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Royal assent

Royal assent is the method by which a monarch formally approves an act of the legislature, either directly or through an official acting on the monarch's behalf. In some jurisdictions, royal assent is equivalent to promulgation, while in others that is a separate step. Under a modern constitutional monarchy, royal assent is considered little more than a formality. Even in nations such as the United Kingdom, Norway, the Netherlands, Liechtenstein and Monaco which still, in theory, permit their monarch to withhold assent to laws, the monarch almost never does so, except in a dire political emergency or on advice of government. While the power to veto by withholding royal assent was once exercised often by European monarchs, such an occurrence has been very rare since the eighteenth century.

King George VI, accompanied by Queen Elizabeth, grants royal assent to laws in the Canadian Senate, 19 May 1939

Royal assent is typically associated with elaborate ceremony. In the United Kingdom the Sovereign may appear personally in the House of Lords or may appoint Lords Commissioners, who announce that royal assent has been granted at a ceremony held at the Palace of Westminster for this purpose. However, royal assent is usually granted less ceremonially by letters patent. In other nations, such as Australia, the governor-general (as the Monarch's representative) has the right to dissolve the parliament[1] and to sign a bill.[citation needed] In Canada, the governor general may give assent either in person at a ceremony in the Senate or by a written declaration notifying Parliament of their agreement to the bill.

United Kingdom

Before the Royal Assent by Commission Act 1541 allowed for delegation of the power to Lords Commissioners, assent was always required to be given by the Sovereign in person before Parliament.[2] The last time it was given by the Sovereign in person in Parliament was during the reign of Queen Victoria at a prorogation on 12 August 1854.[3][a] The Act was repealed and replaced by the Royal Assent Act 1967. However section 1(2) of that Act does not prevent the Sovereign from declaring assent in person if he or she so desires.

Royal assent is the final step required for a parliamentary bill to become law. Once a bill is presented to the Sovereign, he or she has the following formal options:

  • grant royal assent, thereby making the bill an Act of Parliament.
  • delay the bill's assent through the use of reserve powers, thereby invoking a veto[5]
  • refuse royal assent on the advice of his or her ministers.[6]

The last bill that was refused assent by the Sovereign was the Scottish Militia Bill during Queen Anne's reign in 1708.[7]

Erskine May's Parliamentary Practice advises "...and from that sanction they cannot be legally withheld", meaning that bills must be sent for royal assent, not that it must be given.[8] However, some authorities have stated that the Sovereign no longer has the power to withhold assent from a bill against the advice of ministers.[9][10]

Under modern constitutional conventions, the Sovereign generally acts on, and in accordance with, the advice of his or her ministers.[11] However, there is some disagreement among scholars as to whether the monarch should withhold royal assent to a bill if advised to do so by his or her ministers.[12]

Since these ministers most often enjoy the support of Parliament and obtain the passage of bills, it is improbable that they would advise the Sovereign to withhold assent. Hence, in modern practice, the issue has never arisen, and royal assent has not been withheld.[5] This possibility did arise during the early days of the Premiership of Boris Johnson while the UK was negotiating a Brexit agreement with the EU. The Speaker of the House of Commons had allowed debate on a bill against the government's wishes and the government of the day was effectively in a minority on the most pressing parliamentary issue at the time. As such, there were rumours that the PM may advise the Queen (King) to withhold assent on an unfavourable bill. [13]

In December 2022 the Scottish Parliament passed the Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill. The UK government indicated that they may try to block it by withholding Royal Assent, using a Section 35 order under the Scotland Act, arguing that it would impinge on reserved matters. [14]

Historical development

Originally, legislative power was exercised by the sovereign acting on the advice of the Curia regis, or royal council, in which senior magnates and clerics participated and which evolved into Parliament.[15] In 1265, the Earl of Leicester irregularly called a full parliament without royal authorisation.[16] Membership of the so-called Model Parliament, established in 1295 under Edward I, eventually came to be divided into two branches: bishops, abbots, earls, and barons formed the House of Lords, while the two knights from each shire and two burgesses from each borough led the House of Commons.[17] The King would seek the advice and consent of both houses before making any law. During Henry VI's reign, it became regular practice for the two houses to originate legislation in the form of bills, which would not become law unless the Sovereign's assent was obtained, as the Sovereign was, and still remains, the enactor of laws. Hence, all Acts include the clause "Be it enacted by the Queen's (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...".[18] The Parliament Acts 1911 and 1949 provide a second potential preamble if the House of Lords were to be excluded from the process.

The power of Parliament to pass bills was often thwarted by monarchs. Charles I dissolved Parliament in 1629, after it passed motions and bills critical of—and seeking to restrict—his arbitrary exercise of power. During the eleven years of personal rule that followed, Charles performed legally dubious actions such as raising taxes without Parliament's approval.[19]

The form of the Coronation Oath taken by monarchs up to and including James I and Charles I included a promise (in Latin) to uphold the rightful laws and customs quas vulgus elegerit.[b] There was a controversy over the meaning of this phrase: the verb elegerit is ambiguous, representing either the future perfect ("which the common people shall have chosen"), or perfect subjunctive ("which the common people may have chosen"). Charles I, adopting the latter interpretation, considered himself committed only to uphold those laws and customs that already existed at the time of his coronation.[21] The Long Parliament preferred the former translation, interpreting the oath as an undertaking to assent to any law passed by Parliament, as the representative of the "common people". The restoration Convention Parliament resolved the issue by removing the disputed phrase from the Oath.[22]

After the English Civil War, it was accepted that Parliament should be summoned to meet regularly, but it was still commonplace for monarchs to refuse royal assent to bills. The Sedition Act 1661 even made it a treasonable offence to suggest that Parliament had "a legislative power without the king".[22] In 1678, Charles II withheld his assent from a bill "for preserving the Peace of the Kingdom by raising the Militia, and continuing them in Duty for Two and Forty Days,"[23] suggesting that he, not Parliament, should control the militia.[24] William III made comparatively liberal use of the royal veto, withholding assent from five public bills between 1692 and 1696.[22] These were:

  • The Judges Bill (vetoed 1692) would have regulated the fees charged by judges, and removed the right of the monarch to dismiss judges at will, stipulating that a judge should hold his commission "on good behaviour". One contemporary observer reported that William's veto was recommended by the judges themselves, concerned that the regulation of their fees would deprive them of a lucrative source of income.[22]
  • The Royal Mines Bill (vetoed 1692) would have clearly defined the monarch's right to seize any mine containing gold or silver. A similar bill was again passed by Parliament and given royal assent in the following year.[22]
  • The Triennial Bill (vetoed 1693) would have ensured Parliament would meet annually, and that no parliament could last longer than three years. A similar law, without the requirement for annual parliamentary sessions, was approved by the king in 1694 and became law.[22]
  • The Place Bill (vetoed 1694) would have prevented members of Parliament from accepting any office or employment under the Crown without standing for re-election.[22] A similar provision was later approved by William as part of the Act of Settlement 1701.[25]
  • The Qualifications Bill (vetoed 1696) would have established property qualifications for members of Parliament.[22]

Carafano suggests that William III considered the royal veto "his personal legislative tool".[22] By contrast, the last Stuart monarch, Anne, withheld her assent from a bill just once. On 11 March 1708, she vetoed the Scottish Militia Bill on the advice of her ministers. No monarch has since withheld royal assent on a bill passed by Parliament.[26][27]

During the rule of the succeeding Hanoverian dynasty, power was gradually exercised more by Parliament and the government. The first Hanoverian monarch, George I, became heir presumptive and then king late in life; speaking English as a second language and being at first unfamiliar with British politics and customs, he relied on his ministers to a greater extent than had previous monarchs. Later Hanoverian monarchs attempted to restore royal control over legislation: George III and George IV both openly opposed Catholic Emancipation[28][29] and asserted that to grant assent to a Catholic emancipation bill would violate the Coronation Oath, which required the sovereign to preserve and protect the established Church of England from papal domination, and would grant rights to individuals who were in league with a foreign power which did not recognise their legitimacy. However, George IV reluctantly granted his assent upon the advice of his ministers.[29] Thus, as the concept of ministerial responsibility has evolved, the power to withhold royal assent has fallen into disuse, both in the United Kingdom and in the other Commonwealth realms.

