Impeachment: The English Experience

the English parliamentary system of government, an important distinction is drawn between an apolitical head of state and his political subordinates. The former is revered and protected and only the latter can be held accountable for their conduct. "The King," the leading judges in England reported in 1607, "as it is written in our books, can do no wrong." That Parliament and the courts nevertheless could hold kings responsible for their actions was dramatically demonstrated on 30 January 1649, but it took a civil war and not the mere amendment of statutes to bring Charles I to the executioner's block. Officials of the Crown in Britain are accountable to Parliament