Revolutionary breach of legal continuity
- Revolutionary breach of legal continuity
Revolutionary breach of legal continuity is a concept in English constitutional law, which rationalises the historic English behaviour when one King (or regime) was deposed and a de facto ruler was recognised as the new de jure monarch (or republican authority). More generally it is any process, unauthorised by an existing legal order, which results in the creation of a new legal order; whether or not the revolutionary change is brought about by violence.
The most recent successful "revolutionary breach" in England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, was the Glorious Revolution of 1688-1689 which replaced King James II of England and Ireland (King James VII of Scotland) with the joint sovereignty of his son-in-law King William III of England (King William II of Scotland) and daughter Queen Mary II of England (and Scotland).
The United States Declaration of Independence is another example, as it had no basis in the previous legal order which had governed the thirteen colonies and represented the start of a new legal order.
There was an attempted "revolutionary breach" in the whole of Ireland in 1919, when the First Dáil, a gathering of persons elected to the United Kingdom House of Commons in 1918, declared an Irish Republic (without any authority to do so within the terms of the United Kingdom legal order). The subsequent Anglo-Irish Treaty and steps taken under it gave the Irish Free State legitimacy within the United Kingdom legal order but de-legitimised it for those who regarded the applicable legal order to be that proclaimed in 1919.
When the present constitution of Ireland was adopted the amending formula of the Irish Free State constitution was not used, so the new constitution would represent a "revolutionary breach" and derive its legitimacy from purely Irish sources.
Similar steps were taken so the Indian people became the source of legitimacy for the republican constitution of India. The republican constitution replaced the one authorised by the United Kingdom at the time of independence, but did not comply with its provisions for amendments.
Revolutionary breach of legal continuity has also been applied to regime change following a military coup in Commonwealth of Nations members such as Pakistan and Nigeria.
ee also
* Convention Parliament
Wikimedia Foundation.
2010.
Look at other dictionaries:
LEGAL AND JUDICIAL SYSTEM — UNDER THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE (1876–1917) Judiciary Throughout the period from the promulgation of the Ottoman Constitution of 1876 until the present time there have been both secular and religious courts exercising jurisdiction in the territory of… … Encyclopedia of Judaism
Convention Parliament (England) — A Convention Parliament is a parliament in English history which, owing to an abeyance of the Crown, assembled without formal summons by the Sovereign.[1] Sir William Blackstone applied the term to only two English Parliaments those of 1660 and… … Wikipedia
Convention Parliament (1689) — The English Convention (1689) was an irregular assembly of the Parliament of England which transferred the Crowns of England and Ireland from James II to William III. It differed from the English Convention (1660) in that it did not… … Wikipedia
Provisional Irish Republican Army — (Óglaigh na hÉireann) Participant in the Troubles Masked Provisional IRA volunteers at a rally in August 1979 … Wikipedia
Christianity — /kris chee an i tee/, n., pl. Christianities. 1. the Christian religion, including the Catholic, Protestant, and Eastern Orthodox churches. 2. Christian beliefs or practices; Christian quality or character: Christianity mixed with pagan elements; … Universalium
china — /chuy neuh/, n. 1. a translucent ceramic material, biscuit fired at a high temperature, its glaze fired at a low temperature. 2. any porcelain ware. 3. plates, cups, saucers, etc., collectively. 4. figurines made of porcelain or ceramic material … Universalium
China — /chuy neuh/, n. 1. People s Republic of, a country in E Asia. 1,221,591,778; 3,691,502 sq. mi. (9,560,990 sq. km). Cap.: Beijing. 2. Republic of. Also called Nationalist China. a republic consisting mainly of the island of Taiwan off the SE coast … Universalium
United Kingdom — a kingdom in NW Europe, consisting of Great Britain and Northern Ireland: formerly comprising Great Britain and Ireland 1801 1922. 58,610,182; 94,242 sq. mi. (244,100 sq. km). Cap.: London. Abbr.: U.K. Official name, United Kingdom of Great… … Universalium
France — /frans, frahns/; Fr. /frddahonns/, n. 1. Anatole /ann nann tawl /, (Jacques Anatole Thibault), 1844 1924, French novelist and essayist: Nobel prize 1921. 2. a republic in W Europe. 58,470,421; 212,736 sq. mi. (550,985 sq. km). Cap.: Paris. 3.… … Universalium
Italy — /it l ee/, n. a republic in S Europe, comprising a peninsula S of the Alps, and Sicily, Sardinia, Elba, and other smaller islands: a kingdom 1870 1946. 57,534,088; 116,294 sq. mi. (301,200 sq. km). Cap.: Rome. Italian, Italia. * * * Italy… … Universalium
