Question: As De Keyser's case shows, the courts will enquire into whether a particular prerogative power exists or not, and, if it does exist, into its extent. But once the existence and the extent of a power are established to the satisfaction of the court, the court cannot enquire into the propriety of its exercise.
(Lord Fraser in Council of Civil Service Unions v Minister for the Civil Service [1985] AC 374)
Discuss.
Answer: The royal prerogative is the remains of royal power. Munro describes it as: those attributes peculiar to the Crown which are derived from common law, not statute, and which still survive. . . (Studies in Constitutional Law (1999) 159) Because they are the powers of the Crown it was thought for a long time that they enjoyed the same legal immunities as the Queen and could not be reviewed by the courts. The House of Lords had made this clear in cases like Chandler v DPP [1964] AC 763 and Gouriet v UPW [1978] AC 435. This was despite trailblazing dissents by Lord Denning, notably in Laker Airways v Department of Trade [1977] QB 643 and even Lord Devlin in Chandler had expressed some doubt. To Lord Denning, prerogative powers were government powers just like statutory powers and if th......(short extract)
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Details: - Mark: 71% | Course: Public Law | Year: 1st | Words: 1367 | References: No | Date written: Not available | Date submitted: January 27, 2013 | Coursework ID: 771
