Commonwealth of Britain Bill
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| Commonwealth of Britain Bill |
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The Commonwealth of Britain Bill was introduced by Tony Benn, then a Labour MP in the House of Commons, first in 1991 but on numerous occasions since, such as Succession to the Crown Bill, H.L. Bill 11 (withdrawn); Succession to the Crown (No. 2) Bill, H.C. Bill 36 (dropped); Succession to the Crown and Retirement of the Sovereign Bill (negatived)
(all 2004-2005). It proposed abolishing the British monarchy, making the United Kingdom a 'democratic, federal and secular commonwealth', in effect, a republic with a written constitution. This Bill never became law, or even achieved a second reading. |
[edit] PART I :THE COMMONWEALTH OF BRITAIN
[edit] 1. The Establishment of the Commonwealth.
Britain shall be a democratic, secular, federal Commonwealth comprising the Nations of England, Scotland and Wales, in association with such islands as have historically been linked to the United Kingdom to be designated under arrangements made under section 52 below.
[edit] 2. The rights of the people.
(1) The Commonwealth shall be dedicated to the maintenance of the welfare of its citizens, in whom all sovereign power shall be vested, to be exercised by them, and on their behalf, by the representatives whom they shall elect.
(2) Schedule 1 to this Act shall have effect for the purposes of providing for and entrenching certain basic and fundamental human rights.
[edit] 3. The Commissioner for Human Rights
(1) It shall be the duty of the President, the Government and the Courts to use their best endeavours to secure and safeguard these rights.
(2) The House of Commons shall appoint a Human Rights Commissioner, responsible to Parliament ("the Commissioner"), who shall be reponsible for monitoring the observance of these rights.
(3) Any person who believes that he or she is denied his or her rights may petition the Commonwealth Parliament or the Human Rights Commissioner to investigate such a complaint, and the Commissioner may examine the claim and submit a report upon it: any such report shall be published, and the House of Commons shall decide upon it within twelve months of publication.
[edit] 4. The Courts and human rights.
The High Court established under section 24 below may undertake a judicial review of any administrative act of the Executive, on application by any person complaining of a denial of one or more rights set out in Schedule 1 to this Act.
[edit] 5. Parliament and human rights.
The House of Commons or the House of the People may review any decision of the High Court if the Human Rights Commissioner has reported that any person has been denied rights as a result of a decision of the Courts, and may pass a resolution requesting the High Court to re-examine the matter, upon which the High Court shall undertake such a re-examination.
[edit] 6. The franchise.
(1) A British citizen who has not been resident abroad for more than the immediately previous five years shall be entitled to register and to vote in all parliamentary and local elections.
(2) A person who has been resident in Britain for more than five years may register and shall have the same right to vote in all parliamentary and local elections.
(3) A person who is eligible to vote may exercise that right from the date of that person's sixteenth birthday.
[edit] 7. The Constitutional Oath.
All oaths of allegiance taken by any person to the Crown, or by the Crown on the occasion of the Coronation, and all other oaths taken by any other person in authority, including judges, magistrates, bishops, members of the armed forces or civil service, members of parliament and Privy Counsellors are hereby declared to be null and void, and, where appropriate, are replaced by the words set out in Schedule 2 to this Act.
[edit] PART II: THE COMMONWEALTH PARLIAMENT
[edit] 8. The establishment of the Commonwealth Parliament.
(1) The Commonwealth Parliament -
(a) shall consist of two Houses, the House of Commons and the House of the People;
(b) shall be elected for a fixed term of four years; and
(c) shall not be dissolved before the expiry of that period, unless pursuant to section 17(3) or (4) below.
(2) All elections shall be conducted on the basis of one person one vote from the age of sixteen, and all electors shall be eligible to be candidates, subject only to any disqualification for which the Commonwealth Parliament may provide.
[edit] 9. The House of Commons.
(1) The House of Commons shall-
(a) decide its procedure;
(b) elect its Speaker;
(c) exercise the supreme legislative power; and
(d) elect the government.
(2) The government shall be accountable for all its actions to the House of Commons.
(3) The boundaries of House of Commons constituencies shall be determined on the recommendation of the Boundary Commission under arrangements made under section 52 below, and each constituency shall elect one man and one woman to the House of Commons.
[edit] 10. The House of the People.
(1) The House of the People shall be elected in such a way as to represent England, Scotland and Wales in proportion to their populations.
(2) Half of the members of the House of the People shall be women and half shall be men.
(3) Further provision for the establishment of the House of the People may be made under section 52 below.
[edit] 11. Legislation.
(1) Bills may be introduced into either House of Parliament.
(2) Bills or motions of a character now requiring the consent or recommendation of the Crown shall require the consent or recommendation of the Government before they are proceeded with, but the House of Commons may, by resolution, proceed with such a bill or motion without that consent or recommendation.
