110-668: Act of Settlement most commonly refers to the Act of Settlement 1701 , an Act of the Parliament of England. Act of Settlement or Settlement Act may also refer to: Act of Settlement 1701 The Act of Settlement ( 12 & 13 Will. 3 . c. 2) is an act of the Parliament of England that settled the succession to the English and Irish crowns to only Protestants , which passed in 1701. More specifically, anyone who became
220-506: A denizen (unless born of English parents), can be a Privy Councillor or a member of either House of Parliament, or hold "any Office or Place of Trust, either Civill [ sic ] or Military, or to [ sic ] have any Grant of Lands, Tenements or Hereditaments from the Crown, to himself or to any other or others in Trust for him". Subsequent nationality laws (today primarily
330-623: A libel case, Neil Hamilton , MP v The Guardian , collapsed as the High Court ruled that the Bill of Rights' total bar on bringing into question anything said or done in the House prevented The Guardian from obtaining a fair hearing . Hamilton could otherwise have carte blanche to allege any background or meaning to his words, and no contradicting direct evidence, inference, extra submission or cross-examination of his words could take place due to
440-584: A Canadian civic politician, took issue with the provisions that exclude Roman Catholics from the throne, and which make the monarch of Canada the Supreme Governor of the Church of England , requiring him or her to be an Anglican . This, he claimed, discriminated against non-Anglicans, including Catholics, who are the largest faith group in Canada. In 2002, O'Donohue launched a court action that argued
550-681: A Roman Catholic Canadian. (In fact, Lord St Andrews had already lost his place in the line of succession when he married the Roman Catholic Canadian Sylvana Palma Tomaselli in 1988. But St Andrews' place in the line of succession was significantly lower than Phillips'.) Criticism of the Act of Settlement due to the Phillips–Kelly marriage was muted when Autumn Kelly converted to Anglicanism shortly before her marriage, thus preserving her husband's place in
660-531: A Roman Catholic and a Canadian, discussion about the Act of Settlement was revived. Norman Spector called in The Globe and Mail for Prime Minister Stephen Harper to address the issue of the Act's bar on Catholics, saying Phillips' marriage to Kelly would be the first time the provisions of the Act would bear directly on Canada—Phillips would be barred from acceding to the Canadian throne because he married
770-555: A Roman Catholic crown would be the destruction of the Church of England because "it would contradict the essential character of that church." He continued: When Thomas Hobbes wrote that "the Papacy is no other than the ghost of the deceased Roman Empire sitting crowned upon the grave thereof", he was promulgating an enormously important truth. Authority in the Roman Church is the exertion of that imperium from which England in
880-590: A Roman Catholic monarch would be unable to be crowned by the Archbishop of Canterbury and notes that other European states have similar religious provisions for their monarchs: Denmark, Norway, and Sweden, whose constitutions compel their monarchs to be Lutherans ; the Netherlands, which has a constitution requiring its monarchs be members of the Protestant House of Orange ; and Belgium, which has
990-586: A Roman Catholic, or who married one, became disqualified to inherit the throne. This had the effect of deposing the remaining descendants of Charles I , other than his Protestant granddaughter Anne , as the next Protestant in line to the throne was Sophia of Hanover . Born into the House of Wittelsbach , she was a granddaughter of James VI and I from his most junior surviving line, with the crowns descending only to her non- Catholic heirs. Sophia died less than two months before Queen Anne, and Sophia's son succeeded to
1100-515: A committee specially convened reported to the Commons 23 Heads of Grievances, which the Commons approved and added some of their own. However, on 4 February the Commons decided to instruct the committee to differentiate between "such of the general heads, as are introductory of new laws, from those that are declaratory of ancient rights". On 7 February the Commons approved this revised Declaration of Right, and on 8 February instructed
1210-589: A constitution that provides for the succession to be through Roman Catholic houses. In December 2004, a private member's bill—the Succession to the Crown Bill —was introduced in the House of Lords. The government, headed by Tony Blair , blocked all attempts to revise the succession laws, claiming it would raise too many constitutional issues and it was unnecessary at the time. In the British general election
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#17327727966241320-500: A few months after the Act received royal assent, and his Roman Catholic children, Prince James ( The Old Pretender ) and the Princess Royal , the Act also excluded the descendants of Princess Henrietta , the youngest sister of James II. Henrietta's daughter was Anne , Queen of Sardinia, a Roman Catholic, from whom descend all Jacobite pretenders after 1807. With the legitimate descendants of Charles I either childless (in
1430-536: A granddaughter of James VI and I and a niece of King Charles I – and her descendants, but it excluded "for ever" "all and every Person and Persons who ... is are or shall be reconciled to or shall hold Communion with the See or Church of Rome or shall profess the Popish Religion or shall marry a Papist". Thus, those who were Roman Catholics, and those who married Roman Catholics, were barred from ascending
1540-730: A group of English Parliamentarians invited the Dutch stadtholder William III of Orange-Nassau (William of Orange) to overthrow the King. William's successful invasion with a Dutch fleet and army led to James fleeing to France. In December 1688, peers of the realm appointed William as provisional governor. It was widely acknowledged that such action was constitutional, if the monarch were incapacitated, and they summoned an assembly of many members of parliament. This assembly called for an English Convention Parliament to be elected, which convened on 22 January 1689. The proposal to draw up
