Attorney-General v De Keyser's Royal Hotel Limited is a leading case in UK constitutional law decided by the House of Lords in 1920 which exhaustively considered the principles on which the courts decide whether statute has fettered prerogative power.[1] It decided that the royal prerogative does not entitle the Crown to take possession of a subject's land or buildings for administrative purposes connected with the defence of the realm without paying compensation. It is the authority for the statement that the royal prerogative is placed in abeyance (is not used) when statute law can provide a legal basis for an action.[2]
De Keyser's Royal Hotel Ltd, as owner of a hotel situated in Blackfriars, London, claimed compensation under the Defence Act 1842 for occupation of the hotel by the armed forces during the First World War. The government relied on prerogative power under which 'less compensation would be payable'.
De Keyser's Royal Hotel was a 300–400 bedroom hotel on the Victoria Embankment, founded in the 1860s by Polydore de Keyser, that occupied the former site of Bridewell Palace.[3][4] Officers of the Crown had taken possession of the hotel in 1916, purporting to act under statutory powers conferred by the Defence of the Realm Act 1914 (DORA). When challenged by the owner in petition of right proceedings, it was argued for the Crown that the competent military authority was empowered by the 1914 Act and regulations to take possession of land and buildings while the subject had no legal right to compensation.
The prospects for the hotel's business
Before the outbreak of the war with Germany, De Keyser's had been operating as a first class hotel, mainly for a continental clientele. By the time the hotel was taken for the wartime use of the Crown in May 1916, the hotel premises were held on a set of leaseholds expiring in 1961, but due to the loss of clientele in wartime, the hotel had been running at a loss. From June 1915 the company was in the hands of a receiver and manager, Arthur Whinney, appointed by the Chancery Court for the holders of the company's debentures (bearing annual interest of about £6,000). He had proceeded to cut some of the business losses, and before the take-over in 1916 he informed the official negotiating for the Crown that the hotel's business had improved considerably and future prospects were favourable.
The company's petition of right was presented in February 1917. Before the attorney-general's fiat was given for letting the petition of right proceed, a senior civil servant informed the Home Office that the hotel company was the only party in connection with requisitioning by the Office of Works to have refused to let the claim be dealt with under the DORA regulations. In the meantime, petition of right proceedings had previously been heard by the Court of Appeal in July 1915,[5] concerning the requisition of Shoreham Aerodrome, an airfield on the south coast, by another department, the War Office, and when the owner's appeal came to be heard by the House of Lords in July 1916, additional relevant historical information was available, resulting in an outcome that enabled the owner (The Brighton-Shoreham Aerodrome Ltd) to obtain compensation under the Defence Act 1842.[6]
Judgement
In 1919, the Court of Appeal (Sir Charles Swinfen EadyMR and Warrington LJ; Duke LJ dissenting),[7] reversing the decision of Mr Justice Peterson in the High Court, decided that De Keyser's Royal Hotel Ltd, as the hotel's owner, was entitled to compensation in the manner provided by the Defence Act 1842.[8]
On the Attorney-General's appeal in 1920, the House of Lords unanimously affirmed the Court of Appeal's decision, rejecting the government's claim to rely on prerogative power, and holding that once the statute had been enacted the prerogative powers fell into abeyance, for the duration of the life of its provisions should the statute be replaced or amended or modified.[9] Present at the House of Lords hearing were four Lords of Appeal in Ordinary: Lord Dunedin, Lord Atkinson, Lord Moulton, and Lord Sumner, plus Lord Parmoor (not a Lord of Appeal in Ordinary, but a member of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council which had ruled on the case of The Zamora (1916)).[10] At the hearing, the Crown was represented by Sir Gordon Hewart, Attorney-General, and Sir Ernest Pollock, Solicitor-General, and the other party was represented by Sir John SimonKC and Leslie Scott KC. In an introduction to an authoritative commentary published soon after the decision, Simon described it as one of the leading cases in constitutional law, concerned with establishing the rights of individual citizens in the face of exceptional interference by the Executive.[11]
^Attorney General v De Keyser's Royal Hotel Ltd [1920] UKHL 1, [1920] AC 508 (10 May 1920), House of Lords (UK) Defence of the Realm – War – Exigencies of the Public Service – Crown – Royal Prerogative – Right of Crown to take Possession of Land and Buildings without Compensation – Defence Act, 1842 – Defence of the Realm Consolidation Act, 1914 and Regulations thereunder.
