC , Justice K Chandru had banned lawyers from addressing his court as My Lord and Your Lordship . In Israel, the judges ( Hebrew : שופט‬ , romanized :  shofét , lit.   'judge') of all courts are addressed as Sir , Madam (Hebrew: אדוני‬/גבירתי‬ , romanized:  adoni/geverti ) or Your Honor (Hebrew: כבודו‬/כבודה‬ , romanized:  kevodo/kevoda ). Typically after every naming you will hear haShofét , meaning "the judge" after

8547-525: The legislature (parliamentary system) more problematic if the date should happen to fall at a time when dissolution is inconvenient (e.g. when war breaks out). Other states (e.g., the United Kingdom ) only set maximum time in office, and the executive decides exactly when within that limit it will actually go to the polls. In practice, this means the government remains in power for close to its full term, and chooses an election date it calculates to be in its best interests (unless something special happens, such as

8658-406: The modern system of elections was never meant to give ordinary citizens the chance to exercise power - merely privileging their right to consent to those who rule. Therefore, the representatives that modern electoral systems select for are too disconnected, unresponsive, and elite-serving. To deal with this issue, various scholars have proposed alternative models of democracy, many of which include

8769-430: The number of MEPs granted to each member state has arisen from treaty negotiations, there is no precise formula for the apportionment of seats. No change in this configuration can occur without the unanimous consent of all national governments. The European Parliament has a high turnover of members compared to some national parliaments. After every recent election, just over half of elected members had not been members in

8880-561: The observers became MEPs (with some personnel changes). Similarly, Croatia had 12 observer members from 17 April 2012, appointed by the Croatian parliament in preparation for its accession in 2013. [REDACTED]  This article incorporates text from a free content work. Licensed under CC BY 4.0. Text taken from How gender balanced will the next European Parliament be?​ , Gina Pavone/OBC Transeuropa, EDJNet. [REDACTED]  This article incorporates text from

8991-478: The office in 2020 and suspension of Pauline Newman in 2023 reinvigorated the discussion about mandatory retirement age for federal judges, but such change would require a constitutional amendment and is unlikely to be implemented soon. States have more flexibility in establishing a mandatory retirement age for judges, as was confirmed by the SCOTUS in its 1991 decision Gregory v. Ashcroft . As of 2015, 33 States and

9102-469: The other hand, Cyprus has elected zero women, and Slovakia elected only 15 percent. Other Eastern European countries, namely Romania , Greece , Lithuania and Bulgaria , all elected fewer than 30 per cent female MEPs. Eight member states elected a lower number of women in 2019 than in 2014. Malta , Cyprus and Estonia lost the most female representation in the EU parliament, dropping by 17 percentage points, while Slovakia dropped by 16. However, despite

9213-428: The people . Sham elections can sometimes backfire against the party in power, especially if the regime believes they are popular enough to win without coercion, fraud or suppressing the opposition. The most famous example of this was the 1990 Myanmar general election , in which the government-sponsored National Unity Party suffered a landslide defeat by the opposition National League for Democracy and consequently,

9324-440: The practice in the democratic archetype , ancient Athens , where the elections were considered an oligarchic institution and most political offices were filled using sortition , also known as allotment, by which officeholders were chosen by lot. Electoral reform describes the process of introducing fair electoral systems where they are not in place, or improving the fairness or effectiveness of existing systems. Psephology

9435-403: The predominance of elections in modern liberal democracies masks the fact that they are actually aristocratic selection mechanisms that deny each citizen an equal chance of holding public office. Such views were expressed as early as the time of Ancient Greece by Aristotle . According to French political scientist Bernard Manin, the inegalitarian nature of elections stems from four factors:

9546-452: The prescribed candidates or for the referendum choice that favours the political party in power. Dictatorial regimes can also organize sham elections with results simulating those that might be achieved in democratic countries. Sometimes, only one government-approved candidate is allowed to run in sham elections with no opposition candidates allowed, or opposition candidates are arrested on false charges (or even without any charges) before

9657-784: The presiding judge of a court is addressed as Signor presidente della corte . In the Netherlands , presiding judges of either sex are, in writing only, addressed edelachtbare ("Your Honour") for judges in the Court of First Instance, edelgrootachtbare ("Your Great Honour") for justices in the Court of Appeal and edelhoogachtbare ("Your High Honour") for justices in the High Council of the Netherlands (Supreme Court). In Poland, presiding judges of either sex during trial are addressed Wysoki Sądzie ("High Court"). In Portugal , presiding judges during trial are addressed as Meretíssimo Juiz when

