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Convention

Specialty Definition: Convention

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Specialty Definition: American Convention on Human Rights

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

The American Convention on Human Rights (also known as the Pact of San José) was adopted by the nations of the Americas meeting in San José, Costa Rica in 1969. It came into force after the eleventh instrument of ratification (that of Grenada) was deposited on 18 July 1978.

The bodies responsible for overseeing compliance with the Convention are the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, both of which are organs of the Organization of American States (OAS).

Content and Purpose

According to its preamble, the purpose of the Convention is "to consolidate in this hemisphere, within the framework of democratic institutions, a system of personal liberty and social justice based on respect for the essential rights of man."

Chapter I establishes the general obligation of the states parties to uphold the rights set forth in the Convention to all persons under their jurisdiction, and to adapt their domestic laws to bring them into line with the Convention. The 23 articles of Chapter II give a list of individual civil and political rights due to all persons, including the right to life, to humane treatment, to a fair trial, to privacy, to freedom of conscience, freedom of assembly, freedom of movement, etc. The single article in Chapter III deals with economic, social, and cultural rights. The somewhat cursory treatment given to this issue here was expanded some ten years later with the Protocol of San Salvador (see below).

Chapter IV describes those circumstances in which certain rights can be temporarily suspended, such as during states of emergency, and the formalities to be followed for such suspension to be valid. Chapter V, with a nod to the balance between rights and duties enshrined in the earlier American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man, points out that individuals have responsibilities as well as rights.

Chapters VI, VII, VIII, and IX contain provisions for the creation and operation of the two bodies responsible for overseeing compliance with the Convention: the Inter-American Commission and the Inter-American Court.

Chapter X deals with mechanisms for ratifying the Convention, amending it or placing reservations in it, or denouncing it. Various transitory provisions are set forth in Chapter XI.

Ratifications

At present, 24 of the OAS's member states are parties to the Convention:

Argentina, Barbados, Brazil, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Grenada, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay, and Venezuela.

Trinidad and Tobago suspended its ratification on 26 May 1998 (effective 26 May 1999) over the death penalty issue.

Additional Protocols

In the ensuing years, the states parties to the American Convention have supplemented its provisions with two additional protocols.

The first – the Additional Protocol to the American Convention on Human Rights in the area of Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights (more commonly know as the "Protocol of San Salvador") – was opened for signature in the city of San Salvador on 17 November 1988. It represented an attempt to take the inter-American human rights system to a higher level by enshrining its protection of so called second-generation rights in the economic, social, and cultural spheres. The protocol's provisions cover such areas as the right to work, the right to health, the right to food, and the right to education. It came into effect on 16 November 1999 and has been ratified by Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, and Uruguay.

The second – the Protocol to the American Convention on Human Rights to Abolish the Death Penalty – was adopted at Asunción on 8 June 1990. While Article 4 of the American Convention had already placed severe restrictions on the states' ability to impose the death penalty – only applicable for the most serious crimes; no reinstatement once abolished; not to be used for political offenses or common crimes; not to be used against those aged under 18 or over 70, or against pregnant women – signing this protocol formalizes a state's solemn commitment to refrain from using capital punishment in any peacetime circumstance. To date it has been ratified by Brazil, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Venezuela.

External Links

• American Convention on Human Rights (text)
• Additional Protocol on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights (text)
• Protocol to Abolish the Death Penalty (text)

  Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "American Convention on Human Rights."

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Constitutional convention

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

Alternate meaning: Constitutional Convention

A Constitutional convention is an informal and uncodified procedural agreement that is followed by the institutions of a state. In some states, notably those Commonwealth of Nations states which follow the Westminister system and whose political systems are derived from British constitutional law, most of the functions of government are guided by constitutional convention rather than by a formal written constitution. In these states, the actual distribution of power may be markedly different from those which are described in the formal constitutional documents. In particular, the formal constitution often confers wide discretationary powers to the head of state which in practice are used only on the advice of the head of government.

Some constitutional conventions operate separate from or alongside, written constitutions, others, notably in Britain which has no written constitution, have a form of constitutional status. Many older conventions have been replaced or superceded by laws.

Origins

Constitutional conventions generally arise from precedent. For example, the constitutional convention that the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom must govern with the a majority in Parliament derived from the very unsuccessful attempt of Richard Peel to govern without one in the mid-nineteenth century.

