The evolution of the power of dissolution: The ambiguity of codifying Westminster conventions in the commonwealth Caribbean

Abstract

This article traces the development of the Westminster convention of the prime ministerial power of dissolution. It examines developments in constitutional provisions, in Britain primarily, and also through the independence constitutions of a wide range of Commonwealth countries. The essential issue is the power of the executive to dismiss the legislature. British conventions have emerged in such a manner that those drafting these independence constitutions seem to have responded to two major views on the issue of dissolution: (1) the monarch always dissolves parliament at the request of the prime minister; (2) the prime minister seeks a dissolution from the monarch and the monarch decides if it is in the best interests of the country to dissolve parliament and may refuse the prime minister. Is the Westminster model clear or not on this subject, or were draftsmen guided by Westminster variants in preparing independence constitutions for Commonwealth Caribbean countries?