The Meeting of Parliament Act 1797 (37. Geo. III, c. 127) is an

Act of Parliament Acts of Parliament, sometimes referred to as primary legislation, are texts of law passed by the Legislature, legislative body of a jurisdiction (often a parliament or council). In most countries with a parliamentary system of government, acts of ...

of the

Parliament of Great Britain The Parliament of Great Britain was formed in May 1707 following the ratification of the Acts of Union by both the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland. The Acts ratified the treaty of Union which created a new unified Kingdo ...

passed in 1797. Section 1 originally established that Parliament could be summoned fourteen days after the issuing of a proclamation recalling it to meet, notwithstanding any prorogation or law that would have stopped Parliament meeting earlier than this. This was amended by the

Parliament (Elections and Meeting) Act 1943 In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

and now refers to any day after the date of the proclamation. The rest of the Act has been repealed.

Repealed sections

Section 3 enacted that in case of the demise of the monarch after one parliament had been dissolved, but before the day indicated by the

writ of summons A writ of summons is a formal document issued by the monarch that enables someone to sit in a Parliament under the United Kingdom's Westminster system. At the beginning of each new Parliament, each person who has established their right to attend ...

for electing a new parliament, then the previous parliament (i.e. that which had been dissolved) was to be recalled immediately to Westminster. It would there sit as a parliament for the next six months, to all intents and purposes as though it had not been previously dissolved; it could, however, be dissolved or

prorogued A legislative session is the period of time in which a legislature, in both parliamentary and presidential systems, is convened for purpose of lawmaking, usually being one of two or more smaller divisions of the entire time between two elections ...

at any point during this time by the new monarch. A new writ would be issued, and the election would take place. (This replaced the less detailed

Succession to the Crown Act 1707 The Succession to the Crown Act 1707 (6 Ann c 41) is an Act of Parliament of the Parliament of Great Britain. It is still partly in force in Great Britain. The Act was passed at a time when Parliament was anxious to ensure the succession of a P ...

, s. 6.) Section 5 provided that if the monarch died after the date of the election, then the newly elected parliament would meet as normal.

References

*Costin, W. C. and Watson, Steven J. (ed.). ''The Law & Working of the Constitution: Documents 1660-1914''. A & C Black, 1952. Vol. II (1784-1914), p. 16.

External links

*{{UK-LEG, title=Meeting of Parliament Act 1797 Great Britain Acts of Parliament 1797

Repealed sections

See also

References

External links