Vivekananda Institute of Professional Studies

School of Law and Legal Studies

CONVENTION OF BRITISH PARLIAMENT AND

HOW FAR THEY STILL FOLLOEWD IN INDIA?

Submitted to: Prf. J. Ravindran

Submitted by: Mayank Mishra

11917703519

BBALLB

III-M
 Declaration

I hereby declare that the project report entitled, “CONVENTION OF BRITISH PARLIAMENT

AND HOW FAR THEY STILL FOLLOEWD IN INDIA?’’ submitted by me to Vivekananda

Institute of Professional Studies in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the award of the

degree BBLLAB is a record of bonafide project work carried out the guidance of Prf. J

Ravindran
 Acknowledgement

Apart from my efforts the success of any project depends largely on the encouragement and

guidelines of many others. I take this opportunity to express my gratitude to the people who have

been instrumental in the successful completion of this project. I would like to show my greatest

appreciation to Prf. J. Ravindran of Vivekananda School of Law and Legal Studied. I am very

grateful for his tremendous support and help. Without Sir’s encouragement and guidance this

project would not have been materialized. The guidance and support received from his as well as

from my friends and family are vital for the completion of this project. I am immensely grateful

for their constant support and efforts.

Abstract

The constitution of India is the largest written constitution by which all the laws derive their
power. Indian constitution is inspired by many different constitutions but majorly it is taken from
Government of India Act 1935 which was regulated by British govt. hence there are many
conventions were also drawn from British rule such as Bicameralism, concept of nominal head,
council of minister, Rule of law etc.

Overview

• Methodology

• Introduction

• British Conventions followed in India

• Comparative Analysis

• Conclusion

Keywords:

• Methodology
• The researcher has followed secondary data collection. This research is doctrinal. The
researcher has also utilized bare act, articles, notes and other writings to incorporate the
various views to present a holistic view.
 • The researcher has made extensive use of Case Laws in this paper, so as this paper, to
discern a trend in the judicial pronouncements.

Introduction

The Constitution of a country is the supreme law of the land and it determines the
relationship among people living in that country and also regulates the government
and its policies towards its citizens. India was under the rule of the British Crown from
1858 to 1947. Most areas were directly administered by the United Kingdom and some
areas were ruled by indigenous rulers under British charge. The constitution of a country
is a document that comprises a set of written rules accepted by everyone living
together in that country. All the democratic countries have their own constitutions. But
having a full-fledged constitution in a country is not a guarantee for it to be truly
democratic. The Indian Constitution has been formed after ransacking all the major
constitutions of the world. The constitution makers made the Indian constitution by getting
inspired by many nations which is provided in table below.1

Provisions Sources

President (Nominal Head)

Cabinet System of Ministers

The United Kingdom
Parliamentary type of Government

Post of Prime Minister

1
https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&as_sdt=0%2C5&q=sources+of+indian+constitution&oq=Sources+of+in
dia#d=gs_qabs&u=%23p%3D_NQAZheI7ysJ
Bicameral Parliament

Council of Ministers

Provision of Speaker in Lok Sabha

Legislation

Citizenship

Writs

Rule of Law

Preamble

Fundamental Rights

Independent Judiciary

Judicial Review The United States

Impeachment of President

Removal of Judges (of Supreme Court & High Courts)

Functions of Vice-President

Federal System (with strong Center) Canada

Residuary powers in the Center

Appointment of Governors (in states) by the Center

Advisory Jurisdiction of Supreme Court

Principle of co-operative federalism

Freedom of Inter-State trade

Trade and Commerce Australia

Concurrent List

Joint siting of the two Houses of Parliament

Directive Principles of State Policy

Presidential Election Ireland

Nominating the members of Rajya Sabha

Republic
France
Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity in the Preamble

Fundamental Duties
Russia
Idea of Social, Economic, and Political Justice in Preamble
Procedure for amendment
South Africa
Election of Rajya Sabha members

Emergency powers to be enjoyed by the Union

Germany
Suspension of Fundamental Rights during emergency

Procedure Established by Law Japan

The federal scheme

Role of federal judiciary

Office of the Governor

Govt. of India Act 1935
Emergency provisions

Public Service Commissions

Administrative details

British Conventions followed in India

The Constitution of India majorly drawn from the Government of India Act 1935 which was a
regulation implemented to satisfy the revolting Indians but it failed to do so. Later on when India
got independent the constituent assembly was formed and the quest to achieve an idle
constitution begins. A major part of constitution was drawn from The Government of India Act
1935 which also leads to major transfer the conventions from the British Empire to the
democratic India.