1650-538: A later marriage). The Bill of Rights was later supplemented by the Act of Settlement 1701 , which was agreed to by the Parliament of Scotland as part of the Treaty of Union . The Act of Settlement altered the line of succession to the throne laid out in the Bill of Rights. However, both the Bill of Rights and the Claim of Right contributed a great deal to the establishment of the concept of parliamentary sovereignty and
1760-517: A monarch since 1603, they had remained separately governed countries, with the Act catalysing the Union of England and Scotland . However, the Parliament of Scotland was more reluctant to abandon the House of Stuart, members of which had been Scottish monarchs long before they became English. Moreover, the Act also placed limits on both the role of foreigners in the British government and the power of
1870-614: A motion in 1999 calling for the complete removal of any discrimination linked to the monarchy and the repeal of the Act of Settlement. The following year, The Guardian challenged the succession law in court, claiming that it violated the European Convention on Human Rights , which provides, The enjoyment of the rights and freedoms set forth in this Convention shall be secured without discrimination on any ground such as sex, race, colour, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, association with
1980-520: A national minority, property, birth, or other status. As the Convention nowhere lists the right to succeed to the Crown as a human right, the challenge was rejected. Adrian Hilton , writing in The Spectator in 2003, defended the Act of Settlement as not "irrational prejudice or blind bigotry", but claimed that it was passed because "the nation had learnt that when a Roman Catholic monarch
2090-598: A new constitution in the Putney Debates of 1647. Parliament was largely cowed by the executive during the Protectorate (1653–1659) and most of the twenty-five years of Charles II's English Restoration from 1660. However, it, with the advantage of the growth in printed pamphlets and support of the City of London , was able to temper some of the executive excess, intrigue and largesse of the government, especially
2200-414: A pension from the Crown, was to be a Member of Parliament. This provision was inserted to avoid unwelcome royal influence over the House of Commons. It remains in force, but with several exceptions; ministers of the Crown were exempted early on before Anne's death in order to continue some degree of royal patronage, but had to stand for a by-election to re-enter the House upon such appointment until 1926. As
2310-750: A side effect, this provision means that members of the Commons seeking to resign from parliament can get around the prohibition on resignation by obtaining a sinecure in the control of the Crown; while several offices have historically been used for this purpose, two are currently in use: appointments generally alternate between the stewardships of the Chiltern Hundreds and of the Manor of Northstead . Seventh, judges' commissions are valid quamdiu se bene gesserint (during good behaviour) and if they do not behave themselves, they can be removed only by both Houses of Parliament (or in other Commonwealth realms
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#17327727966242420-432: A statement of rights and liberties and James's violation of them was first made on 29 January 1689 in the House of Commons , with members arguing that the House "cannot answer it to the nation or Prince of Orange till we declare what are the rights invaded" and that William "cannot take it ill if we make conditions to secure ourselves for the future" in order to "do justice to those who sent us hither". On 2 February
2530-537: Is a complex process, since the act governs the shared succession of all the Commonwealth realms . The Statute of Westminster 1931 acknowledges by established convention that any changes to the rules of succession may be made only with the agreement of all of the states involved, with concurrent amendments to be made by each state's parliament or parliaments. Further, as the current monarch's eldest child and, in turn, his eldest child, are Anglican males, any change to
2640-679: Is a restatement in statutory form of the Declaration of Right presented by the Convention Parliament to William III and Mary II in February 1689, inviting them to become joint sovereigns of England , displacing James II , who was stated to have abdicated and left the throne vacant. In the United Kingdom , the Bill is considered a basic document of the uncodified British constitution , along with Magna Carta ,
2750-577: Is borrowed word for word from the Bill of Rights 1689. This subordination of the Crown (i.e. the executive government) to law is the foundation of the rule of law in the United Kingdom. It has its roots well before the war between the Crown and Parliament in the seventeenth century but was decisively confirmed in the settlement arrived at with the Glorious Revolution in 1688 and has been recognised ever since. Sir Edward Coke reports
2860-617: Is now Lower Saxony (Germany), then part of the Holy Roman Empire . This provision has been dormant since Queen Victoria ascended the throne, because she did not inherit Hanover under the Salic Laws of the German-speaking states. Third, no monarch may leave "the dominions of England , Scotland , or Ireland ", without the consent of Parliament. This provision was repealed in 1716, at the request of George I who
2970-450: Is upon the throne, religious and civil liberty is lost." He points to the Pope's claiming universal jurisdiction, and Hilton argues that "it would be intolerable to have, as the sovereign of a Protestant and free country, one who owes any allegiance to the head of any other state" and contends that, if such situation came about, "we will have undone centuries of common law." He said that because
