4. Monarch, Crown, and Royal Prerogative Flashcards

1
Q

Of what offices does the Crown consist?

A
  • Monarch
  • Prime Minister
  • Ministers
  • Government departments
  • Civil servants
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2
Q

Under the Bill of Rights Act 1689, who is the sovereign, and what are the two consequences of this?

A

Parliament, which means:

  1. Parliament can abolish any prerogative power by passing an Act of Parliament, and
  2. No new prerogative powers can be created, as government should seek them from Parliament
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3
Q

Which prevails when Parliament expressly abolishes a prerogative power and replaces it with a statutory power, or passes legislation which overlaps with a prerogative power?

A

The statutory power prevails, or the statute takes precedence

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4
Q

Due to statutory precedence what can the crown never do, and what would an example of this be?

A

The Crown cannot thwart the intention of Parliament, e.g. government deciding to never bring legislation into force when Parliament has allowed them this flexibility

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5
Q

Can the prerogative be used to change the law or changes the sources of UK law?

A

No

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6
Q

One of what two things is necessary for a statute to bind the Crown?

A
  1. Statute expressly states that it binds the Crown, or
  2. That a statute will bind the Crown is obvious by necessary implication
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7
Q

What are the three types of prerogative powers that remain today?

A
  1. Ministerial
  2. Personal
  3. Miscellaneous/archaic
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8
Q

Who exercises ministerial prerogative powers?

A

Ministers of behalf of the Crown

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9
Q

What is the constitutional concern over the ministerial prerogative stemming from the fact it is derived from common law and not statute?

A

Parliament generally has little oversight as to how the powers are used, and is usually limited to scrutinising how they are exercised

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10
Q

What are the four most important ministerial prerogative powers?

A
  1. Negotiation and ratification of international treaties
  2. Declarations of war, and deployment and use of armed forces overseas
  3. Prime Minister’s power to appoint and remove ministers
  4. Grant and revocation of passports
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11
Q

What are the four personal prerogative powers and by whom are they excercised?

A

The Monarch personally exercises the following:

  1. Appointment of PM
  2. Power to dismiss government
  3. Power to prologue government
  4. Granting Royal Assent
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12
Q

Government’s power to ratify international treaties is controlled by what Act of Parliament?

A

Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010

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13
Q

What is the process which the government must follow before they can ratify a treaty?

A

They must publish a draft of the treaty before Parliament, and it can be ratified only if neither the House of Commons nor House of Lords has voted that it should not be ratified within 21 days

Basically a negative resolution procedure with a shorter timeframe.

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14
Q

What is the government’s option if either House votes that a treaty should not be ratified?

A

They can explain why it should be ratified, and then from that point once again, if neither House has voted again within 21 days that it should not be ratified, the government can ratify the treaty

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15
Q

When can the government bypass the requirement to publish the treaty before Parliament and is the definition for this provided by law?

A

In an exceptional case, which has not been defined in law

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16
Q

What is the cardinal convention?

A

The Monarch will always act on the advice of her ministers, even if the Monarch disagrees

17
Q

Whilst the Monarch cannot refuse to act on the advice of her ministers, what three rights does the Monarch have?

A
  1. Be consulted
  2. Encourage
  3. Warn
18
Q

Even though the deployment of forces overseas is a ministerial prerogative power, what has the government done since the Iraq War?

A

Sought the support of the House of Commons

19
Q

Under constitutional convention, what are the two requirements of a Prime Minister?

A

The Prime Minister must be:

  1. An MP, and
  2. Able to command the confidence of the House of Commons, i.e. maintain the support of the majority of all MPs
20
Q

What are the four things which occur when there is a hung Parliament?

A
  1. Prime Minister remains in office unless they have lost confidence of the House of Commons
  2. Monarch does not get actively involved
  3. The political parties decide who forms the next government
  4. When an agreement has been reached, the PM will resign (if necessary) and the Monarch will appoint a person who has the confidence of the House of Commons
21
Q

What prerogative powers are not generally subject to judicial review?

A

high-policy areas - defence, foreign policy, treaties, national security, the dissolution of Parliament, and appointment of ministers.

22
Q

What presumption is raised regarding whether AoPs are binding on the Crown?

A

Crown is not bound by an Act of Parliament unless expressly states so (ie. HRA 1998)

23
Q

What happens once an AoP is repealed?

A

Royal prerogative power revives

24
Q

Whose permission is required before the Crown can be sued?

A

Attorney General’s permission

25
Q

Can the Monarch be compelled to appear as a witness in court?

A

No for criminal trials