The Royal Prerogative

• The royal prerogatives give the Government a separate legal strand of authority to act, separate from statutory authorisation
• What are the different sources of law for the royal prerogative?

  • Statutory and delegated legislation
  • Common law; international law; E.U law and the ECHR
  • Law of the devolved assemblies
  • Doctrines of international human rights law and their older manifestation of natural law
  • The law of the royal prerogative and its institutional manifestation through Orders in Council made by the Privy Council
• What did Dicey define royal prerogative as?

  the residue of discretionary or arbitrary authority, which at any given time is legally left in the hands of the Crown
• What can the government do out of royal prerogative powers?


  • Create treaties
  • Start wars
  • Hire and fire ministers
• What are the positives of royal prerogative?

  • Allows for decisions to be made in emergency situations
  • Allows for the effective functioning of Parliament
• What is the role of the courts with regard to prerogative powers?

  Define the prerogative powers either by definition or justification as well as historical approach and to determine if in the govt using their powers, went beyond them
• What were the facts of the Northumbria Police Authority?

  • The Home Office opted to create a stock of CS gas (riot control gas) and a store of plastic crowd control batons, for easy access by the authorities in times of need
  • An internal memo stated that the Home Secretary would be authorised to give access to such stores where necessary, which the Northumbria Police Authority contested because it amounted to the issuing of ultra vires powers to the Home Secretary, i.e. that they would be empowered to utilise powers beyond that which their position ought entail.
• What was the issue in Northumbria Police Authority?

  Was the Home Secretary empowered to supply the crowd control equipment in question as part of their greater prerogative of keeping peace within the realm?
• What was the decision in R v Home Secretary, ex p Northumbria Police Authority?

  • At first the Court found for the claimant, with the view being held that prevention and management of threats to the peace did not require such strong Governmental intervention powers
  • On appeal, they found that Parliament had the prerogative power to determine disruption management ns can delegate to the Home Secretary
• What are the key facts in the Miller judgment in the Supreme Court?

  Can the PM invoke Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty 2007 using the royal prerogative or must there be a vote in Parliament first regardless of the referendum result?
• What was the legal issue with leaving the E.U.?


  • The UK is a dualist state in regard to international law meaning that the UK can enter treaties but it doesn’t automatically become UK law
  • The effect of leaving the EU would be to terminate an extensive legal order, that is EU law