(3) Primary legislation shall be considered by each House in turn.
(4)(a) The House of the People may amend bills brought from the House of Commons; and
(b) bills brought from, and amendments made by, the House of the People may be accepted or rejected by the House of Commons, and its decision shall be final.
(5) The House of the People may reject a bill brought from the House of Commons, whereupon the bill shall be returned to the House of Commons which may, after one calendar month has elapsed, again pass the bill without amendment, in which case the Speaker of the House of Commons shall issue his certificate to that effect and the bill shall be presented to the President for his assent forthwith.
(6) The worlds of enactment of all bills shall be:
"Be it enacted by the Authority of the President and Commonwealth Parliament, as follows:"
(7) Each stautory instrument passed by the House of Commons shall be referred to the House of the People, which shall have the power to delay it for a maximum of one month, after which it shall have effect, provided that the House of Commons so further resolves.
[edit] 12. The supremacy of Parliament
(1) Where legislation passed by the Commonwealth Parliament conflicts with any directive or regulation issued or approved by the Council of Ministers or the Commission of the European Communities, British legislation shall prevail, and shall be so accepted by British courts.
(2) Where the House of Commons, by resolution, determines that any directive or regulation of the European Communities should not apply in Britain, such resolution may not be questioned in British courts.
[edit] PART III: THE PRESIDENCY
[edit] 13. The President.
(1) There shall be a President elected from amongst their number, by a two-thirds majority, by both Houses of Parliament sitting together, to serve for a three year term and to be eligible for re-election for one further three year term.
(2) If the office of President is vacant, or if the President is unable to discharge the duties of the Presidency, the Speaker of the House of Commons shall act as President until the President is able to discharge the duties of the Presidency or until a new President is elected.
[edit] 14. Presidential powers.
(1)(a) The powers now exercised under Crown prerogative shall be exercised by the President, who shall act solely upon the advice of the Prime Minister, or of a resolution of the House of Commons (which shall prevail if such resolution is in conflict with the advice of the Prime Minister);
(b) the exercise of such powers shall require the assent of the House of Comons before having effect; and
(c) the powers of the President shall include power-
— to give assent to the passage of legislation;
— to dissolve Parliament;
— to invite a person to attempt to form an administration;
— to make orders for any purpose for which Orders in Council were required before the coming into force of this Act;
— to declare war;
— to order British forces into armed conflict;
— to make peace;
— to recognise foreign governments;
— to sign or ratify treaties;
— to grant pardons;
— to grant charters;
— to make appointments;
— to establish commissions of inquiry;
— to grant commissions in the armed forces;
— to issue orders; and
— to exercise other executive powers not conferred by statute.
(2) Instruments previously made by Order in Council and which are legislative in character, after being made by the President, shall be brought in as Bills.
(3) Instruments exercising the general administrative powes of the President shall be published and laid before the House of Commons for approval by resolution of that House.
[edit] PART IV: THE COUNCIL OF STATE
[edit] 15. Establishment of the Council of State.
—(1) There shall be a Council of State consisting of twenty-four persons, of whom twelve shall be men and twelve shall be women.
(2) Half of the members of the Council of State shall be elected by the House of Commons and half by the House of the people from among its members.
(3) Each member shall serve for a period of two years.
[edit] 16. Powers of the Council of State.
—(1) In the event of no government being in office, the powers of government shal be vested in the Council of State, and all decisions made by the Council of State shall be subject to confirmation by the House of Commons.
(2) The President shall preside over the Council of State and shall report its decisions to both Houses of Parliament.
[edit] PART V: THE EXECUTIVE
[edit] 17. The Government.
—(1)The House of Commons shall, by a simple majority, elect one of its members to form a government as Prime Minister, and that person shall present the Government to the House of Commons for approval as a whole, by resolution, before, he or she takes office.
(2)All executive power shall be vested in the government for so long as it enjoys a majority in the House of Commons, or until the day of first meeting of a new Parliament.
(3) In the event of a government being defeated in the House of Commons on a matter of confidence, the Prime Minister shall tender his or her resignation forthwith to the President who shall consult widely to determine who might be best able to form a new administration, and shall issue an invitation to that person to attempt to do so, and to present his or her government to the House of Commons for approval.
(4)Parliament shall be dissolved before the expiry of its term only if —
(a) no person attempting to form a government has secured the approval of the House of Commons for that government:
(b) the President recommends a dissolution: and
(c) the House of Commons votes in favour of a dissolution.
and in such a case there shall be a general election to elect a new Parliament for the unexpired term of the previous Parliament.
[edit] 18. Freedom of information.
—(1)(a) In the Public Records Act 1958 references to "for years" shall be substitued for references to "thirty years".
