In this article you will learn about the Conventions of Constitution in Political Science.
Conventions of Constitution
Whether a Constitution is written or unwritten, in its actual working several conventions always play a big role. These regulate the working of almost all the political institutions and offices of the government.
Conventions of Constitution : Meaning
Conventions can be defined as the unwritten rules of political behaviour or morality which are followed by successive power-holders or authorities for the sake of convenience or expediency. These can be also described as the customs of the constitution or as political traditions which are followed by the office holders of the government. While J.S. Mill called these the Unwritten Maxims of the Constitution, the noted jurist Dicey described these as the Conventions of the Conventions.
Some popular Definitions of Conventions
Zink and Ogg observe, “Conventions consist of understandings, practices and habits which though only rules of political morality regulate a large portion of the actual day to day activities or relations of even the most important of the public authorities.”
According to A.V. Dicey, Conventions are “ the rules that determine the mode in which the discretionary powers of the Crown ought to be exercised.”
According to Herman Finer, “Conventions are rules of political behaviour not established in statutes, judicial decisions or parliamentary customs, but created outside these, supplementing them in order to achieve objectives or goals they have not yet embodied.”
In simple words, we can define conventions as unwritten rules of political behaviour, or as the political customs of the British. Just as social relations are characterised by customs of the society, political relations in society are also characterised by political customs i.e. conventions.
Nature of Conventions
For understanding the nature of conventions, we must analyse their origin and basis. Every convention originates as a practice which is adopted by the persons responsible for operationalising the system or an institution. They adopt it either for the sake of convenience or for efficiency or as the best available method of accomplishing their tasks. The successful use of the practice makes possible its adoption by others. When it continues to be followed by others and earns as informal recognition as the way to do the task, it takes the form of a convention.
We can describe the features of Convention as follows :
- It is an unwritten informal practice or a rule of conduct.
- It is not made and enacted, it just gradually grows.
- It originates as a mode of doing a thing smoothly, fluently and efficiently.
- Long usage and the acceptance that it is bound to be used in future leads to the recognition of a practice as a convention. A convention is of the nature of a rule of political morality or efficiency or expediency.
- A practice becomes a convention when it satisfies these three tests - Firstly, it has been followed in the past; second, it is being followed at present and lastly, it is expected to be followed in future too.
The British Constitution has been working with the help of a large number of conventions.
This article on Conventions of Constitution in Political Science is contributed by Dipshikha Anand. If you like LawStudyPoint.com do follow us on our Twitter handle.