Crown Proceedings Act 1947
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| Long title | An Act to amend the law relating to the civil liabilities and rights of the Crown and to civil proceedings by and against the Crown, to amend the law relating to the civil liabilities of persons other than the Crown in certain cases involving the affairs or property of the Crown, and for purposes connected with the matters aforesaid. |
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| Citation | 1947 c. 44 |
| Introduced by | Lord Jowitt Lord Chancellor |
| Territorial extent | England and Wales; Scotland; Northern Ireland |
| Dates | |
| Royal assent | 31 July 1947 |
| Commencement | 1 January 1948 |
| Other legislation | |
| Amended by | Merchant Shipping Act 1995 |
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Status: Current legislation
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| Text of statute as originally enacted | |
| Revised text of statute as amended | |
The Crown Proceedings Act 1947 (c. 44) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that allowed, for the first time, civil actions against the Crown to be brought in the same way as against any other party. The Act also reasserted the common law doctrine of Crown privilege but by making it, for the first time, justiciable paved the way for the development of the modern law of public interest immunity.
The Act received the royal assent on 31 July 1947 but did not fully come into force until 1 January 1948.
There remain significant differences between Crown proceedings and claims between private parties, especially as to enforcement of judgments.
Before the Act, the Crown could not be sued in contract. However, as it was seen to be desirable that Crown contractors could obtain redress, they would otherwise be inhibited from taking on such work, so a petition of right came to be used in such situations, especially after the Petitions of Right Act 1860 simplified the process.
Before the petition could be heard by the courts, it had to be endorsed with the words fiat justitia on the advice of the Home Secretary and Attorney-General.
Similarly, the Crown could not be sued in tort. The usual remedy was for the complainant to sue the public servant responsible for the injury. A famous example was the case of Entick v Carrington. The Crown usually indemnified the servant against any damages.
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