(b) In section 5(1) of that Act the words from "created" to the end of the subsection, and section 5(2), shall be omitted.
(2) Notwithstanding subsection 1 above, a Minister may certify that a paper shoud remain secret, and any such certificate shall be laid before the House of Commons for approval by resolution.
(3) The Official Secrets Acts 1911, 1920, 1939 and 1989 are hereby repealed.
(4) All official information shall be published, or made available on request, save that categories of information relating to the following subjects may be protected by order subject to approval by resolution:
(i) defence and security matters:
(ii) economic policy:
(iii) international relations: and
(iv) personal data:
(5) It shall be a criminal offence to disclose protected information, and penalties and defences shall be specified by an order under section 52 below.
[edit] 19. The armed forces.
—(1) The legal status of all the armed forces of Britain shall depend on the passing by the House of Commons of an annual authorisation order.
(2) The Chief and Vice-Chief of the Defence Staff, and the Chief of Staff of each of the three services shall be nominated by the Government and confirmed by the Defence Committee of the House of Commons before they are appointed.
[edit] 20. The security services.
—(1) The security services of the Commonwealth shall be accountable to Parliament through the responsible Minister or Ministers, who shall make a report annually to the House of Commons containing the information set out in Schedule 3 to this Act.
(2) The House of Commons may make recommendations by resolution on any aspect of the work of the security services.
(3) The legal status of the security services shall depend upon the passing of an annual authorisation order by the House of Commons.
(4) The head of each security service shall be nominated by the Government and confirmed by the Select Commitee of the House of COmmons for the time being having responsibility for matters relating to that service.
[edit] PART VI: FOREIGN RELATIONS
[edit] 21. The United Nations.
21.—(1) The British representative attenting the Security Council of the United Nations shall be elected by the House of Commons, and shall be removable by a resolution of that House.
(2) No veto may be cast by the British representative on any issue which touches upon the interests of the planet: that is, in respect of proposals for the control of nuclear weapons, chemical weapons or environmental protection, without first having obtained specific approval from both Houses of Parliament.
(3) British delegates to the General Assembly of the United Nations, of whom half shall be men and half shall be women, shall be elected for each session of that organisation, one half by the House of Commons and one half by the House of the People.
[edit] 22. The European Communities.
22.—(1) No vote may be given by a British Minister at the Council of Ministers of the European Commision unless and until the House of Commons has given its approval by resolution to that vote.
(2) The British members of the European Commision shall be nominated by the government and elected by the House of Commons.
(3) A British Commissioner may be removed from his post by a majority vote in both Houses of the Commonwealth Parliament.
[edit] 23. Foreign forces in Britain.
—(1) No armed forces of any foreign country, nor any weapons or equipment, shall be
(a) based in the Commonwealth of Britain or its territorial waters; or (b) used from British territory, airspace or territorial waters in any armed conflict
without the prior consent of the House of Commons.
(2) Any treaty which provides for the basing of any foreign forces shall be subject to annual renewal by resolution of the House of Commons at the same time as the annual authorisation orders provided for in section 19 above.
[edit] PART VII: THE HIGH COURT
[edit] 24. The establishment of the High Court.
24.—(1) There shall be a High Court, independent of the Commonwealth Government and Parliament.
(2) The High Court shall initially be composed of such persons as are Law Lords and members of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council at the coming into force of this Act.
(3) The Chair of the High Court shall be known as the Chief Justice of the Commonwealth.
(4) The responsibilities of the High Court shall include the safeguarding of the Commonwealth Constitution and its judgments shall be binding upon the Government.
[edit] 25. Judicial appointments.
25.—(1) Nominations to the High Court shall be made by the President, and shall be confirmed by the Select Committee of the House of Commons for the time being having responsibility for judicial matters, before having effect.
(2) High Court, Appeal Court and County Court judges shall retire when they reach the age of 60.
(3) Members of the High Court and other judges shall be removed only upon a resolution of both Houses of Parliament.
[edit] 26. Election of County Court judges.
26.—(1) The High Court may nominate persons to serve on a panel from which County Court judges shall be elected by those who are on the electoral register for the House of Commons constituencies which cover the areas for which any such judge is to exercise jurisdiction.
(2) A County Court judge elected under subsection (1) above shall be removed only upon resolution of both Houses of Parliament.
[edit] 27. Election of magistrates.
27. Magistrates shall be elected by those who are on the electoral register for the House of Commons constituencies which cover the areas for which any such magistrate is to exercise jurisdiction, shall hold office for four years, and shall be eligible for re-election, up to the age of 60.
[edit] 28. National Legal Service.
28. A National Legal Service shall be established giving to each person the right, free of charge, to be represented in Court on matters of direct personal or family concern, but such a right shall not extend to commercial, industrial or financial enterprises.