Constitutional conventions differ from formal constitutional amendments in that they are created over time, and it may be difficult or impossible to identify when a constitutional convention has come into effect or sometimes even what the constitutional conventions are.

Unenforceability

Constitutional conventions are not obligatory, but are in effect procedural agreements which all sides adhere to. Some conventions evolve or change over time; for example, before 1918 the British cabinet requested a parliamentary dissolution from the monarch, with the Prime Minister conveying the request. Since 1918, prime ministers on their own initiative request dissolutions, and need not consult members of the cabinet. However conventions are rarely ever broken. Unless there is general agreement on the breach, the person who breaches a convention is often heavily criticised, on occasions leading to a loss of respect or popular support. It is often said that "conventions are not worth the paper they are written on", ie, they are unenforcable in law because they are not written down. Whatever enforceability they have comes from history, tradition, symbolism and their cross-party support.

Constitutional Conventions in the United Kingdom

While Britain does not have a written constitution that is a single document, the collection of legal instruments that have developed into a body of law known as constitutional law having existed for hundreds of years. An example of such a convention in Great Britain is the requirement that all money bills must originate in the House of Commons. Such conventions also exist in other Commonwealth parliamentary democracies such as Canada under the British North America Act of 1867 (also known as the Canadian Constitution) which was an act of the British Parliament which created the nasceant Canadian Parliament even though by convention it was agreed to by the Fathers of Confederation who were representatives of the various colonies of British North America. So while it had been signed by these individuals on March 29, 1867 it did not enter into force of law until it was signed by the British monarch as an Act of Parliament.

As part of this unwritten British constitution, constitutional conventions of British constitutional law play a key role. They are rules that are observed by the various constituted parts though they are not written in any document having legal authority; there are often underlying enforcing principles that are themselves not formal and codified. None the less it is very unlikely that there would be a departure of such conventions without good reason, even if an underlying enforcing principle has been overtaken by history, as these conventions also acquire the force of custom. For instance, the convention about money bills mentioned above was once enforced by the Catch-22 fact that a government could not apply enough force to get the taxes it needed without cooperation, unless it first had even more funds to pay for that force; it is now merely customary, but it underlay much of British constitutional development in the 17th century. See royal prerogative.

Examples of Constitutional Conventions

Britain

• The Prime Minister alone advises the monarch on a dissolution of parliament; (Since 1918)
• The monarch will grant a dissolution if requested. (Since 1832. The Lascelles Principles in 1951 informally outlined the principles and issues that might lead to a refusal of a dissolution.)
• The monarch grants the Royal Assent to all legislation. (Since the early 1700s. Previously monarchs could and did refuse or withhold the Royal Assent.)
• That the Prime Minister should be a member of either House of Parliament (Since the 1700s. In 1963 this was changed to
  • That no prime minister should come from the House of Lords (Since 1963, when the last peer, the Earl of Home, became prime minister. He renounced his peerage and as Sir Alec Douglas-Home became an MP.
• That all cabinet members must be members of the Privy Council.
• That the House of Lords should not reject a budget passed by the House of Commons. (This was broken controversially in 1909 by the House of Lords, which argued that the Convention was linked to a Convention that the Commons would not introduce a Bill that "attacked" peers and their wealth. The Lords claimed that the Commons broke this Convention in Chancellor of the Exchequer David Lloyd George's budget, justifying the Lords' rejection of the budget. The Commons disputed the existence of a linked convention. The convention over the Lords' powers over budgets was replaced by the Parliament Act, 1911.

Australia

• All executive decisions are taken by a formal meetings of the Executive Council, ie the Governor-General-in-Council. (Allegedly broken in the mid 1970s but followed since)
• The Governor-General does not sack the Prime Minister (Broken in 1975, when the Governor-General Sir John Kerr controversially dismissed Whitlam over the stalemate mentioned below.)
• The Senate will not withdraw supply to the government. (Broken in 1975. The Senate argued that its breaking of convention was in response to alleged breaking of numerous conventions by then Prime Minister Gough Whitlam. Whitlam did not agree.)
• A Loss of Supply requires either the resignation of the Prime Minister or a parliamentary dissolution. (Broken in 1975 by Whitlam who argued that the Senate's breach of convention in blocking supply did not require a dissolution or resignation. The result was a stalemate and the intervention of the Governor-General mentioned above. Each party to the dispute blamed someone else for breaching a convention, requiring their own breaching of another one in response when responding to someone else's alleged breach.)

