Cabinet Manuals: the formalisation of constitutional conventions for government performance in Parliamentary Monarchy

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Miguel Cabanillas Sanz

Abstract

Other than their determining the King and Government’s role primarily through conventions, New Zealand and the United Kingdom hold the uniqueness of being democratic Monarchies without a codified Constitution. These two circumstances have led both the Executives of New Zealand and the United Kingdom to elaborate a Cabinet Manual where the main conventions that regulate their system of government are formalised, without even becoming binding regulatory codes. These documents are an example of a soft law that seeks to provide legal certainty and that, in the case of the
United Kingdom, is a part of the approach towards codification developed since the beginning of the 21st century. Based on these two cases, this study analyses the role that Cabinet Manuals play - and can play - in the formalisation of constitutional conventions and in the very Constitution and the day-to-day functioning of democratic governments.

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Keywords

Government, Administration, Monarchy, Conventions, Constitution, United Kingdom, New Zealand

How to Cite

Cabinet Manuals: the formalisation of constitutional conventions for government performance in Parliamentary Monarchy. (2024). Journal of the Cortes Generales, 118, 317-348. https://doi.org/10.33426/rcg/2024/118/1838

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Articles