Conventions and usages are rules based on ________

Step 1: Analyze the question The question asks what conventions and usages are based on. These terms come from the study of constitutions in Government.

Step 2: Explain the concept

• Conventions are unwritten rules and practices that develop over time and are followed by those in government, even though no law compels them. An example is the practice in Nigeria's federal system of zoning or rotating certain offices, or in Britain, the rule that the monarch gives assent to bills passed by Parliament.
• Usages are habits or practices that have become accepted through long, repeated use.
• Both are part of the unwritten sources of a constitution. They are not found in a single legal document, and courts do not normally enforce them.

Step 3: Test the options

• A. Traditions and customs: Correct. Conventions and usages grow out of long-standing traditions and customs that people accept as binding.
• B. Previous constitutions: Wrong. These are written (or formal) documents, while conventions are not rooted in them.
• C. Legal documents: Wrong. Conventions are unwritten and are not contained in legal documents.
• D. Decisions of commoners: Wrong. This has no link to how conventions develop.

Step 4: Answer Conventions and usages are rules based on traditions and customs, so the answer is A.

Exam tip: Whenever you see "conventions," think unwritten, customary, not enforceable in court. If an option mentions written documents or laws, it is probably a distractor.