[Index] [Search] [Download] [Help]
This is a Bill, not an Act. For current law, see the Acts databases.
South Australia
Succession to the Crown (Request)
Bill 2014
A BILL FOR
An Act to request the Parliament of the Commonwealth to enact under
section 51(xxxviii) of the Constitution of the Commonwealth an Act to
change the law relating to royal succession and royal marriages; to amend the
Treason Act 1351 passed by the Parliament of England; and for
related purposes.
Contents
Preamble
Part 1—Preliminary
1Name of
Act
2Commencement
3Object of this Act
4Relationship
with Sovereign not affected
Part 2—Request for Commonwealth
legislation
5Request for Commonwealth
legislation
Part 3—General
6Consequential
amendment
7References to Bill of
Rights and Act of Settlement
Schedule 1—Requested
Commonwealth Act
Schedule 2—Consequential
amendment
1Amendment of Treason
Act 1351 passed by the Parliament of England
1 On 28 October 2011, representatives of nations of which Her
Majesty is the Sovereign agreed that the rules on succession to, and possession
of, the Crown should be changed so as to make succession not depend on gender
and to end the disqualification arising from marrying a Roman
Catholic.
2 The United Kingdom has further proposed to disqualify certain persons
from succeeding to the Crown as a result of marriage, to repeal the Royal
Marriages Act 1772 and to validate certain marriages made void by that
Act.
3 It is expedient to request the Parliament of the Commonwealth to change
the law relating to royal succession and royal marriages by legislating under
section 51(xxxviii) of the Constitution of the Commonwealth in the terms,
or substantially in the terms, set out in
Schedule 1 to this
Act.
The Parliament of South Australia
enacts:
This Act may be cited as the Succession to the Crown (Request)
Act 2014.
(1) Subject to this section, this Act comes into operation on the day of
assent.
(2)
Section 6 comes
into operation on the day and time that section 6 of the Act of the
Commonwealth requested by
section 5 of
this Act commences.
(3)
Section 7 comes
into operation on the day and time that section 10 of the Act of the
Commonwealth requested by
section 5 of
this Act commences.
(4)
Schedule 2 comes
into operation on the day and time that section 6 of the Act of the
Commonwealth requested by
section 5 of
this Act commences.
The main object of this Act is to facilitate the law relating to the effect
of gender and marriage on royal succession being changed uniformly across
Australia and consistently with changes made to that law in the United Kingdom,
so that the Sovereign of Australia is the same person as the Sovereign of the
United Kingdom.
4—Relationship
with Sovereign not affected
It is not the intention of this Act to affect the relationship between the
Sovereign and the State as existing immediately before its enactment or that
that relationship be in any way affected by the enactment by the Parliament of
the Commonwealth of the Act requested by
section 5.
Part 2—Request
for Commonwealth legislation
5—Request
for Commonwealth legislation
The Parliament of the State requests the enactment by the Parliament of the
Commonwealth of an Act in the terms, or substantially in the terms, set out in
Schedule 1.
On the coming into operation of
Schedule 2, the Act
specified in the heading to
clause 1 of that
Schedule is amended as set out in that clause.
7—References
to Bill of Rights and Act of Settlement
References, however expressed, in any law that is part of the law of the
State, to the provisions of the Bill of Rights or the Act of Settlement relating
to the succession to, or possession of, the Crown are to be read as including
references to the provisions of this Act and the Commonwealth Act the enactment
of which is requested under
section 5 of
this Act.
Schedule 1—Requested
Commonwealth Act
An Act to change the law relating to royal succession and royal marriages,
and for related purposes.
Preamble
On 28 October 2011, representatives of nations of which Her
Majesty is the Sovereign agreed that the rules on succession to, and possession
of, the Crown should be changed so as to make succession not depend on gender
and to end the disqualification arising from marrying a Roman
Catholic.
The United Kingdom has further proposed to disqualify certain persons from
succeeding to the Crown as a result of marriage, to repeal the Royal
Marriages Act 1772 and to validate certain marriages made void by that
Act.
For the purposes of paragraph 51(xxxviii) of the Constitution the
Parliaments of all the States have requested the Parliament of the Commonwealth
of Australia to enact an Act in the terms, or substantially in the terms, of
this Act.
The Parliament of Australia therefore enacts:
Part 1—Preliminary
1—Short title
This Act may be cited as the Succession to the Crown
Act 2014.
2—Commencement
(1) Each provision of this Act specified in column 1 of the table
commences, or is taken to have commenced, in accordance with column 2 of
the table. Any other statement in column 2 has effect according to its
terms.
Commencement information |
|||
Column 1 |
Column 2 |
Column 3 |
|
Provision(s) |
Commencement |
Date/Details |
|
1. |
Sections 1 and 2 and anything in this Act not elsewhere covered
by this table |
The day this Act receives the Royal Assent. |
|
2. |
Sections 3, 4 and 5 |
The day this Act receives the Royal Assent. |
|
3. |
Parts 2, 3 and 4 |
A time and day, or times and days, to be fixed by Proclamation. |
|
4. |
Part 5 |
The day this Act receives the Royal Assent. |
|
5. |
Schedule 1 |
A time and day, or times and days, to be fixed by Proclamation. |
|
Note
This table relates only to the provisions of this Act as originally
enacted. It will not be amended to deal with any later amendments of this
Act.
