ABSTRACT
The origins of the prerogative may be piecemeal, as the remnants of the ancient privileges, powers and immunities which were inherent to the office and function of kingship. There is an enormous range of royal prerogatives, although the great majority are either rarely exercised or claimed, or are completely in the hands of ministers ultimately responsible to Parliament. The prerogative has spread throughout much of the English-speaking world, and beyond. The prerogative was one of the major devices by which the British empire evolved into the modern Commonwealth. The replacement of the royal prerogative with statutory authority, whether piecemeal or in its entirety, may be justified on the grounds that this would allow greater parliamentary control of the executive. The judiciary, which has assumed a proportionately greater role as the reviewability of laws, including the royal prerogative, expanded, enjoys quite a different form of legitimacy.