British Conventions followed in India:

• Concept of nominal head

• Sovereignty of Parliament

• Post of Prime Minister

• Bicameralism

• Judiciary

• Independence of Judiciary

Comparative Analysis

i. Concept Of Nominal Head2

The concept of nominal head was adopted from the British constitution. In Britain the Queen is
said to be the nominal head but rather than instating a queen or a king the Indian constitution
talks about the President as the nominal head. The concept of the President was partially drawn
from the U.S constitution but the concept of nominal head was taken from the British

2
Article 74 of Indian constitution
constitution. Basically the powers of queen and the president are similar nut they both are
considered to be the head of State. The powers which are similar between the queen and the
president are:-

• They both have the powers to dissolve a parliament 3

• They both have to appoint the prime minister of their respected nations

• All the bills after getting passed by both the houses the have to give assent to it only after
that the bill can be converted into an act.4

ii. Sovereignty of Parliament

The sovereignty of Parliament means that the legislative body has absolute sovereignty
and is supreme over all other government institutions, including the executive and the
judiciary. It also means that the legislative body may change or repeal any previous
legislation. The British Parliament is the only legislative body in the country with the
unchained power of legislation.

In Britain, the courts have no power to question the validity of the laws passed by the British
Parliament. The British Parliament may amend the constitution on its own authority and there's
no basic structure to be preserved

India's Parliament is not the only legislative body in the country as India has legislature at the
state level as well. In India, the judiciary keeps an eye on the legality of the law framed. Also,
the doctrine of basic structure allows the judiciary to question the legality of the law.

iii. Post of Prime Minister

3
Article 85 of Indian constitution
4
Article 91 of Indian constitution
In both countries, there is a cabinet form of government. The power doesn't lie in one person, but
the entire Council of Ministers. Prime Minister is the leader of the cabinet of ministers in both
the nations.

In India, the prime minister is the senior-most member of the cabinet in the executive branch of
government. He can elect and dismiss members of the cabinet, allocates posts to members within
the government, and is the chairperson of the cabinet.

iv. Bicameralism

Bicameral system, also called bicameralism, a system of government in which

the legislature comprises two houses. The modern bicameral system dates back to the beginnings
of constitutional government in 17th-century England and to the later 20th century countries
once ruled by the Great Britain also adopted the concept of the bicameralism.

In Britain the upper house is called the House of Lords and the lower house is called as The
House of People.

In India is also the same but with different names upper house is called the Rajya Sabha and the
lower house is called The Lok Sabha.

v. Judiciary

British legal system is completely based on the 'Common Law' system. Common-Law System
implies that law is formed by the judges through their decisions, orders, or judgments. Also, the
amending power of the Parliament supersedes any judicial statement owing to the lack of
concept of 'Basic Structure'.

The Indian Judicial System incorporates the common law system along with the statutory and
regulatory laws. In the Indian Judicial System, the concept of 'Basic Structure' has provided an
 influential tool to Judiciary by which it can question any Executive or Legislative action, which
it deems as against the basic spirit of the Constitution.

The Rule of Law in Britain is protected by the requirement that judges can only be removed from
office for severe misconduct and according to a procedure requiring the consent of both the
Houses of Parliament. The same is the norm in India, where independence of the Judiciary is
hailed as an essential part of the basic structure of the Constitution.

• Conclusion

The constitution of Britain is not completely written so there is no such thing as a precise and
compact document, which can be called the British constitution. Large parts of it are written
down, much of it in the laws passed in Parliament - known as statute law or Act of Parliament.
Hence, the UK's Constitution is termed as 'partly written. But when we talk about Indian
constitution is the lengthiest written constitution in the world and has well-defined provisions. It
has a Preamble and 470 articles, which are grouped into 25 parts. With 12 schedules and 5
appendices, it has been amended 104 times. England, being a democratic monarch and India
being a democratic republic, has several contrasts when we analyze and compare the constitutions
of both the states.

However, the subject of this paper, how British conventions are still followed in India, we can
definitely India definitely follows British conventions to a large extent. The UK has left a large
impression on the working of the Indian Parliament.