Crown and Royal Prerogative Flashcards
What are examples of personal prerogatives?
- Legally the king appoints the prime minister, but by convention it’s always the person who commands majority in the House of Commons
- The prime minister decides who is to become a government minister and they are formally appointed by the king
- Legally the king decides when parliament is summoned, and when it is prorogued
- Bill from Parliament must receive Royal assent, but the king would not refuse agreement
- The grant of honours where the king accepts nominations from the government
Can the king be legally liable?
Basically no, but this immunity doesn’t extend to any other members of the family
Court orders such as injunctions and specific performance cannot be awarded against the crown, but what enforcement is there against the crown?
- Court orders can be made against government ministers
- An interim injunction can be issued against the Secretary of State
- Members of the armed forces can sue for injuries sustained on duty or military premises outside of war times or national emergency
Is the crown bound by an act of parliament?
Only if it is expressly stated in the act or implied in the wording of the act
Under the crown proceedings act 1947, what immunities do the government have from the law?
- It’s immune from criminal law
- It can be sued in contract
- It has liability in tort and has vicarious liability for its servants and agents
What are non-justiciable powers?
Prerogative powers where the courts refuse to consider challenging the governments decision, such as defence or foreign policy
What are orders in Council?
Prerogative laws made by the government without the agreement of parliament
What are personal prerogatives?
Prerogative powers where the king is still involved in their use
What are the common categories of prerogative powers?
- Government and civil service
- Justice system, mercy and pardon
- National security
- Foreign affairs
*Defence of the realm
What does it mean by saying that prerogative powers are executive powers?
That the government doesn’t need the permission of Parliament to use them
What happens if a statute and prerogative have the same power?
The government must use the statutory power. If an act of parliament were appealed, then the prerogative power would revive and the government could use it
What happens if the existence of a prerogative power is disputed?
The court would have to decide whether the power ever existed and if it still exists
What is a judicial review of the Royal prerogative?
When the courts decide whether the government has the legal power to do what it has done
What is accountability to Parliament?
The government must justify its actions to Parliament, but they don’t normally need parliaments permission
What is an act of state?
It’s an ancient prerogative power, which says that UK government actions taken against foreign citizens outside of UK are not actionable
What is an example of the government, having a mixture of statutory and prerogative powers?
UK citizenship is determined by statutory rules, but the issue of a passport government is a prerogative power and at the discretion of the government
What prerogative powers cannot be reviewed?
When it is an area of high government policy, such as:
* Treaties
* Defence
* Mercy
* Honours
* Dissolution of parliament and appointment of ministers
When are prerogative powers subject to judicial review?
- When the decisions involve individual rights
- When a decision is completely irrational
- When a decision is a severe breach of human rights
When can a prerogative act be judicially reviewed?
- When it’s every day matters affecting the rights of citizens
- Illegality
- Irrationality
- Procedural impropriety
Who is the crown?
The monarch
His Majesty’s government
Civil service
Armed forces
Lland, and other property
Why is it important to identify the extent of a prerogative power?
To enable a court to restrain abuse of government power, such as the Boris Johnson case