3080-409: The Act of Union 1707 . This success was in marked contrast to the four attempts at political union between 1606 and 1689, which all failed owing to a lack of political will in both kingdoms. By virtue of Article II of the Treaty of Union , which defined the succession to the throne of Great Britain, the Act of Settlement became part of Scots law as well. In addition to excluding James II , who died
3190-547: The Acts of Union 1800 , provisions relating to the rights of Parliament implicitly extended to Ireland, but provisions relating to the rights of the individual were a grey area. Some jurists regarded the bill not as positive law but as declaratory of the common law , and as such applicable to Ireland. The Constitution of the Irish Free State , and the subsequent Constitution of Ireland , carry over laws in force in
3300-564: The Bill of Rights 1688 ) is an Act of the Parliament of England that set out certain basic civil rights and changed the succession to the English Crown . It remains a crucial statute in English constitutional law . Largely based on the ideas of political theorist John Locke , the Bill sets out a constitutional requirement for the Crown to seek the consent of the people as represented in Parliament . As well as setting limits on
3410-463: The British Library from March to September 2015. That all power of suspending laws, or the execution of laws, by any authority, without consent of the representatives of the people, is injurious to their rights and ought not to be exercised. which strongly echoes the first two "ancient rights and liberties" asserted in the Bill of Rights 1689: That the pretended power of suspending
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3520-562: The British Nationality Act 1981 ) made naturalised citizens the equal of those native born, and excluded Commonwealth citizens from the definition of foreigners, and citizens of the Irish Republic from the definition of aliens, but otherwise this provision still applies. It has however been disapplied in particular cases by a number of other statutes. Sixth, no person who has an office under the monarch, or receives
3630-604: The Cabal ministry who signed a Secret Treaty of Dover that allied England to France in a prospective war against oft-allies the Dutch Republic . It had already passed the Habeas Corpus Act 1679 , which strengthened the convention that forbade detention lacking sufficient cause or evidence. Objecting to the policies of King James II of England (James VII of Scotland and James II of Ireland),
3740-468: The Earl of Scarsdale and three others. While many shared their opposition to a "foreign" king, the general feeling was summed up as "better a German prince than a French one". Monarch : Charles III For different reasons, various constitutionalists have praised the Act of Settlement: Henry Hallam called the Act "the seal of our constitutional laws" and David Lindsay Keir placed its importance above
3850-757: The Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution which imposes this prohibition is a near-verbatim reproduction of the corresponding article in the Bill of Rights 1689. Similarly, " cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment" is banned under Article 5 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights. The Bill of Rights remains in statute and continues to be cited in legal proceedings in
3960-508: The Glorious Revolution to be an abdication of the throne. It listed twelve of James's policies by which James designed to "endeavour to subvert and extirpate the protestant religion, and the laws and liberties of this kingdom". These were: all of which were declared to be utterly and directly contrary to the known laws and statutes and freedom of the realm. In a prelude to the Act of Settlement to come twelve years later,
4070-642: The Governor-General to abolish a superannuation scheme established by the New Zealand Superannuation Act 1974, without new legislation. Muldoon felt that the dissolution would be immediate and he would later introduce a bill in parliament to retroactively make the abolition legal. This claim was challenged in court and the Chief Justice declared that Muldoon's actions were illegal as they had violated Article 1 of
4180-493: The Irish Patriot Party regarded this as illegitimate, and others felt that English acts only extended to Ireland when explicitly stated to do so, which was not the case for the Bill of Rights. The Crown of Ireland Act 1542 meant the Bill's changes to the royal succession extended to Ireland. Bills modelled on the Bill of Rights were introduced in the Parliament of Ireland in 1695 and 1697 but not enacted. After
4290-731: The Perth Agreement . During the 17th century, there was renewed interest in Magna Carta . The Parliament of England passed the Petition of Right in 1628 which established certain liberties for subjects. The English Civil War (1642–1651) was fought between the King and an oligarchic but elected Parliament, during which the notion of long-term political parties took form with the New Model Army Grandees and humble, leveller -influenced figures debating
4400-735: The Petition of Right , the Habeas Corpus Act 1679 and the Parliament Acts 1911 and 1949 . A separate but similar document, the Claim of Right Act 1689 , applies in Scotland . The Bill was one of the models used to draft the United States Bill of Rights , the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights and the European Convention on Human Rights . Along with the Act of Settlement 1701 , it remains in effect within all Commonwealth realms , as amended by
4510-820: The United Kingdom European Union membership referendum in 2016, the Bill of Rights was cited by the Supreme Court in the Miller case , in which the court ruled that triggering EU exit must first be authorised by an act of Parliament, because doing so would abrogate rights secured by an Act of Parliament (namely, rights of EU citizens arising from the EU treaties given effect in UK law by the European Communities Act 1972 , as amended). It
