In politics and government, lapsed power is a term often used to describe a certain constitutionally-granted power of government that is no longer used, according to constitutional convention. This may be because the power's original conditions of use no longer exist, making it an

anachronism An anachronism (from the Greek , 'against' and , 'time') is a chronological inconsistency in some arrangement, especially a juxtaposition of people, events, objects, language terms and customs from different time periods. The most common ty ...

, or simply because the nation's political culture and attitudes have shifted, making the power appear too morally or ethically objectionable to use. However, the power still exists. Examples of lapsed powers include the

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 ...

of a monarch under a

constitutional monarchy A constitutional monarchy, parliamentary monarchy, or democratic monarchy is a form of monarchy in which the monarch exercises their authority in accordance with a constitution and is not alone in decision making. Constitutional monarchies dif ...

. Constitutional monarchs have significant powers over matters such as the appointment of the

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 is ...

or the

veto A veto is a legal power to unilaterally stop an official action. In the most typical case, a president or monarch vetoes a bill to stop it from becoming law. In many countries, veto powers are established in the country's constitution. Veto ...

of legislation, but in practice these powers are rarely actually used independently. Comparative public law scholar Richard Albert has theorized a related phenomenon he calls "constitutional desuetude," which occurs "when an entrenched constitutional provision loses its binding force upon political actors as a result of its conscious sustained nonuse and public repudiation by preceding and present political actors."

References

Political terminology {{poli-term-stub

See also

References