HL Paper 166-I / HC Paper 551-I House of Commons / House of Lords Joint Committee on the Draft Constitutional Renewal Bill: Draft Constitutional Renewal Bill, Volume I PDF Download

Author:
Publisher: The Stationery Office
ISBN: 9780104013441
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 170

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Author: Bernan
Publisher: The Stationery Office
ISBN: 9780104013502
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 452

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The draft Bill and White Paper were included in Cm. 7342-I,II,III (ISBN 9780101734226) which follows the Green paper issued in July 2007, Cm. 7170 (ISBN 9780101717021) and various other Governance of Britain papers

Author: Tara McCormack
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 3030136825
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 130

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This book provides a state of the art discussion of the royal prerogative over war powers in the UK. This issue has received particular attention over proposed military strikes against the Syrian regime and it was claimed by many observers and scholars that parliament now controls decisions in war. However, the record has been mixed– and the most recent decision by Prime Minister May on Syria in 2018 shows that the executive can re-assert prerogative powers and effectively sidestep parliament. The author argues that these dynamics should be seen in the context of the declining authority of the executive and the legislature and in terms of a policy solution, and ultimately she suggests a War Powers Act as a firmer foundation for Britain’s war powers.

Author: Anthony King
Publisher: OUP Oxford
ISBN: 019152834X
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 448

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In the latter part of the nineteenth century Walter Bagehot wrote a classic account of the British constitution as it had developed during Queen Victoria's reign. He argued that the late Victorian constitution was not at all what people thought it was. Anthony King argues that the same is true at the beginning of this century. Most people are aware that major constitutional changes have taken place, but few recognize that their cumulative effect has been to change entirely the nature of Britain's constitutional structure. The old constitution has gone. The author insists that the new constitution is a mess, but one that we can make the best of. The British Constitution is neither a reference book nor a textbook. Like Bagehot's classic, it is written with wit and mordant humour-by someone who is a journalist and political commentator as well as a distinguished academic. The author maintains that, while the new British constitution is a mess, there is no going back now. 'As always', he says, 'nostalgia is a good companion but a bad guide.' Far from shying away from the thorniest issues facing the British polity today, the author grapples with them head on. He offers a trenchant analysis of the increasingly divergent relationship between England, Scotland and Wales in the light of devolution and a devastating critique of an all-elected House of Lords, whose benches, the author fears, risk being adorned by 'a miscellaneous assemblage of party hacks, political careerists, clapped-out retired or defeated MPs, has-beens, never-were's and never-could-possibly-be's'. The book is a Bagehot for the twenty-first century - the product of a lifetime's reflection on British politics and essential reading for anyone interested in how the British system has changed and how it is likely to change in future.

Author: Jonathan Harris
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0192867989
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 449

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This collection is in honour of the remarkable career of Lord Collins. The book offers a set of unique insights into the conduct of cross-border litigation; the judicial role in international cases; the shape of English private international law; the conduct of international arbitration; and the interface with public international law.

Author: Great Britain. Parliament. Joint Committee on Human Rights
Publisher: The Stationery Office
ISBN: 9780104014530
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 80

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The report opens with an affirmation that the British Government should protect the right to protest peacefully. It then discusses some concerns about policing of protest which could be addressed by legal and operational changes : -- 1. Reference to insulting words or behaviour should be removed from section 5 of the Public Order Act. This change would allow the police to arrest people for using threatening or abusive language or behaviour but not for using insulting language or behaviour; -- 2. Counter-terrorism powers should never be used against peaceful protestors : the Government's guidance on stop and search powers in Section 44 of the Terrorism Act 2000 should make this clear' - 3. The Government should protect the right to freedom of peaceful assembly around Parliament by repealing the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005. Protest around Parliament should be governed by the Public Order Act 1986, which should be amended to deal with the specific circumstances of Parliament; -- 4. police and protestors need to focus on improving dialogue. The police should aim for 'no surprises' policing : no surprises for the police; no surprises for protestors; and no surprises for protest targets. Protestors should also, where possible, engage with the police at an early stage in their planning, in order to facilitate peaceful protest; Tasers should never be used against peaceful protestors.