^De Keyser's Royal Hotel, Victoria Embankment, London, demolished for the erection of Unilever House, 1931 [1]
^The London Encyclopaedia by Christopher Hibbert, Ben Weinreb, Julia Keay, John Keay, 3rd Revised Edition (2010), p.183.
^Privy Council, The Zamora, On Appeal from the High Court, Probate, Divorce, and Admiralty Division. (In Prize.) Powers of King in Council – Royal Prerogative – Extent to which Orders in Council are binding – Inherent Powers of the Court – Preservation of Property in Specie – Neutral Cargo – Contraband – Seizure as Prize – Requisition before Adjudication – Validity – Prize Court Rules.[2]
^The case of requisition: in re a petition of right of De Keyser's Royal Hotel Limited, Scott and Hildesley, Clarendon Press (1920)
^Laker Airways Ltd v Department of Trade [1977] QB 643, [1976] EWCA Civ 10 [3]
^R v Home Secretary, ex parte Fire Brigades Union [1995] UKHL 3 (05 April 1995) [1995] 2 AC 513 [4]
^Court, The Supreme. "R (on the application of Miller) (Appellant) v The Prime Minister (Respondent) - The Supreme Court". www.supremecourt.uk. Retrieved 24 September 2019.
External links
Official law report of Attorney-General v De Keyser’s Royal Hotel Limited , with headnote
The case of requisition: in re a petition of right of De Keyser's Royal Hotel Limited: De Keyser's Royal Hotel Limited v. the King (1920), Leslie Scott and Alfred Hildesley, with Introduction by Sir John Simon, Clarendon Press, 1920
January 18, 2023
attorney, general, keyser, royal, hotel, attorney, general, keyser, royal, hotel, limited, leading, case, constitutional, decided, house, lords, 1920, which, exhaustively, considered, principles, which, courts, decide, whether, statute, fettered, prerogative, . Attorney General v De Keyser s Royal Hotel Limited is a leading case in UK constitutional law decided by the House of Lords in 1920 which exhaustively considered the principles on which the courts decide whether statute has fettered prerogative power 1 It decided that the royal prerogative does not entitle the Crown to take possession of a subject s land or buildings for administrative purposes connected with the defence of the realm without paying compensation It is the authority for the statement that the royal prerogative is placed in abeyance is not used when statute law can provide a legal basis for an action 2 Attorney General v De Keyser s Royal Hotel LtdCourtHouse of LordsDecided10 May 1920Citation s 1920 AC 508 1920 UKHL 1Case opinionsLord DunedinKeywordsConstitutional Damages Contents 1 Facts 1 1 The prospects for the hotel s business 2 Judgement 3 References 4 External linksFacts EditDe Keyser s Royal Hotel Ltd as owner of a hotel situated in Blackfriars London claimed compensation under the Defence Act 1842 for occupation of the hotel by the armed forces during the First World War The government relied on prerogative power under which less compensation would be payable De Keyser s Royal Hotel was a 300 400 bedroom hotel on the Victoria Embankment founded in the 1860s by Polydore de Keyser that occupied the former site of Bridewell Palace 3 4 Officers of the Crown had taken possession of the hotel in 1916 purporting to act under statutory powers conferred by the Defence of the Realm Act 1914 DORA When challenged by the owner in petition of right proceedings it was argued for the Crown that the competent military authority was empowered by the 1914 Act and regulations to take possession of land and buildings while the subject had no legal right to compensation The prospects for the hotel s business Edit Before the outbreak of the war with Germany De Keyser s had been operating as a first class hotel mainly for a continental clientele By the time the hotel was taken for the wartime use of the Crown in May 1916 the hotel premises were held on a set of leaseholds expiring in 1961 but due to the loss of clientele in wartime the hotel had been running at a loss From June 1915 the company was in the hands of a receiver and manager Arthur Whinney appointed by the Chancery Court for the holders of the company s debentures bearing annual interest of about 6 000 He had proceeded to cut some of the business losses and before the take over in 1916 he informed the official negotiating for the Crown that the hotel s business had improved considerably and future prospects were favourable The company s petition of right was presented in February 1917 Before the attorney general s fiat was given for letting the petition of right proceed a senior civil servant informed the Home Office that the hotel company was the only party in connection with requisitioning by the Office of Works to have refused to let the claim be dealt with under the DORA regulations In the meantime petition of right proceedings had previously been heard by the