United States

• Members of the U.S. Electoral College should vote for the Presidential candidate having the most votes in their state. This is enforced by law in many but not all states.
• Members of Congress should come from the Congressional district that they are elected from.
• A two term limit on Presidents was a convention until Franklin Roosevelt

  Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Constitutional convention."

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Constitutional Convention

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

Alternate meaning: Constitutional convention

A Constitutional Convention is a gathering of persons for the purpose of drawing up a constitution, or planning to modify one. In British constitutional law the "Convention Parliament" of the late Stuart era may perhaps be considered one of these. Canada also had a constitutional convention attended to by the Fathers of Confederation. Until 1997, the National Assembly of the Republic of China served as a continuously standing constitutional convention.

• Constitutional Convention (United States)
• Constitutional Convention (Australia)

See also: Constitutional Commission

Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Constitutional Convention."

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Constitutional Convention (United States)

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

In the United States, the Constitutional Convention refers to the one that was held in 1787 to draft the Constitution of the United States. Article V of this Constitution allows for the calling of a constitutional convention for proposing constitutional amendments upon petition of two-thirds of the states.

The Constitutional Convention of 1787, also known as the Federal Convention of 1787, was the meeting at which the Constitution of the United States was debated and agreed upon. The Constitutional Convention convened on May 25, 1787, in Independence Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where the Declaration of Independence had been adopted 11 years earlier, on July 4, 1776. Although meeting to amend the Articles of Confederation, over the summer they created a new, more centralized form of government. The new document, the Constitution, was completed September 17, 1787, and was officially adopted March 4, 1789. For more detail see United States Constitution.

One provision of the United States Constitution that has never been used authorizes the calling of a second constitutional convention for proposing constitutional amendements upon the request of two-thirds of the states.

External link

• The Debates of the US Federal Convention of 1787

  Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Constitutional Convention (United States)."

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Convention

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

A convention is a gathering of individuals who meet at a pre-arranged place and time in order to discuss or engage in some common interest. The most common conventions are based upon fandom, industry, and profession. Fan conventions usually feature sales, people dressed up as their favorite characters, and guest celebrities. Trade conventions typically focus on a particular industry or industry segment, and feature keynote speakers, vendor displays, and other information and activities of interest to the event organizers and attendees. Professional conventions focus on issues of concern to the profession and advancements in the profession. Such conventions are generally organized by societies dedicated to promotion of the topic of interest.

In politics, a political convention is a meeting of a political party typically to select party candidates. A constitutional convention is a special meeting to amend or draft a constitution.

A convention is a rule or a selection from among two or more alternatives, where the rule or alternative is agreed upon among participants. For instance, the convention in America and Germany is that motorists drive on the right side of the road, whereas in England and Barbados they drive on the left. The extent to which justice is conventional (as opposed to natural or objective) is historically an important debate among philosophers.

In governments, convention is a set of unwritten rules which the participants in the government are expected to follow. These rules can be ignored only if justification is clear, or can be provided. Otherwise, consequences are sure to follow. Consequences may include ignoring some other convention that has until now been followed. Convention is particularly important in the United Kingdom and former British colonies such as Canada and Australia where many of the rules of government are unwritten. An example of conventions being broken is the Australian Constitutional Crisis of 1975.

The National Convention or Convention, in France, comprised the constitutional and legislative assembly which sat from September 20, 1792 to October 26, 1795.

Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Convention."

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Convention on the Future of Europe

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

The Convention on the Future of Europe (sometimes European Convention) was a new means by which the European Union wished to refine or change the way it works. It was akin to the existing European institutions, but had a set life-expectancy. It was set up at the Laeken Summit in December 2001 to enable a more democratic process of arriving at new treaties, by inviting representatives of governments, national parliaments, the European parliament and others. This in contrast to the 'old' style of writing treaties, where governments at more than one occasion were prone to horse-trading. The current Convention finished its work on 18 July2003.

See also

• Secretariat of the Convention on the Future of Europe
• Members of the Convention on the Future of Europe
• European constitution

External link

• The European Convention

  Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Convention on the Future of Europe."

