British political practice has played a key role in shaping the political and legal systems of the nations of the Commonwealth. Among the Commonwealth member states are Kiribati, which became the subject of interest in the British Empire in the second half of the 18th century. White colonizers at the end of the 19th century took over the protectorate over the islands, which in 1916 was converted into a British colony. In the mid-1970s, the colonies split into two parts. Independent status of Kiribati was proclaimed definitively in 1979. Considering the international aspect, it has been a sovereign member of the United Nations since 1999. On the other hand, on the basis of constitutional solutions, like many other states that were once part of the British colonial Empire, Kiribati adopted and implemented the foundations of the Westminster model of democracy. Through the evolution of the system, gradually moved away from the traditional pattern, giving way to other concepts of government and politics. However, there is no justification for Kiribati’s complete denial of the original assumptions of the Westminster model of governance for other constitutional solutions. It will be more convincing to conclude that Kiribati now has a mixed system of government: it has got the elements drawn on the British tradition as well as taken from the presidential system.

The „Shadow Cabinet” in the Westminster System of Government

The „shadow cabinet” appointed by the largest opposition party in the House of Commons is an integral part of the Westminster system of government. The practice of its creation originated in the UK in the second half of the 19th century, where it underwent a significant evolution linked to the coordination of the opposition’s strategy enabling it to become a government cabinet, as well as to the official recognition of the position of opposition party leader, who since 1937 has received a fixed salary. The modern and at the same time permanent appointment of shadow ministers who are at the same time spokespersons of the opposition on specific ministerial issues dates back to the long Conservative Party governments (1951–1964) against which the Labour Party formulated an official „shadow cabinet”. The aim of this article was to show the genesis of the „shadow cabinet”, to define its tasks and functions in the Westminster model of parliamentary-cabinet government.