Some thoughts on international and transnational government systems, how the Westminster system isn't all it's cracked up to be, and the direction the US is headed.

1. International and
Transnational Systems
of Government
IAIN MURRAY
INTERN LUNCH TALK, AUGUST 6 2015

2. The US System is Highly Unusual
 Most countries have a constitutional Head of State with a ceremonial role
Head of Government is the important role
Separation of powers exists but is different
Filtration – the Parliament selects the Head of Government
Electoral systems for Parliament – usually some form of Proportional Representation
Party bosses/”whips” have much more power
Ministers can head party factions
Pro: Can get things done without gridlock

3. Example: The Westminster System

4. Her Majesty’s Government
Her Majesty the Queen is the constitutional Head of State
1689 Glorious Revolution: The King in Parliament
Series of weak and/or crazy monarchs transferred royal power to the Prime Minister
Prime Minister heads the government (= executive)
Prime Minister is a member of the legislature and must command the confidence of a majority
of the House of Commons
Upper chamber (House of Lords) delegitimized in 1900s
Ministers generally sit as members of one of the Houses of Parliament
Ministers work in government departments and draft law there

5. The House of Commons
New laws (“public bills”) generally sponsored by a Minister
Private Member’s Bills very rarely become law
Private Bills now extremely rare
Question Time – accountability theater
Genuine accountability happens in Select Committees
New MPs generally think of their career as aiming for government (“frontbench”) job
“Backbench” MPs can build reputation as independent thinkers and/or experts

6. The House of Lords
“Lords Temporal and Spiritual” – regional grandees and the church
Prime Minister often sat in House of Lords in 19th Century
Liberal reforms of 1900s – constitutional crisis
Parliament Acts
“Life peerages” introduced in 1960s
Largely hereditary still until 1990s
Role is now of a revising and amending chamber
“Kicked upstairs”
Acted as Supreme Court until 2009

7. The Judiciary
Monarch remains “the font of justice”
Judges are all appointed by the PM exercising powers of the Crown but have independence
Supreme Court has a UK-wide role
Previously “Law Lords” or Lords of Appeal in Ordinary
Court of Appeal
High Court
Circuit Courts (Crown Courts)
District Courts (County Courts)
Magistrates

8. Electoral Systems
“First Past the Post” – USA, UK - direct relationship with constituent but gives enormous power
to those who draw up the boundaries
AV/STV systems – votes transfer as candidates are eliminated – generally retains link to
constituent but may have larger multi-member constituencies
List systems (often used in conjunction with multi-member STV) – members are chosen in
order from a list drawn up by party bosses – little link to constituents
FPTP works well with a two party system (or with a strong third party) but has problems with
regional parties and insurgent parties of wide appeal eg UK election 2015
List systems encourage factionalization and splitting
What to do about very small parties?

9. Transnational Government
The EU is the ideal of many transnationalists
Executive (the EU Commission) has the sole power to draw up legislation
Executive made up of has-beens and failures from member countries
EC President appointed by results of EU-wide parliamentary elections that people don’t care
about
EU Parliament is a rubber stamp
Council of Ministers and Qualified Majority Voting
EU courts are driven by the guiding principles of the treaties (eg Ever Closer Union)
EU laws are generally hortatory rather than practical
Result is a technocratic ratchet

10. United Nations
General Assembly – “The Dictators’ Club of New York”
Cold War shenanigans
Massive international bureaucracy eg WHO, UNEP, ILO, IMO
Form well-funded pressure group for progressive policies, especially in developing world
International treaties eg UNFCCC, UNCLOS, CITES
Most countries *ignore* international treaties when convenient
International tribunals worse than useless eg ITLOS
US resistance to international treaty bullying is crumbling from within

11. One final thought
Frank Buckley – The Once and Future King
The regulatory state is dissolving American separation of powers
Executive is head of regulatory government
Congress can do little to reclaim its powers
Judiciary’s Chevron Deference empowers regulatory state
States are neutered in their resistance by supremacy/commerce clause
Has the Constitution morphed into pre-1689 Crown Government?
Or has the US quietly adopted the principles of EU governance?