In 1914, George V took legal advice on withholding royal assent from the Government of Ireland Bill; then highly contentious legislation that the Liberal government intended to push through Parliament by means of the Parliament Act 1911. He decided to not withhold assent without "convincing evidence that it would avert a national disaster, or at least have a tranquillising effect on the distracting conditions of the time".[30]

It has been mooted that, in modern times, the government could advise the monarch to withhold royal assent, but that elected politicians should strive to avoid such a scenario.[31]

Scotland

Royal assent is the final stage in the legislative process for acts of the Scottish Parliament. The process is governed by sections 28, 32, and 33 of the Scotland Act 1998.[32] After a bill has been passed, the Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament submits it to the monarch for royal assent after a four-week period, during which the Advocate General for Scotland, the Lord Advocate, the Attorney General or the Secretary of State for Scotland[33] may refer the bill to the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom (prior to 1 October 2009, the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council) for review of its legality. Royal assent is signified by letters patent under the Great Seal of Scotland as set out in The Scottish Parliament (Letters Patent and Proclamations) Order 1999 (SI 1999/737) and of which notice is published in the London, Edinburgh, and Belfast Gazettes.[34]

Wales

Measures, which were the means by which the National Assembly for Wales passed legislation between 2006 and 2011, were assented to by Queen Elizabeth II by means of an Order in Council.[35][36] Section 102 of the Government of Wales Act 2006 required the Clerk to the Assembly to present measures passed by the assembly after a four-week period during which the Counsel General for Wales or the Attorney General could refer the proposed measure to the Supreme Court for a decision as to whether the measure was within the assembly's legislative competence. Following the referendum held in March 2011, in which the majority voted for the assembly's law-making powers to be extended,[37] measures were replaced by Acts of the Assembly.[38]

Northern Ireland

Under section 14 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998, a bill which has been approved by the Northern Ireland Assembly is presented to Queen Elizabeth II by the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland for royal assent after a four-week waiting period during which the Attorney General for Northern Ireland may refer the bill to the Supreme Court. Assent is given by means of letters patent in the following form set out in the Northern Ireland (Royal Assent to Bills) Order 1999.[39]

Between 1922 and 1972, bills passed by the Parliament of Northern Ireland were passed to the Governor of Northern Ireland for royal assent under the Government of Ireland Act of 1920, replacing the office of Lord Lieutenant.[40]

Jersey and Guernsey

The lieutenant governors of the Bailiwick of Jersey and the Bailiwick and Islands of Guernsey do not have the authority to grant assent, nor, as proxies, as the British Crown's representative, deliver assent, to legislation emanating from the respective legislatures of these islands. The States of Jersey Law 2005 abolishes the power of the lieutenant governor to directly impose a formal veto to a resolution of the States of Jersey.[41]

The equivalent of the royal assent is formally granted or formally refused on the formal advice of the Committee of Council for the Affairs of Jersey and Guernsey in pursuance of Queen Elizabeth II's Order-in-Council of 22 February 1952. A recent example when the equivalent of the royal assent was refused was in 2007, concerning reforms to the constitution of the Chief Pleas of Sark.[42] (A revised version of the proposed reforms was subsequently given the equivalent of the royal assent.[43])

Isle of Man

Special procedures apply to legislation passed by the Tynwald of the Isle of Man. Before the Lordship of the Island was purchased by the British Crown in 1765 (the Revestment), the assent of the Lord of Mann to a bill was signified by letter to the Governor.[44] After 1765, the equivalent of the royal assent was at first signified by the letter from the Secretary of State to the Governor;[45] but, during the British Regency, the practice began of granting the equivalent of the royal assent to Manx legislation by Orders in Council,[46] which continues to this day, though limited to exceptional cases since 1981. That year an Order in Council delegated to the lieutenant governor the power to grant royal assent to bills passed by Tynwald. The lieutenant governor must however refer any bill impacting on reserved powers (defence, foreign relations, nationality law, the relationship between the island and the United Kingdom and any matters relating to the monarch) to the British government for advice, on which he is required to act.[47]

Since 1993, the Sodor and Man Diocesan Synod of the Church of England within the Province of York has had power to enact measures making provision "with respect to any matter concerning the Church of England in the Island". If approved by the Tynwald, a measure "shall have the force and effect of an Act of Tynwald upon the Royal Assent thereto being announced to the Tynwald".[48] Between 1979 and 1993, the Synod had similar powers, but limited to the extension to the Isle of Man of measures of the General Synod.[49] Before 1994, the equivalent of the royal assent was granted by Order in Council, as for a bill, but the power to grant the equivalent of the royal assent to measures has now been delegated to the lieutenant governor.[50] A Measure does not require promulgation.[51]

Relationship to royal consent

King's Consent and Prince's Consent are distinct from royal assent. They are required only for bills affecting the royal prerogative and the personal property and "personal interests" of the monarch, and are granted before parliament has debated or voted to pass a bill. They are internal parliamentary rules of procedure that could, in principle, be dispensed with by parliament. Consent is always granted on the advice of the government; the monarch never takes the decision to withhold consent.

Other Commonwealth realms

In Commonwealth realms other than the UK, royal assent is granted or withheld either by the realm's sovereign or, more frequently, by the representative of the sovereign, the governor-general.[52] In federated realms, assent in each state or province is granted or withheld by the representatives of the sovereign.

In Australia, in the special case of a Bill containing a proposal to amend the Constitution, the bill is submitted to a referendum by the people who must ratify the proposal before the Bill receives royal assent and the constitutional changes can be effected. All other Bills passed normally by the parliament become Acts of Parliament once they have received royal assent.[53]

For Canada, these are the lieutenant governors of the provinces. A lieutenant governor may defer assent to the Governor General,[54] and the Governor General may defer assent to federal bills to the sovereign.[55] If the Governor General of Canada is unable to give assent, it can be done by a Deputy of the Governor General of Canada, currently a justice of the Supreme Court of Canada. It is not actually necessary for the Governor General to sign a bill passed by a legislature, the signature being merely an attestation. In each case, the parliament must be apprised of the granting of assent before the bill is considered to have become law.[56] Two methods are available: the sovereign's representatives may grant assent in the presence of both houses of parliament; alternatively, each house may be notified separately, usually by the speaker of that house. However, though both houses must be notified on the same day, notice to the House of Commons while it is not in session may be given by way of publishing a special issue of the Journals of the House of Commons, whereas the Senate must be sitting and the governor general's letter read aloud by the speaker.[56]

Development

While royal assent has not been withheld for a bill backed by the government in the United Kingdom since 1708, it has often been withheld in British colonies and former colonies by governors acting on royal instructions. In the United States Declaration of Independence, colonists complained that George III "has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good [and] has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them."[57]

Since the Balfour Declaration of 1926 and the Statute of Westminster 1931, all the Commonwealth realms have been sovereign kingdoms, the monarch and governors-general acting solely on the advice of the local ministers, who generally maintain the support of the legislature and are the ones who secure the passage of bills. They, therefore, are unlikely to advise the sovereign, or his or her representative, to withhold assent. The power to withhold the royal assent was exercised by Alberta's Lieutenant Governor, John C. Bowen, in 1937, in respect of three bills passed in the legislature dominated by William Aberhart's Social Credit party. Two bills sought to put banks under the authority of the province, thereby interfering with the federal government's powers. The third, the Accurate News and Information Bill, purported to force newspapers to print government rebuttals to stories to which the provincial cabinet objected. The unconstitutionality of all three bills was later confirmed by the Supreme Court of Canada and by the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council.[58]

In Australia, technical issues arose with the royal assent in both 1976 and 2001. In 1976, a bill originating in the House of Representatives was mistakenly submitted to the governor-general and assented to. However, it was later discovered that it had not been passed by the Senate. The error arose because two bills of the same title had originated from the House. The governor-general revoked the first assent, before assenting to the bill which had actually passed the Senate and the House. The same procedure was followed to correct a similar error that arose in 2001.[59]

Ceremony

United Kingdom

 
Start of the parchment roll of the Reform Act 1832, with the clerk's record of the royal assent of King William IV written above the bill, reading in full Le Roy le Veult. Soit baillé aux Seigneurs. A cette Bille avecque des amendemens les Seigneurs sont assentuz. A ces Amendemens les Communes sont assentuz.

In the United Kingdom, a bill is presented for royal assent after it has passed all the required stages in both the House of Commons and the House of Lords. Under the Parliament Acts 1911 and 1949, the House of Commons may, under certain circumstances, direct that a bill be presented for assent despite lack of passage by the House of Lords.[60][61]

A list of all bills that have thus passed Parliament is drawn up by the Clerk of the Crown in Chancery; this list is then approved by the Clerk of the Parliaments. (The Prime Minister, other ministers, and Privy Counsellors do not normally have any involvement in drawing up the list.) The Clerk of the Crown then prepares letters patent listing all the relevant bills, which are then signed by the monarch.[62]

Officially, assent is granted by the sovereign or by Lords Commissioners authorised to act by letters patent. Royal assent may be granted in parliament or outside parliament; in the latter case, each house must be separately notified before the bill takes effect.

The Clerk of the Parliaments, an official of the House of Lords, traditionally states a formula in Anglo-Norman Law French, indicating the sovereign's decision. The granting of royal assent to a supply bill is indicated with the words "Le Roy remercie ses bons sujets, accepte leur benevolence, et ainsi le veult",[5] translated as "The King thanks his good subjects, accepts their bounty, and so wills it." For other public or private bills, the formula is simply "Le Roy le veult" ("the King wills it"). For personal bills, the phrase is "Soit fait comme il est désiré" ("let it be done as it is desired"). The appropriate formula for withholding assent is the euphemistic "Le Roy s'avisera" ("the King will consider it").[63]

When the sovereign is female, La Reyne is substituted for Le Roy.

Before the reign of Henry VIII, the sovereign always granted his or her assent in person. The sovereign, wearing the Crown, would be seated on the throne in the Lords chamber, surrounded by heralds and members of the royal court—a scene that nowadays is repeated only at the annual State Opening of Parliament. The Commons, led by their Speaker, would listen from the Bar of the Lords, just outside the chamber. The Clerk of the Parliaments presented the bills awaiting assent to the monarch, save that supply bills were traditionally brought up by the Speaker. The Clerk of the Crown, standing on the sovereign's right, then read aloud the titles of the bills (in earlier times, the entire text of the bills). The Clerk of the Parliaments, standing on the sovereign's left, responded by stating the appropriate Norman French formula.[64]

 
Henry VIII introduced a new method of granting royal assent.

