Prorogation in the Westminster system of government is the action of proroguing, or interrupting, a

parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

, or the discontinuance of meetings for a given period of time, without a

dissolution of parliament The dissolution of a legislative assembly is the mandatory simultaneous resignation of all of its members, in anticipation that a successive legislative assembly will reconvene later with possibly different members. In a democracy, the new assemb ...

. The term is also used for the period of such a discontinuance between two legislative sessions of a legislative body.

Ancient Rome

In the

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 ...

ancient Rome In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–509 BC ...

, ''

prorogatio ''Prorogatio'' was a Roman practice in which a Roman magistrate's duties were extended beyond its normal annual term. It developed as a response to Roman expansion's demands for more generals and governors to administer conquered territories. Pr ...

'' was the extension of a commander's ''imperium'' beyond the one-year term of his magistracy, usually that of

consul Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states throu ...

praetor Praetor ( , ), also pretor, was the title granted by the government of Ancient Rome to a man acting in one of two official capacities: (i) the commander of an army, and (ii) as an elected '' magistratus'' (magistrate), assigned to discharge vari ...

. Prorogatio developed as a legal procedure in response to Roman expansionism and

militarization Militarization, or militarisation, is the process by which a society organizes itself for military conflict and violence. It is related to militarism, which is an ideology that reflects the level of militarization of a state. The process of milit ...

. This usage is unrelated to the modern parliamentary term.

Australia

In Australia, prorogation is the end of a session in the

Australian Parliament The Parliament of Australia (officially the Federal Parliament, also called the Commonwealth Parliament) is the legislative branch of the government of Australia. It consists of three elements: the monarch (represented by the governor-g ...

pursuant to

section 5 of the Constitution of Australia Section 5 of the Constitution of Australia empowers the Governor-General of Australia to prorogue the Australian Parliament, thereby bringing the current legislative session to an end. Prorogation clears all business pending before Parliament and ...

Canada

Prorogation is the end of a session in the Parliament of Canada.

New Zealand

Prorogation is the end of a session in the

New Zealand Parliament The New Zealand Parliament ( mi, Pāremata Aotearoa) is the unicameral legislature of New Zealand, consisting of the King of New Zealand (King-in-Parliament) and the New Zealand House of Representatives. The King is usually represented by hi ...

pursuant to the

Constitution Act 1986 The Constitution Act 1986 is an Act of the New Zealand Parliament that forms a major part of the constitution of New Zealand. It lays down the framework defining fundamental political principles of governance, and establishes the powers of the ...

. The ability of the speaker to recall parliament during an

adjournment In parliamentary procedure, an adjournment ends a meeting. It could be done using a motion to adjourn. A time for another meeting could be set using the motion to fix the time to which to adjourn. This motion establishes an adjourned meeting ...

has rendered prorogation almost obsolete, and the procedure was last used in 1991.

Northern Ireland

Prorogation in

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

was the end of a session in the

Parliament of Northern Ireland The Parliament of Northern Ireland was the home rule legislature of Northern Ireland, created under the Government of Ireland Act 1920, which sat from 7 June 1921 to 30 March 1972, when it was suspended because of its inability to restore ord ...

(1921–1972).

United Kingdom

Prorogation is the formal ending of a Parliamentary session in the

UK Parliament The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative suprema ...

United States

Under Article II, Section 3 of the

U.S. Constitution The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, in 1789. Originally comprising seven articles, it delineates the nation ...

the

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States ...

technically has the authority to adjourn the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...

"to such Time as he shall think proper" when it is unable to agree on a time of

. However, this is a procedural ability that has so far never been used. The members of the Constitutional Convention agreed to limit executive authority in order to prevent autocracy. In '' Federalist No. 69'', Alexander Hamilton differentiated the President's authority to prorogue Congress from the

King of Great Britain The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the constitutional form of government by which a hereditary sovereign reigns as the head of state of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies (the Bailiwi ...

's ability to dissolve Parliament. On April 15, 2020, while Congress was in recess due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

but still holding ''pro forma'' sessions, President

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...

threatened to use the presidential prerogative powers to

adjourn In parliamentary procedure, an adjournment ends a meeting. It could be done using a motion to adjourn. A time for another meeting could be set using the motion to fix the time to which to adjourn. This motion establishes an adjourned meeting. ...

both the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

and the Senate in order to make

recess appointment In the United States, a recess appointment is an appointment by the president of a federal official when the U.S. Senate is in recess. Under the U.S. Constitution's Appointments Clause, the President is empowered to nominate, and with the a ...

s for positions such as Director of National Intelligence and the

Federal Reserve Board of Governors The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, commonly known as the Federal Reserve Board, is the main governing body of the Federal Reserve System. It is charged with overseeing the Federal Reserve Banks and with helping implement the m ...

, citing what he argued was

obstructionism Obstructionism is the practice of deliberately delaying or preventing a process or change, especially in politics. As workplace aggression An obstructionist causes problems. Neuman and Baron (1998) identify obstructionism as one of the three dim ...

and extreme

partisanship A partisan is a committed member of a political party or army. In multi-party systems, the term is used for persons who strongly support their party's policies and are reluctant to compromise with political opponents. A political partisan is no ...

from the Democratic Party. However, constitutional law experts and politicians have argued that President Trump did not have the constitutional authority to do so under those conditions, as both houses had agreed on a date of adjournment, and President Trump's argument that the President can force Congress to adjourn was widely condemned by both Republicans and Democrats. In order to prorogue Congress, the Senate would have to set a different date of adjournment than the House of Representatives. Although President Trump called on the Senate to set a new adjournment date,

Senate Majority Leader The positions of majority leader and minority leader are held by two United States senators and members of the party leadership of the United States Senate. They serve as the chief spokespersons for their respective political parties holding t ...

Mitch McConnell indicated that he would not alter the planned adjournment date of January 3, 2021, and any motion to alter the date would require the approval of

Senate Minority Leader The positions of majority leader and minority leader are held by two United States senators and members of the party leadership of the United States Senate. They serve as the chief spokespersons for their respective political parties holding t ...

Chuck Schumer Charles Ellis Schumer ( ; born November 23, 1950) is an American politician serving as Senate Majority Leader since January 20, 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, Schumer is in his fourth Senate term, having held his seat since 1999, an ...

and the Democratic members of the Senate through the Senate Standing Rules.

References

{{Reflist Parliamentary procedure