Law Constitutional & Administrative Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Law Constitutional & Administrative Law - Essay Example Executive prerogative is therefore important as through it the state can achieve self-preservation, it also shows the trust that the people have on the Crown or the executive to implement and rule on their behalf. In the United Kingdom and most nations under the commonwealth, the Crown, prime ministers and cabinets, governor-generals or persons on whom executive prerogative powers may be bestowed, may exercise prerogative powers. Examples of prerogative powers exercised by the Crown or its representatives in England include the powers over wars, the prerogative of mercy and the power to call for independent public inquiries. Others may include recognizing states or acquiring and ceding territories. However, at times the exercise of the prerogative powers by the Crown or its representatives through the executive may come under strict scrutiny by members of the public or the citizens. In the United Kingdom and other nations following the common law system, prerogative powers may be exe rcised by the Crown either by herself or through the prime minister and his cabinet and may be subject to scrutiny or oversight by either the parliament or the judiciary. Parliamentary Oversight of Executive Prerogative Powers The role of the legislature to oversee and question the exercise of prerogative executive powers is one of the important tenets of governance present in countries that appreciate the supremacy of parliament. Through statutes enacted by the parliament, the legislature can abolish a specific statute. For example, the Canadian 1689 Bill of Rights removed some of the Crowns executive orders that were deemed contentious. Parliament can also displace executive prerogative powers by withdrawing a prerogative previously bestowed on the crown and enacting it in the form of a statute while the prerogative power is withdrawn from the crown. Accordingly, when a statute encroaches into roles that had previously been exercised by the crown, it can be said to have supplanted the role of the executive in exercising the prerogative role of the executive, This was held in A.G v De Keyser's Royal Hotel Ltd1 and Lord Advocate v Dumbarton D.C 2. This is where the learned judges stated that where the statute overlaps the role previously carried out by the prerogative power, the power will be held in abeyance and the executive must abide by the provisions of the statute in question (Hogg and Monahan 2000, p.17). Parliament may play its oversight roles in regulating the exercise of prerogative powers by the executive through a number of methods. These may include through parliamentary debates, divisions, questions asked in parliament, select committees and the interpellation method. Voting which is an important prerequisite for any democracy is also effective especially when the opposition can gather enough members to put the government in check. Parliamentary questions are an important mode of getting information from the government in that oral questions may enable the legislators to have a probe on the policies being implemented by the government. Written questions also help in allowing the members of parliament to get detailed responses from the executive.