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4620-406: The 16th century finally and decisively declared its national independence as the alter imperium , the "other empire", of which Henry VIII declared "This realm of England is an empire" ... It would signal the beginning of the end of the British monarchy. It would portend the eventual surrender of everything that has made us, and keeps us still, a nation. The Scottish Parliament unanimously passed
4730-521: The Act of Settlement violated the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms , but, the case was dismissed by the court. It found that, as the Act of Settlement is part of the Canadian constitution, the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, as another part of the same constitution, does not have supremacy over it. Also, the court noted that, while Canada has the power to amend the line of succession to
4840-461: The Act of Settlement was received into the laws of all the countries and territories over which the British monarch reigned. It remains part of the laws of the 15 Commonwealth realms and the relevant jurisdictions within those realms. In accordance with established convention, the Statute of Westminster 1931 and later laws, the Act of Settlement (along with the other laws governing the succession of
4950-568: The Act of Settlement, and, in response, passed the Act of Security in 1704, through which Scotland reserved the right to choose its own successor to Queen Anne . Stemming from this, the Parliament of England decided that, to ensure the stability and future prosperity of Great Britain, full union of the two parliaments and nations was essential before Anne's death. It used a combination of exclusionary legislation (the Alien Act 1705 ), politics, and bribery to achieve this within three years under
5060-800: The Bill of Rights applies in Northern Ireland , reflecting earlier doubts as regards Ireland . The requirement that jurors be freeholders in cases of high treason was abolished in England and Wales by the Juries Act 1825 , and in Northern Ireland (to the extent it applied) by the Statute Law Revision Act 1950 . Natural justice , the right to a fair trial, is in constitutional law held to temper unfair exploitation of parliamentary privilege. On 21 July 1995
5170-476: The Bill of Rights barred Roman Catholics from the throne of England as "it hath been found by experience that it is inconsistent with the safety and welfare of this Protestant kingdom to be governed by a papist prince"; thus William III and Mary II were named as the successors of James II and that the throne would pass from them first to Mary's heirs, then to her sister, Princess Anne of Denmark and her heirs (and, thereafter, to any heirs of William by
5280-560: The Bill of Rights of 1689. Naamani Tarkow wrote: "If one is to make sweeping statements, one may say that, save Magna Carta (more truly, its implications), the Act of Settlement is probably the most significant statute in English history". The Act of Settlement was, in many ways, the major cause of the union of Scotland with England and Wales to form the Kingdom of Great Britain . The Parliament of Scotland had not been consulted about
5390-451: The Bill of Rights, which provides "that the pretended power of dispensing with laws or the execution of laws by regal authority ... is illegal." The Bill of Rights applies in England and Wales; it was enacted in the Kingdom of England which at the time included Wales. Scotland has its own legislation, the Claim of Right Act 1689 , passed before the Act of Union between England and Scotland. There are doubts as to whether, or to what extent,
5500-420: The British throne". Ashdown claimed the Prince said: "I really can't think why we can't have Catholics on the throne". In 1998, during debate on a Succession to the Crown Bill , Junior Home Office Minister Lord Williams of Mostyn informed the House of Lords that the Queen had "no objection to the Government's view that in determining the line of succession to the throne, daughters and sons should be treated in
5610-467: The Canadian throne, the Statute of Westminster stipulates that the agreement of the governments of the fifteen other Commonwealth realms that share the Crown would first have to be sought if Canada wished to continue its relationship with these countries. An appeal of the decision was dismissed on 16 March 2005. Some commentators state that, as a result of this, any single provincial legislature could hinder any attempts to change this Act, and by extension, to
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#17327727966245720-436: The Commons in Parliament". This meant in effect that no pardon by the monarch was to save someone from being impeached by the House of Commons. The Tory administration that replaced the Whig Junto in 1699 took responsibility for steering the Act through Parliament. As a result, it passed with little opposition, although five peers voted against it in the House of Lords, including the Earl of Huntingdon , his brother-in-law
5830-399: The Commonwealth realms) may only be changed with the agreement of all the realms (and, in some federal realms, the constituent members of those federations). The Succession to the Crown Act 2013 changed many provisions of this Act. Challenges have been made against the Act of Settlement, especially its provisions regarding Roman Catholics and preference for males . However, changing the act
5940-476: The Constitution and in legislation passed by the Commonwealth Parliament or State or Territory Parliaments. The ninth article, regarding parliamentary freedom of speech, was inherited by Federal Parliament in 1901 under section 49 of the Australian Constitution . It was incorporated into the Parliamentary Privileges Act 1987 which "preserves the application of the traditional expression of this privilege, but spells out in some detail just what may be covered by