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National Convention

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

The National Convention or Convention, in France, comprised the constitutional and legislative assembly which sat from 20 September 1792 to 26 October 1795 (the 4th of Brumaire of the year IV). It preceded the French Directory.

On 10 August 1792, when the populace of Paris stormed the Tuileries and demanded the abolition of the monarchy, the Legislative Assembly decreed the provisional suspension of King Louis XVI and the convocation of a "national convention" which should draw up a constitution. At the same time it was decided that the deputies to that convention should be elected by all Frenchmen 25 years old or more, domiciled for a year and living by the product of their labour. The National Convention was therefore the first French assembly elected by universal male suffrage, without distinctions of class. The age limit of the electors was further lowered to 21, and that of eligibility was fixed at 25 years.

The first session was held on 20 September 1792. The next day royalty was abolished, and on 22 September it was decided that all documents should be henceforth dated from the year I of the French Republic (compare French Revolutionary Calendar).

The Convention lasted for three years. The country was at war, and it seemed best to postpone the implementation of the new constitution until peace should be concluded. At the same time as the Convention prolonged its powers it extended them considerably in order to meet the pressing dangers which menaced the Republic. Though a legislative assembly, it took over the executive power, entrusting it to its own members. This "confusion of powers", contrary to the philosophical theories - those of Montesquieu especially - which had inspired the Revolution at first, was one of the essential characteristics of the Convention. The series of exceptional measures by, which that confusion of powers was created constitutes the "Revolutionary government" in the strict sense of the word, a government which was principally in vigour during the period called " the Terror". It is thus necessary to distinguish, in the work of the Convention, the temporary expedients from measures intended to be permanent.

The Convention held its first session in a hall of the Tuileries, then it sat in the hall of Manège, and finally from 10 May 1793 in that of the Spectacles (or Machine), an immense hall in which the deputies were but loosely scattered. This last hall had tribunes for the public, which often influenced the debate by interruptions or by applause. The full number of deputies was 749, not counting 33 from the colonies, of whom only some arrived in Paris. Besides these, however, the newly-formed départments annexed to Freance from 1792 to 1795 were allowed to send deputations. Many of the original deputies died or were exiled during the Convention, but not all their places were filled by suppléants. Some members proscribed during the Terror returned after the 9th of Thermidor. Finally, many members were sent away, either to the départments or to the armies, on missions which lasted sometimes for a considerable length of time. For all these reasons it is difficult to find out the number of deputies present at any given date, for votes by roll-call were rare. During the Terror the number of those voting averaged only 250.

The members of the Convention came from all classes of society, but the most numerous were lawyers. Seventy-five members had sat in the National Constituent Assembly, 183 in the Legislative.

According to its own ruling, the Convention elected its president every fortnight. He was eligible for re-election after the lapse of a fortnight. Ordinarily the sessions were held in the morning, but evening sessions also occurred frequently, often extending late into the night. Sometimes in exceptional circumstances the Convention declared itself in permanent session and sat for several days without interruption. For both legislative and administrative purposes the Convention used committees, with powers more or less widely extended and regulated by successive laws. The most famous of these committees included the Committee of Public Safety (Comité de salut public), the Committee of General Security (Comité de sureté générale), and the Committee of Education,(Comité de l’instruction).

The Convention achieved immense changes in all branches of French public affairs. To appreciate its work without prejudice, one should recall that this assembly saved France from a civil war and invasion, that it founded the system of public education (Museum, École Polytechnique, École Normale Supérieure, École des Langues orientales, Conservatoire), created institutions of capital importance, like that of the Grand Livre de la Dette publique, and definitely established the social and political gains of the Revolution.

See also Girondists, The Mountain, Danton, Robespierre, Marat...

INDEX

1. Definition 2. Synonyms 3. Crosswords 4. Usage: Modern

5. Usage: Commercial 6. Images: Slideshow 7. Images: Photo Album 8. Images: Digital Art

9. Quotations: Familiar 10. Quotations: Historic 11. Quotations: Fiction 12. Quotations: Non-fiction

13. Quotations: Speeches 14. Usage Frequency 15. Expressions 16. Expressions: Internet

17. Translations: Modern 18. Translations: Ancient 19. Abbreviations 20. Acronyms

21. Derivations 22. Rhymes 23. Anagrams 24. Bibliography

Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.