Chapter 2: Idea of the Commons' Convention
2.3. Differences between a Commons' Convention and a parliament
Although there are many things in common between a Commons' Convention and a parliament, there are many more differences. Therefore, in order to clarify the actual image of a Commons' Convention, which are still not widely understood, I would like to summarize the differences between them.
First, as is well known, a parliament is a representative body composed of directly elected members, while a Commons' Convention is a representative body composed of members selected from among those whose eligibility has been certified by a license or other means.
Furthermore, a parliament is usually positioned as a legislative body involved in enacting laws. This is based on the so-called theory of separation of powers, which recognizes parliament as the branch responsible for legislative power. In this respect, it is common that the central function of popular assemblies is legislation.
However, a Commons' Convention is not just a legislative organ, but an organ that controls all powers including legislation. In other words, it does not rely on the theory of separation of powers. In this respect, there is a risk that it may give the image of a dictatorship, but being an all-powerful organ does not necessarily mean that it is a dictatorial organ; rather, it is the ultimate manifestation of democracy, in which the Commons'representative body controls all public power, from the legislative to the executive and judicial.
Although the theory of separation of powers is particularly significant in democratizing a monarchy in which all power is concentrated in the executive, the resulting limitation of representative bodies to the legislative body dilutes the democratic foundation of the executive and judiciary. In contrast, the Commons' Convention can democratize power in general by taking control not only of the legislature but also of the executive and judiciary.
By the way, Switzerland has a unique system called parliamentary governance, in which the parliament also controls the executive branch. In other words, the Swiss executive branch is organized as a council elected by the parliament, but the judiciary is separate. In this respect, a Commons' Convention is going even further in that it also controls the judiciary.
In this respect, it is similar to the case in the United Kingdom, where the supreme judicial power belonged to the upper house of parliament (House of Lords) before the establishment of the Supreme Court system through recent judicial reforms. But the judiciary under the Commons' Convention is more democratic compared to the undemocratic nature of the judicial functions of House of Lords, a legacy of the aristocratic class system era.
To summarize the above, a Commons' Convention is similar to a parliament insofar as it has legislative power, but it is a comprehensive representative body that is more than a mere legislative body in that it is not based on a separation of powers system and oversees all the powers.
👉The papers published on this blog are meant to expand upon my On Communism.
