The Monarchist 1.0
Defending the British Crown Commonwealth and the English-Speaking Peoples
[+] HONOURING OUR PATRON, SIR WINSTON CHURCHILL, VICTOR OF THE ENGLISH-SPEAKING PEOPLES
[+] HONOURING OUR QUEEN, ELIZABETH THE SECOND, ON THE 80TH YEAR OF HER BIRTH (1926 - 2006)
[+] HONOURING OUR KING, SAINT EDWARD THE CONFESSOR, ON THE 1000TH YEAR OF HIS BIRTH (1005 - 2005)
[+] HONOURING OUR HERO, LORD NELSON, ON THE BICENTENNIAL OF THE BATTLE OF TRAFALGAR (1805 - 2005)
[+] HONOURING OUR SONS, THE QUEEN'S COMMONWEALTH SOLDIERS KILLED IN THE 'WAR ON TERROR'
Chief Warrant Officer Robert Girouard, 46, Royal Canadian Regiment, Nov 27, 2006 (Afstan)
Staff Sergeant Sharron Elliott, 34, Intelligence Corps, Nov 12, 2006 (Iraq)
Private Jacob B. Kovco, 25, Royal Australian Regiment, April 21, 2006
[+] HONOURING OUR VETS ON THE 150TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE VICTORIA CROSS (1856 - 2006)
Monday, December 11, 2006
75th Anniversary of the Statute of Westminster
Today is the 75th anniversary of the Statute of Westminster (sometimes referred to as the Treaty of Westminster outside the UK, though it was not in the form of a treaty), which came into effect on December 11, 1931.
The Statute is of historical importance because it effectively marked the independence of the Dominion of Canada, the Commonwealth of Australia, the Dominion of New Zealand, the Union of South Africa, the Irish Free State and Newfoundland. Its current relevance is that it sets the basis for the continuing constitutional relationship between the Commonwealth Realms and the structure of the British Crown:
And whereas it is meet and proper to set out by way of preamble to this Act that, inasmuch as the Crown is the symbol of the free association of the members of the British Commonwealth of Nations, and as they are united by a common allegiance to the Crown, it would be in accord with the established constitutional position of all the members of the Commonwealth in relation to one another that any alteration in the law touching the Succession to the Throne or the Royal Style and Titles shall hereafter require the assent as well of the Parliaments of all the Dominions as of the Parliament of the United Kingdom
Most interestingly, on April 17, 2003, when Tony O’Donohue took Her Majesty to court over certain provisions of the Act of Settlement, 1701, on the grounds that they discriminate against Roman Catholics, and are in violation of the equality provisions of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, Justice Rouleau ruled the case not justiciable:
POSTED BY: Beaverbrook AT 1:27 a.m. | LINKS |
Today is the 75th anniversary of the Statute of Westminster (sometimes referred to as the Treaty of Westminster outside the UK, though it was not in the form of a treaty), which came into effect on December 11, 1931.The Statute is of historical importance because it effectively marked the independence of the Dominion of Canada, the Commonwealth of Australia, the Dominion of New Zealand, the Union of South Africa, the Irish Free State and Newfoundland. Its current relevance is that it sets the basis for the continuing constitutional relationship between the Commonwealth Realms and the structure of the British Crown:
And whereas it is meet and proper to set out by way of preamble to this Act that, inasmuch as the Crown is the symbol of the free association of the members of the British Commonwealth of Nations, and as they are united by a common allegiance to the Crown, it would be in accord with the established constitutional position of all the members of the Commonwealth in relation to one another that any alteration in the law touching the Succession to the Throne or the Royal Style and Titles shall hereafter require the assent as well of the Parliaments of all the Dominions as of the Parliament of the United Kingdom
Most interestingly, on April 17, 2003, when Tony O’Donohue took Her Majesty to court over certain provisions of the Act of Settlement, 1701, on the grounds that they discriminate against Roman Catholics, and are in violation of the equality provisions of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, Justice Rouleau ruled the case not justiciable:
The impugned positions of the Act of Settlement are an integral part of the rules of succession that govern the selection of the monarch of Great Britain. By virtue of our constitutional structure whereby Canada is united under the Crown of Great Britain, the same rules of succession must apply for the selection of the King or Queen of Canada and the King or Queen of Great Britain. As stated by Prime Minister St. Laurent to the House of Commons during the debate on the bill altering the royal title:Clearly the Act of Settlement and the Statute of Westminster are still central pieces of British legislation that carry constitutional weight for the Crown Commonwealth and its citizen subjects. They determine the core of how the monarchy functions, a continuing symbol of our fraternal unity and allegiance. We are now independent nations - have been for 75 years - but 75 years later we are not independent from the British Crown. The sentiment is gone, but the reality persists. Either we rediscover some of that lost sentiment, or we will discover a new reality.
“Her Majesty is now Queen of Canada but she is the Queen of Canada because she is Queen of the United Kingdom. . . It is not a separate office .. it is the sovereign who is recognized as the sovereign of the United Kingdom who is our Sovereign. . .” Hansard. February 3, 1953, page 1566.
These rules of succession, and the requirement that they be the same as those of Great Britain, are necessary to the proper functioning of our constitutional monarchy and, therefore, the rules are not subject to Charter scrutiny.
In the present case the court is being asked to apply the Charter not to rule on the validity of acts or decisions of the Crown, one of the branches of our government, but rather to disrupt the core of how the monarchy functions, namely the rules by which succession is determined. To do this would make the constitutional principle of Union under the British Crown together with other Commonwealth countries unworkable, would defeat a manifest intention expressed in the preamble of our Constitution, and would have the courts overstep their role in our democratic structure.
POSTED BY: Beaverbrook AT 1:27 a.m. | LINKS |
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