The Privy Council

The #Privy Council goes back to the earliest days of the Monarchy, when it comprised those appointed by the King or Queen to advise on matters of state. As the constitution developed into today's constitutional monarchy, under which The Sovereign acts on the advice of Ministers, so the Privy Council adapted. Its day to day business is transacted by those of Her Majesty's Ministers who are Privy Counsellors, that is all Cabinet Ministers and a number of junior Ministers. Membership of the Privy Council brings with it the right to be called "Right Honourable". of the Privy Council provides a list of Members

The Privy Council still meets regularly, on average once a month, but, as with the Cabinet, most of its business is transacted in discussion and correspondence between its Ministerial members and the Government Departments that advise them. The Privy Council Office (which is itself a Government Department) provides a secretariat for these discussions, as the Cabinet Office does in relation to the business of Cabinet and Cabinet Committees. Councils are held by The Queen and are attended by Ministers and the Clerk of the Council. At each meeting the Council will obtain Her Majesty's formal approval to a number of Orders which have already been discussed and approved by Ministers, much as Acts of Parliament become law through the giving of the Royal Assent after having been debated in Parliament.

Meetings are reported in the Court Circular, along with the names of Ministers attending (usually four in number). The Orders made at each Council are in the public domain, and each bears the date and place of the Council at which it was made. There is therefore nothing at all "secret" about Privy Council meetings. The myth that the Privy Council is a secretive body springs from the wording of the Privy Council Oath, which, in its current form, dates back to Tudor times. It requires those taking it to "keep secret all matters...treated of in Council". The Oath (or solemn affirmation for those who cannot take an Oath) is still administered, and is still binding; but it is only in very special circumstances nowadays that matters will come to a Privy Counsellor on "Privy Council terms". These will mostly concern matters of the national interest where it is important for senior members of Opposition parties to have access to Government information.

Commentary on the Council, its powers and functions comes from a  Marxist at What's It For? - http://www.lrb.co.uk/v37/n20/martin-loughlin/whats-it-for. He manages not to notice the duty of loyalty to the Crown. A list of Privy Councillors is at Counsellors.

The council makes #Orders in Council as well as #Orders of Council using the Royal Prerogative.

Privy Council ex Wiki  
Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, commonly known as the Privy Council of the United Kingdom or simply the Privy Council, is a formal body of advisers to the Sovereign of the United Kingdom. Its membership mainly comprises senior politicians who are current or former members of either the House of Commons or the House of Lords.

The Privy Council formally advises the sovereign on the exercise of the Royal Prerogative, and corporately (as Queen-in-Council) it issues executive instruments known as Orders in Council, which among other powers enact Acts of Parliament. The Council also holds the delegated authority to issue Orders of Council, mostly used to regulate certain public institutions. The Council advises the sovereign on the issuing of Royal Charters, which are used to grant special status to incorporated bodies, and city or borough status to local authorities. Otherwise, the Privy Council's powers have now been largely replaced by its executive committee, the Cabinet of the United Kingdom.

Certain judicial functions are also performed by the Queen-in-Council, although in practice its actual work of hearing and deciding upon cases is carried out day-to-day by the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council. The Judicial Committee consists of senior judges appointed as Privy Counsellors: predominantly Justices of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom and senior judges from the Commonwealth. The Privy Council formerly acted as the High Court of Appeal for the entire British Empire (other than for the United Kingdom itself), and continues to hear appeals from the Crown Dependencies, the British Overseas Territories, and some independent Commonwealth states.

 

Order of Council ex Wiki    
An Order of Council is a form of legislation in the United Kingdom. It is made by the Lords of the Privy Council (in practice, ministers of the Crown).

Orders of Council differ from Orders in Council in that, while Orders in Council are orders made by the Queen meeting with the Privy Council, Orders of Council are made by the Privy Council in its own right and without requiring the Queen's approval. The preamble of all Orders of Council states that the order was made at a meeting of the council held in Whitehall; however, in practice they are all approved through correspondence, and no meeting is actually held.[1]

Depending on the subject, Orders of Council can be either made under prerogative powers, or under authority granted by an Act of Parliament (and so are delegated legislation). An example of an order made in exercise of prerogative powers would be one approving changes to the byelaws of a chartered institution.[2] Orders made under statute generally relate to:

Lists of Orders of Council made since 2000 can be found on the Privy Council Office website.

