Constitutional Conventions in the Distribution and Regulation of Power in the British Constitution Free Essay Example, 3250 words

The author of the paper states that constitutional conventions are the more informal ways in which politics are being practiced which have been implicitly sanctioned and accepted through the passage of time that they became expected ways of doing things. They are the informal rules which bridge the gap between constitutional formal theory and the practical realities of politics and have been described as the general agreements among public men about the rules of the game to be borne in mind in the conduct of political affairs. They exhibit the following characteristics: binding although non-legal in the sense that they have no legal basis which is enforceable in courts; created or changed not through legislation or common law; their enforcement is through political rather than legal sanctions, and; not put into writing. In the UK, in which there is no written constitutional law, constitutional conventions became the norm rather than the exceptions. They are, therefore, central t o British politics. In the distribution of powers in the government, constitutional conventions govern and prevail. A sovereign, for example, is expected to wield vast powers in the legislative and administrative arena, which implies that he/she could exercise the prerogative to dissolve the Parliament, appoint the highest of the government officials and even refuse to grant assent to Parliamentary bills. We will write a custom essay sample on Constitutional Conventions in the Distribution and Regulation of Power in the British Constitution or any topic specifically for you Only $17.96 $11.86/page