The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Politics (2 page)

 
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additional member system
(AMS)

Any system of
proportional representation
in which a set of representatives is chosen to supplement those chosen by some other route in such a way that the house, overall, is proportionately representative of the votes cast. The additional members are sometimes also called ‘top-up’ members. The best-known AMS is used for the German parliament, where voters have two votes. With the first, they elect a single constituency MP by the
plurality
(‘first-past-the-post’) rule. With the second, they shape the overall party composition of the house. Additional members (additional, that is, to those elected in the single-member districts) are elected in such numbers as required to ensure that the house reflects the vote shares gained by the parties in the second votes. The electoral systems in Belgium, Denmark, and Sweden also have an AMS component.

 
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(1876–1967)
West Germany's first Chancellor (1949–63). Adenauer was deposed as Mayor of Cologne by the Nazis in 1933, and imprisoned twice before 1945. After the war, he led the newly constituted centre-right Christian Democratic Union. His tenure as Chancellor was notable for Germany's accession to NATO, co-founding the EEC in 1957, and the construction of the ‘social market economy’ combining free market capitalism with state responsibility for citizens' welfare.
SW 

 
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Adjournment is the procedure by which the sitting of a legislature is brought to a close. In the House of Commons each day's sitting ends with a motion ‘That this House do now adjourn’, when, in a debate lasting half an hour, members can raise any matter of concern; one of the few opportunities for private members to initiate debate. The House may adjourn if Members are disorderly, or if there is not a
quorum
of members present. During a debate an adjournment motion may be proposed as a means of blocking the passage of a measure. Unless the measure is backed by the government, adjournment normally means that it fails.

 
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The law relating to the control of government power, including the detailed rules which govern the exercise of administrative decision taking. Despite A. V. Dicey's reluctance in his
Law of the Constitution
(1885) to accept the idea of specific and specialized legal rules governing administrative decisions, English law has developed administrative law especially since
c.
1960. Lord Diplock in 1982 regarded the development of English administrative law ‘as having been the greatest achievement of the English Courts in my judicial lifetime’. Primarily the courts have developed general principles to ensure that all public authorities must act within the powers granted to them by Act of Parliament. Such principles include reasonableness in making decisions and principles of natural justice to ensure fair procedure. Discretion must not be abused and decisions must be made according to law and not outside the powers of the Act, which might make them
ultra vires
. Under section 31 of the Supreme Court Act 1981, and Rules of the Supreme Court, Order 53, an applicant may seek
judicial review
. This procedure permits an application for such remedies as a judicial order or damages as is appropriate to the facts of the case. The various remedies available under English law are mandamus, prohibition, or
certiorari
and the private law group of remedies such as declaration, injunction, or damages. Leave to apply for judicial review must first be obtained in the Crown Office before a judge and usually on affidavit or written evidence. Once leave is granted there may be a hearing of the case where all the parties may be represented. The matter which is the subject of complaint must be a ‘public law’ question and the courts have defined the exact meaning of this term on a case-by-case basis since the House of Lords decision in
O'Reilly v Mackman
[1983] AC 237. Applications for judicial review have steadily increased over the years with approximately 2,500 applicants made each year. The subjects for review extend from immigration disputes, housing, local government, and planning matters.
The English system of administrative law has developed on a case-by-case basis in marked contrast to administrative law in both the United States and in France, which owes its development to the nature of the written constitution in both jurisdictions.
JM 

 
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