Fundamentals of Constitutional Law: A Student's Guide
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10 cards
Question: What effect does absence of accountability have on powers within government?
Answer: It makes such powers particularly useful to government, as lack of accountability allows potential abuse or unchecked use of power.
Question: How can powers without accountability be divided?
Answer: Into those relating to foreign affairs and those relating to domestic affairs; and into powers exercised by the monarch versus those exercised by the
Question: What are constitutional conventions?
Answer: Customs or historical practices that determine what will happen in certain circumstances.
Question: What fundamental principle describes that those in power hold office because they were elected?
Answer: Democracy.
Question: How does the parliamentary process reflect democracy?
Answer: It reflects the will of the people by having elected representatives pass legislation in the people's name.
Question: What is the role of accountability in the constitution?
Answer: It ensures those in power are answerable for how they use their powers to prevent abuse; e.g., civil servants are accountable to ministers, who are ac
Question: What does the constitutional doctrine 'separation of powers' state?
Answer: Power is divided among key organs of state that oversee each other and must work together, helping to prevent or limit abuse by any single part of the
Question: What is the rule of law in basic terms?
Answer: A set of underlying principles governing how the legal system should operate and how state powers should be controlled, including equal application of
Question: What is parliamentary sovereignty?
Answer: The principle that Parliament is the supreme body within the constitution and has the sole power to make laws at the national level.
Question: How does parliamentary sovereignty relate to democracy and accountability?
Answer: It draws on those themes by making the democratically elected Parliament the supreme law-making body, with members accountable through the democratic