 

Order in Council ex Wiki    
An Order in Council is a type of legislation in many countries, especially the Commonwealth realms. In the United Kingdom this legislation is formally made in the name of the Queen by and with the advice and consent of the Privy Council (Queen-in-Council), but in other countries the terminology may vary. The term should not be confused with Order of Council, which is made in the name of the Council without royal assent.

Assent
Although the Orders are officially made by the Queen, in practice, royal assent is a formality only. Usually, a representative of the government (generally a cabinet minister or the Lord President of the Council) reads out batches of Orders in Council drafted by the government in front of the Queen, who, after each order, says "Approved". They then come into effect.[citation needed]

Two principal types of Order in Council exist: Orders in Council whereby the Queen-in-Council exercises the Royal Prerogative, and Orders in Council made in accordance with an Act of Parliament.[1]

In the United Kingdom orders are formally made in the name of the Queen by the Privy Council (Queen-in-Council).

In Canada they are made in the name of the Governor General by the Queen's Privy Council for Canada (or in the case of provincial orders-in-council, orders are by the Lieutenant-Governor-in-Council) and in other places in name of the governor by the Executive Council (Governor-in-Council, Governor-General-in-Council etc.)

In New Zealand, the Orders in Council are required to give effect to the government's decisions. Apart from acts of parliament, Orders in Council are the main method by which the government implements decisions that need legal force...........

United Kingdom
Orders in Council were controversially used in 2004 to overturn a court ruling in the United Kingdom,[8] which held that the exile of the Chagossians from the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) was unlawful.

Initially, the High Court in 2006 held that these Orders in Council were unlawful: "The suggestion that a minister can, through the means of an order in council, exile a whole population from a British Overseas Territory and claim that he is doing so for the 'peace, order and good government' of the territory is to us repugnant."[9]

The UK government's first appeal failed, with the Court of Appeal holding that the decision had been unlawfully taken by a government minister "acting without any constraint".[10] However, the government successfully appealed to the Appellate Committee of the House of Lords, who overturned the High Court and Court of Appeal decisions (R v Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, ex parte Bancoult (No 2)).[11] The Law Lords decided[8] that the validity of an order in council made under the prerogative legislating for a colony was amenable to judicial review (see paragraph 35 of the decision). Also, it was not for the courts to substitute their judgement for that of the Secretary of State as to what was conducive to the peace, order and good government of the BIOT. The orders were not Wednesbury unreasonable on the facts, given the considerations of security and cost of resettlement. Finally, none of the orders was open to challenge in the British courts on the ground of repugnancy to any fundamental principle relating to the rights of abode of the Chagossians in the Chagos Islands.

 

The Oath of a Privy Counsellor

 You do swear by Almighty God to be a true and faithful Servant unto The Queen’s Majesty as one of Her Majesty’s Privy Council.  You will not know or understand of any manner of thing to be attempted, done or spoken against Her Majesty’s Person, Honour, Crown or Dignity Royal, but you will lett and withstand the same to the uttermost of your power, and either cause it to be revealed to Her Majesty Herself, or to such of Her Privy Council as shall advertise Her Majesty of the same.  You will in all things to be moved, treated and debated in Council, faithfully and truly declare your Mind and Opinion, according to your Heart and Conscience;  and will keep secret all matters committed and revealed unto you, or that shall be treated of secretly in Council.  And if any of the said Treaties or Counsels shall touch any of the Counsellors you will not reveal it unto him but will keep the same until such time as, by the consent of Her Majesty or of the Council, Publication shall be made thereof.  You will to your uttermost bear Faith and Allegiance to the Queen’s Majesty; and will assist and defend all civil and temporal Jurisdictions, Pre-eminences, and Authorities, granted to Her Majesty and annexed to the Crown by Acts of Parliament, or otherwise, against all Foreign Princes, Persons, Prelates, States, or Potentates.   And generally in all things you will do as a faithful and true Servant ought to do to Her Majesty

SO HELP YOU GOD

This is convincingly specific. Of course all Englishmen are bound by the law of England and that includes the  Treason Act  1795

Errors & omissions, broken links, cock ups, over-emphasis, malice [ real or imaginary ] or whatever; if you find any I am open to comment.

Email me at Mike Emery. All financial contributions are cheerfully accepted. If you want to keep it private, use my PGP Key.  Home Page

Updated on Wednesday, 02 October 2019 14:42:45