Commonwealth Forums

<center>THE ROYAL PREROGATIVE BILL

A Bill to limit and define the Royal Prerogative, and the manner in which Prerogative powers are exercised.</center>
Whereas the King�s Royal Prerogative presently exists only as a vague and nebulous concept, to the detriment of the Crown and Parliament alike;

Be it therefore enacted by the King�s most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:

<center>SHORT TITLE</center>
1. This Act may be cited as the Royal Prerogative Act 2007.

<center>INTERPRETATION</center>
2. For the purposes of this Act,

(a) the �Great Seal� refers to a royal seal kept by the Lord High Chancellor, and affixed to documents of national significance; and
(b) the �Royal Sign-manual� refers to the physical signature of less important documents by the King.

<center>THE ROYAL PREROGATIVE</center>
3. As the ultimate source of law and justice under God, the King shall be protected from prosecution for any offence in his Courts.

4. The King may, by Proclamation under the Great Seal,

(a) conclude treaties and diplomatic agreements;
(b) establish procedures for regency and succession to the Throne;
� regulate heraldry, social status, and ceremonial protocol; and
(d) prorogue and dissolve Parliament.

5. The King may, by Patent Letter under the Great Seal,

(a) dispatch Ambassadors and diplomats to foreign nations;
(b) confer offices and titles within the Peerage;
� admit Peers or commoners to the Royal Family; and
(d) establish public and private corporations and other bodies.

6. The King may, by Writ under the Royal Sign-manual,

(a) dispense justice and remedy wrongs amongst citizens;
(b) naturalise new Hanoverian citizens; and
� summon citizens to Parliament.

7. The King may, by Order made with the advice of the Privy Council,

(a) regulate elections, referenda, and the census;
(a) organise and command military and police forces;
(b) establish general diplomatic policies;
� recognise the sovereignty of foreign nations; and
(d) regulate the Peerage and the Royal Family.

My Lords and Gentlemen,

The above Bill is a simple one, although it is relatively long and replete with lists. I have long felt that the Royal Prerogative, i.e., the King's rights when acting outside of Parliament, should be codified. Thus, this Bill simply lists the Prerogative powers generally accorded to the King, and groups them for convenience and reference by the document which is used to exercise them.

I do not think there is anything controversial in this Bill. I commend it to the House.

My Lords and Gentlemen,

Upon thorough consideration, I believe it is most expedient to withdraw this Bill. As is by now known to most citizens, I am currently undertaking to codify the laws of Hanover into a single document, the Hanoverian Code, which I will soon be placing before Parliament. It occurs to me that it would be redundant to define the Royal Prerogative here, and then subsequently to incorporate it into the Code. Thus, I intend simply to include the material in this Bill in my proposal for the Code.

The present Bill is, by leave, withdrawn from the consideration of the House.

Christopher McQueeny

Christopher McQueeny

Christopher McQueeny