ABSTRACT
This chapter explains Sir William Blackstone's and AV Dicey's definition of the royal prerogative and gives illustrations of prerogative powers to demonstrate the broad range of powers. Before 1688, the King exercised powers relating to Parliament, law making and the administration of the courts, the regulation of trade, taxation and defence of the realm and miscellaneous other prerogatives. To make an analysis of prerogative powers manageable, they may be separated into two categories: those relating to domestic affairs and those relating to foreign affairs. Nowadays, the prerogative of mercy entails two aspects: the power to grant pardons and the power to enter a nolle prosequi. The chapter also explains the rise of parliamentary sovereignty and the curtailment of the prerogative under the Bill of Rights 1689 and describes both parliamentary and judicial controls over the prerogative and the limits of those controls. The chapter also discusses recent reforms of the prerogative and the need, if any, for further reform.