9768-503: The presiding judge of a court is traditionally addressed as Herr Ordförande or Fru Ordförande , which translate as "Mister Chairman" and "Madam Chairwoman". In the Courts of England and Wales , Supreme Court judges are called Justices of the Supreme Court. Justices of the Supreme Court who do not hold life peerages are now given the courtesy style "Lord" or "Lady". Justices of the Supreme Court are addressed as "My Lord/Lady" in court. In

9879-459: The press , lack of objectivity in the press due to state or corporate control, or lack of access to news and political media. Freedom of speech may be curtailed by the state, favouring certain viewpoints or state propaganda . Gerrymandering , exclusion of opposition candidates from eligibility for office, needlessly high restrictions on who may be a candidate, like ballot access rules, and manipulating thresholds for electoral success are some of

9990-580: The previous parliament. Elmar Brok served the longest continuous term from the first elections in 1980 until 2019 (39 years). MEPs organise themselves into cross-national political groups , except for a few non-attached members known as Non-Inscrits who choose not to join a Group (or no Group wants them). The two largest groups are the European People's Party Group (EPP Group) and the Socialists & Democrats (S&D). These two groups have dominated

10101-436: The proceedings, as they generally are in the superior courts, are in English. In Pakistan, judges of the Supreme Court and the High Courts are addressed as Your Lordship or My Lord or Lordship and Your Ladyship or My Lady , a tradition directly attributable to England. There is some resistance to this on religious grounds but more or less continues till this day. In lower courts, judges are addressed as sir , madam or

10212-401: The prosecution and the defense present their case to a jury , often selected from common citizens. The main factfinder is the jury, and the judge will then finalize sentencing. Nevertheless, in smaller cases judges can issue summary judgments without proceeding to a jury trial. In an inquisitorial system (civil law), as in effect in continental Europe, there is no jury and the main factfinder

10323-489: The protocol on the privileges and immunities of the European Union , MEPs in their home state receive the same immunities as their own national parliamentarians. In other member states, MEPs are immune from detention and from legal proceedings, except when caught in the act of committing an offense. This immunity may be waived by application to the European Parliament by the authorities of the member state in question. Around

10434-446: The regime through suppression of the opposition, coercion of voters, vote rigging , reporting several votes received greater than the number of voters, outright lying, or some combination of these. In an extreme example, Charles D. B. King of Liberia was reported to have won by 234,000 votes in the 1927 general election , a "majority" that was over fifteen times larger than the number of eligible voters. Some scholars argue that

10545-517: The regional language concerned. Explaining the rationale behind the move, the Bar Council had held that the words such as My Lord and Your Lordship were "relics of the colonial past". The resolution has since been circulated to all state councils and the Supreme Court for adoption but over five years now, the resolution largely remained on paper. However, in an unprecedented move in October 2009, one of

10656-594: The respective address. For example, Your Honor the Judge would be כבוד השופט‬ ( kevod haShofét ). Biy - elected judges using adat Zheti Zhargy . The Council of biys  [ kk ; ru ] was the highest council, a kind of senate . In Malaysia, judges of the subordinate courts are addressed as Tuan or Puan ("Sir", "Madam"), or Your Honour . Judges of the superior courts are addressed as Yang Arif ( lit.   ' Learned One ' ) or My Lord , My Lady , etc.; and Your Lordship or My Ladyship if

10767-1046: The results were annulled. Examples of sham elections include: the presidential and parliamentary elections of the Islamic Republic of Iran , the 1929 and 1934 elections in Fascist Italy , the 1942 general election in Imperial Japan , those in Nazi Germany , East Germany , the 1940 elections of Stalinist "People's Parliaments" to legitimise the Soviet occupation of Estonia , Latvia and Lithuania , those in Egypt under Gamal Abdel Nasser , Anwar Sadat , Hosni Mubarak , and Abdel Fattah el-Sisi , those in Bangladesh under Sheikh Hasina , those in Russia under Vladimir Putin (including

10878-427: The system chosen must be a form of proportional representation . Some member states elect their MEPs to represent a single national constituency; other states apportion seats to sub-national regions for election. There may also be non-voting observers when a new country is seeking membership of the European Union . From 1 January 2007, when Romania and Bulgaria joined the EU, there were 785 MEPs, but their number

