ABSTRACT
THE ROYAL PREROGATIVE . . . Every act which the executive government can lawfully do without the authority of an Act of Parliament . . .
(AV Dicey, Introduction to the Study of the Law of the Constitution (1885))
Under both written and unwritten constitutions, commonly there exist powers that the executive can exercise without the passage of legislation. Such powers may be referred to as ‘inherent executive powers’ or ‘prerogative powers’. Historically, in Britain, such powers are termed the Royal Prerogative in that they are rooted in the original pre-eminence of the monarchs who could rule and be obeyed in preference to all others.