A new device for granting assent was created during the reign of King Henry VIII. In 1542, Henry sought to execute his fifth wife, Catherine Howard, whom he accused of committing adultery; the execution was to be authorised not after a trial but by a bill of attainder, to which he would have to personally assent after listening to the entire text. Henry decided that "the repetition of so grievous a Story and the recital of so infamous a crime" in his presence "might reopen a Wound already closing in the Royal Bosom".[65] Therefore, Parliament inserted a clause into the Act of Attainder, providing that assent granted by Commissioners "is and ever was and ever shall be, as good" as assent granted by the sovereign personally.[66] The procedure was used only five times during the 16th century, but more often during the 17th and 18th centuries, especially when George III's health began to deteriorate. Queen Victoria became the last monarch to personally grant assent in 1854.[67][68]

When granting assent by commission, the sovereign authorises three or more (normally five) lords who are privy counsellors to declare assent in his or her name. The Lords Commissioners, as the monarch's representatives are known, wear scarlet parliamentary robes and sit on a bench between the throne and the Woolsack. The Lords Reading Clerk reads the commission aloud; the senior commissioner then states, "My Lords, in obedience to His Majesty's Commands, and by virtue of the Commission which has been now read, We do declare and notify to you, the Lords Spiritual and Temporal and Commons in Parliament assembled, that His Majesty has given His Royal Assent to the several Acts in the Commission mentioned."[69][70]

During the 1960s, the ceremony of assenting by commission was discontinued and is now only employed once a year, at the end of the annual parliamentary session. In 1960, the Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod arrived to summon the House of Commons during a heated debate and several members protested against the disruption by refusing to attend the ceremony. The debacle was repeated in 1965; this time, when the Speaker left the chair to go to the House of Lords, some members continued to make speeches. As a result, the Royal Assent Act 1967 was passed, creating an additional form for the granting of royal assent. As the attorney-general explained, "there has been a good deal of resentment not only at the loss of Parliamentary time that has been involved but at the breaking of the thread of a possibly eloquent speech and the disruption of a debate that may be caused."[71]

Under the Royal Assent Act 1967, royal assent can be granted by the sovereign in writing, by means of letters patent, that are presented to the presiding officer of each house of Parliament.[64] Then, the presiding officer makes a formal, but simple statement to the house, acquainting each house that royal assent has been granted to the acts mentioned. Thus, unlike the granting of royal assent by the monarch in person or by royal commissioners, the method created by the Royal Assent Act 1967 does not require both houses to meet jointly for the purpose of receiving the notice of royal assent. The standard text of the letters patent is set out in The Crown Office (Forms and Proclamations Rules) Order 1992,[72] with minor amendments in 2000. In practice this remains the standard method, a fact that is belied by the wording of the letters patent for the appointment of the Royal Commissioners and by the wording of the letters patent for the granting of royal assent in writing under the 1967 Act ("... And forasmuch as We cannot at this time be present in the Higher House of Our said Parliament being the accustomed place for giving Our Royal Assent...").[73]

Independently of the method used to signify royal assent, it is the responsibility of the Clerk of the Parliaments, once the assent has been duly notified to both houses, not only to endorse the act in the name of the monarch with the formal Norman French formula, but to certify that assent has been granted.[74] The Clerk signs one authentic copy of the bill and inserts the date (in English) on which the assent was notified to the two houses after the title of the act.[75]

Australia and New Zealand

In Australia, the formal ceremony of granting assent in parliament has not been regularly used since the early 20th century. Today, the bill is sent to the governor's or the governor-general's residence by the house in which it originated. The governor-general then signs the bill, and notifies the president of the Senate and the speaker of the House of Representatives, who in turn notify their respective houses of the governor-general's action.[76] A similar practice is followed in New Zealand, where the governor-general has not granted the royal assent in person in parliament since 1875.[76]

Canada

 
Kevin S. MacLeod as Canadian Usher of the Black Rod in 2009. Black Rod is a key element of the Royal Assent ceremony in Canada as in Britain.

In Canada, the traditional ceremony for granting assent in parliament was regularly used until the 21st century, long after it had been discontinued in the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms. One result, conceived as part of a string of acts intended to demonstrate Canada's status as an independent realm, was that King George VI personally assented to nine bills of the Canadian parliament during his 1939 tour of Canada—85 years after his great-grandmother, Queen Victoria, had last granted royal assent personally in the United Kingdom. Under the Royal Assent Act 2002, however, the alternative practice of granting assent in writing, with each house being notified separately (the Speaker of the Senate or a representative reads to the senators the letters from the governor general regarding the written declaration of Royal Assent[77]), was brought into force. As the act also provides, royal assent is to be signified—by the governor general or by a deputy, usually a Justice of the Supreme Court.[67]

The Royal Assent ceremony takes place in the Senate, as the Sovereign is traditionally barred from the House of Commons.[78] On the day of the event, the Speaker of the Senate will read to the chamber a notice from the secretary to the governor general indicating when the viceroy or a deputy thereof will arrive. The Senate thereafter cannot adjourn until after the ceremony. The speaker moves to sit beside the throne; the Mace Bearer, with mace in hand, stands adjacent to him or her; and the governor general enters to take the speaker's chair. The Usher of the Black Rod is then commanded by the speaker to summon the members of parliament, who follow Black Rod back to the Senate, the Sergeant-at-Arms carrying the mace of the House of Commons. In the Senate, those from the Commons stand behind the bar, while Black Rod proceeds to stand next to the governor general, who then nods his or her head to signify Royal Assent to the presented bills (which do not include supply bills). Once the list of bills is complete, the Clerk of the Senate states: "in His [or Her] Majesty's name, His [or Her] Excellency the Governor General [or the deputy] doth assent to these bills."[79]

If there are any supply bills to receive Royal Assent, the Speaker of the House of Commons will read their titles and the Senate clerk repeats them to the governor general, who nods his or her head to communicate Royal Assent. When these bills have all been assented to, the Clerk of the Senate recites "in His Majesty's name, His [or Her] Excellency the Governor General [or the deputy] thanks her loyal subjects, accepts their benevolence and assents to these bills." The governor general or his or her deputy then depart parliament.[80]

Other countries

In some monarchies—such as Belgium, Denmark, Japan, Malaysia, the Netherlands,[81] Norway, Spain, and Thailand—promulgation is required as well as royal assent. In Sweden, however, the monarch is since 1975 removed from the process and the government (i.e. the cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister) officially promulgates laws. In both cases, however, the process of assent and promulgation is usually a formality, whether by constitutional convention or by an explicit provision of the constitution.

Belgium

According to Article 109 of the constitution: "The King sanctions and promulgates laws". In Belgium, the royal assent is called sanction royale / koninklijke bekrachtiging (Royal Sanction), and is granted by the King signing the proposed statute (and a minister countersigning it). The Belgian constitution requires a theoretically possible refusal of royal sanction to be countersigned—as any other act of the monarch—by a minister responsible before the House of Representatives. The monarch promulgates the law, meaning that he or she formally orders that the law be officially published and executed. In 1990, when King Baudouin advised his cabinet he could not, in conscience, sign a bill decriminalising abortion (a refusal patently not covered by a responsible minister), the Council of Ministers, at the King's own request, declared Baudouin incapable of exercising his powers. In accordance with the Belgian constitution, upon the declaration of the Sovereign's incapacity, the Council of Ministers assumed the powers of the head of state until parliament could rule on the King's incapacity and appoint a regent. The bill was then assented to by all members of the Council of Ministers "on behalf of the Belgian People".[82] In a joint meeting, both houses of parliament declared the King capable of exercising his powers again the next day.[83]

Japan

Articles 6 and 7 of the Constitution of Japan mention the decisions of the parliament that require the approval of the Emperor. These are some of the so-called "acts of state" (国事行為, kokuji-kōi), and according to Article 3 of the Constitution, acts of state require the advice and approval of the Cabinet, which is the responsibility of the Cabinet.[84]

Jordan

The constitution of Jordan grants its monarch the right to withhold assent to laws passed by its parliament. Article 93 of that document gives the Jordanian Sovereign six months to sign or veto any legislation sent to him from the National Assembly; if he vetoes it within that timeframe, the assembly may override his veto by a two-thirds vote of both houses; otherwise, the law does not go into effect (but it may be reconsidered in the next session of the assembly). If the monarch fails to act within six months of the bill being presented to him, it becomes law without his signature.[85]

Luxembourg

While Article 34 of the constitution of Luxembourg formerly required the grand duke or duchess to sanction and promulgate a new law for it to take effect, the required sanction was removed in 2008, after Grand Duke Henri informed his prime minister that he could not in good conscience assent to a bill to permit euthanasia in the country. The subsequent constitutional amendment removed the need for assent while retaining the need for the Grand Duke to promulgate new laws.[86] The Grand-Duke's signature is still required, but does not imply assent, only promulgation (announcement that the law has been enacted by Parliament).[87] The Grand-Duke did sign the Euthanasia Act under this new constitutional arrangement.[88]

Norway

Articles 77–79 of the Norwegian constitution specifically grant the monarch of Norway the right to withhold royal assent from any bill passed by the Storting.[89] Should the monarch ever choose to exercise this privilege, Article 79 provides a means by which his veto may be over-ridden: "If a Bill has been passed unaltered by two sessions of the Storting, constituted after two separate successive elections and separated from each other by at least two intervening sessions of the Storting, without a divergent Bill having been passed by any Storting in the period between the first and last adoption, and it is then submitted to the King with a petition that His Majesty shall not refuse his assent to a Bill which, after the most mature deliberation, the Storting considers to be beneficial, it shall become law even if the Royal Assent is not accorded before the Storting goes into recess."[89]

Spain

In Part II of the 1978 Spanish constitution, among provisions concerning the Crown, Article 62(a) invests the sanction (i.e. Royal Assent) and promulgation of laws with the monarch of Spain. Chapter 2 of Part III, concerning the Drafting of Bills, outlines the method by which bills are passed. According to Article 91, the monarch shall give his or her assent and promulgate the new law within fifteen days of passage of a bill by the Cortes Generales. Article 92 invests the monarch with the right to call for a referendum, on the advice of the president of the government (commonly referred to in English as the prime minister) and the authorisation of the cortes.

