Tag: Conventions
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Julian R Murphy: The Palace Letters Case: Constitutional Conventions and the Confidentiality of Royal Correspondence in the Commonwealth Realms
A century ago, Dicey distinguished between laws and conventions of the constitution on the basis that the latter were ‘not enforced or recognised by the courts’. Today, only the first aspect of Dicey’s observation remains true; while courts generally do not enforce constitutional conventions they are increasingly called upon to recognise conventions for particular purposes.…
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Nick Barber: Can Royal Assent Be Refused on the Advice of the Prime Minister?
There is a very good article in the most recent edition of the Law Quarterly Review. It is by Rodney Brazier, and is concerned with the nature and mechanics of royal assent. It is a fascinating read, and, as with all Brazier’s work, characterised by a dry wit. There is, however, one claim, made almost…
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Gavin Phillipson: ‘Historic’ Commons’ Syria vote: the constitutional significance. Part I
Does the recent vote in the House of Commons on military action against Syria have real constitutional significance? Is it the final piece of evidence that there is a constitutional convention that the consent of the House of Commons must be sought before armed force is used? If so, should anything be done to concretise…
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Hayley J. Hooper: Keep Calm and Carry On?
ON SEPTEMBER 18, 2012 the Upper Tribunal allowed an appeal, reversing decisions of the Information Commissioner relating to the release of “advocacy correspondence” between Prince Charles in his capacity as Heir to the Throne, and seven government departments. The information was originally requested by Guardian journalist Rob Evans and related to a time period between…
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Peter C. Oliver: Constitutional Conventions in the Canadian Courts
Most constitutional law textbooks across the Commonwealth include in the section on constitutional conventions lengthy extracts from the Canadian case, Re Amendment of the Constitution of Canada, often referred to as the Patriation Reference. Given that constitutional conventions are enforced not by courts but by the political process, conventions are rarely discussed in the law…