6050-458: The Electress Sophia who had been ineligible to succeed on this ground is George Windsor, Earl of St Andrews , the elder son of Prince Edward, Duke of Kent , who married the Roman Catholic Sylvana Palma Tomaselli in 1988. His son, Lord Downpatrick , converted to Roman Catholicism in 2003 and is the most senior descendant of Sophia to be barred as a result of his religion. In 2008 his daughter, Lady Marina Windsor , also converted to Catholicism and
6160-595: The English throne was governed by the Bill of Rights 1689 , which declared that the flight of James II from England to France during the revolution amounted to an abdication of the throne and that James's daughter Mary II and her husband/cousin, William III (William of Orange, who was also James's nephew), were James's successors. The Bill of Rights also provided that the line of succession would go through Mary's Protestant descendants by William and any possible future husband should she outlive him, then through Mary's sister Anne and her Protestant descendants, and then to
6270-455: The Oireachtas (Inquiries, Privileges and Procedures) Act 2013 repealed Article 9 on "freedom of speech and debates or proceedings in Parliament" as part of a consolidation of the law on parliamentary privilege . The Bill of Rights is part of the laws of New Zealand. The Act was invoked in the 1976 case of Fitzgerald v Muldoon and Others , which centred on the purporting of newly appointed Prime Minister Robert Muldoon that he would advise
6380-461: The Protestant descendants of William III by a possible later marriage should he outlive Mary. During the debate, the House of Lords had attempted to append Sophia and her descendants to the line of succession, but the amendment failed in the Commons. Mary II died childless in 1694, after which William III did not remarry. In 1700, Prince William, Duke of Gloucester , who was Anne's only child to survive infancy, died of what may have been smallpox at
6490-534: The Queen shall extend to Her Majesty's heirs and successors in the sovereignty of the United Kingdom." Anne Twomey reviews three possible interpretations of the clause. However, Twomey expresses confidence that, if the High Court of Australia were to be faced with the problems of covering clause 2, it would find some way to conclude that, with regard to Australia, the clause is subject solely to Australian law. Canadian scholar Richard Toporoski theorised in 1998 that "if, let us say, an alteration were to be made in
6600-474: The Roman Catholic Church does not recognise the Church of England as an apostolic church , a Roman Catholic monarch who abided by their faith's doctrine would be obliged to view Anglican and Church of Scotland archbishops, bishops, and clergy as part of the laity and therefore "lacking the ordained authority to preach and celebrate the sacraments." (Hilton noted that the Church of Scotland's Presbyterian polity does not include bishops or archbishops.) Hilton said
6710-400: The Royal Family (that is, with the style of Royal Highness ) has converted to Roman Catholicism since the passage of the Act: the Duchess of Kent , wife of Prince Edward, Duke of Kent , who converted on 14 January 1994, but her husband did not lose his place in the succession because she was an Anglican at the time of their marriage. As well as being part of the law of the United Kingdom,
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#17327727966246820-446: The United Kingdom and a model for later, more general, statements of rights; these include the United States Bill of Rights , the French Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen , the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights , and the European Convention on Human Rights . For example, as with the Bill of Rights 1689, the US Constitution prohibits excessive bail and " cruel and unusual punishment "; in fact,
6930-466: The United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms , particularly Article 9 on parliamentary freedom of speech . Following the Perth Agreement in 2011, legislation amending the Bill of Rights and the Act of Settlement 1701 came into effect across the Commonwealth realms on 26 March 2015 which changed the laws of succession to the British throne. Australia does not have a formal Bill of Rights, although protections for human rights may be found in
7040-431: The United Kingdom in 1989 to celebrate the tercentenary of the Glorious Revolution. One referred to the Bill of Rights and the other to the Claim of Right. Both depict the Royal Cypher of William and Mary and the mace of the House of Commons , one also shows a representation of the St Edward's Crown and the other the Crown of Scotland . In May 2011, the Bill of Rights was inscribed in UNESCO 's UK Memory of
7150-415: The United Kingdom to the Act of Settlement 1701, providing for the succession of the Crown... [i]t is my opinion that the domestic constitutional law of Australia or Papua New Guinea, for example, would provide for the succession in those countries of the same person who became Sovereign of the United Kingdom." In practice, when legislating for the Perth Agreement (see below), the Australian governments took
7260-454: The World Register recognising that: All the main principles of the Bill of Rights are still in force today, and the Bill of Rights continues to be cited in legal cases in the UK and in Commonwealth countries. It has a primary place in a wider national historical narrative of documents which established the rights of Parliament and set out universal civil liberties, starting with Magna Carta in 1215. It also has international significance, as it
7370-490: The act's passing the most senior living member of the royal family to have married a Roman Catholic, and thereby to have been removed from the line of succession, is Prince Michael of Kent , who married Baroness Marie-Christine von Reibnitz in 1978; he was fifteenth in the line of succession at the time. He was restored to the line of succession in 2015 when the Succession to the Crown Act 2013 came into force, and became 34th in line. The next most senior living descendant of
