Constitutional crisis

Constitutional crisis

A constitutional crisis is a situation that the legal system's constitution or other basic principles of operation appear unable to resolve; it often results in a breakdown in the orderly operation of government. Often, generally speaking, a constitutional crisis is a situation in which separate factions within a government disagree about the extent to which each of these factions hold sovereignty. Most commonly, constitutional crises involve some degree of conflict between different branches of government (e.g., executive, legislature, and/or judiciary), or between different levels of government in a federal system (e.g., state and federal governments).

A constitutional crisis may occur because one or more parties to the dispute willfully chooses to violate a provision of a constitution or an unwritten constitutional convention, or it may occur when the disputants disagree over the interpretation of such a provision or convention. If the dispute arises because some aspect of the constitution is ambiguous or unclear, the ultimate resolution of the crisis often establishes a precedent for the future. For instance, the United States constitution is silent on the question of whether states are allowed to secede from the Union; however, after the secession of several states was forcibly prevented in the American Civil War, it has become generally accepted that states cannot leave the Union.

A constitutional crisis is distinct from a rebellion, which is defined as when factions outside of a government challenge that government's sovereignty, as in a coup or revolution led by the military or civilian protesters.

A constitutional crisis can lead to government paralysis, collapse, or civil war.

Contents

Incomplete list of constitutional crises by country

Australia

Belgium

  • The World War II conduct of Leopold III included violation of constitutional principles, including surrender to Germany against ministerial advice. When he returned to Belgium in 1950, a general strike against him pushed him into abdication.
  • In 1990, King Baudouin refused routine Royal Assent to the law on abortion in Belgium. The issue was resolved by (constitutionally but controversially) having Badouin temporarily declared incapable of reigning, the Council of Ministers giving assent as provided for in the Belgian Constitution, and Badouin declared capable again.

Canada

Democratic Republic of the Congo

  • President Joseph Kasavubu and Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba attempted to dismiss each other in September 1960. General Mobutu Sese Seko deposed both in a coup later that month, then restored Kasavubu as president.

Denmark

England

For events after 1707, see below.

Fiji

  • In the Fiji constitutional crisis of 1977, the winning party in a general election failed to name a government due to internal conflicts. The Governor-General intervened, appointing a prime minister from the opposition party.

Germany

  • In 2010, the Berlin court upheld the City of Berlin's decision to not recognize the marriage of two homosexuals persons, which is in opposition to the 2009 decision of the Federal Constitutional Court's decision that demanded full marriage equality for gay persons.

Honduras

Iran

  • Mohammed Reza Pahlavi's 1953 dismissal of Prime Minister Mohammed Mossadegh and Mossadegh's subsequent refusal to quit the office

Malaysia

  • The 1983 Malaysian constitutional crisis saw Prime Minister Mahathir pushing forward an amendment of Article 66 of the Federal Constitution, which set the time limit of the Agong to veto a law within 30 days.[clarification needed] The proposals generated a great deal of controversy between the government and the monarchy, of which the former had to launch a public campaign to pressure the monarchy to assent to the amendments.
  • The 1988 Malaysian constitutional crisis was a series of events that began with the United Malays National Organization (UMNO) general election in 1987 and ended with the suspension and the eventual removal of Lord President of the Supreme Court of Malaysia Tun Salleh Abas from his seat.
  • The 1993 amendments to the Constitution of Malaysia (by some interpretations a constitutional crisis) involved the limitation of monarchs' power in Malaysia. Prime Minister Mahathir bin Mohamad successfully amended the constitution to make the monarchies more accountable to their actions.
  • The 2009 Perak constitutional crisis occurred in the Malaysian state of Perak when party defections caused the state ruling coalition, Pakatan Rakyat, to lose its majority in the state assembly. The Sultan of Perak refused to dissolve the state assembly when requested and dismissed the Menteri Besar (Chief Minister) while the Menteri Besar technically still had the confidence of the assembly.

Malta

  • The 1981 election, when, due to a quirk in that country's Single Transferrable Vote system, the party winning more than half the votes won fewer than half the seats

Nepal

  • The Loktantra Andolan movement of 2006, which rejected King Gyanendra's year-long direct rule and stripped him of political authority

New Zealand

  • The New Zealand constitutional crisis of 1984 was caused by Prime Minister Sir Robert Muldoon's refusal to devalue the dollar as per the instructions of the Prime Minister-elect, David Lange. The cabinet rebelled against Muldoon, who relented. The upshot was the passage of the Constitution Act, which patriated the constitution from the United Kingdom.

Norway

Pakistan

  • Supreme Court Chief Justice Sajjad Ali Shah clashed repeatedly with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in late 1997, accusing him of undermining the court's independence. After Ali Shah suspended a constitutional amendment that prevented dismissal of the prime minister, Sharif ordered President Farooq Leghari to appoint a new chief justice. When Leghari refused, Sharif considered impeaching him, but backed down after a warning from the armed forces. Faced with a choice of accepting Sharif's demands or dismissing him, Leghari resigned. Ali Shah resigned shortly afterward, establishing Sharif's dominance.

Peru

  • Peruvian Constitutional Crisis of 1992: President Alberto Fujimori, with the support of the armed forces, dissolved the Congress after it rejected his proposal for stronger action against Shining Path and MRTA. Then, he called for elections for a Democratic Constitutional Congress to write the 1993 Peruvian Constitution. Until the new constitution was written, he ruled by decree.

Rome

  • The crossing of the Rubicon by Julius Caesar in 49 BC with his legions. This action, which had no precedent, precipitated a crisis only fully resolved in 31 BC, when Octavian defeated all his enemies to become the sole master of the Roman world.

Russia

  • The constitutional crisis of 1993: a conflict between Russian President Boris Yeltsin and the Russian parliament led by Ruslan Khasbulatov, which resulted in a military siege of the parliament building and street fighting, claiming 187 lives. Aleksandr Rutskoy assumed the powers of the Acting President of Russia for a few days.

Scotland

This covers the Kingdom of Scotland, which became part of the Kingdom of Great Britain after 1707. For constitutional crises since then, see United Kingdom below.

  • The succession crisis resulting from the death of Queen Margaret in 1290. Edward I of England, whose son Edward was to marry Margaret, was asked to arbitrate, and chose John Balliol, who swore an oath of fealty to Edward, turning Scotland into an English vassal in 1292. Soon, Balliol and the Scottish nobility revolted, leading to the Wars of Scottish Independence.

Thailand

  • In March, 2006, 60 seats of the assembly of Thailand could not be elected, and Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra refused to resign. The Judicial system did not lead up to Supreme Court as the top arbitrator, so there were inconsistent rulings in the Civil, Criminal, Administrative and Constitutional Courts.

United Kingdom

United States

Footnotes

  1. ^ Bardeesy, Karim: Chaos in Canada, Slate Magazine. December 5, 2008. Accessed 8 March 2011.

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