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Political Science (Organisation and Institutions)
Previous Year Question Paper with Solution
B.A. LL.B. (Five Years) · Sem 2
2026 Jan (100 marks) Examination
munotes.in
Mumbai
B.A. LL.B. (Five Years) Sem 2 Political Science (Organisation and Institutions) 2026 Jan (100 marks) Question Paper with Solutions
First published on munotes.in on 21 October 2026.
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Contents
The questions below are the paper as Karnataka State Law University set it at the 2026 Jan (100 marks) examination, in the order it was set.
MarksPage
The Paper as Set
The questions in this volume are the questions asked at the 2026 Jan (100 marks) examination, reproduced as Karnataka State Law University set them, in the order it set them. Long reading passages are shortened to their first and last lines and our summary; the original paper prints them in full. Only the answers are ours. See the original question paper.
Duration 3 hours · Total marks 100 · 13 questions answered
How to use this volume
Solve the paper first, under exam conditions and against the clock. Then read the answers here and mark your own. Reading a solution before attempting the question feels productive and teaches very little, because recognising an answer is not the same as being able to write one.
Q1Explain the meaning and importance of conventions in England.[16]
Answer
For full marks, cover: the place of conventions in Britain's unwritten constitution; Dicey's definition and Freeman's description; how conventions differ from law; examples grouped by the Crown, the Cabinet, Parliament and devolution; their importance under several heads (they make the constitution work, secure the supremacy of the electorate, give flexibility, create responsible government, keep harmony between the Houses); why they are obeyed; enacted conventions and the Parliament Acts (Jackson); the courts' refusal to enforce them (Miller, 2017); their weaknesses; their echo in India (Shamsher Singh); and a conclusion.
Introduction
Britain has no single written constitution. Its constitution is made of statutes, judicial decisions, customs and understandings. Among these, the conventions are the most important for the daily working of government. Garner, quoting Boutmy, says: "In fact, the most important part of the political organization is just what is kept out of the written law and given over to the sole guardianship of custom." He adds that "the very name of the cabinet is unknown to the written law."
Meaning of conventions
Dicey divides the rules of the British constitution into two sets. The first, "the law of the constitution", consists of rules "enforced by the Courts", whether written or unwritten. The second consists of "conventions, understandings, habits, or practices" which regulate the conduct of the Crown, the Ministry and other officials, but "are not in reality laws at all since they are not enforced by the Courts." He calls this second set "the conventions of the constitution, or constitutional morality."
The historian Freeman described the same thing. "We now have a whole system of political morality, a whole code of precepts for the guidance of public men, which will not be found in any page of either the statute or the common law." Yet they "are in practice held hardly less sacred than any principle embodied in the Great Charter." By the side of the written law "there has grown up an unwritten or conventional Constitution".
Dicey warns that the word "conventional" must not suggest that these rules are trivial. "Some are as important as any laws."
Conventions and law distinguished
| Point | Law of the constitution | Conventions |
|---|---|---|
| Enforced by courts | Yes | No |
| Form | Statute or common law | Understandings and practice |
| Breach | Illegal, with a legal remedy | "Unconstitutional", with a political consequence |
| Example | The Bill of Rights | Ministers resign on losing the confidence of the Commons |
Freeman makes the point vividly. When an Englishman calls a public man's conduct "constitutional or unconstitutional", he means "something wholly different from what he means by conduct being legal or illegal."
Examples of conventions
1. Relating to the Crown.
- The King must assent to every Bill passed by both Houses. In law he may refuse; by convention he never does.
- The King acts on the advice of his ministers.
- "The party who for the time being command a majority in the House of Commons, have (in general) a right to have their leaders placed in office", and the most influential leader becomes Prime Minister.
2. Relating to the Cabinet.
- "A Ministry which is outvoted in the House of Commons is in many cases bound to retire from office."
- "The Cabinet are responsible to Parliament as a body, for the general conduct of affairs."
- A Cabinet outvoted on a vital question "may appeal once to the country by means of a dissolution." If the election goes against it, it must resign.
3. Relating to Parliament.
- "Parliament ought to be summoned for the despatch of business at least once in every year."
- If the two Houses disagree, the House of Lords "ought, at some point, not definitely fixed, to give way."
- "The House of Lords does not originate any money bill."
