4. Monarch, Crown, and Royal Prerogative Flashcards
Of what offices does the Crown consist?
- Monarch 🤴
- Prime Minister 🎩
- Ministers 🧐
- Government departments ⛪️
- Civil servants 🤓
Under the Bill of Rights Act 1689, who is the sovereign, and what are the two consequences of this?
Parliament, which means:
- Parliament can abolish any prerogative power by passing an Act of Parliament, and
- No new prerogative powers can be created, as government should seek them from Parliament
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?
The statutory power prevails, or the statute takes precedence
Due to statutory precedence what can the crown never do, and what would an example of this be?
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
Can the prerogative be used to change the law or changes the sources of UK law?
No
One of what two things is necessary for a statute to bind the Crown?
- Statute expressly states that it binds the Crown, or
- That a statute will bind the Crown is obvious by necessary implication
What are the three types of prerogative powers that remain today?
- Ministerial 🧐
- Personal😗
- Miscellaneous/archaic🤷♀️
Who exercises ministerial prerogative powers?
Ministers of behalf of the Crown
What is the constitutional concern over the ministerial prerogative stemming from the fact it is derived from common law and not statute?
Parliament generally has little oversight as to how the powers are used, and is usually limited to scrutinising how they are exercised
What are the four most important ministerial prerogative powers?
- Negotiation and ratification of international treaties 🌍📝
- Declarations of war, and deployment and use of armed forces overseas 💥🫡
- Prime Minister’s power to appoint and remove ministers 🎩🧐
- Grant and revocation of passports 📕
What are the four personal prerogative powers and by whom are they excercised?
😗
The Monarch personally exercises the following:
- Appointment of PM 🎩
- Power to dismiss government 🤬
- Power to prologue government 🤠
- Granting Royal Assent 👼
Government’s power to ratify international treaties is controlled by what Act of Parliament?
Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010
What is the process which the government must follow before they can ratify a treaty?
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.
What is the government’s option if either House votes that a treaty should not be ratified?
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
When can the government bypass the requirement to publish the treaty before Parliament and is the definition for this provided by law?
In an exceptional case, which has not been defined in law
