Cabinet secrecy
By: OMBRAIN, Nicholas
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Material type: 
ArticlePublisher: Toronto : IPAC, Fall 2004Canadian Public Administration : the journal of the Institute of Public Administration of Canada 47, 3, p. 332-359Abstract: Cabinet secrecy is a cornerstone of the constitution of the Westminster system of government and is safeguarded by convention, the common law and by statute law in leading Westminster regimes. The secrecy of cabinet proceedings is very much part of the efficient constitution, but the protections afforded by convention and law are neither well understood nor particularly popular. This article examines the convention and how it differs from common law and statute law treatments of cabinet secrecy. It considers the essential requirements for cabinet secrecy: collective decision-making; the protection of the views and opinions of ministers; and several related problems of the constitution, including the role of the cabinet as the informal executive, the use of the cabinet as an administrative coordinating mechanism, and unique to Canada the use of statute law to remove the courts from their traditional role of determining the balance between individual rights and those of the state. Cabinet secrecy is essential to a system of government, where responsible ministers collectively decide the governments policy, but, in order to play a proper role in our affairs, the convention on secrecy needs to be constitutionally validated by the articulation of its purpose and scope
Cabinet secrecy is a cornerstone of the constitution of the Westminster system of government and is safeguarded by convention, the common law and by statute law in leading Westminster regimes. The secrecy of cabinet proceedings is very much part of the efficient constitution, but the protections afforded by convention and law are neither well understood nor particularly popular. This article examines the convention and how it differs from common law and statute law treatments of cabinet secrecy. It considers the essential requirements for cabinet secrecy: collective decision-making; the protection of the views and opinions of ministers; and several related problems of the constitution, including the role of the cabinet as the informal executive, the use of the cabinet as an administrative coordinating mechanism, and unique to Canada the use of statute law to remove the courts from their traditional role of determining the balance between individual rights and those of the state. Cabinet secrecy is essential to a system of government, where responsible ministers collectively decide the governments policy, but, in order to play a proper role in our affairs, the convention on secrecy needs to be constitutionally validated by the articulation of its purpose and scope
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