Letters Patent Constituting the Office of Governor-General of New Zealand
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The Letters Patent Constituting the Office of Governor-General of New Zealand is a
Background
The 1917 Letters Patent was issued by King
In 1976, the Prime Minister's Department asked lawyer (now Dame) Alison Quentin-Baxter and her husband Professor Robert Quentin-Baxter to review the Letters Patent 1917.[8][9] In anticipation of new letters patent being issued, Parliament passed the Seal of New Zealand Act 1977.[4]
The review of the 1917 Letters Patent was completed in 1980. The Cabinet Office published the review,[10] recommending new letters patent be issued.[11] Following the report, draft Letters Patent were circulated with the governments of Niue and the Cook Islands, who gave their informal approval.[2]
Prime Minister Robert Muldoon wanted the Queen to sign the Letters Patent during her 1981 Royal Tour of New Zealand.[12] This did not eventuate as Labour Party backbenchers refused to support the idea, believing that the royal tour had been timed to be close to the 1981 general election (Labour's front bench, including party leader Bill Rowling, David Lange and Geoffrey Palmer, all supported the Queen signing during the Royal Tour).[12] It was not until 26 September 1983 that an Order-in-Council was issued requesting the Queen's signature.[2] The Queen signed the Letters Patent on 28 October 1983,[13] and soon after they were counter-signed by Muldoon,[10] and sealed by the Seal of New Zealand.[2] This was the first time a New Zealand prime minister had signed the document, symbolising that it had been "patriated"—that is, made a New Zealand legal instrument.[1]
The new Letters Patent came into force on 1 November 1983.[2][14]
Style
The Letters Patent are written as though they are an open letter from the Queen,
Realm of New Zealand
Clause I of the Letters Patent defines the
Governor-General and Commander-in-Chief of New Zealand
Clause I of the Letters Patent constitutes the office of "Governor-General and Commander-in-Chief of New Zealand".[17] The full title is rarely used, and usually "Governor-General" is used because the commander-in-chief role is largely ceremonial also.[19]
Clause II of the Letters Patent states that the governor-general is appointed by the
The governor-general is commander-in-chief of the New Zealand Defence Force, but the Letters Patent does not further elaborate on this. The Defence Act 1990 further defines the role of commander-in-chief.[23]
The Letters Patent delegates the sovereign's
"Our Governor-General shall do and execute all the powers and authorities of the office according to ...such laws as are now or shall hereafter be in force in Our Realm of New Zealand or any part thereof."[24]
This is a requirement that the governor-general act within statute law in force.[25]
Executive Council
Clauses VII-X of the Letters Patent establishes the Executive Council to advise the governor-general on the execution of his or her prerogative powers.[26] Implicit in the Letters Patent is the requirement for the governor-general to act only on the advice of the Executive Council. The governor-general can act on the advice of a specific minister responsible, should this be specifically defined in statute.[25]
Following a general election, the governor-general exercises his or her reserve powers to appoint a party leader as a member of the Executive Council and prime minister.[27] Then, on the prime minister's advice, the governor-general appoints the remaining members of the Executive Council (whether inside or outside Cabinet).[27]
Royal prerogative of mercy
Clause XI of the Letters Patent defines the exercise of prerogative of mercy in New Zealand.[28] The governor-general acts on the advice of the responsible minister—in the case of the prerogative of mercy that is the minister of justice. The governor-general has the power to grant a pardon, reduce a sentence, or refer a case back to the courts for reconsideration.[29]
Amendments
1987
Following the
Following a review of constitutional law, a new Constitution Act, replacing the 1852 Imperial statute, was passed in 1986 and came into force from 1 January 1987. Section 6 of the new Constitution Act specified that members of the Executive Council had to be members of Parliament, but only after a period of 40 days.[32] At the same time, an amendment to the Letters Patent 1983 was signed off. Clause VIII of the Letters Patent, on the composition of the Executive Council, amended the Letters Patent 1983 from 1 January 1987 to align with the provisions of the new Constitution Act.[33][34] The 1987 amendment was recommended to the Queen by then Prime Minister David Lange.[34]
2006
In 2006 a further set of amendments to the Letters Patent were made.
