Responsible Government and the Divisibility of the Crown

Public Law, pp. 742-767, Winter 2008

Sydney Law School Research Paper No. 08/137

26 Pages Posted: 16 Nov 2008

See all articles by Anne Twomey

Anne Twomey

The University of Sydney - Faculty of Law

Abstract

This article addresses the misconceptions and misunderstandings that surround the meaning of references to "the Crown". It focuses on the divisibility of the Crown and the criteria for the creation of a new Crown in self-governing colonies, dependencies and independent Commonwealth nations. It places the Crown within the context of reponsible government, identifying the capacity in which the Queen acts by reference to the source of ministerial advice to the Queen and to whom those Ministers are responsible. It criticises the House of Lords' analysis of the divisibility of the Crown in the Quark Fishing case with respect to British Overseas Territories and discusses the ramification of such reasoning for other polities, such as Scotland.

Keywords: Crown, Queen, United Kingdom, responsible government, British Overseas Territories, South Georgia, Australian States, Canada, Scotland, Colonies, Executive Government, Constitution

JEL Classification: K10, K30

Suggested Citation

Twomey, Anne, Responsible Government and the Divisibility of the Crown. Public Law, pp. 742-767, Winter 2008, Sydney Law School Research Paper No. 08/137, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1301166

Anne Twomey (Contact Author)

The University of Sydney - Faculty of Law ( email )

New Law Building, F10
The University of Sydney
Sydney, NSW 2006
Australia

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