7480-428: The age of 11. Thus, Anne was left as the only person in line to the throne. The Bill of Rights excluded Catholics from the throne, which ruled out James II and his children (as well as their descendants) sired after he converted to Catholicism in 1668. However, it did not provide for the further succession after Anne. Parliament thus saw the need to settle the succession on Sophia and her descendants, and thereby guarantee
7590-416: The approach of the states requesting, and referring power to, the federal government to enact the legislation on behalf of the states (under paragraph 51(xxxviii) of the Australian Constitution) and the Commonwealth of Australia. [REDACTED] Canada portal In Canada, where the Act of Settlement ( French : Acte d'établissement ) is now a part of Canadian constitutional law , Tony O'Donohue ,
7700-416: The case of his two grand-daughters the late Queen Mary II and her successor Queen Anne ) or Roman Catholic, Parliament's choice was limited to Sophia of Hanover, the Protestant daughter of the late Elizabeth of Bohemia , the only other child of King James I to have survived childhood. Elizabeth had borne nine children who reached adulthood, of whom Sophia was the youngest daughter. However in 1701 Sophia
7810-402: The committee to put into a single text the Declaration (with the heads which were "introductory of new laws" removed), the resolution of 29 January and the Lords' proposal for a revised oath of allegiance. It passed the Commons without division. On 13 February the clerk of the House of Lords read the Declaration of Right, and the Marquess of Halifax , in the name of all the estates of
7920-463: The consent of all the other realms, as it touches on the succession to the shared crown . On 26 March 2015, following the Perth Agreement , legislation amending the Act came into effect across the Commonwealth realms that removed the disqualification arising from marriage to a Roman Catholic and instituted absolute primogeniture . Following the Glorious Revolution , the line of succession to
8030-487: The considered view of himself and the senior judges of the time in The Case of Proclamations (1610) 12 Co. Rep. 74, that: the King by his proclamation or other ways cannot change any part of the common law, or statute law, or the customs of the realm and that: the King hath no prerogative, but that which the law of the land allows him. The position was confirmed in the first two parts of Section 1 of
8140-540: The continuity of the Crown in the Protestant line. With religion and lineage initially decided, the ascendancy of William of Orange in 1689 would also bring his partiality to his Dutch favourites that followed. By 1701, anti-Dutch sentiment was widespread in England and action was considered necessary. The Act of Settlement provided that the throne would pass to the Electress Sophia of Hanover –
8250-473: The curtailment of the powers of the monarch. These have been held to have established the constitutional monarchy , and, along with the penal laws , settled much of the political and religious turmoil that had convulsed Scotland, England and Ireland in the 17th century. The Act reinforced the Petition of Right and the Habeas Corpus Act 1679 by codifying certain rights and liberties. Described by William Blackstone as Fundamental Laws of England ,
8360-583: The following year , Michael Howard promised to work towards having the prohibition removed if the Conservative Party gained a majority of seats in the House of Commons, but the election was won by Blair's Labour Party . Four years later, plans drawn up by Chris Bryant were revealed that would end the exclusion of Catholics from the throne and end the doctrine of male-preference primogeniture in favour of absolute primogeniture, which governs succession solely on birth order and not on sex. The issue
8470-610: The former United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland to the extent they were not repugnant to those constitutions. The Bill of Rights was not referred to in subsequent Irish legislation until the Statute Law Revision Act 2007 , which retained it, changed its short title to "Bill of Rights 1688" and repealed most of section 1 (the preamble) as being religiously discriminatory, which included: all words down to "Upon which Letters Elections having been accordingly made"; Article 7, which allowed Protestants to bear arms; and all words from "And they doe Claime Demand and Insist". The Houses of
8580-482: The idea and it was reported that the government of New Zealand did, as well. The Monarchist League of Canada said at the time to the media that it "supports amending the Act of Settlement in order to modernize the succession rules." Later the same year, the Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Nick Clegg , announced that the government was considering a change in the law. At approximately
8690-480: The joint monarchy of William III and Mary II. Second, if a person not native to England comes to the throne, England will not wage war for "any dominions or territories which do not belong to the Crown of England, without the consent of Parliament". This would become relevant when a member of the House of Hanover ascended the British throne, as he would retain the territories of the Electorate of Hanover in what
8800-804: The laws of God, the true profession of the Gospel, and the Protestant Reformed faith established by law. This replaced an oath which had deferred more to the monarch. The previous oath required the monarch to rule based on "the laws and customs ... granted by the Kings of England". The Declaration of Right was enacted in an Act of Parliament, the Bill of Rights 1689, which received royal assent in December ;1689. The Act asserted "certain ancient rights and liberties" by declaring that: The Act declared James's flight from England following
8910-489: The laws or the execution of laws by regal authority without consent of Parliament is illegal; That the pretended power of dispensing with laws or the execution of laws by regal authority, as it hath been assumed and exercised of late, is illegal; And the Virginia Declaration's Section Nine, That excessive bail ought not to be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.