4. Relating to foreign affairs and devolution.
- The Crown "ought not to make any treaty which will not command the approbation of Parliament."
- The Sewel Convention: Westminster will not normally legislate on devolved matters without the consent of the devolved legislature.
The importance of conventions
1. They make the constitution work. Stripped of its conventions, Garner says, the British constitution "would be unrecognizable and infeasible." The law alone describes a powerful King. The conventions describe how Britain is actually governed.
2. They regulate the discretionary powers of the Crown. Dicey finds the common quality of conventions in this: they are "rules for determining the mode in which the discretionary powers of the Crown (or of the Ministers as servants of the Crown) ought to be exercised". The legal powers of dissolution, assent and appointment remain, but conventions decide how they are used.
3. They secure the supremacy of the electorate. This, for Dicey, is their deepest purpose. Conventions are "rules meant to ensure the ultimate supremacy of the true political sovereign, or, in other words, of the electoral body." The rule that the Lords must yield to the Commons, for example, means yielding to the deliberate decision of the nation.
4. They create responsible government. Collective responsibility, resignation on defeat and the choice of the majority leader as Prime Minister produce Cabinet government. That government answers to the House of Commons and, through it, to the people.
5. They give flexibility. Conventions change with practice, without formal amendment. Garner notes that flexible constitutions "can be stretched or bent so as to meet emergencies without breaking their framework", in Bryce's words.
6. They keep harmony between the organs. They settle relations between Crown and ministers, Cabinet and Parliament, and Lords and Commons, where the law is silent.
7. They bring a legal monarchy into line with democracy. Through conventions an ancient monarchy works as a modern democracy without a revolution.
Why conventions are obeyed
Dicey's answer is that breaking a convention soon leads to breaking the law. In his example, if Parliament were not summoned for more than a year, the annual Mutiny Act and the yearly grant of money would lapse. The government's agents would then come into conflict with the courts. Freeman adds that the conventional code is "as well understood and as effectual as the written Law itself." Public opinion, the press and the fear of electoral defeat also enforce it.
Enacted conventions: the Parliament Acts
Sometimes a convention is turned into law. Dicey called the effects of the Parliament Act 1911 "enacted conventions": the old understanding that the Lords must give way to the Commons was given statutory form. The Lords can now only delay most Bills.
The courts have upheld this statutory form. In Jackson v. Attorney General, [2005] UKHL 56, the Hunting Act 2004 had been passed under the Parliament Act 1949 without the consent of the House of Lords. The appellants argued that the 1949 Act was itself invalid. All nine Law Lords dismissed the appeal. Lord Bingham said that "the 1949 Act and the 2004 Act are Acts of Parliament of full legal effect."
The courts do not enforce conventions
In R (Miller) v. Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, [2017] UKSC 5, the devolved governments relied on the Sewel Convention, which section 28(8) of the Scotland Act 1998 had recognised. The Supreme Court held that it is "a political convention" and that its policing "does not lie within the constitutional remit of the judiciary." The Court said "the courts of law cannot enforce a political convention."
Weaknesses of conventions
- Uncertainty. Some conventions are disputed. Dicey admits that some "have nothing but a slight amount of custom in their favour."
- No legal remedy. A government willing to defy a convention cannot be stopped by a court.
- Dependence on goodwill. Conventions work only while politicians accept them.
Conventions in India
India borrowed the British conventions of Cabinet government and wrote some into its Constitution. In Shamsher Singh v. State of Punjab, AIR 1974 SC 2192, two probationary judges were dismissed by orders issued in the Governor's name and argued that the Governor had to act personally. Seven judges held that the Constitution "embodies generally the Parliamentary or Cabinet system of Government of the British model". The President and Governors act on the advice of their Ministers "save in a few well known exceptional situations." What is convention in Britain is constitutional law in India.
Conclusion. Conventions are the understandings and practices that govern the British constitution but are not enforced by the courts. Freeman called them a code of political morality held "hardly less sacred" than the Great Charter. They make the King act on advice, make the Cabinet answer to the Commons and make the Lords yield. Their importance is that they turn a legal monarchy into a responsible democracy and secure the supremacy of the electorate, while keeping the constitution flexible. Jackson shows a convention hardened into statute, Miller confirms that conventions remain political, and Shamsher Singh shows India writing them into law.
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