(2) Any information in column 3 of the table is not part of this Act.
Information may be inserted in this column, or information in it may be edited,
in any published version of this Act.
3—Object of this Act
The main object of this Act is to change the law relating to the effect of
gender and marriage on royal succession, consistently with changes made to that
law in the United Kingdom, so that the Sovereign of Australia is the same person
as the Sovereign of the United Kingdom.
4—Relationship with Sovereign not affected
This Act is not intended to affect the relationship between the Sovereign
and the Commonwealth, the States and the Territories as existing immediately
before its enactment.
5—Definition of Crown
In this Act:
Crown means the Crown in all of its capacities.
Part 2—Succession to the Crown not to depend on
gender
6—Succession to the Crown not to depend on gender
In determining the succession to the Crown, the gender of a person born
after 28 October 2011 (by United Kingdom time) does not give that
person, or that person's descendants, precedence over any other person (whenever
born).
Part 3—Marriage and succession to the
Crown
7—Removal of disqualification arising from marriage to a Roman
Catholic
(1) A person is not disqualified from succeeding to the Crown or from
possessing it as a result of marrying a person of the Roman Catholic
faith.
(2) Subsection (1) applies in relation to marriages occurring before
the commencement of this section if the person concerned is alive at that
commencement (as well as in relation to marriages occurring after that
commencement).
8—Disqualification arising from marriage
A person is disqualified from succeeding to the Crown if the person is
disqualified by subsection 3(3) of the Succession to the Crown
Act 2013 of the United Kingdom, as in force at the commencement of this
section, from succeeding to the Crown in right of the United Kingdom.
9—Amendments and repeal relating to marriage and succession to the
Crown
Each Act of England or Great Britain that is specified in Schedule 1,
so far as that Act is part of the law of the Commonwealth, a State or a
Territory, is amended or repealed as set out in the applicable items in
Schedule 1, and any other item in Schedule 1 has effect according to
its terms.
Part 4—Other modifications of parts of the law of
the Commonwealth, States and Territories
10—References to Bill of Rights and Act of
Settlement
References, however expressed, in any law that forms part of the law of the
Commonwealth or a Territory, to the provisions of the Bill of Rights or the Act
of Settlement relating to succession to, or possession of, the Crown are to be
read as including references to the provisions of this Act.
11—Union legislation affected by this Act
So far as they are part of the law of the Commonwealth, a State or a
Territory, the following are subject to this Act:
(a) Article II of the Union with Scotland Act 1706 of
England;
(b) Article II of the Union with England Act 1707 of
Scotland;
(c) Article Second of the Union with Ireland Act 1800 of Great
Britain;
(d) Article Second of the Act of Union (Ireland) 1800 of
Ireland.
Part 5—Repeal or amendment of this
Act
12—Repeal or amendment of this Act
This Act may be expressly or impliedly repealed or amended only by an Act
passed at the request or with the concurrence of the Parliaments of all the
States.
Schedule 1—Further provisions relating to marriage
and succession to the Crown
Part 1—Amendments relating to marriage to a Roman
Catholic
Act of Settlement
1—Preamble
Omit "or marry a papist".
2—Preamble
Omit "or marrying".
3—Section 2
Omit "or shall marry a papist".
Bill of Rights
4—Section 1
Omit "or by any King or Queene marrying a papist".
5—Section 1
Omit "or shall marry a papist".
6—Section 1
Omit "or marrying".
7—Application of amendments
The amendments made by this Part apply in relation to marriages occurring
before the commencement of this Part where the person concerned is alive at that
commencement (as well as in relation to marriages occurring after that
commencement).
Part 2—Repeal of the Royal Marriages
Act 1772
8—The whole of the Act
Repeal the Act.
9—Validation of some marriages voided by the Royal Marriages
Act 1772
(1) A marriage that was void under the Royal Marriages
Act 1772 of Great Britain, so far as that Act was part of the law of
the Commonwealth, a State or a Territory, is to be treated as never having been
void if:
(a) neither party to the marriage was one of the 6 persons next in
the line of succession to the Crown at the time of the marriage; and
(b) no consent was sought under section 1 of that Act, or notice
given under section 2 of that Act, in respect of the marriage;
and
(c) in all the circumstances it was reasonable for the person concerned
not to have been aware at the time of the marriage that the Act applied to it;
and
(d) no person acted, before the commencement of this item, on the basis
that the marriage was void.
(2) Subitem (1) applies for all purposes except those relating to
succession to the Crown.
Schedule 2—Consequential
amendment
1—Amendment
of Treason Act 1351 passed by the
Parliament of England
The Act has effect as if—
(a) the first reference to eldest son and heir were a reference to eldest
child and heir;
(b) the second reference to eldest son and heir were a reference to eldest
son if the heir.