Court of Appeal in July 1915 5 concerning the requisition of Shoreham Aerodrome an airfield on the south coast by another department the War Office and when the owner s appeal came to be heard by the House of Lords in July 1916 additional relevant historical information was available resulting in an outcome that enabled the owner The Brighton Shoreham Aerodrome Ltd to obtain compensation under the Defence Act 1842 6 Judgement EditIn 1919 the Court of Appeal Sir Charles Swinfen Eady MR and Warrington LJ Duke LJ dissenting 7 reversing the decision of Mr Justice Peterson in the High Court decided that De Keyser s Royal Hotel Ltd as the hotel s owner was entitled to compensation in the manner provided by the Defence Act 1842 8 On the Attorney General s appeal in 1920 the House of Lords unanimously affirmed the Court of Appeal s decision rejecting the government s claim to rely on prerogative power and holding that once the statute had been enacted the prerogative powers fell into abeyance for the duration of the life of its provisions should the statute be replaced or amended or modified 9 Present at the House of Lords hearing were four Lords of Appeal in Ordinary Lord Dunedin Lord Atkinson Lord Moulton and Lord Sumner plus Lord Parmoor not a Lord of Appeal in Ordinary but a member of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council which had ruled on the case of The Zamora 1916 10 At the hearing the Crown was represented by Sir Gordon Hewart Attorney General and Sir Ernest Pollock Solicitor General and the other party was represented by Sir John Simon KC and Leslie Scott KC In an introduction to an authoritative commentary published soon after the decision Simon described it as one of the leading cases in constitutional law concerned with establishing the rights of individual citizens in the face of exceptional interference by the Executive 11 The principles established in the De Keyser s Royal Hotel case have been referred to in later judgments when the government s claim to rely on the exercise of power under the royal prerogative has been challenged such as Laker Airways Ltd v Department of Trade 1976 concerning the revocation of the commercial airline operator s licence of Laker Airways 12 R v Secretary of State for the Home Department ex parte Fire Brigades Union 1995 concerning changes to the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme 13 and most recently in R Miller v The Prime Minister and Cherry v Advocate General for Scotland 2019 concerning the Royal Prerogative to prorogue Parliament 14 References Edit per Lord Justice Roskill judgment in Court of Appeal in Laker Airways Ltd v Department of Trade 1976 Attorney General v De Keyser s Royal Hotel Ltd 1920 UKHL 1 1920 AC 508 10 May 1920 House of Lords UK Defence of the Realm War Exigencies of the Public Service Crown Royal Prerogative Right of Crown to take Possession of Land and Buildings without Compensation Defence Act 1842 Defence of the Realm Consolidation Act 1914 and Regulations thereunder De Keyser s Royal Hotel Victoria Embankment London demolished for the erection of Unilever House 1931 1 The London Encyclopaedia by Christopher Hibbert Ben Weinreb Julia Keay John Keay 3rd Revised Edition 2010 p 183 In re A Petition of Right 1915 3 KB 649 Gerry R Rubin Private Property Government Requisition and the Constitution 1914 1927 Bloomsbury 1994 pages 71 86 and 55ff ISBN 1852850981 1919 2 Ch 197 Defence Act 1842 Official Law Report Appeal Cases series Privy Council The Zamora On Appeal from the High Court Probate Divorce and Admiralty Division In Prize Powers of King in Council Royal Prerogative Extent to which Orders in Council are binding Inherent Powers of the Court Preservation of Property in Specie Neutral Cargo Contraband Seizure as Prize Requisition before Adjudication Validity Prize Court Rules 2 The case of requisition in re a petition of right of De Keyser s Royal Hotel Limited Scott and Hildesley Clarendon Press 1920 Laker Airways Ltd v Department of Trade 1977 QB 643 1976 EWCA Civ 10 3 R v Home Secretary ex parte Fire Brigades Union 1995 UKHL 3 05 April 1995 1995 2 AC 513 4 Court The Supreme R on the application of Miller Appellant v The Prime Minister Respondent The Supreme Court www supremecourt uk Retrieved 24 September 2019 External links EditOfficial law report of Attorney General v De Keyser s Royal Hotel Limited with headnote The case of requisition in re a petition of right of De Keyser s Royal Hotel Limited De Keyser s Royal Hotel Limited v the King 1920 Leslie Scott and Alfred Hildesley with Introduction by Sir John Simon Clarendon Press 1920 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Attorney General v De Keyser 27s Royal Hotel Ltd amp oldid 1109887452, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
