Constitutional Conventions and the Prince of Wales. Issue 6 (1st November 2013)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Perry, Adam
• Is Part Of: Modern law review. Volume 76:Issue 6(2013)
• Page Start: 1119
• Page End: 1128
• Publication Date: 2013-11-01
• Subjects: Constitutional conventions -- Prince of Wales -- freedom of information -- norms; Law -- Great Britain -- Periodicals; 340
• DOI: 10.1111/1468-2230.12050
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0026-7961

Abstract

Abstract : The Upper Tribunal (Administrative Appeals Chamber) held in Evans v Information Commissioner that certain correspondence between Prince Charles and government officials must be disclosed under freedom of information legislation. Much of the judgment was devoted to a discussion of the constitutional conventions applicable to Prince Charles, and the case provides a useful example of how conventions and laws can interact. In this note, I argue that the Upper Tribunal misunderstood how conventions are distinguished from one another, and misapplied the test for the identification of conventions.