No constitutional provision allows the monarch to directly veto legislation; however, neither does the constitution prohibit the Sovereign from withholding royal assent. When the Spanish media asked King Juan Carlos I if he would endorse the bill legalising same-sex marriages, he answered: "Soy el Rey de España y no el de Bélgica" ("I am the King of Spain and not that of Belgium")—a reference to King Baudouin of Belgium, who had refused to sign the Belgian law legalising abortion.[90] The King gave royal assent to Law 13/2005 on 1 July 2005; the law was gazetted in the Boletín Oficial del Estado on 2 July and came into effect on 3 July 2005.[91]

Tonga

Articles 41 and 68 of the constitution empower the King to withhold royal assent from bills adopted by the Legislative Assembly.[92] In 2010, the kingdom moved towards greater democracy, with King George Tupou V saying that he would be guided by his prime minister in the exercising of his powers. Nonetheless, this does not preclude an independent royal decision to exercise a right of veto. In November 2011, the assembly adopted an Arms and Ammunitions (Amendment) Bill, which reduced the possible criminal sentences for the illicit possession of firearms. The bill was adopted by ten votes to eight. Two members of the assembly had recently been charged with the illicit possession of firearms. The Prime Minister, Lord Tuʻivakanō, voted in favour of the amendment. Members of the opposition denounced the bill and asked the King to veto it, which he did in December.[93][94][95][96]

Notes

  1. ^ This was also the last occasion on which Parliament was prorogued by the monarch in person[4]
  2. ^ The full text is as follows: Concedis justas leges et consuetudines esse tenendas? et promittis per te eas esse protegendas quas vulgus elegerit, secundum vires tuas? Respondebit, Concedo et promitto..[20]

References

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Further reading

  • "Act of Parliament" and "Parliament". In Encyclopædia Britannica, 11th ed. London (1911): Cambridge University Press.
  • Bond, M. F. (1956). "La Reyne le Veult: The making and keeping of Acts at Westminster". "History Today", (Vol. 6, pp. 756–773). Retrieved 11 April 2007.
  • Companion to the Standing Orders and guide to the Proceedings of the House of Lords 19 December 2005 at the Wayback Machine (22nd ed). Retrieved 11 April 2007.
  • Hansard, House of Lords, 2 March 1967, columns 1181–1191
  • ". Legislative Assembly of Alberta. Retrieved 11 April 2007.
  • "Royal Assent Act. (2002, c. 15)" Department of Justice Canada, 2002. Retrieved 14 August 2012.
  • "Queen and Prince Charles using power of veto over new laws, Whitehall documents reveal" The Telegraph

External links

  • Text of the Royal Assent Act 1967 as in force today (including any amendments) within the United Kingdom, from legislation.gov.uk. .
  • Royal Assent, UK Parliament.Royal Assent

