Ministerial careers and accountability in the australian commonwealth government pdf. While there are differences in custom and tradition across the world f. Their role is influenced by the rules, conventions and expectations of the westminster system of government. Individual and collective ministerial responsibility.
Is ministerial responsibility a constitutional doctrine or a. Individual ministerial responsibility convention that a. It was the big political scandal of 1954 and resulted in the resignation of a government minister. Session 4 parliamentary principles and performance.
Individual ministerial responsibility in democratic governments n other parts of the world there is a constitutional convention that a ministers in government have the ultimate responsibility for the actions of their ministry or department. Ministers are personally accountable to the parliament for their own probity and propriety. Does ministerial responsibility still exit, or indeed, has it ever existed, or has it been just a parliamentary tactic for the media and opposition parties. Fonts the crichel down affair although the convention says yes. In other cases, however, to enhance ministerial control over complex and diverse functions, more than one minister administers a portfolio. A number of ethical dilemmas of the 1980s in britain appear to be rooted in ministers instructions to officials to behave improperly in handling information. Continuing a theme for this week, here is a quick revision note and reference to a recent example on individual ministerial responsibility the mps expenses scandal has led to shahid malik stepping down as justice minister.
In 1954 the crichel down case led to the resignation of sir thomas dugdale, agriculture minister. Ministerial responsibility lies at the heart of our democracy, and it remains central to the way in which we are governed, notwithstanding the criticisms leveled against the continued relevance of the doctrine and despite the damage caused by excess concentration of policy and spending power in. The doctrine of ministerial accountability is not straight forward. The crichel down rules are guidelines applying to compulsory purchase drawn up in the light of the affair. Ministerial responsibility is central to the parliamentary system, because it ensures the accountability of the government to the legislature and thus, ultimately, to the population. In april, lord carrington resigned over the falklands issue as did his deputies. Distinction between responsibility and accountability 11 iii wider aspects of ministerial responsibility 12 a. Geoffrey marshall the author is a fellow of the queens college, oxford, and lecturer in politics in the university of oxford. However, notwithstanding the clear involvement of the ministers office in the affair, the terms of. Individual ministerial responsibility is a constitutional convention that makes government ministers responsible for not only their own actions, but also for those of their department. Dugdale was not responsible in any direct sense for what happened in this tangled tale of land requisitioning and subsequent sales, rather it.
A good starting point for individual ministerial responsibility is the crichel crown affair. Individual ministerial responsibility is a constitutional convention in governments using the westminster system that a cabinet minister bears the ultimate responsibility for the actions of their ministry or department. The retreat from ministerial responsibility the independent. The role of individual ministerial responsibility in relation to departmental. Clarifying or complicating the doctrine of ministerial respon. Dugdale in the crichel down affair in the uk in 1954.
To take responsibility for problems within departments they head up. Ministerial responsibility is the convention that a minister is answerable to parliament for the conduct and actions of his or her ministrys personnel. The crichel down affair was a british political scandal of 1954, with a subsequent effect and. House of lords the accountability of civil servants constitution. Romantically, the queen can never be answerable to parliament and if we see the crown as the executive, then ministers cannot be held accountable, ins. The doctrine that was enunciated at the time of the crichel down affair was that civil servants were accountable. Some ministerial portfolios have only one minister. This principle is mainly based on a body of constitutional conventions, established by precedents, rather than on positive statutes. Ministerial responsibility marshall 1963 the political.
Ministerial responsibility is that the minister is answerable. The role of individual ministerial responsibility in relation to departmental errors in current parliaments is a vexed question. Chapter 1 ministerial responsibility parliament of australia. Individual ministerial responsibility is not the same as cabinet collective responsibility, which states members of the cabinet must approve publicly of its collective. It will consist of 5 different skill games such as crosswords. He resigned as a government minister over the crichel down affair, often quoted as a classic example of the convention of individual ministerial responsibility. Individual ministerial responsibility issues and examples. The crichel down episode is perhaps most useful in constitutional terms because of.
One of the fundamental concepts of responsible government is. Regarding westland, see marshalls contribution in his 1989 reader, ministerial responsibility, and peter hennessy in the same reader, the westland affair, 8094. This document lists government ministers and their responsibilities. Donal, sorry to break it to you but our legal system is based on the british one. Repeated complaints that ministers no longer exercise ministerial responsibility because they do not resign for faults wholly committed by their subordinates are ill informed. The first of these was the notorious crichel down affair, involving a controversial wartime compulsory purchase case, which had caused the minister of agriculture, sir thomas dugdale, to resign in 1954. The crichel down rules 1 are guidelines applying to compulsory purchase drawn up in the light of the affair.
Individual ministerial responsibility is not the same as cabinet collective responsibility, which states members of the. Ferris reported to the commission that to sell back the part of crichel down originally owned by the crichel estate would seriously interfere with existing plans to farm crichel down. Ministerial responsibility is associated with parliamentary systems of government. The relationship between ministers and civil servants 12 b. Is ministerial responsibility a constitutional doctrine or. S ir thomas dugdales resignation over the crichel down affair was widely. The extent to which ministers should take responsibility for the botched administration of their departments was set out by sir david maxwell fyfe, then home secretary, after the crichel down affair. The role of the media iv some illustrative examples 14 a. Legal sources of the uk constitution and human rights law. In an interview on agenda bbc scotland, 31182 the former solicitorgeneral, nicholas fairbairn, invoked text book ministerial precedent of sir thomas dugdale and the crichel down affair of 1954 in explaining his own fall. An area of land was used as a bombing range by the armed forces. The extent to which ministers should take responsibility for the botched administration of their departments was set out by sir david maxwell fyfe, then.