Author: Noel Cox
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1000171566
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 285

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This book examines the royal prerogative in terms of its theory, history and application today. The work explores the development of the royal prerogative through the evolution of imperial government, and more recent structural changes in the United Kingdom and elsewhere in the Commonwealth. While examining specific prerogative powers, the development of justiciability of the prerogative, and the exercise of the prerogative, it lays bare the heart of constitutionality in the Westminster system of government. There is said to be a black hole of unaccountable authority at the heart of the constitution and it is this which this book examines. The focus is upon the constitutional development of the United Kingdom and the old dominions of Canada, Australia and New Zealand. This approach is comparative and historical, using specific case studies of such events as the dissolution of Parliament and the appointment and dismissal of Prime Ministers. The book will be of interest to academics and researchers working in the areas of Constitutional Law and Politics.

Author: Margit Cohn
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0192555170
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 368

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The executive branch in Western democracies has been granted a virtually impossible task: expected to 'imperially' direct the life of the nation through thick and thin, it is concurrently required to be subservient to legislation meted out by a sovereign parliament. Drawing on a general argument from constitutional theory that prioritizes dispersal of power over concepts of hierarchy, this book argues that the tension between dominance and submission in the executive branch is maintained by the adoption of various forms of fuzziness, under which a guise of legality masks the absence of substantive limitation of power. Under this 'internal tension' vision of constitutionalism, the executive branch is simultaneously submissive to law and dominant over it, while concepts of substantive legality are compromised. Building on legal and political science research, this volume classifies and analyses thirteen forms of fuzziness, ranging from open-ended or semi-written constitutions to unapplied legislation. The study of this unavoidable yet problematic feature of the public sphere is addressed descriptively and normatively. Adding detailed examples from two fields of law - emergency law and air-pollution law - in two systems (the UK and the US), the book ends with a call for raising the threshold of judicial review, grounded in theories of participatory and deliberative democracy. This book addresses an area that is surprisingly under-researched. Despite the increase in executive power across democratic polities and increasing public interest in the executive branch and executive powers, this much-needed book offers a theoretical foundation that should ground all analysis of arguably the most powerful branch of modern government.

Author: Great Britain: Parliament: Joint Committee on Human Rights
Publisher: The Stationery Office
ISBN: 9780108459269
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 82

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The Constitutional Reform and Governance Bill was re-introduced in the House of Commons on 19 November 2009 and the Committee welcomes a number of aspects of the Bill which is implementing some of the commitments made by the Prime Minister in his Governance of Britain statement in July 2007. But the Committee considers there are a number of significant omissions from the Bill including in relation to judicial appointments, parliamentary scrutiny of security and intelligence matters, and the restrictive judicial interpretation of the meaning of public function in the Human Rights Act. They recommend amendments relating to the latter two points. They also look at Protest around Parliament, Ratification of Treaties and Right to a fair hearing and access to a court in the determination of civil rights.The Video Recordings Bill was introduced into the House of Commons on 15 December 2009 and is a fast track piece of legislation which repeals and revives the provisions of the Video Recordings Act 1984 in order to enable them to be notified to the European Commission under the Technical Standards Directive and so secure its enforceability. The Committee considers the human rights issues raised by this Bill should be subjected to parliamentary scrutiny. However as the 1984 Act, serves as an important child protection purpose, that are currently unenforceable, the Committee accepts the need for fast tracking this legislation and does not propose to further scrutinise this Bill.

Author: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Justice Committee
Publisher: The Stationery Office
ISBN: 9780215540584
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 56

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The Committee recognises the appetite in many quarters for fundamental constitutional change and welcomes the Government's renewed focus on constitutional reform and renewal in response to this. It is surprised by the limited provisions in the Constitutional Reform and Governance Bill, and fears that this may be a missed opportunity to make progress in some areas of reform. Any programme introducing fundamental change should be carefully constructed and aimed at a coherent outcome taking into account the widest possible range of views and allowing sufficient time for consideration and response. The Government's approach to constitutional reform has been ad hoc and piecemeal. Reform must underpinned by a set of constitutional principles based on a proper understanding of the position and role of Parliament in relation to the other institutions of state. The report covers the Parliamentary Standards Bill, House of Lords reform, a written constitution, stronger powers to local government, electoral reform, young people's engagement with politics, freedom of information. The Committee cautions that inappropriate handling of bills and proposals for reform specifically designed to restore public trust may further undermine that trust.