Page 184 - DPOL202_COMPARATIVE_POLITICS_AND_GOVERNMENT_ENGLISH

Unit 7: Constitutional Structure: Executive

7.3 Summary Notes

• The constitutional history of Britain represents a steady decline of the body politic in the sphere
of Monarchy and the House of Lords. Before the Glorious Revolution of 1688 there was hardly
any difference between the King and Crown as the power of the state was vested in the wielder
of Crown.
• The result has been a twofold executive - powerful head of the government called the Prime
Minister and a relatively powerless head of the state called the King or Queen. This development
has led to a situation calling for the English writers to make a legal distinction between the
Monarch and the Crown of which he is a part.
• A long course of struggle between the kings and their people brought about a situation in
which the real centre of power shifted from a concrete monarch to an abstract Crown. Today
the Crown represents a synthesis of supreme authority vested in and exercised by the ministers
and the Parliament acting in the name of the ‘sovereign’. In a word, the Crown is the key-stone
of the constitutional structure of Britain whose powers “are always used as the cabinet, supported
by the Parliament, wants them to be used.”
• The title and succession of the monarch are governed by the laws made by the Parliament. The
Glorious Revolution of 1688 established the fact of the supremacy of Parliament over the king
and laws made by the Parliament after this bloodless revolution determined various issues
relating to the title and succession of the monarch.
• The principle of heredity is determined by the rule of primogeniture at common law which
means that an elder line is preferred to a younger one and that in the same line a male is
preferred to a female.
• There are other laws relating to the regency, incapacity of the king, and royal marriage. The
Regency Act of 1953 lays down the first potential regent (below 18 years) shall be the Duke of
Edinburgh and there after the Princess Margaret and then those in succession to the Throne
who are of age. If the sovereign is abroad or unfit to work for some reason, there is a provision
for the appointment of the Counsellors of State to act in the officiating capacity.
• It is, indeed, a peculiar feature of the British constitutional system that while the powers of the
king have declined, the powers of the Crown have increased. The reason for this should be
traced in the ever-growing process of democratisation. The powers of the Crown have emanated
from two sources — the acts made by the Parliament and the prerogatives derived from the
common law. While the laws made by the Parliament are explicit and are also amendable by it
alone, “the prerogatives are the residue of discretionary or arbitrary authority which at any
time is legally left in the hands of the Crown.
• He Crown has very important executive powers. As supreme executive head, it sees that all
national laws are duly enforced and observed. It directs, supervises, and controls the work of
administrative agencies, collects and expends national revenue, appoints administrative and
judicial officers, nominates ecclesiastical and defence “authorities, regulates the conditions of
service of the personnel, suspends and removes guilty officials, holds supreme command over
the defence forces and in some respects supervises the work of local government.
• The powers of the Crown are vast not only in executive matters but also in the field of legislation.
It summons the session of the Parliament, prorogues it, and can dissolve the House of Commons.
It delivers inaugural address when the Parliament meets which is called Speech from the Throne.
• The Crown has judicial powers. The judges of the local governments are appointed by the
Crown. The Lord Chancellor is appointed by it. All issues which come before the judicial
committee of the Privy Council are decided by it. It also exercises prerogative of mercy and may
grant pardon to persons convicted of criminal offences. In this way, it is the fountain-head of
justice.
• It is possible that a Prime Minister like Palmerston may be admonished by a monarch like
Queen Victoria for keeping her in the dark about certain important developments. He keeps

LOVELY PROFESSIONAL UNIVERSITY 179