constitutional law Constitutional law is a body of law which defines the role, powers, and structure of different entities within a state, namely, the executive, the parliament or legislature, and the judiciary; as well as the basic rights of citizens and, in fe ...

, advice is a formal and usually binding instruction given by one constitutional officer of state to another. Particularly in

parliamentary system A parliamentary system, or parliamentarian democracy, is a system of democratic governance of a state (or subordinate entity) where the executive derives its democratic legitimacy from its ability to command the support ("confidence") of th ...

s of government,

heads of state A head of state (or chief of state) is the public persona who officially embodies a state Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representatitve of its international persona." in its unity and ...

often act on the basis of advice issued by

prime minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...

s or other government ministers. For example, in constitutional monarchies, the monarch usually appoints

ministers of the Crown Minister of the Crown is a formal constitutional term used in Commonwealth realms to describe a minister of the reigning sovereign or viceroy. The term indicates that the minister serves at His Majesty's pleasure, and advises the sovereign or ...

on the advice of their prime minister. Among the most prominent forms of advice offered are, among other things: * Advice to appoint and remove individual ministers. * Advice to dissolve parliament. * Advice to deliver formal statements, such as a speech from the throne. In some states, the duty to accept advice is legally enforceable, having been created by a

constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When these princ ...

or statute. For example, the

Basic Law of Germany The Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany (german: Grundgesetz für die Bundesrepublik Deutschland) is the constitution of the Germany, Federal Republic of Germany. The West German Constitution was approved in Bonn on 8 May 1949 an ...

requires the

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

to appoint federal ministers on the advice of the chancellor. In others, especially under the Westminster system, advice may legally be rejected; for example, in several Commonwealth realms, the monarch is not legally obliged to accept the advice of his or her ministers. This lack of obligation forms part of the basis for the monarch's

reserve powers Reserve or reserves may refer to: Places * Reserve, Kansas, a US city * Reserve, Louisiana, a census-designated place in St. John the Baptist Parish * Reserve, Montana, a census-designated place in Sheridan County * Reserve, New Mexico, a US v ...

. Nevertheless, the convention that the head of state accept ministerial advice is so strong that in ordinary circumstances, refusal to do so would almost certainly provoke a

constitutional crisis In political science, a constitutional crisis is a problem or conflict in the function of a government that the political constitution or other fundamental governing law is perceived to be unable to resolve. There are several variations to this ...

. Although most advice is binding, in comparatively rare instances it is not. For example, many heads of state may choose not to follow advice on a dissolution of parliament where the government has lost the confidence of that body. In some cases, whether the advice is mandatory or truly just advisory depends on the context and authority of the person offering it. Hence the

president of Ireland The president of Ireland ( ga, Uachtarán na hÉireann) is the head of state of Ireland and the supreme commander of the Irish Defence Forces. The president holds office for seven years, and can be elected for a maximum of two terms.Constitu ...

ordinarily is obliged to dissolve '' Dáil Éireann'' (Assembly of Ireland) when advised to do so by the ''

taoiseach The Taoiseach is the head of government, or prime minister, of Ireland. The office is appointed by the president of Ireland upon the nomination of Dáil Éireann (the lower house of the Oireachtas, Ireland's national legislature) and the o ...

'' (prime minister). However, if a ''taoiseach'' has (in the words of the

Constitution of Ireland The Constitution of Ireland ( ga, Bunreacht na hÉireann, ) is the fundamental law of Ireland. It asserts the national sovereignty of the Irish people. The constitution, based on a system of representative democracy, is broadly within the traditi ...

) "ceased to retain the support of a majority in ''Dáil Éireann''" (i.e., lost the confidence of parliament) the president has the option of refusing to follow that advice, and thus force the ''taoiseach'' to resign.Article 13.2.2. of ''Constitution of Ireland'' (1937)

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Constitutional law {{constitutional-law-stub

See also

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