royal, assent, confused, with, king, consent, method, which, monarch, formally, approves, legislature, either, directly, through, official, acting, monarch, behalf, some, jurisdictions, royal, assent, equivalent, promulgation, while, others, that, separate, st. Not to be confused with King s Consent Royal assent is the method by which a monarch formally approves an act of the legislature either directly or through an official acting on the monarch s behalf In some jurisdictions royal assent is equivalent to promulgation while in others that is a separate step Under a modern constitutional monarchy royal assent is considered little more than a formality Even in nations such as the United Kingdom Norway the Netherlands Liechtenstein and Monaco which still in theory permit their monarch to withhold assent to laws the monarch almost never does so except in a dire political emergency or on advice of government While the power to veto by withholding royal assent was once exercised often by European monarchs such an occurrence has been very rare since the eighteenth century King George VI accompanied by Queen Elizabeth grants royal assent to laws in the Canadian Senate 19 May 1939 Royal assent is typically associated with elaborate ceremony In the United Kingdom the Sovereign may appear personally in the House of Lords or may appoint Lords Commissioners who announce that royal assent has been granted at a ceremony held at the Palace of Westminster for this purpose However royal assent is usually granted less ceremonially by letters patent In other nations such as Australia the governor general as the Monarch s representative has the right to dissolve the parliament 1 and to sign a bill citation needed In Canada the governor general may give assent either in person at a ceremony in the Senate or by a written declaration notifying Parliament of their agreement to the bill Contents 1 United Kingdom 1 1 Historical development 1 1 1 Scotland 1 1 2 Wales 1 1 3 Northern Ireland 1 1 4 Jersey and Guernsey 1 1 5 Isle of Man 1 2 Relationship to royal consent 2 Other Commonwealth realms 3 Development 4 Ceremony 4 1 United Kingdom 4 2 Australia and New Zealand 4 3 Canada 5 Other countries 5 1 Belgium 5 2 Japan 5 3 Jordan 5 4 Luxembourg 5 5 Norway 5 6 Spain 5 7 Tonga 6 Notes 7 References 8 Further reading 9 External linksUnited Kingdom EditSee also Royal Assent Act 1967 Before the Royal Assent by Commission Act 1541 allowed for delegation of the power to Lords Commissioners assent was always required to be given by the Sovereign in person before Parliament 2 The last time it was given by the Sovereign in person in Parliament was during the reign of Queen Victoria at a prorogation on 12 August 1854 3 a The Act was repealed and replaced by the Royal Assent Act 1967 However section 1 2 of that Act does not prevent the Sovereign from declaring assent in person if he or she so desires Royal assent is the final step required for a parliamentary bill to become law Once a bill is presented to the Sovereign he or she has the following formal options grant royal assent thereby making the bill an Act of Parliament delay the bill s assent through the use of reserve powers thereby invoking a veto 5 refuse royal assent on the advice of his or her ministers 6 The last bill that was refused assent by the Sovereign was the Scottish Militia Bill during Queen Anne s reign in 1708 7 Erskine May s Parliamentary Practice advises and from that sanction they cannot be legally withheld meaning that bills must be sent for royal assent not that it must be given 8 However some authorities have stated that the Sovereign no longer has the power to withhold assent from a bill against the advice of ministers 9 10 Under modern constitutional conventions the Sovereign generally acts on and in accordance with the advice of his or her ministers 11 However there is some disagreement among scholars as to whether the monarch should withhold royal assent to a bill if advised to do so by his or her ministers 12 Since these ministers most often enjoy the support of Parliament and obtain the passage of bills it is improbable that they would advise the Sovereign to withhold assent Hence in modern practice the issue has never arisen and royal assent has not been withheld 5 This possibility did arise during the early days of the Premiership of Boris Johnson while the UK was negotiating a Brexit agreement with the EU The Speaker of the House of Commons had allowed debate on a bill against the government s wishes and the government of the day was effectively in a minority on the most pressing parliamentary issue at the time As such there were rumours that the PM may advise the Queen King to withhold assent on an unfavourable bill 13 In December 2022 the Scottish Parliament passed the Gender Recognition Reform Scotland Bill The UK government indicated that they may try to block it by withholding Royal Assent using a Section 35 order under the Scotland Act arguing that it would impinge on reserved matters 14 Historical development Edit Originally legislative power was exercised by the sovereign acting on the advice of the Curia regis or royal council in which senior magnates and clerics participated and which evolved into Parliament 15 In 1265 the Earl of Leicester irregularly called a full parliament without royal authorisation 16 Membership of the so called Model Parliament established in 1295 under Edward I eventually came to be divided into two branches bishops abbots earls and barons formed the House of Lords while the two knights from each shire and two burgesses from each borough led the House of Commons 17 The King would seek the advice and consent of both houses before making any law During Henry VI s reign it became regular practice for the two houses to originate legislation in the form of bills which would not become law unless the Sovereign s assent was obtained as the Sovereign was and still remains the enactor of laws Hence all Acts include the clause Be it enacted by the Queen s 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 18 The Parliament Acts 1911 and 1949 provide a second potential preamble if the House of Lords were to be excluded from the process The power of Parliament to pass bills was often thwarted by monarchs Charles I dissolved Parliament in 1629 after it passed motions and bills critical of and seeking to restrict his arbitrary exercise of power During the eleven years of personal rule that followed Charles performed legally dubious actions such as raising taxes without Parliament s approval 19 The form of the Coronation Oath taken by monarchs up to and including James I and Charles I included a promise in Latin to uphold the rightful laws and customs quas vulgus elegerit b There was a controversy over the meaning of this phrase the verb elegerit is ambiguous representing either the future perfect which the common people shall have chosen or perfect subjunctive which the common people may have chosen Charles I adopting the latter interpretation considered himself committed only to uphold those laws and customs that already existed at the time of his coronation 21 The Long Parliament preferred the former translation interpreting the oath as an undertaking to assent to any law passed by Parliament as the representative of the common people The restoration Convention Parliament resolved the issue by removing the disputed phrase from the Oath 22 After the English Civil War it was accepted that Parliament should be summoned to meet regularly but it was still commonplace for monarchs to refuse royal assent to bills The Sedition Act 1661 even made it a treasonable offence to suggest that Parliament had a legislative power without the king 22 In 1678 Charles II withheld his assent from a bill for preserving the Peace of the Kingdom by raising the Militia and continuing them in Duty for Two and Forty Days 23 suggesting that he not Parliament should control the militia 24 William III made comparatively liberal use of the royal veto withholding assent from five public bills between 1692 and 1696 22 These were The Judges Bill vetoed 1692 would have regulated the fees charged by judges and removed the right of the monarch to dismiss judges at will stipulating that a judge should hold his commission on good behaviour One contemporary observer reported that William s veto was recommended by the judges themselves concerned that the regulation of their fees would deprive them of a lucrative source of income 22 The Royal Mines Bill vetoed 1692 would have clearly defined the monarch s right to seize any mine containing gold or silver A similar bill was again passed by Parliament and given royal assent in the following year 22 The Triennial Bill vetoed 1693 would have ensured Parliament would meet annually and that no parliament could last longer than three years A similar law without the requirement for annual parliamentary sessions was approved by the king in 1694 and became law 22 The Place Bill vetoed 1694 would have prevented members of Parliament from accepting any office or employment under the Crown without standing for re election 22 A similar provision was later approved by William as part of the Act of Settlement 1701 25 The Qualifications Bill vetoed 1696 would have established property qualifications for members of Parliament 22 Carafano suggests that William III considered the royal veto his personal legislative tool 22 By contrast the last Stuart monarch Anne withheld her assent from a bill just once On 11 March 1708 she vetoed the Scottish Militia Bill on the advice of her ministers No monarch has since withheld royal assent on a bill passed by Parliament 26 27 During the rule of the succeeding Hanoverian dynasty power was gradually exercised more by Parliament and the government The first Hanoverian monarch George I became heir presumptive and then king late in life speaking English as a second language and being at first unfamiliar with British politics and customs he relied on his ministers to a greater extent than had previous monarchs Later Hanoverian monarchs attempted to restore royal control over legislation George III and George IV both openly opposed Catholic Emancipation 28 29 and asserted that to grant assent to a Catholic emancipation bill would violate the Coronation Oath which required the sovereign to preserve and protect the established Church of England from papal domination and would grant rights to individuals who were in league with a foreign power which did not recognise their legitimacy However George IV reluctantly granted his assent upon the advice of his ministers 29 Thus as the concept of ministerial responsibility has evolved the power to withhold royal assent has fallen into disuse both in the United Kingdom and in the other Commonwealth realms In 1914 George V took legal advice on withholding royal assent from the Government of Ireland Bill then highly contentious legislation that the Liberal government intended to push through Parliament by means of the Parliament Act 1911 He decided to not withhold assent without convincing evidence that it would avert a national disaster or at least have a tranquillising effect on the distracting conditions of the time 30 It has been mooted that in modern times the government could advise the monarch to withhold royal assent but that elected politicians should strive to avoid such a scenario 31 Scotland Edit Royal assent is the final stage in the legislative process for acts of the Scottish Parliament The process is governed by sections 28 32 and 33 of the Scotland Act 1998 32 After a bill has been passed the Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament submits it to the monarch for royal assent after a four week period during which the Advocate General for Scotland the Lord Advocate the Attorney General or the Secretary of State for Scotland 33 may refer the bill to the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom prior to 1 October 2009 the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council for review of its legality Royal assent is signified by letters patent under the Great Seal of Scotland as set out in The Scottish Parliament Letters Patent and Proclamations Order 1999 SI 1999 737 and of which notice is published in the London Edinburgh and Belfast Gazettes 34 Wales Edit Measures which were the means by which the National Assembly for Wales passed legislation between 2006 and 2011 were assented to by Queen Elizabeth II by means of an Order in Council 35 36 Section 102 of the Government of Wales Act 2006 required the Clerk to the Assembly to present measures passed by the