9020-547: The leader of the Roman Catholic Church in England, pointed out that Prince William (later the Duke of Cambridge) "can marry by law a Hindu , a Buddhist , anyone, but not a Roman Catholic." Opponents of repeal, such as Enoch Powell and Adrian Hilton , believe that it would lead to the disestablishment of the Church of England as the state religion if a Roman Catholic were to come to the throne. They also note that
9130-410: The line of succession for the shared crown of all 16 Commonwealth realms. Others contend that that is not the case, and changes to the succession instituted by an Act of the Parliament of Canada "[in accord] with the convention of symmetry that preserves the personal unity of the British and Dominion Crowns". With the announcement in 2007 of the engagement of Peter Phillips to Autumn Kelly ,
9240-655: The line of succession to the British throne from male-preference to absolute cognatic . Vaz sought support for his project from the Canadian Cabinet and Prime Minister Stephen Harper , but the Office of the Prime Minister of Canada responded that the issue was "not a priority for the government or for Canadians without further elaboration on the merits or drawbacks of the proposed reforms". Stephenson King , Prime Minister of Saint Lucia , said he supported
9350-401: The line of succession. From time to time there has been debate over repealing the clause that prevents Roman Catholics, or those who marry one, from ascending to the British throne. Proponents of repeal argue that the clause is a bigoted anachronism; Cardinal Winning , who was leader of the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland , called the act an "insult" to Catholics. Cardinal Murphy-O'Connor ,
9460-594: The monarch must swear to defend the faith and be a member of the Anglican Communion , but that a Roman Catholic monarch would, like all Roman Catholics, owe allegiance to the Pope. This would, according to opponents of repeal, amount to a loss of sovereignty for the Anglican Church. When in December 1978 there was media speculation that Prince Charles might marry a Roman Catholic, Powell defended
9570-533: The monarch with respect to the Parliament of England, though some of those provisions have been altered by subsequent legislation. Along with the Bill of Rights 1689 , the Act of Settlement remains today one of the main constitutional laws governing the succession not only to the throne of the United Kingdom , but to those of the other Commonwealth realms , whether by assumption or by patriation . The Act of Settlement cannot be altered in any realm except by that realm's own parliament and, by convention , only with
9680-552: The one House of Parliament, depending on the legislature's structure). This provision was the result of various monarchs influencing judges' decisions, and its purpose was to assure judicial independence . This patent was used prior to 1701 but did not prevent Charles I from removing Sir John Walter as Chief Baron of the Exchequer . Eighth, that "no Pardon under the Great Seal of England be pleadable to an Impeachment by
9790-463: The powers of the monarch , it established the rights of Parliament, including regular parliaments, free elections, and parliamentary privilege . It also listed individual rights, including the prohibition of cruel and unusual punishment and the right not to pay taxes levied without the approval of Parliament. Finally, it described and condemned several misdeeds of James II of England. The Bill of Rights received royal assent on 16 December 1689. It
9900-539: The provision that excludes Roman Catholics from ascending the throne, stating his objection was not rooted in religious bigotry but in political considerations. He said a Roman Catholic monarch would mean the acceptance of a source of authority external to the realm and "in the literal sense, foreign to the Crown-in-Parliament ... Between Roman Catholicism and royal supremacy there is, as Saint Thomas More concluded, no reconciliation." Powell concluded that
10010-658: The realm, asked William and Mary to accept the throne. William replied for his wife and himself: "We thankfully accept what you have offered us". They then went in procession to the Great Gate at Whitehall. In a ceremony in the Banqueting House , Garter King of Arms proclaimed them King and Queen of England, France, and Ireland, whereupon they adjourned to the Chapel Royal , with the Bishop of London preaching
10120-408: The restriction on successors being or marrying Roman Catholics; however, potential Roman Catholic successors would be required to convert to Anglicanism prior to acceding to the throne. In reaction to the letter and media coverage, Harper stated that, this time, he was "supportive" of what he saw as "reasonable modernizations". Bill of Rights 1689 The Bill of Rights 1689 (sometimes known as
10230-419: The rights expressed in these Acts became associated with the idea of the rights of Englishmen . The Bill of Rights directly influenced the 1776 Virginia Declaration of Rights , which in turn influenced the Declaration of Independence . Although not a comprehensive statement of civil and political liberties, the Bill of Rights stands as one of the landmark documents in the development of civil liberties in
10340-455: The royal succession remain in force. The legal process required at the federal level remains, theoretically, unclear. The Australian constitution , as was noted during the crisis of 1936, contains no power for the federal parliament to legislate with respect to the monarchy. Everything thus turns upon the status and meaning of clause 2 in the Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act 1900, which provides: "The provisions of this Act referring to
10450-468: The same time, it was reported that British Prime Minister David Cameron had written to each of the prime ministers of the other fifteen Commonwealth realms, asking for their support in changing the succession to absolute primogeniture and notifying them he would raise his proposals at that year's Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Perth , Australia. Cameron reportedly also proposed removing
10560-628: The same way." In October 2011 the Australian federal government was reported to have reached an agreement with all of the states on potential changes to their laws in the wake of amendments to the Act of Settlement. The practice of the Australian states—for example, New South Wales and Victoria —has been, when legislating to repeal some imperial statutes so far as they still applied in Australia, to provide that imperial statutes concerning