Much of the land in question was part of the estate of crichel house, owned by the 3rd baron alington. It is not to be confused with collective cabinet responsibility, which states that cabinet members must approve publicly of its collective decisions or resign. Adopting braziers definition, a minister is individually responsible for a his private conduct, b his general conduct of his department, and c acts or things left undone by civil servants in. In the past ministers could not be excused from responsibility for their own civil servants, however following the crichel down affair 1954 the convention no longer seems to be so severe. Occasionally ministers resign due to policy errors classic example is the famous crichel down affair of 1954 when the agriculture minister, sir thomas dugdale, resigned because of departmental maladministration of which he knew nothing about.
Does individual ministerial responsibility still exist. Ministerial responsibility is that the minister is. The following case refers to a landowner crichel down which claims an unfair situation of reselling to him the land owned by his family when the ministry of agriculture and the crown lands commissioner refused to resell the land to him individual ministerial responsibility, 2004. An outline of the issues, examined the general principles and practice of the concept, and summarised a number of the major relevant case studies since crichel down in 1954. Browns report to the land commission with a covering letter. The critical tenets of the convention of individual ministerial responsibility are well established, and can be readily applied to this case. In those cases the prime minister will determine the minister who is to have ultimate responsibility for the portfolio the portfolio minister.
Repeated complaints that ministers no longer exercise ministerial responsibility because they do not resign for faults. The crichel down rules and the sale of public land pdf. Nov 28, 2016 8 individual ministerial responsibility was clearly stipulated in the crichel down affair in 1954 in which the minister of agriculture, thomas dugdale, resigned, despite an inquiry suggesting that all mistakes were made within his department without his knowledge, and in some cases due to deliberate deceit by civil servants. This paper seeks to trace the recent development of the doctrine by reference to a series of. The minister responsible, sir thomas dugdale, resigned and the crichel estate part. In the event of there being a departmental query the responsible minister is expected to take the blame and. This claim first became urgent with the defence committees celebrated inquiry into the westland affair, when the conduct of named civil servants. He did not himself handle the land at crichel down in the way which offended, but he took the blame for his officials approach. This is a classic example of a minister accepting responsibility for his actions. It can even be argued that as ministers begun to refuse to resign there has been a shift towards the other extreme. Judy maddigan introduction the role of individual ministerial responsibility in relation to departmental errors in. The crichel down affair was a british political scandal of 1954, with a subsequent effect and notoriety. Sep 17, 2007 the extent to which ministers should take responsibility for the botched administration of their departments was set out by sir david maxwell fyfe, then home secretary, after the crichel down affair.
Ministerial accountability to parliament is one of this centurys. Principal officials accountability system, commonly referred to as the ministerial system, sometimes the accountability system, was introduced in hong kong by chief executive tung chee. Mar 25, 20 the critical tenets of the convention of individual ministerial responsibility are well established, and can be readily applied to this case. Ministerial responsibility lies at the heart of our democracy, and it remains central to the way in which we are governed, notwithstanding the criticisms leveled against the continued relevance of the doctrine and despite the damage caused by excess concentration of policy and spending power in the hands of first ministers. Ministerial responsibility is central to the parliamentary system, because it ensures the accountability of the government to the legislature and thus. To what extent is it possible or desirable to define clearly the conventions of individual and collective ministerial responsibility. Ministerial responsibility held that the secretary being in the position of an alter ego of the minister could sign the. The crichel down affair distinction between policy and administration how useful is this in the context of the crichel down affair. Individual ministerial responsibility politics tutor2u. The civil service as such has no constitutional personality or responsibility separate from the duly constituted government of the day. Dugdale was not responsible in any direct sense for what happened in this tangled tale of land requisitioning and subsequent sales, rather it was officials who behaved arrogantly.
The land was purchased compulsorily in 1938 by the air ministry for use for bombing practice by the royal air force. Jul 01, 2011 the first of these was the notorious crichel down affair, involving a controversial wartime compulsory purchase case, which had caused the minister of agriculture, sir thomas dugdale, to resign in 1954. Judy maddigan introduction the role of individual ministerial responsibility in relation to departmental errors in current parliaments is a vexed question. Chapter 1 ministerial responsibility parliament of. The accountability of british ministers law public essay. Report of a com mittee appointed by the prime minister to consider whether certain civil servants should be transferred to other duties cmd.
Assessing ministerial responsibility in australia 181 without any personal blame at all is not, and never has been, a binding obligation on ministers. Responsible government and ministerial responsibility. Individual ministerial responsibility ministers of the crown are appointed by the governor on the advice of the premier. Should the ministers resign over policy errors, departmental maladministration or. Individual ministerial responsibility wikimili, the best. The crichel down rules relate to the disposal of land formerly acquired by, or under the threat of. Ministerial responsibility, a fundamental constitutional principle in the british westminster parliamentary system according to which ministers are responsible to the parliament for the conduct of their ministry and government as a whole. Japanese ministers have been known to commit suicide in response to perceived errors, and french ones have been sent to prison for poor decisions the standard of ministerial responsibility is the same throughout all parliamentary. This applied in the crichel down affair in 195354 which resulted in the resignation of sir thomas dugdale mp, minister of agriculture. Griffith produced one of the first learned articles on the crichel down affair which culminated in the resignation of the minister of. Ministerial responsibility essaysfrom the offset, there is a conflict of principles regarding the socalled convention of ministerial responsibility.
Nov 01, 2012 this document lists government ministers and their responsibilities. Im going to summarize, to begin with, the last two sermons one on acts 15 and the other on gods true church government, to kind of set the stage for this third sermon. A minister who is responsible for an unsatisfactory state of affairs. Individual ministerial responsibility flashcards quizlet.
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