Order In Council

An order by the sovereign with the advice of the privy council. Orders in council are either prerogative, or issued under parliamentary authority. The former, if derogating from an act of parliament, are void, but, subject to this rule, the ancient rights of the crown, so far as they have actually been exercised with fairly definite continuity, still remain. Any exercise of the prerogative in new directions might not be tolerated by parliament. As to the other class, statutes frequently delegate either to the crown (the executive) or even to the minister of a department charged with carrying out an act, the power to make rules and orders under it The difference between orders in council and those made by a single minister is more apparent than real; the form and contents are usually settled by the departments concerned; the approval by the privy council is a pure formality. Jenks, Hist. E. L. 187. See Privy Council.