10670-434: The sermon. They were crowned on 11 April, swearing an oath to uphold the laws made by Parliament. The Coronation Oath Act 1688 had provided a new coronation oath, whereby the monarchs were to "solemnly promise and swear to govern the people of this kingdom of England, and the dominions thereunto belonging, according to the statutes in parliament agreed on, and the laws and customs of the same". They were also to maintain
10780-573: The succession laws would have no immediate implications. Consequently, there was little public concern with the issues and debate had been confined largely to academic circles until the November 2010 announcement that Prince William was to marry . This raised the question of what would happen if he were to produce first a daughter and then a son. The Times reported on 6 November 1995 that Prince Charles had said on that day to Tony Blair and Paddy Ashdown that "Catholics should be able to ascend to
10890-476: The term 'proceedings in Parliament ' ". In Canada, the Bill of Rights remains in statute, although it has been largely superseded by domestic constitutional legislation. The ninth article on parliamentary freedom of speech remains in active use. The application of the Bill of Rights to the Kingdom of Ireland was uncertain. While the English Parliament sometimes passed acts relating to Ireland,
11000-682: The throne as King George I , starting the Hanoverian dynasty in Britain. The Act of Supremacy 1558 had confirmed the independence of the Church of England from Roman Catholicism under the English monarch. One of the principal factors which contributed to the Glorious Revolution was the perceived assaults made on the Church of England by King James II , a Roman Catholic, who was deposed in favour of his Protestant daughter Mary II and her husband William III . The need for this Act of Settlement
11110-477: The throne. The act contained eight additional provisions that were to only come into effect upon the death of both William and Anne: Firstly, the monarch "shall join in communion with the Church of England ". This was intended to ensure the exclusion of a Roman Catholic monarch. Along with James II's perceived despotism, his religion was the main cause of the Glorious Revolution, and of the previous linked religious and succession problems which had been resolved by
11220-612: The tight strictures of the Bill of Rights. Equally, the House of Lords decided that, absent a 1996 statutory provision, the Bill of Rights' entrenched parliamentary privilege would have prevented a fair trial for Hamilton in the 2001 defamation action of Hamilton v Al-Fayed which went through the two tiers of appeal to like effect. That provision was section 13 of the Defamation Act 1996 , which permits MPs to waive their parliamentary privilege and thus cite and have examined their own speeches if relevant to litigation. Following
11330-834: Was a model for the US Bill of Rights 1789, and its influence can be seen in other documents which establish rights of human beings, such as the Declaration of the Rights of Man, the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights and the European Convention on Human Rights. As part of the Parliament in the Making programme, the Bill of Rights was on display at the Houses of Parliament in February ;2015 and at
11440-555: Was also the Elector of Hanover and Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg within the Holy Roman Empire ; because of this, and also for personal reasons, he wished to visit Hanover from time to time. Fourth, all government matters within the jurisdiction of the Privy Council were to be transacted there, and all council resolutions were to be signed by those who advised and consented to them. This was because Parliament wanted to know who
11550-651: Was cited again by the Supreme Court in its 2019 ruling that the prorogation of parliament was unlawful . The Court disagreed with the Government's assertion that prorogation could not be questioned under the Bill of Rights 1689 as a "proceeding of Parliament"; it ruled the opposite assertion, that prorogation "cannot sensibly be described as a 'proceeding in Parliament ' ", as it was imposed upon and not debatable by Parliament, and could bring "core or essential business of Parliament" to an end without debate. Two special designs of commemorative two pound coins were issued in
11660-584: Was deciding policies, as sometimes councillors' signatures normally attached to resolutions were absent. This provision was repealed early in Queen Anne's reign, as many councillors ceased to offer advice and some stopped attending meetings altogether. Fifth, no foreigner ("no Person born out of the Kingdoms of England Scotland or Ireland or the Dominions thereunto belonging"), even if naturalised or made
11770-401: Was prompted by the inability of William and Mary, as well as of Mary's Protestant sister (the future Queen Anne), to produce any surviving children, and by the perceived threat posed by the pretensions to the throne by remaining Roman Catholic members of the House of Stuart . The act played a key role in the formation of the Kingdom of Great Britain as, though England and Scotland had shared
11880-463: Was raised again in January 2009, when a private member's bill to amend the Act of Succession was introduced in parliament. In early 2011 Keith Vaz , a Labour Member of Parliament, introduced to the House of Commons at Westminster a private member's bill which proposed that the Act of Settlement be amended to remove the provisions relating to Roman Catholicism and change the primogeniture governing
11990-603: Was removed from the line of succession. More recently, Peter Phillips , the son of Anne, Princess Royal , and eleventh in line to the throne, married Autumn Kelly ; Kelly had been brought up as a Roman Catholic, but she converted to Anglicanism prior to the wedding. Had she not done so, Phillips would have forfeited his place in the succession upon their marriage, only to have it restored in 2015. Excluding those princesses who have married into Roman Catholic royal families, such as Marie of Edinburgh , Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg and Princess Beatrice of Edinburgh , one member of
12100-482: Was the senior Protestant one, therefore with a legitimate claim to the English throne; Parliament passed over her Roman Catholic siblings, namely her sister Louise Hollandine of the Palatinate , and their descendants, who included Elizabeth Charlotte, Duchess of Orléans ; Louis Otto, Prince of Salm , and his aunts; Anne Henriette, Princess of Condé , and Benedicta Henrietta, Duchess of Brunswick-Lüneburg . Since
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