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UO Devolution Summary
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This is a comprehensive and detailed summary on devolution for Constitutional Law. Essential!! To your success in academics!!
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Multilayered Government1. Devolution in Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales
a. What is devolution?
i. An attempt to answer fundamental questions about
where government power should reside
ii. In democracies, the answer turns upon arrangements
considered legitimate by the people
1. Hence, when there is a strong sense of shared
identity and destiny, high centralized
government is acceptable
2. But when such bonds are weaker, the
architecture of the state might be
commensurately looser – people may be
contented with the state dealing with defence,
national security, etc. while demanding regional
governments to represent their unique interests
and outlooks, sometimes leading to succession
b. History
i. In 1535, Welsh constituencies came to be
represented in English parliament. UK of Great
Britain, formed by joining of E, W & S in 1707
became UK of Great Britain and Ireland in 1800
ii. Since then, though they were all under Westminster,
they are not treated identically – some legislation
applies only to a particular region
iii. UK’s constitution was not deliberately drafted and
designed – rather, it is the product of centuries of
gradual change, of pragmatic responses to issues
that have arisen
1. However, the relentless pragmatism, which has
a “reactive and piecemeal” quality that
overlooks the need for a “coherent vision for
the shape and structure of the UK”
c. Legislative power
i. Scottish Parliament and NI Assembly have, since
inception, possessed general legislative
competence – authorized to enact legislation on any
, issue, subject to certain exceptions such as HRA, EU
Law, international relations, and defence
1. If they exceed legislative authority, courts can
intervene
2. *Henry VIII clause – S Parliament & NI
assembly are capable, within their legislative
competence, of amending, repealing and
replacing AoP insofar as they apply to S & NI,
not just retrospective, but also prospective
a. If an AoP fall partly in and partly out of
devolved areas, the devolved legislatures
can only amend the parts that concern
devolved areas
ii. In contrast, the system originally adopted in Wales
was one of administrative or executive, as
opposed to legislative devolution
1. When AoP gave Ministers discretionary power
to make certain choices, they could be made
by the Welsh Assembly if they affected
Wales
2. Ron Davies – devolution is a “process not an
event”, referring to later acts such as S Act
2012/2016, W Act 2014/2017. These are all
work in progress as far as scope of powers is
concerned
d. Executive power
i. Distinction between legislative and executive in
states – e.g. Welsh Assembly v Government…
e. Democracy
i. Devolution pursues the goal of democracy of enabling
people to feel like they have real influence and are
genuinely connected to governance, by providing
institutions that are more proximate –
geographically, politically and culturally – to
them
2. Nature and development of the territorial constitution
a. Distinction between a federal system and devolution
i. UK’s system is asymmetrical, and as a result, UK
Parliament and government’s involvement differs
across the country. In the US, all 50 states have the
same degree of power
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