See also
- Constitution of New Zealand
- Letters Patent, 1947 – Canadian equivalent that was the basis for the New Zealand letters patent
References
Citations
- ^ a b Gavin McLean (20 June 2012). "Letters patent, 1983". Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Retrieved 4 October 2019.
- ^ a b c d e f g Quentin-Baxter & McLean 2017, p. 99.
- ^ Quentin-Baxter & McLean 2017, p. 96.
- ^ a b Quentin-Baxter & McLean 2017, p. 98.
- ^ a b McLean 2006, p. 288.
- ^ McLean 2006, p. 277.
- ^ Quentin-Baxter & McLean 2017, p. 97.
- ^ Chris Ryan (20 August 2015). "Dame Alison Quentin-Baxter looks back". New Zealand Law Society. Retrieved 4 October 2019.
- ^ "Making Constitutions, from the perspective of a constitutional adviser". Victoria University of Wellington Law Review. 2002. Retrieved 4 October 2019.
- ^ a b "History of the Governor-General – Patriated". NZHistory. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. 14 July 2014. Retrieved 4 October 2019.
- ^ McLean 2006, p. 289.
- ^ a b c McLean 2006, p. 290.
- ^ a b Quentin-Baxter & McLean 2017, p. 100.
- ^ Letters Patent 1983, Clause XIX.
- ^ Quentin-Baxter & McLean 2017, p. 101.
- ^ Tony Angelo (2007). "The Letters Patent". New Zealand Law Journal. 5: 6.
- ^ a b Letters Patent 1983, Clause I.
- ^ Townend, Andrew (2003). "The strange death of the Realm of New Zealand: The implications of a New Zealand republic for the Cook Islands and Niue". Victoria University of Wellington Law Review. 34 (3): 571–608. Retrieved 12 September 2023.
- ^ Quentin-Baxter & McLean 2017, p. 117.
- ^ Letters Patent 1983, Clause II.
- ^ a b Quentin-Baxter & McLean 2017, p. 118.
- ^ Quentin-Baxter & McLean 2017, p. 124.
- ^ Quentin-Baxter & McLean 2017, p. 132.
- ^ Letters Patent 1983, Clause IV(b).
- ^ a b Quentin-Baxter & McLean 2017, p. 143.
- ^ Letters Patent 1983, Clause VII-X.
- ^ a b Quentin-Baxter & McLean 2017, p. 160.
- ^ Letters Patent 1983, Clause XI.
- ^ "Royal prerogative of mercy - miscarriages of justice" (PDF). Government House. December 2009. Retrieved 12 October 2019.
- New Zealand Herald. 28 August 2012. Retrieved 4 October 2019.
- ^ McLean 2006, p. 291.
- ^ "Constitution Act 1986, Part 2 - The Executive". Parliamentary Counsel Office. 1986. Retrieved 4 October 2019.
- ^ Letters Patent 1983, Clause VIII.
- ^ a b "Letters Patent Amending Letters Patent Constituting the Office of Governor-General of New Zealand" (PDF). New Zealand Legal Information Institute. 15 December 1986. Retrieved 4 October 2019.
- ^ a b "Letters Patent (2006) Amending Letters Patent Constituting the Office of Governor-General of New Zealand". Parliamentary Counsel Office. 2006. Retrieved 4 October 2019.
- ^ Letters Patent 1983, Clause XV.
- ISBN 9781491895160.
Bibliography
- Brookfield, FM (Jock) (1985). "The Reconstituted office of Governor-General". New Zealand Law Journal. 256: 260.
- McLean, Gavin (2006). The Governors: New Zealand's Governors and Governors-General. Dunedin: Otago University Press. ISBN 1-877372-25-0.
- ISBN 978-1-869-40875-6.
- "Letters Patent Constituting the Office of Governor-General of New Zealand". Parliamentary Counsel Office. 2006. Retrieved 1 October 2019.
External links
- Letters Patent Constituting the Office of Governor-General of New Zealand 1983, as amended in 1987 and 2006, Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet