Case of Proclamations
| Case of Proclamations | |
|---|---|
.svg) |
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| Court | King's Bench |
| Decided | Michaelmas Term, 1610 |
| Citation(s) | [1610] EWHC KB J22 EWHC KB J22 77 ER 1352 12 Co Rep 74 |
| Transcript(s) | Full text on Bailii |
| Court membership | |
| Judge(s) sitting |
Edward Coke CJ Thomas Fleming CJ Lawrence Tanfield CB James Altham B |
| Keywords | |
| Royal prerogative | |
The Case of Proclamations [1610] EWHC KB J22 was a court decision during the reign of King James VI and I (1603-1625) which defined some limitations on the Royal Prerogative at that time. Principally, it established that the Monarch could make laws only through parliament. The judgment began to set out the principle in English law (later developed by future Parliaments and other members of the judiciary in subsequent cases, for example Dr. Bonham's Case) that when a case involving an alleged exercise of prerogative power came before the courts, the courts could determine:
Tudor monarchs believed that they had the power to regulate, through the issue of royal proclamations, without the consent of Parliament. However, the monarch's absolute power to "make" the law was beginning to be challenged by the English judiciary and was raising concern in Parliament itself. The issue of the King's power to make law came before the judges in 1610 when James I and Parliament were struggling over the issue of impositions. Parliament was opposing the King's power to impose further duties on imports over and above what had already been sanctioned by Parliament. James however hoped to use proclamations to raise further money outside of Parliament.
On 20 September 1610, Sir Edward Coke, then Chief Justice of the Common Pleas, was called before the Privy Council of England alongside Lord Chief Justice Thomas Fleming, Lord Chief Baron Lawrence Tanfield, and Baron James Altham and asked to give a legal opinion as to whether the King, by proclamation, might prohibit new buildings in London, or the making of starch or wheat, these having been referred to the King by the House of Commons as grievances and against law. Coke asked for time to consider with other judges, since the questions were "of great importance, and they concerned the answer of the king to the Commons".
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