assembly after a four week period during which the Counsel General for Wales or the Attorney General could refer the proposed measure to the Supreme Court for a decision as to whether the measure was within the assembly s legislative competence Following the referendum held in March 2011 in which the majority voted for the assembly s law making powers to be extended 37 measures were replaced by Acts of the Assembly 38 Northern Ireland Edit Under section 14 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998 a bill which has been approved by the Northern Ireland Assembly is presented to Queen Elizabeth II by the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland for royal assent after a four week waiting period during which the Attorney General for Northern Ireland may refer the bill to the Supreme Court Assent is given by means of letters patent in the following form set out in the Northern Ireland Royal Assent to Bills Order 1999 39 Between 1922 and 1972 bills passed by the Parliament of Northern Ireland were passed to the Governor of Northern Ireland for royal assent under the Government of Ireland Act of 1920 replacing the office of Lord Lieutenant 40 Jersey and Guernsey Edit The lieutenant governors of the Bailiwick of Jersey and the Bailiwick and Islands of Guernsey do not have the authority to grant assent nor as proxies as the British Crown s representative deliver assent to legislation emanating from the respective legislatures of these islands The States of Jersey Law 2005 abolishes the power of the lieutenant governor to directly impose a formal veto to a resolution of the States of Jersey 41 The equivalent of the royal assent is formally granted or formally refused on the formal advice of the Committee of Council for the Affairs of Jersey and Guernsey in pursuance of Queen Elizabeth II s Order in Council of 22 February 1952 A recent example when the equivalent of the royal assent was refused was in 2007 concerning reforms to the constitution of the Chief Pleas of Sark 42 A revised version of the proposed reforms was subsequently given the equivalent of the royal assent 43 Isle of Man Edit Special procedures apply to legislation passed by the Tynwald of the Isle of Man Before the Lordship of the Island was purchased by the British Crown in 1765 the Revestment the assent of the Lord of Mann to a bill was signified by letter to the Governor 44 After 1765 the equivalent of the royal assent was at first signified by the letter from the Secretary of State to the Governor 45 but during the British Regency the practice began of granting the equivalent of the royal assent to Manx legislation by Orders in Council 46 which continues to this day though limited to exceptional cases since 1981 That year an Order in Council delegated to the lieutenant governor the power to grant royal assent to bills passed by Tynwald The lieutenant governor must however refer any bill impacting on reserved powers defence foreign relations nationality law the relationship between the island and the United Kingdom and any matters relating to the monarch to the British government for advice on which he is required to act 47 Since 1993 the Sodor and Man Diocesan Synod of the Church of England within the Province of York has had power to enact measures making provision with respect to any matter concerning the Church of England in the Island If approved by the Tynwald a measure shall have the force and effect of an Act of Tynwald upon the Royal Assent thereto being announced to the Tynwald 48 Between 1979 and 1993 the Synod had similar powers but limited to the extension to the Isle of Man of measures of the General Synod 49 Before 1994 the equivalent of the royal assent was granted by Order in Council as for a bill but the power to grant the equivalent of the royal assent to measures has now been delegated to the lieutenant governor 50 A Measure does not require promulgation 51 Relationship to royal consent Edit Main article Royal Consent King s Consent and Prince s Consent are distinct from royal assent They are required only for bills affecting the royal prerogative and the personal property and personal interests of the monarch and are granted before parliament has debated or voted to pass a bill They are internal parliamentary rules of procedure that could in principle be dispensed with by parliament Consent is always granted on the advice of the government the monarch never takes the decision to withhold consent Other Commonwealth realms EditIn Commonwealth realms other than the UK royal assent is granted or withheld either by the realm s sovereign or more frequently by the representative of the sovereign the governor general 52 In federated realms assent in each state or province is granted or withheld by the representatives of the sovereign In Australia in the special case of a Bill containing a proposal to amend the Constitution the bill is submitted to a referendum by the people who must ratify the proposal before the Bill receives royal assent and the constitutional changes can be effected All other Bills passed normally by the parliament become Acts of Parliament once they have received royal assent 53 For Canada these are the lieutenant governors of the provinces A lieutenant governor may defer assent to the Governor General 54 and the Governor General may defer assent to federal bills to the sovereign 55 If the Governor General of Canada is unable to give assent it can be done by a Deputy of the Governor General of Canada currently a justice of the Supreme Court of Canada It is not actually necessary for the Governor General to sign a bill passed by a legislature the signature being merely an attestation In each case the parliament must be apprised of the granting of assent before the bill is considered to have become law 56 Two methods are available the sovereign s representatives may grant assent in the presence of both houses of parliament alternatively each house may be notified separately usually by the speaker of that house However though both houses must be notified on the same day notice to the House of Commons while it is not in session may be given by way of publishing a special issue of the Journals of the House of Commons whereas the Senate must be sitting and the governor general s letter read aloud by the speaker 56 Development EditWhile royal assent has not been withheld for a bill backed by the government in the United Kingdom since 1708 it has often been withheld in British colonies and former colonies by governors acting on royal instructions In the United States Declaration of Independence colonists complained that George III has refused his Assent to Laws the most wholesome and necessary for the public good and has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained and when so suspended he has utterly neglected to attend to them 57 Since the Balfour Declaration of 1926 and the Statute of Westminster 1931 all the Commonwealth realms have been sovereign kingdoms the monarch and governors general acting solely on the advice of the local ministers who generally maintain the support of the legislature and are the ones who secure the passage of bills They therefore are unlikely to advise the sovereign or his or her representative to withhold assent The power to withhold the royal assent was exercised by Alberta s Lieutenant Governor John C Bowen in 1937 in respect of three bills passed in the legislature dominated by William Aberhart s Social Credit party Two bills sought to put banks under the authority of the province thereby interfering with the federal government s powers The third the Accurate News and Information Bill purported to force newspapers to print government rebuttals to stories to which the provincial cabinet objected The unconstitutionality of all three bills was later confirmed by the Supreme Court of Canada and by the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council 58 In Australia technical issues arose with the royal assent in both 1976 and 2001 In 1976 a bill originating in the House of Representatives was mistakenly submitted to the governor general and assented to However it was later discovered that it had not been passed by the Senate The error arose because two bills of the same title had originated from the House The governor general revoked the first assent before assenting to the bill which had actually passed the Senate and the House The same procedure was followed to correct a similar error that arose in 2001 59 Ceremony EditUnited Kingdom Edit Start of the parchment roll of the Reform Act 1832 with the clerk s record of the royal assent of King William IV written above the bill reading in full Le Roy le Veult Soit baille aux Seigneurs A cette Bille avecque des amendemens les Seigneurs sont assentuz A ces Amendemens les Communes sont assentuz In the United Kingdom a bill is presented for royal assent after it has passed all the required stages in both the House of Commons and the House of Lords Under the Parliament Acts 1911 and 1949 the House of Commons may under certain circumstances direct that a bill be presented for assent despite lack of passage by the House of Lords 60 61 A list of all bills that have thus passed Parliament is drawn up by the Clerk of the Crown in Chancery this list is then approved by the Clerk of the Parliaments The Prime Minister other ministers and Privy Counsellors do not normally have any involvement in drawing up the list The Clerk of the Crown then prepares letters patent listing all the relevant bills which are then signed by the monarch 62 Officially assent is granted by the sovereign or by Lords Commissioners authorised to act by letters patent Royal assent may be granted in parliament or outside parliament in the latter case each house must be separately notified before the bill takes effect The Clerk of the Parliaments an official of the House of Lords traditionally states a formula in Anglo Norman Law French indicating the sovereign s decision The granting of royal assent to a supply bill is indicated with the words Le Roy remercie ses bons sujets accepte leur benevolence et ainsi le veult 5 translated as The King thanks his good subjects accepts their bounty and so wills it For other public or private bills the formula is simply Le Roy le veult the King wills it For personal bills the phrase is Soit fait comme il est desire let it be done as it is desired The appropriate formula for withholding assent is the euphemistic Le Roy s avisera the King will consider it 63 When the sovereign is female La Reyne is substituted for Le Roy Before the reign of Henry VIII the sovereign always granted his or her assent in person The sovereign wearing the Crown would be seated on the throne in the Lords chamber surrounded by heralds and members of the royal court a scene that nowadays is repeated only at the annual State Opening of Parliament The Commons led by their Speaker would listen from the Bar of the Lords just outside the chamber The Clerk of the Parliaments presented the bills awaiting assent to the monarch save that supply bills were traditionally brought up by the Speaker The Clerk of the Crown standing on the sovereign s right then read aloud the titles of the bills in earlier times the entire text of the bills The Clerk of the Parliaments standing on the sovereign s left responded by stating the appropriate Norman French formula 64 Henry VIII introduced a new method of granting royal assent A new device for granting assent was created during the reign of King Henry VIII In 1542 Henry sought to execute his fifth wife Catherine Howard whom he accused of committing adultery the execution was to be authorised not after a trial but by a bill of attainder to which he would have to personally assent after listening to the entire text Henry decided that the repetition of so grievous a Story and the recital of so infamous a crime in his presence might reopen a Wound already closing in the Royal Bosom 65 Therefore Parliament inserted a clause into the Act of Attainder providing that assent granted by Commissioners is and ever was and ever shall be as good as assent granted by the sovereign personally 66 The procedure was used only five times during the 16th century but more often during the 17th and 18th centuries especially when George III s health began to deteriorate Queen Victoria became the last monarch to personally grant assent in 1854 67 68 When granting assent by commission the sovereign authorises three or more normally five lords who are privy counsellors to declare assent in his or her name The Lords Commissioners as the monarch s