Whether the caretaker-government convention against new policy commitments and major appointments is a binding constitutional rule or a customary practice observed only by convention is unsettled across Westminster-derived systems; the boundary is tested whenever an unusually long caretaker period, a national emergency, or a contested handover occurs.
What would resolve this A court ruling or codifying statute that squarely addresses whether the caretaker convention binds a government legally, comparable to how New Zealand's Cabinet Manual and some Australian state guidance have partly codified caretaker conventions, would settle the question for those jurisdictions.
OpenConstitutional law, comparative governmentCaretaker Government (Institute for Government)