B.A. LL.B. (Five Years) Sem 3 Political Science (Major World Governments) 2019 Dec Question Paper with Solutions

For full marks, cover: conventions as one half of the "total constitution"; their role, point by point: turning legal monarchy into democracy, running parliamentary government, keeping the Lords below the Commons (the 1909 budget and the Parliament Act 1911), guiding the Crown's reserve powers, governing relations with the Dominions and the devolved nations (Statute of Westminster 1931, Sewel), adapting the constitution without amendment, and preparing the way for statute (the Ponsonby Rule); how courts treat them (Miller (No. 1), the Canadian Patriation Reference); an assessment; a conclusion.

Introduction

England, and the United Kingdom as a whole, has no single written constitution. Its constitution is found partly in law, meaning statutes and judicial decisions, and partly in conventions. Conventions are rules of political conduct which those in office accept as binding, although courts do not enforce them. The Supreme Court of Canada, working within the same British tradition, put it neatly in 1981: "Constitutional convention plus constitutional law equal the total constitution of the country." In Britain the convention half is especially large.

4. They guide the Crown's remaining powers. The power to refuse Royal Assent still exists in law, but has not been used since 1708. Convention also shapes the choice of Prime Minister and the timing of a dissolution. It gives the Sovereign the right to be consulted, to encourage and to warn. These rules keep the monarch politically neutral.

5. They govern relations within the wider Crown. Before 1931 it was a convention that Westminster would not legislate for the self-governing Dominions without their agreement. The Statute of Westminster 1931 records in its preamble that this was "in accord with the established constitutional position". Inside the United Kingdom, the Sewel convention plays the same part for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Westminster does not normally legislate on devolved matters without the consent of the devolved legislature.

6. They let the constitution adapt. New conventions grow as practice changes, without any formal amendment. In 2011 the Government accepted that a new convention had developed (Cabinet Manual, para 5.38). The Commons should debate the matter before troops are committed, except in emergencies. No statute was needed to create this new check on the executive.

Conclusion. Conventions play a central role in the English constitution. They make the Crown act on advice and create the rules of Cabinet and parliamentary government. They kept the Lords below the Commons until the Parliament Act 1911 put that into law. They guide the monarch's reserve powers, govern relations with the Dominions and the devolved nations, and let the constitution adapt. Courts do not enforce them, as Miller and the Patriation Reference show. They work because politicians accept them, and when they fail, Parliament can turn them into law.