representatives are known wear scarlet parliamentary robes and sit on a bench between the throne and the Woolsack The Lords Reading Clerk reads the commission aloud the senior commissioner then states My Lords in obedience to His Majesty s Commands and by virtue of the Commission which has been now read We do declare and notify to you the Lords Spiritual and Temporal and Commons in Parliament assembled that His Majesty has given His Royal Assent to the several Acts in the Commission mentioned 69 70 During the 1960s the ceremony of assenting by commission was discontinued and is now only employed once a year at the end of the annual parliamentary session In 1960 the Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod arrived to summon the House of Commons during a heated debate and several members protested against the disruption by refusing to attend the ceremony The debacle was repeated in 1965 this time when the Speaker left the chair to go to the House of Lords some members continued to make speeches As a result the Royal Assent Act 1967 was passed creating an additional form for the granting of royal assent As the attorney general explained there has been a good deal of resentment not only at the loss of Parliamentary time that has been involved but at the breaking of the thread of a possibly eloquent speech and the disruption of a debate that may be caused 71 Under the Royal Assent Act 1967 royal assent can be granted by the sovereign in writing by means of letters patent that are presented to the presiding officer of each house of Parliament 64 Then the presiding officer makes a formal but simple statement to the house acquainting each house that royal assent has been granted to the acts mentioned Thus unlike the granting of royal assent by the monarch in person or by royal commissioners the method created by the Royal Assent Act 1967 does not require both houses to meet jointly for the purpose of receiving the notice of royal assent The standard text of the letters patent is set out in The Crown Office Forms and Proclamations Rules Order 1992 72 with minor amendments in 2000 In practice this remains the standard method a fact that is belied by the wording of the letters patent for the appointment of the Royal Commissioners and by the wording of the letters patent for the granting of royal assent in writing under the 1967 Act And forasmuch as We cannot at this time be present in the Higher House of Our said Parliament being the accustomed place for giving Our Royal Assent 73 Independently of the method used to signify royal assent it is the responsibility of the Clerk of the Parliaments once the assent has been duly notified to both houses not only to endorse the act in the name of the monarch with the formal Norman French formula but to certify that assent has been granted 74 The Clerk signs one authentic copy of the bill and inserts the date in English on which the assent was notified to the two houses after the title of the act 75 Australia and New Zealand Edit In Australia the formal ceremony of granting assent in parliament has not been regularly used since the early 20th century Today the bill is sent to the governor s or the governor general s residence by the house in which it originated The governor general then signs the bill and notifies the president of the Senate and the speaker of the House of Representatives who in turn notify their respective houses of the governor general s action 76 A similar practice is followed in New Zealand where the governor general has not granted the royal assent in person in parliament since 1875 76 Canada Edit Kevin S MacLeod as Canadian Usher of the Black Rod in 2009 Black Rod is a key element of the Royal Assent ceremony in Canada as in Britain In Canada the traditional ceremony for granting assent in parliament was regularly used until the 21st century long after it had been discontinued in the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms One result conceived as part of a string of acts intended to demonstrate Canada s status as an independent realm was that King George VI personally assented to nine bills of the Canadian parliament during his 1939 tour of Canada 85 years after his great grandmother Queen Victoria had last granted royal assent personally in the United Kingdom Under the Royal Assent Act 2002 however the alternative practice of granting assent in writing with each house being notified separately the Speaker of the Senate or a representative reads to the senators the letters from the governor general regarding the written declaration of Royal Assent 77 was brought into force As the act also provides royal assent is to be signified by the governor general or by a deputy usually a Justice of the Supreme Court 67 The Royal Assent ceremony takes place in the Senate as the Sovereign is traditionally barred from the House of Commons 78 On the day of the event the Speaker of the Senate will read to the chamber a notice from the secretary to the governor general indicating when the viceroy or a deputy thereof will arrive The Senate thereafter cannot adjourn until after the ceremony The speaker moves to sit beside the throne the Mace Bearer with mace in hand stands adjacent to him or her and the governor general enters to take the speaker s chair The Usher of the Black Rod is then commanded by the speaker to summon the members of parliament who follow Black Rod back to the Senate the Sergeant at Arms carrying the mace of the House of Commons In the Senate those from the Commons stand behind the bar while Black Rod proceeds to stand next to the governor general who then nods his or her head to signify Royal Assent to the presented bills which do not include supply bills Once the list of bills is complete the Clerk of the Senate states in His or Her Majesty s name His or Her Excellency the Governor General or the deputy doth assent to these bills 79 If there are any supply bills to receive Royal Assent the Speaker of the House of Commons will read their titles and the Senate clerk repeats them to the governor general who nods his or her head to communicate Royal Assent When these bills have all been assented to the Clerk of the Senate recites in His Majesty s name His or Her Excellency the Governor General or the deputy thanks her loyal subjects accepts their benevolence and assents to these bills The governor general or his or her deputy then depart parliament 80 Other countries EditIn some monarchies such as Belgium Denmark Japan Malaysia the Netherlands 81 Norway Spain and Thailand promulgation is required as well as royal assent In Sweden however the monarch is since 1975 removed from the process and the government i e the cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister officially promulgates laws In both cases however the process of assent and promulgation is usually a formality whether by constitutional convention or by an explicit provision of the constitution Belgium Edit According to Article 109 of the constitution The King sanctions and promulgates laws In Belgium the royal assent is called sanction royale koninklijke bekrachtiging Royal Sanction and is granted by the King signing the proposed statute and a minister countersigning it The Belgian constitution requires a theoretically possible refusal of royal sanction to be countersigned as any other act of the monarch by a minister responsible before the House of Representatives The monarch promulgates the law meaning that he or she formally orders that the law be officially published and executed In 1990 when King Baudouin advised his cabinet he could not in conscience sign a bill decriminalising abortion a refusal patently not covered by a responsible minister the Council of Ministers at the King s own request declared Baudouin incapable of exercising his powers In accordance with the Belgian constitution upon the declaration of the Sovereign s incapacity the Council of Ministers assumed the powers of the head of state until parliament could rule on the King s incapacity and appoint a regent The bill was then assented to by all members of the Council of Ministers on behalf of the Belgian People 82 In a joint meeting both houses of parliament declared the King capable of exercising his powers again the next day 83 Japan Edit Articles 6 and 7 of the Constitution of Japan mention the decisions of the parliament that require the approval of the Emperor These are some of the so called acts of state 国事行為 kokuji kōi and according to Article 3 of the Constitution acts of state require the advice and approval of the Cabinet which is the responsibility of the Cabinet 84 Jordan Edit The constitution of Jordan grants its monarch the right to withhold assent to laws passed by its parliament Article 93 of that document gives the Jordanian Sovereign six months to sign or veto any legislation sent to him from the National Assembly if he vetoes it within that timeframe the assembly may override his veto by a two thirds vote of both houses otherwise the law does not go into effect but it may be reconsidered in the next session of the assembly If the monarch fails to act within six months of the bill being presented to him it becomes law without his signature 85 Luxembourg Edit While Article 34 of the constitution of Luxembourg formerly required the grand duke or duchess to sanction and promulgate a new law for it to take effect the required sanction was removed in 2008 after Grand Duke Henri informed his prime minister that he could not in good conscience assent to a bill to permit euthanasia in the country The subsequent constitutional amendment removed the need for assent while retaining the need for the Grand Duke to promulgate new laws 86 The Grand Duke s signature is still required but does not imply assent only promulgation announcement that the law has been enacted by Parliament 87 The Grand Duke did sign the Euthanasia Act under this new constitutional arrangement 88 Norway Edit Articles 77 79 of the Norwegian constitution specifically grant the monarch of Norway the right to withhold royal assent from any bill passed by the Storting 89 Should the monarch ever choose to exercise this privilege Article 79 provides a means by which his veto may be over ridden If a Bill has been passed unaltered by two sessions of the Storting constituted after two separate successive elections and separated from each other by at least two intervening sessions of the Storting without a divergent Bill having been passed by any Storting in the period between the first and last adoption and it is then submitted to the King with a petition that His Majesty shall not refuse his assent to a Bill which after the most mature deliberation the Storting considers to be beneficial it shall become law even if the Royal Assent is not accorded before the Storting goes into recess 89 Spain Edit In Part II of the 1978 Spanish constitution among provisions concerning the Crown Article 62 a invests the sanction i e Royal Assent and promulgation of laws with the monarch of Spain Chapter 2 of Part III concerning the Drafting of Bills outlines the method by which bills are passed According to Article 91 the monarch shall give his or her assent and promulgate the new law within fifteen days of passage of a bill by the Cortes Generales Article 92 invests the monarch with the right to call for a referendum on the advice of the president of the government commonly referred to in English as the prime minister and the authorisation of the cortes No constitutional provision allows the monarch to directly veto legislation however neither does the constitution prohibit the Sovereign from withholding royal assent When the Spanish media asked King Juan Carlos I if he would endorse the bill legalising same sex marriages he answered Soy el Rey de Espana y no el de Belgica I am the King of Spain and not that of Belgium a reference to King Baudouin of Belgium who had refused to sign the Belgian law legalising abortion 90 The King gave royal assent to Law 13 2005 on 1 July 2005 the law was gazetted in the Boletin Oficial del Estado on 2 July and came into effect on 3 July 2005 91 Tonga Edit Articles 41 and 68 of the constitution empower the King to withhold royal assent from bills adopted by the Legislative Assembly 92 In 2010 the kingdom moved towards greater democracy with King George Tupou V saying that he would be guided by his prime minister in the exercising of his powers Nonetheless this does not preclude an independent royal decision to exercise a right of veto In November 2011 the assembly adopted an Arms and Ammunitions Amendment Bill which reduced the possible