What options face the Commission on what to recommend about conventions, and which course of action would be preferable?

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Public Law I Essay A

A (hypothetical) Constitutional Commission is considering how (if at all) constitutional conventions might be incorporated into the draft of a new constitution of the United Kingdom.  What options face the Commission on what to recommend about conventions, and which course of action would be preferable?

In order to accurately assess the incorporation of Constitutional conventions into the draft of a new Constitution of the United Kingdom, one must firstly look at the definition and nature of constitutional conventions.  A succinct definition is that a convention is a constitutional practice or way of behaving which is considered to be binding on those to whom it applies.  An example of this is that the Queen can appoint anyone to be Prime Minister; by convention she appoints the leader of the majority party of the House of Commons.  Constitutional conventions are considered to be an important part of the British Constitution but could possibly pose a problem if they are broken due to their ambiguous nature.

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Conventions become present through two means; past practice and specific agreement.  If politicians (of any other governmental instrument) act in the same way for a number of years, a convention can arise because of tradition; if the mechanism works, there seems to be little point in changing it.  The most important example of a convention derived from tradition is that the monarch acts on ministerial advice.  This convention has been apparent since the late 19th century.  A more unusual way for a convention to arise is through specific agreement.  A lucid illustration of convention arising through this fashion is that ...

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