10989-520: The term citizen, the electorates grew to numbers beyond the thousands. Elections with an electorate in the hundred thousands appeared in the final decades of the Roman Republic , by extending voting rights to citizens outside of Rome with the Lex Julia of 90 BC , reaching an electorate of 910,000 and estimated voter turnout of maximum 10% in 70 BC, only again comparable in size to the first elections of

11100-569: The three highest classes of citizens could vote in elections. Nor were the lowest of the four classes of Athenian citizens (as defined by the extent of their wealth and property, rather than by birth) eligible to hold public office, through the reforms of Solon . The Spartan election of the Ephors, therefore, also predates the reforms of Solon in Athens by approximately 180 years. Questions of suffrage , especially suffrage for minority groups, have dominated

11211-431: The time of voting—with some possible exceptions such as through a minimum age requirement—in the jurisdiction. In such cases, it is not required (or even possible) that the members of the electorate be familiar with all of the eligible persons, though such systems may involve indirect elections at larger geographic levels to ensure that some first-hand familiarity among potential electees can exist at these levels (i.e., among

11322-403: The transfer of sovereignty from the United Kingdom to China, and as Fat Goon Gok Ha (Hong Kong Cantonese: 法官閣下 , romanized:  faat3 gun1 gok3 haa6 , lit.   'Judge, your honour') since 1997. Fat Goon (Hong Kong Cantonese: 法官 , romanized:  faat gun1 , lit.   'Judge') means the word "judge". In India , judges of the Supreme Court and

11433-466: The unequal treatment of candidates by voters, the distinction of candidates required by choice, the cognitive advantage conferred by salience, and the costs of disseminating information. These four factors result in the evaluation of candidates based on voters' partial standards of quality and social saliency (for example, skin colour and good looks). This leads to self-selection biases in candidate pools due to unobjective standards of treatment by voters and

11544-496: The village committee members. The leaves, with candidate names written on them, were put inside a mud pot. To select the committee members, a young boy was asked to take out as many leaves as the number of positions available. This was known as the Kudavolai system. The first recorded popular elections of officials to public office, by majority vote, where all citizens were eligible both to vote and to hold public office, date back to

11655-453: The vote. The first seriously competitive presidential election in modern Mexican history was that of 1988 , in which for the first time the PRI candidate faced two strong opposition candidates, though it is believed that the government rigged the result. The first fair election was held in 1994 , though the opposition did not win until 2000 . A predetermined conclusion is permanently established by

11766-422: The voters at prescribed intervals to seek their mandate to continue in office. For that reason, most democratic constitutions provide that elections are held at fixed regular intervals. In the United States, elections for public offices are typically held between every two and six years in most states and at the federal level, with exceptions for elected judicial positions that may have longer terms of office. There

11877-422: The voting system then determines the result on the basis of the tally. Most systems can be categorized as either proportional , majoritarian or mixed . Among the proportional systems, the most commonly used are party-list proportional representation (list PR) systems, among majoritarian are first-past-the-post electoral system (single winner plurality voting ) and different methods of majority voting (such as

11988-410: The ways the structure of an election can be changed to favour a specific faction or candidate. Scheduling frequent elections can also lead to voter fatigue . Those in power may arrest or assassinate candidates, suppress or even criminalize campaigning, close campaign headquarters, harass or beat campaign workers, or intimidate voters with violence. Foreign electoral intervention can also occur, with

12099-408: The widely used two-round system ). Mixed systems combine elements of both proportional and majoritarian methods, with some typically producing results closer to the former ( mixed-member proportional ) or the other (e.g. parallel voting ). Many countries have growing electoral reform movements, which advocate systems such as approval voting , single transferable vote , instant runoff voting or

12210-416: The youngest MEP is Kira Marie Peter-Hansen of Denmark, who was 21 at the start of the July 2019 session, and is also the youngest person ever elected to the European Parliament. The oldest MEP ever was Manolis Glezos who was 92 when elected in 2014. European citizens are eligible for election in the member state where they reside (subject to the residence requirements of that state); they do not have to be

12321-505: Was reduced to 736 at the elections in 2009. With effect from the elections held in May 2014 the number had risen to 751. This has been reduced to 705 members after the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union in January 2020, with each member state now having at least six and at most 96 MEPs. From the 2024 elections, there will be 720 members. Elections are held once every five years, on

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