criminal sentences for the illicit possession of firearms The bill was adopted by ten votes to eight Two members of the assembly had recently been charged with the illicit possession of firearms The Prime Minister Lord Tuʻivakanō voted in favour of the amendment Members of the opposition denounced the bill and asked the King to veto it which he did in December 93 94 95 96 Notes Edit This was also the last occasion on which Parliament was prorogued by the monarch in person 4 The full text is as follows Concedis justas leges et consuetudines esse tenendas et promittis per te eas esse protegendas quas vulgus elegerit secundum vires tuas Respondebit Concedo et promitto 20 References Edit The Australian Constitution Section 5 Sessions of Parliament Prorogation and Dissolution australianpolitics com Retrieved 22 August 2021 Carroll Alex 1998 Constitutional and Administrative Law London Financial Times Prentice Hall p 207 ISBN 978 0273625711 Lidderdale David ed 1976 Erskine May s Treatise on The Law Privileges Proceedings and Usage of Parliament 19th ed p 564 ISBN 0 406 29102 0 Lidderdale David ed 1976 Erskine May s Treatise on The Law Privileges Proceedings and Usage of Parliament 19th ed p 261 ISBN 0 406 29102 0 a b c Bennion Francis November 1981 Modern Royal Assent Procedure at Westminster Statute Law Review 3 2 133 147 doi 10 1093 slr 2 3 133 Erskine May Thomas ed 1851 A Practical Treatise on the Law Privileges Proceedings and Usage of Parliament 2nd ed p 373 Lords Journals 1705 1709 p 506 Lidderdale David ed 1976 Erskine May s Treatise on The Law Privileges Proceedings and Usage of Parliament 19th ed p 562 ISBN 0 406 29102 0 citing Hats p 339 13 Lords Journals p 756 Campbell John Lives of the Chancellors Vol III p 354 Gilbert Burnet A History of my Own Time vol II 1734 p 274 Gay Oonagh Maer Lucinda 30 December 2009 The Royal Prerogative PDF House of Commons Library Retrieved 26 August 2014 Robert Craig Could the Government Advise the Queen to Refuse Royal Assent to a Backbench Bill 22 January 2019 Brexit Dragged the Queen into Politics And Isn t Letting Go Scotland gender reforms UK ministers may block law BBC News 23 December 2022 Retrieved 23 December 2022 Pollard A F 1920 The Evolution of Parliament New York Longmans Green and Co pp 36 45 Barzel Yoram Kiser Edgar 1997 The Development and Decline of Medieval Voting Institutions A Comparison of England and France Economic Inquiry 35 2 252 doi 10 1111 j 1465 7295 1997 tb01907 x Sayles G O 1974 The King s Parliament of England New York W W Norton pp 106 107 House of Lords politics co uk Archived from the original on 13 February 2012 Retrieved 9 December 2011 Charles I r 1625 49 Royal Household at Buckingham Palace Retrieved 12 April 2007 Wordsworth ed 1892 The Manner of the Coronation of King Charles the First of England London Henry Bradshaw Liturgical Text Society p 21 Weston Corrinne Comstock Greenberg Janelle Renfrow 2002 1981 Subjects and Sovereigns The Grand Controversy Over Legal Sovereignty in Stuart England first paperback ed Cambridge Cambridge University Press p 65 ISBN 9780521892865 a b c d e f g h i Carafano James Jay 1987 William III and the Negative Voice Albion 19 4 509 525 doi 10 2307 4049472 JSTOR 4049472 House of Lords Journal Volume 13 27 November 1678 Journal of the House of Lords volume 13 1675 1681 1771 pp 380 85 Retrieved 12 April 2007 The making and keeping of Acts PDF History Today Vol VI pp 765 773 1956 Retrieved 18 April 2007 Pickering Danby 1764 Statutes at Large From the Eighth Year of King William to the Second Year of Queen Anne Vol X London Joseph Bentham p 360 That no person who has an office or place of profit under the King or receives a pension from the Crown shall be capable of serving as a member of the House of Commons House of Lords Journal Volume 18 11 March 1708 www british history ac uk Retrieved 30 April 2017 parliament uk FAQs www parliament uk Retrieved 30 April 2017 Conway Stephen February 2003 Review George III An Essay in Monarchy The Institute of Historical Research Archived from Book Review George III An Essay in Monarchy the original on 27 September 2007 Retrieved 12 April 2007 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a Check url value help a b George IV 1762 1830 BBC History Retrieved 12 April 2007 Bradley A W amp Ewing K D 2003 Constitutional and Administrative Law 13th ed London Longmans p 243 ISBN 0 582 43807 1 Craig Robert 22 January 2019 Could the Government Advise the Queen to Refuse Royal Assent to a Backbench Bill UK Constitutional Law Association Retrieved 12 March 2021 Scotland Act 1998 The National Archives Retrieved 30 August 2014 Stage of a bill The Scottish Parliament Retrieved 29 June 2015 The Scottish Parliament Letters Patent and Proclamations Order 1999 The National Archives Retrieved 30 August 2014 Section 102 of the Government of Wales Act 2006 The National Archives Retrieved 30 August 2014 Order in Council dated 9 July 2008 approving The NHS Redress Wales Measure 2008 the first Measure to be passed by the Assembly on 6 May 2008 Office of Public Sector Information Welsh referendum 2011 Welsh Assembly Government Archived from the original on 7 April 2011 Retrieved 23 March 2011 The National Assembly for Wales Letters Patent Order 2011 PDF Legislation gov uk 16 March 2011 Retrieved 23 March 2011 The Northern Ireland Royal Assent to Bills Order 1999 PDF Legislation gov uk 8 October 2011 Retrieved 8 October 2011 CAIN Government of Ireland Act 1920 cain ulst ac uk Laws in Force Revised Edition 1 January 2010 Archived from the original on 3 March 2016 Retrieved 7 April 2013 R on the application of Barclay and others v Secretary of State for Justice and others PDF UK Supreme Court 1 December 2009 Archived from the original PDF on 8 April 2014 Retrieved 25 October 2010 See paragraph 27 R Barclay v Secretary of State for Justice paragraph 30 E g letter from Duke of Atholl 11 June 1757 allowing and confirming An Act to prevent Clandestine Marriages Gell J ed 1883 Statutes of the Isle of Man vol I Douglas p 284 E g letter from Duke of Portland Secretary of State to Duke of Atholl Governor 15 July 1796 advising of the King s approval to two Acts but withholding assent to a third op cit p 352 E g Order in Council of 7 March 1814 approving two Acts op cit p 381 Royal Assent to Legislation Isle of Man Order 1981 PDF gov im Church Legislation Procedure Act 1993 section 2 Church Application of General Synod Measures Act 1979 Sodor and Man Diocesan Synod Measures Order 1994 Church Legislation Procedure Act 1993 Sch 1 para 4 2 Constitution Act 1986 Parliamentary Counsel Office Retrieved 29 October 2010 10 Legislation House of Representatives Practice Parliament of Australia Retrieved 20 September 2018 MacLeod Kevin S 2015 A Crown of Maples PDF Ottawa Queen s Printer for Canada p 25 ISBN 978 0 662 46012 1 archived from the original PDF on 10 November 2012 retrieved 5 February 2016 Constitution Act 1867 IV 55 Westminster 29 March 1867 retrieved 5 February 2016 a b Senate of Canada June 2015 Senate Procedure and Practice PDF Ottawa Queen s Printer for Canada p 53 retrieved 15 November 2015 Action of Second Continental Congress 4 July 1776 Emory University Law School Archived from the original on 6 March 2007 Retrieved 18 April 2007 The Honourable John C Bowen 1937 50 Legislative Assembly of Alberta Archived from the original on 20 December 2008 Retrieved 22 April 2007 Odgers J R 2012 Chapter 12 Legislation Section 25 Governor General s assent In Evans Harry Laing Rosemary eds Odgers Australian Senate Practice 13th ed Canberra Department of the Senate Archived from the original on 15 October 2012 Once a bill has completed all the parliamentary stages in both Houses it is ready to receive royal assent Bill becomes an Act of Parliament 1 Money bills Glossary page UK Parliament Twomey Anne 12 April 2018 The Veiled Sceptre Reserve Powers of Heads of State in Westminster Systems Cambridge Cambridge University Press pp 627 628 ISBN 9781107056787 A member of the Middle Temple 1838 The Assembled Commons or Parliamentary Biographer with an abstract of the law of election and the usages of Parliament London Scott Webster and Geary p 271 a b Companion to the Standing Orders and guide to the Proceedings of the House of Lords United Kingdom Parliament Retrieved 18 November 2007 Quennell Peter 1951 History Today Stanford University p767 Royal Assent by Commission Act 1541 33 Hen 8 c 21 a b Richardson Jessica J Modernisation of Royal Assent in Canada PDF Canadian Parliamentary Review 27 2 retrieved 17 October 2013 Robertson James R Bill S 15 The Royal Assent Act Archived 20 February 2015 at the Wayback Machine Library of Parliament Canada 2002 Retrieved 20 February 2015 Companion to the Standing Orders and guide to the Proceedings of the House of Lords The Stationery Office Ltd Retrieved 11 April 2007 Anson s Law and Custom of the Constitution 5th ed 1922 Vol 1 page 338 Hansard 7 April 1967 House of Commons columns 7 25 The Crown Office Forms and Proclamations Rules Order 1992 The National Archives 2002 Retrieved 30 August 2014 Souvenir of the inauguration of the Australian Commonwealth 1901 Archived 15 August 2007 at the Wayback Machine State Library of New South Wales 2001 Retrieved 11 April 2007 Acts of Parliament Commencement Act 1793 UK Statute Law Database retrieved 4 December 2014 Hansard House of Lords 2 March 1967 column 1191 a b Journals of the Senate Issue 92 5 March 2002 Tenth Report of the Standing Committee on Rules Procedures and the Rights of Parliament Appendix A Observations on Bill S 34 Retrieved 14 August 2012 Senate of Canada 2015 p 50 Library of Parliament Parliament gt Officers and Officials of Parliament gt Procedural Officers and Senior Officials gt Senate Queen s Printer for Canada Archived from the original on 1 December 2008 Retrieved 19 May 2009 7 1st Session 42nd Parliament Issue 225 Senate of Canada June 21 2018 Retrieved 23 January 2021 Senate of Canada 2015 p 52 How does an Act become law Assent Government of the Netherlands Archived from the original on 27 November 2010 Retrieved 15 March 2010 Abortion Act 1990 PDF Belgian official journal Retrieved 22 June 2014 E Witte De liberalisering van de abortus wetgeving in Belgie 1970 1990 in Rapporten en perspectieven Japan s Emperor and Imperial Family nippon com Retrieved 2 February 2020 The Constitution of Jordan Article 93 Retrieved 8 June 2009 Loi du 12 mars 2009 portant revision de l article 34 de la Constitution Legilux legilux public lu Luxembourg strips monarch of legislative role The Guardian London 12 December 2008 Retrieved 4 May 2010 Euthanasia Act 2009 PDF Luxembourg official journal Retrieved 22 June 2014 a b The Constitution Archived 29 August 2011 at the Wayback Machine The Storting s Information Service Retrieved 12 April 2012 Don Juan Carlos sobre el matrimonio gay Soy el Rey de Espana y no el de Belgica El Mundo in Spanish 13 May 2006 Retrieved 8 January 2007 Disposiciones Generales PDF in Spanish Boletin Oficial del Estado 2 June 2005 Retrieved 8 January 2007 Constitution of the Kingdom of Tonga PDF Archived from the original PDF on 19 January 2012 Retrieved 10 January 2012 Democracy at Work Archived 22 November 2011 at the Wayback Machine Lopeti Senituli Taimi Media Network 17 November 2011 Houses slashes penalties for firearms offenses Matangi Tonga 14 October 2011 King withholds assent on lower firearms penalties Matangi Tonga 9 January 2012 Tonga king blocks arms amendment act Radio New Zealand International 10 January 2012Further reading Edit Act of Parliament and Parliament In Encyclopaedia Britannica 11th ed London 1911 Cambridge University Press Bond M F 1956 La Reyne le Veult The making and keeping of Acts at Westminster History Today Vol 6 pp 756 773 Retrieved 11 April 2007 Companion to the Standing Orders and guide to the Proceedings of the House of Lords Archived 19 December 2005 at the Wayback Machine 22nd ed Retrieved 11 April 2007 Hansard House of Lords 2 March 1967 columns 1181 1191 The Honourable John C Bowen 1937 50 Legislative Assembly of Alberta Retrieved 11 April 2007 Royal Assent Act 2002 c 15 Department of Justice Canada 2002 Retrieved 14 August 2012 Queen and Prince Charles using power of veto over new laws Whitehall documents reveal The TelegraphExternal links EditText of the Royal Assent Act 1967 as in force today including any amendments within the United Kingdom from legislation gov uk Royal Assent UK Parliament Royal Assent Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Royal assent amp oldid 1144131350, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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