Constitutional 2: Monarch and Crown

Question 1

What is included in the Crown?

Answer 1

Executive
- monarch
- PM
- ministers
- government departments
- civil servants

Question 2

What types of prerogative powers are there (general)?

Answer 2

Ministerial Prerogative Powers
- made by ministers and approved by monarch

Personal Prerogative Powers
- exercised by monarch
- constrained by convention

Miscellaneous Prerogative Powers

Legislative Prerogative Powers

Question 3

What prerogative powers do ministers have?

Answer 3

• power to acquire and cede territory
• negotiation and ratification of intention treaties
• conducting diplomacy in general (recognising states, appointment of ambassadors etc.)
• deployment of armed forces and declaration of war
• use of the armed forces within the UK to maintain peace in support of the police
• PM’s power to appoint and remove ministers from their government
• grant and revocation of passports
• grant of pardons and the power to stop criminal prosecutions

Question 4

What are the personal prerogative powers?

Answer 4

• appointment of PM
• power to dismiss government
• power to prorogue parliament
• granting Royal Assent to legislation

Question 5

What are the Legislative and Judicial Prerogative powers

Answer 5

Legislative
- passing Orders of Council (form of legislation passed by Privy Council)
- granting Royal Assent

Judicial
- Privy council hearing appeals from commonwealth countries

Question 6

What is the process for ratifying international treaties?

Answer 6

Prerogative power but is subject to control by parliament

1. Lay draft before parliament for 21 days
   - can then be ratified if neither house has voted against it in 21 days
2. if noted against by either house
   - gov can explain why they want to ratify it
   - commons then has further 21 days to vote against it
   - if not voted against can be ratified

Exception
- in exceptional cases government can by-pass this (but this is not defined)
- not to be used if there has been a vote against

Question 7

What is the Cardinal Convention

Answer 7

Monarch always act on the advice of PM and prevents monarch from making public statement in disagreement

Monarch does have right:
- to be consulted
- to be encouraged
- to warn

Question 8

How can armed forces be deployed

Answer 8

Prerogative power
- but convention that support of commons is sought

Question 9

What is the convention of the appointment of PM?

Answer 9

Prerogative power subject to convention
- PM must be an MP
- must command the confidence of the commons (meaning continuing support of majority of MPs)

Question 10

What happens if a general election does result in an overall majority for one party?

Answer 10

Hung Parliament

• PM remains in office until it is clear that they have lost confidence of commons
• monarch does not get involved
• up to parties to determine who should form next government by negotiating with each other to see what sort of deal can be struck
• once clear that an agreement has been reached current PM will resign and Monarch appoints person with confidence of the commons

Question 11

Define/explain what conventions are.

Answer 11

Non-legal rules that apply to monarch, ministers and MPs

Question 12

Define/explain what prerogative powers are.

Answer 12

Exercised by the monarch but constrained by convention