Proclamation

Proclamation

A proclamation (Lat. "proclamare", to make public by announcement) is an official declaration.

British royal proclamations

In English law, a proclamation is a formal announcement ("Royal Proclamation"), made under the great seal, of some matter which the King in Council or Queen in Council desires to make known to his subjects: "e.g.", the declaration of war, the statement of neutrality, the summoning or dissolution of Parliament, or the bringing into operation of the provisions of some statute the enforcement of which the legislature has left to the discretion of the king in council.

Royal proclamations of this character, made in furtherance of the executive power of the Crown, are binding on the subject, "where they do not either contradict the old laws or tend to establish new ones, but only confine the execution of such laws as are already in being in such matter as the sovereign shall judge necessary" (Blackstone's Commentaries, ed. Stephen, ii. 528; Stephen's Commentaries, I4th ed. 1903, ii. 506, 507; Dicey, Law of the Constitution, 6th ed., 51). Royal proclamations, which, although not made in pursuance of the executive powers of the Crown, either call upon the subjects to fulfill some duty which they are by law bound to perform, or to abstain from any acts or conduct already prohibited by law, are lawful and right, and disobedience to them (while not of itself a misdemeanor) is an aggravation of the offense (see charge of Chief Justice Cockburn to the grand jury in R. v. Eyre (1867) and Case of Proclamations 1610, 12 Co. Rep. 74 [ [http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/KB/1610/J22.html England and Wales High Court (King's Bench Division) Decisions] ] .

The Crown has from time to time legislated by proclamation; and the Statute of Proclamations 1539 provided that proclamations made by the king with the assent of the council should have the force of statute law if they were not prejudicial to " any person's inheritance, offices, liberties, goods, chattels or life." But this enactment was repealed by an act of 1547; and it is certain that a proclamation purporting to be made in the exercise of legislative power by which the sovereign imposes a duty to which the subject is not by law liable, or prohibits under penalties what is not an offense at law, or adds fresh penalties to any offense, is of no effect unless itself issued in virtue of statutory authority (see also order in council). The Crown has power to legislate by proclamation for a newly conquered country (Jenkyns, "British Rule and Jurisdiction beyond the Seas"); and this power was freely exercised in the Transvaal Colony during the Second Boer War. In the British colonies, ordinances are frequently brought into force by proclamation; certain imperial acts do not take effect in a colony until they are proclaimed (e.g. the Foreign Enlistment Act 1870); and proclamations are constantly issued in furtherance of executive acts. In many British protectorates the high commissioner or administrator is empowered to legislate by proclamation.

In the old system of real property law in England, fines, levied with "proclamations," "i.e.", with successive public announcements of the transaction in open court, barred the rights of strangers, as well as parties, in case they had not made claim to the property conveyed within five years thereafter (acts 1483-1484 and 1488-1489). These proclamations were originally made sixteen times, four times in the term in which the fine was levied, and four times in each of the three succeeding terms. Afterwards the number of proclamations was reduced to one in each of the four terms. The proclamations were endorsed on the back of the record. The system was abolished by the Fines and Recoveries Act 1833.

ee also

*Proclamation Day
*Ukase
*Edict
*Decree


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  • proclamation — [ prɔklamasjɔ̃ ] n. f. • 1370; lat. proclamatio 1 ♦ Action de proclamer. Vx Proclamation d un roi, d un empereur. Mod. (Choses) La proclamation de la république. Proclamation des résultats d un examen. 2 ♦ Discours ou écrit public contenant ce qu …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Proclamation — Proc la*ma tion, n. [F. proclamation, L. proclamatio. See {Proclaim}.] [1913 Webster] 1. The act of proclaiming; official or general notice; publication. [1913 Webster] King Asa made a proclamation throughout all Judah; none was exempted. 1 Kings …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • proclamation — proc·la·ma·tion /ˌprä klə mā shən/ n 1: the act of proclaiming 2: something proclaimed; specif: an official formal public announcement (as a public notice, edict, or decree) compare declaration, executive order …   Law dictionary

  • proclamation — s. f. v. Publication, action par laquelle on proclame. A la proclamation de l Empereur. faire une proclamation. faire des proclamations. Il signifie aussi, L acte qui fait voir que la chose est proclamée; comme, J ay les proclamations des bans… …   Dictionnaire de l'Académie française

  • proclamation — (n.) late 14c., act of making public, also that which is proclaimed; from O.Fr. proclamacion and directly from L. proclamationem (nom. proclamatio), noun of action from pp. stem of proclamare (see PROCLAIM (Cf. proclaim)) …   Etymology dictionary

  • proclamation — declaration, announcement, publication, advertisement, promulgation, broadcasting (see under DECLARE) …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • proclamation — [n] advertisement, announcement broadcast, declaration, decree, edict, manifesto, notice, notification, promulgation, pronouncement, pronunciamento*, publication; concepts 271,278 Ant. secret …   New thesaurus

  • proclamation — [präk΄lə mā′shən] n. [ME proclamacion < MFr < L proclamatio] 1. a proclaiming or being proclaimed 2. something that is proclaimed, or announced officially …   English World dictionary

  • proclamation — The act of publicly proclaiming or publishing; a formal declaration; an avowal; a public announcement giving notice of a governmental act that has been done or is to be done. The act of causing some governmental matters to be published or made… …   Black's law dictionary

  • PROCLAMATION — s. f. Publication solennelle, action par laquelle on proclame. La proclamation de l empereur. À la proclamation de tel prince. Faire une proclamation. Faire des proclamations. La proclamation d une loi, d un édit.   Il se dit aussi de L écrit qui …   Dictionnaire de l'Academie Francaise, 7eme edition (1835)

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