[edit] PART VIII: THE NATIONAL PARLIAMENTS
[edit] 29. Establishment of the national Parliaments.
29.—(1) There shall be national Parliaments elected for England, for Scotland and for Wales.
(2) Each Parliament shall decide its own procedure, save that it shall elect its own Speaker, who shall have the same powers in respect of proceedings as the Speaker of the House of Commons.
[edit] 30. Composition and selection.
30.—(1) Half of the Members of each Parliament shall be men and half shall be women.
(2) National Parliaments shall be elected by those who are registered upon the electoral registers in England, Scotland and Wales respectively, at the same time, and for the same four year period, as the elections for the Commonwealth Parliament, with the exception of any election under section 17(4) above.
[edit] 31. The Executive.
31. Each Parliament shall elect its own Executive, which shall hold office for as long as it commands the support of the Parliament to which it is accountable.
[edit] 32. Powers of the national Parliaments.
32. Each Parliament shall enjoy the power to legislate in all matters save only defence, foreign affairs and Commonwealth finance, which shall remain within the sole authority of the Commonwealth Parliament.
[edit] 33. Relations with the Commonwealth Parliament.
33. The Commonwealth Parliament may enact legislation applying to the Commonwealth as a whole, and where such enactments conflict with any enactments of the national Parliaments, the Commonwealth legislation shall have precedence.
[edit] PART IX: LOCAL GOVERNMENT
[edit] 34. Local government powers.
34.—(1) Each local authority shall enjoy, in addition to the powers conferred by any other enactment, the power to act as it thinks fit in respect of the activites specified in Schedule 4 to this Act.
(2) Nothing in this section shall empower any local authority to take any action that is explicitly prohibited by Act of Parliament, and if such an action is taken the Council shall be collectively liable, but no individual councillor shall be personally penalised for that action, excepting only where he or she may be convicted of any breach of the criminal law.
[edit] 35. The District Auditor.
35.—(1) The powers and duties of the DistrictAuditor shall,in respect of all local authorities, be restricted to
a) an annual audit of their accounts; b) the presentation of that audit to the council of each local authority, the responsible Minister and to Parliament; and c) the making available of accounts at all times for public inspection in the area covered by each local authority.
(2) The District Auditor shall not have any power to declare any expenditure to be ultra vires, nor to surcharge councillors for decisions taken collectively by them in pursuit of their duties as members of a local authority.
[edit] 36. Control of the Police.
36. All policeforces shall be answerable to the local authorities in the areas which they serve, and shall submit a report annually to those authorities on the model of the report required by Schedule 4 to this Act.
[edit] PART X: THE CROWN
[edit] 37. The ending of the constitutional status of the Crown.
37. The legal status of the Crown is hereby ended and the Monarch for the time being, and his or heir heirs and successors, shall cease to enjoy, or exercise as Monarch, any political or personal power of any kind, either directly through the person of the Monarch, or by prerogative, or through Ministers.
[edit] 38. Crown property.
38. The ownership and control of all Crown lands, buildings and property which are held by the Monarch for the time being, as a consequence of his or her occupancy of the Throne, or position as heir to the Throne, shall be transferred forthwith to the Commonwealth Government.
[edit] 39. Compensation.
39.-(1) A payment shall be paid from public funds to the person occupying the Throne at the coming into force of this Act, to dispose of as he or she thinks fit.
(2) A pension shall be paid to the person occupying the Throne at the moment of coming into force of this Act.
(3)Accommodation shall be made available for such members of the Royal Familiy,in such Royal Palaces as may be determined by Parliament.
(4)Provision under this action shall be determined under section 52 below.
[edit] 40. Liability to taxation.
40. All members of the Royal Family shall be liable for the payment of taxes and charges paid by a citizen of the Commonwealth, or a person residing in the Commonwealth, as the case may be.
[edit] 41. Repeal of legislation restricting the Royal Family.
41.-(1) All restrictions presently imposed by statute or otherwis specifically upon members of the Royal Family in respect of thei religious faith or in any other way are hereby declared to have no effect.
(2)Members of the Royal family shall enjoy the same rights as those which are enjoyed by any citizen of the Commonwealth, including the right to stand for Parliament.
(3)The Royal Marriages Act 1772 is hereby repealed.
[edit] 42. The House of Lords.
42. The House of Lords is hereby abolished, and from the coming into force of this Act no person shall enjoy any legal status as a Lord Spiritual or Temporal, and any person who was formerly a member of the House of Lords shall enjoy the right to stand for Parliament.
[edit] 43. The Privy Council.
43. The Privy Council, and the style of a Privy Counsellor, are hereby abolished.
[edit] 44. Titles, honours and awards.
44.-(1) No personal title, whether hereditary or not, shall be recognised in law.
(2)
