The Constitution Flashcards
what is a constitution (3 points)
- a constitution is central to a country’s legal system because it defines the principles upon which the system is based
- a constitution is about public power - the power of the state
- a constitution sets out the rules and practices that determine the composition and functions of government which regulate the rights and duties between citizen and state.
what are the 4 types of constitutions
- constitutional monarchy
- monarchy
- dictatorship
- republic
what is constitutional monarchy
a system of government that is ruled by a king or queen whose power is limited by its country’s constitution
what is monarchy
a system of government where the king has absolute power, this comes down through family
what is dictatorship
there is no choice one person runs the country (North Korea) dictators take over by force or get the support of the army
what is republic
system of voting (people power) vote in their president, chosen not to have a connection with the head of state (king)
what is the history of our constitution
linked to England - we inherited the English common law system in 1840 their law became our law
what year did the New Zealand Constitution act come into play and what are the 3 parts of the general assembly
1852
- governor
- legislative council
- House of Representatives
NZ still follows the Westminster system what is this?
a parliamentary model of representative government, where ministers comprising the government are elected by voters as their representatives
what is the NZ constitution act 1986 (3 points)
- principal formal statement of NZs constitutional agreements
- not a new constitution - a restatement of remaining parts of the constitution put into one document
- recognises the king as the head of the state with the governor general appointed as his representative
what 6 things form NZs constitution
- NZ constitution act 1986
- NZ bill of rights 1990
- electoral act 1993
- the treaty of Waitangi
- judicial decisions
- standing orders of the House of Representatives
what 3 seperate arms of government does the NZ constitution act 1986 deal with
- the executive
- the legislature
- the judiciary
what is executive government
administrating law, policy making, governor general and cabinet ministers
what is legislature government
the parliament and the MPs that make the law
what is judiciary government
judges, apply the law made by parliament
what are the two constitutional concepts
- rule of law
- separation of powers
what does the executive do?
conducts the government deciding on policy and administering legislation
who is the highest law making body in NZ
parliament
what are the two parts of parliament
- head of state - governor general
- House of Representatives
what three things make up the House of Representatives
- members of parliament elected for a 3 year term
- the speaker of the house
- select committees which examine proposed legislation (bills) and then report to parliament
who are judges and who are they appointment by
lawyers with at least 7 years experience, appointed by the governor general on recommendation of the attorney general
what do Quasi judicial officers do?
disputes tribunal, they have limited powers
list the hierarchy of courts
- supreme court
- court of appeal
- district court, Maori land court, and environmental court
- tribunals w
what does the court of appeal do
hears appeals
higher court decisions bind any lower court decisions
this means that lower courts must follow the legal precedents set by higher courts in their rulings.
list the 4 constitutional conventions vs law of the governor general
- must assent to bills, power not to assent to bills
- must appoint leader who has confidence of house of reps, power to appoint MP
- must appoint on advice of prime minister, power to appoint ministers
- must appoint on advice of attorney general, power to appoint judges
