Queen-in-Council

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The Queen-in-Council (or King-in-Council) is the technical term that refers to the exercise of executive authority in each of the Commonwealth realms. It means quite literally: the Queen advised by her Privy or Executive Council. In practice, the Queen-in-Council acts upon the advice of a government minister, making the Queen-in-Council's actions subject to judicial review.

Constitutionally, the Cabinet of Canada is the Executive Committee of the Queen's Privy Council, hence the requirement that all members of the Cabinet be members of the Privy Council (and styled the Honourable). Similarly, the Cabinet of the United Kingdom is the Executive Committee of the Privy Council (members are styled The Right Honourable).

Executive orders of the Queen-in-Council are known as Orders-in-Council. Some forms of legislative orders also are referred to using the same name.

In Commonwealth realms outside the United Kingdom, and some Crown Dependencies, the functions of the Queen-in-Council are delegated to the Governor, Governor-General, or Lieutenant-Governor, in which case the authority is called the Governor-in-Council.

See also

• Queen-in-Parliament

Footnotes

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Last updated on Wednesday December 05, 2007 at 13:55:12 PST (GMT -0800)
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