Party Norms and Constitutional Conventions

Abstract

This paper considers the role of constitutional conventions in the British and Chinese constitutional orders. It challenges a growing, recent body Chinese literature that describes the modern Chinese constitution using ideas developed in the late 19th Century to describe the British constitution. It highlights ways in which these ideas are used to describe very different phenomena, then identifies certain Chinese political rules that might be described in conventional terms. In doing so, it questions assumptions about the nature of conventions in the United Kingdom. It uses the Chinese and British material to question the orthodox, customary account of conventions, which focuses on social practice. Finally, it explains why a satisfying account of conventions needs to explain why Conventions are binding, and sets out the consequences of this conclusion for either constitutional order.