The royal prerogative is one of the most enduring yet enigmatic institutions of public law, surviving in disparate forms across the Commonwealth. Despite common origins, there is no longer a single model of the royal prerogative; rather, prerogative power has been remade differently across Commonwealth jurisdictions.
In an era when there is a renewed focus on executive power, driven by war, terrorism, emergency governance, and increasingly the grey zone between peace and conflict, the limits and accountability of the Crown’s power to commit forces, conduct foreign policy, or direct intelligence operations have become sites of public and legal scrutiny.
Prepared by leading scholars and practitioners from across the Commonwealth, this important collection examines the prerogative’s evolution, persistence, and fragmentation, providing national case studies, conceptual analyses, and doctrinal insights. Collectively, it offers the first comprehensive comparative treatment of the prerogative in the post-colonial era.
Features
Topical content on an area of increasing constitutional importance
Provides direction for the development of policy in this area
Gathers authoritative content from leading experts with high impact in this area of law
Provides a comparative perspective across the Commonwealth
Related Titles
Bateman et al, Hanks Australian Constitutional Law: Materials and Commentary, 11th edition
Hanks et al, Constitutional Law in Australia, 5th edition
Stephens & Stubbs (eds), The Law of Naval Warfare
Trone, Lumb, Moens & Trone The Constitution of the Commonwealth of Australia Annotated, 10th edition
White, Keeping the Peace of the Realm
By:
Matthew Stubbs
Imprint: LexisNexis Butterworths Australia
Country of Publication: Australia
Weight: 2.600kg
ISBN: 9780409360738
ISBN 10: 0409360732
Publication Date: 08 December 2025
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active
‘Introduction’ — Samuel White and Matthew Stubbs ‘The Greater Son of a Lesser Sire: The Executive Authority of the Crown of Canada versus the Crown of the United Kingdom ’ — JWJ Bowden ‘A Crown Disunited? Revisiting the Doctrine of the Indivisibility of the Crown’ — Luke Tregonning ‘Reading the Royal Mail’ — Samuel White ‘Statutory Devolution of the Prerogative Power: A Case Study from Northern Ireland’ — Patrick Graham ‘The New Zealand Experience of the Prerogative’ — Noel Cox ‘The Crown Prerogative in Canada’ — Patrick F Baud and Philippe Lagassé ‘King and the King: Prerogative and Martial Law in New South Wales’ — Ben Hingley ‘A Taxonomy of Judicial Review of Royal Prerogative in the United Kingdom’— Robert Craig ‘Constitutions, ‘Domestic Violence’ and the Use of Force by the Executive: A Historical Comparison between the US and Australia’ — James Mortensen ‘Calling Out the Military in Australia: Constitutional, Prerogative and Statutory Powers’ — Peta Stephenson and Samuel White ‘A Comparative Analysis of the Prerogative’s Justiciability’ — Samuel White and Matthew Stubbs ‘The Future of the ‘Ancient’ Prerogative in a Modern Age’ — Catherine Dale Greentree ‘The War Prerogative Prior to 1945: Deterrence, the Grey Zone, and Limited War’ — Daniel Skeffington ‘Conclusion’ — Samuel White and Matthew Stubbs
