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Hub AI
Disallowance and reservation AI simulator
(@Disallowance and reservation_simulator)
Hub AI
Disallowance and reservation AI simulator
(@Disallowance and reservation_simulator)
Disallowance and reservation
Disallowance and reservation are historical constitutional powers that were instituted in several territories throughout the British Empire as a mechanism to delay or overrule legislation. Originally created to preserve the Crown's authority over colonial governments, these powers are now generally considered politically obsolete, and in many cases have been formally abolished.
In British Commonwealth and colonial territories, the legislature is typically composed of one or two legislative chambers, together with the governor-general (or colonial governor) acting in the name of the sovereign. Once a bill has passed through the chambers, it is presented to the governor-general for assent on the Sovereign's behalf. The governor-general was formally instructed (or required by the constitution or by statute) in certain circumstances to reserve a bill for the sovereign's "pleasure". That is, the governor-general would neither assent nor refuse assent to the bill, but would instead refer it to the secretary of state for the colonies in the United Kingdom for consideration by the British government; assent, if then given, would be by the King- (or Queen-) in-Council.
A bill assented to by a governor-general or colonial governor would pass into law, but might still be disallowed by the King- or Queen-in-Council, usually within a certain timeframe after its passage. Once notice of the disallowance was communicated to the colonial authorities, the act in question would cease to operate as law. Disallowance was not retroactive, so anything validly done under an act's terms before its disallowance remained legal.
Sometimes a bill that had passed into law might be suspended by its own terms until the sovereign's pleasure was made known, i.e. until the British government had advised the colonial authorities whether they were prepared to accept the legislation. Approval, if given, would again be by the King- or Queen-in-Council.
All three methods were originally used to ensure that legislation was not repugnant to English law, that it did not exceed a legislature's formal competence, that it did not interfere with the British government's imperial or foreign policies, and even simply that the British government did not disagree with the legislation.
The use of these powers declined over the course of the nineteenth century, in particular because of the abolition of the doctrine of general repugnancy by the Colonial Laws Validity Act 1865 and because the British government began to leave it to the court system to rule on the vires of colonial legislation. With the development of responsible government, the use of these powers declined even more rapidly. The 1926 imperial conference approved a committee report that stated:
[A]part from provisions embodied in constitutions or in specific statutes expressly providing for reservation, it is recognised that it is the right of the Government of each Dominion to advise the Crown in all matters relating to its own affairs. Consequently, it would not be in accordance with constitutional practice for advice to be tendered to His Majesty by His Majesty's Government in Great Britain in any matter appertaining to the affairs of a Dominion against the views of the Government of that Dominion.
The Report of the Conference on the Operation of Dominion Legislation and Merchant Shipping Legislation, 1929 (Cmd 3479), which was approved by the 1930 imperial conference, stated that both the prerogative and statutory powers of disallowance had "not been exercised for many years" in relation to dominion legislation (para. 19), and more specifically:
Disallowance and reservation
Disallowance and reservation are historical constitutional powers that were instituted in several territories throughout the British Empire as a mechanism to delay or overrule legislation. Originally created to preserve the Crown's authority over colonial governments, these powers are now generally considered politically obsolete, and in many cases have been formally abolished.
In British Commonwealth and colonial territories, the legislature is typically composed of one or two legislative chambers, together with the governor-general (or colonial governor) acting in the name of the sovereign. Once a bill has passed through the chambers, it is presented to the governor-general for assent on the Sovereign's behalf. The governor-general was formally instructed (or required by the constitution or by statute) in certain circumstances to reserve a bill for the sovereign's "pleasure". That is, the governor-general would neither assent nor refuse assent to the bill, but would instead refer it to the secretary of state for the colonies in the United Kingdom for consideration by the British government; assent, if then given, would be by the King- (or Queen-) in-Council.
A bill assented to by a governor-general or colonial governor would pass into law, but might still be disallowed by the King- or Queen-in-Council, usually within a certain timeframe after its passage. Once notice of the disallowance was communicated to the colonial authorities, the act in question would cease to operate as law. Disallowance was not retroactive, so anything validly done under an act's terms before its disallowance remained legal.
Sometimes a bill that had passed into law might be suspended by its own terms until the sovereign's pleasure was made known, i.e. until the British government had advised the colonial authorities whether they were prepared to accept the legislation. Approval, if given, would again be by the King- or Queen-in-Council.
All three methods were originally used to ensure that legislation was not repugnant to English law, that it did not exceed a legislature's formal competence, that it did not interfere with the British government's imperial or foreign policies, and even simply that the British government did not disagree with the legislation.
The use of these powers declined over the course of the nineteenth century, in particular because of the abolition of the doctrine of general repugnancy by the Colonial Laws Validity Act 1865 and because the British government began to leave it to the court system to rule on the vires of colonial legislation. With the development of responsible government, the use of these powers declined even more rapidly. The 1926 imperial conference approved a committee report that stated:
[A]part from provisions embodied in constitutions or in specific statutes expressly providing for reservation, it is recognised that it is the right of the Government of each Dominion to advise the Crown in all matters relating to its own affairs. Consequently, it would not be in accordance with constitutional practice for advice to be tendered to His Majesty by His Majesty's Government in Great Britain in any matter appertaining to the affairs of a Dominion against the views of the Government of that Dominion.
The Report of the Conference on the Operation of Dominion Legislation and Merchant Shipping Legislation, 1929 (Cmd 3479), which was approved by the 1930 imperial conference, stated that both the prerogative and statutory powers of disallowance had "not been exercised for many years" in relation to dominion legislation (para. 19), and more specifically: