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A proclamation (Lat. ''proclamare'', to make public by announcement) is an official declaration issued by a person of authority to make certain announcements known. Proclamations are currently used within the governing framework of some nations and are usually issued in the name of the
head of state A head of state (or chief of state) is the public persona who officially embodies a state Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representatitve of its international persona." in its unity and l ...
. A proclamation is (usually) a non-binding notice. A general distinction is made between official proclamations from states or state organs with a binding character and proclamations from political-social groups or organizations, both of which try to win over the mood of those addressed. In addition, the procedure of proclaiming the beginning of a rule over a certain ruling territory is called a proclamation. For example, on July 26, 1581, the Proclamation of Dutch Independence was signed which led to the creation of the
Dutch Republic The United Provinces of the Netherlands, also known as the (Seven) United Provinces, officially as the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands (Dutch: ''Republiek der Zeven Verenigde Nederlanden''), and commonly referred to in historiography ...
in 1588, formally recognized in 1648 by the
Peace of Münster The Peace of Münster was a treaty between the Lords States General of the Seven United Netherlands and the Spanish Crown, the terms of which were agreed on 30 January 1648. The treaty, parallelly negotiated to but not part of the Peace of We ...
. The announcement of the intention to marry two people, the bidding, was referred to as a "proclamation" because it was done by reading out a corresponding text during the service. In the cities, laws, ordinances, etc. were “proclaimed” up to modern times so that they would become known and effective.


United States

The
president of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United Stat ...
communicates information on holidays, commemorations, special observances, trade, and policy through proclamations. After the president signs a proclamation, the White House sends it to the
Office of the Federal Register The Office of the Federal Register is an office of the United States government within the National Archives and Records Administration. The Office publishes the ''Federal Register'', ''Code of Federal Regulations'', ''Public Papers of the Presid ...
(OFR). The OFR numbers each proclamation consecutively as part of a series and publishes it in the daily ''
Federal Register The ''Federal Register'' (FR or sometimes Fed. Reg.) is the official journal of the federal government of the United States that contains government agency rules, proposed rules, and public notices. It is published every weekday, except on feder ...
'' shortly after receipt.


United Kingdom

In
English law English law is the common law legal system of England and Wales, comprising mainly criminal law and civil law, each branch having its own courts and procedures. Principal elements of English law Although the common law has, historically, be ...
, 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 or her subjects: e.g., the
declaration of war A declaration of war is a formal act by which one state (polity), state announces existing or impending war activity against another. The declaration is a performative speech act (or the signing of a document) by an authorized party of a nationa ...
, or
state of emergency A state of emergency is a situation in which a government is empowered to be able to put through policies that it would normally not be permitted to do, for the safety and protection of its citizens. A government can declare such a state du ...
, the statement of neutrality, the summoning or dissolution of
Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
, or the bringing into operation of the provisions of some statute the enforcement of which the
legislature A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its p ...
has left to the discretion of the king or queen in the announcement. Proclamations are also used for declaring
bank holiday A bank holiday is a national public holiday in the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland and the Crown Dependencies. The term refers to all public holidays in the United Kingdom, be they set out in statute, declared by royal proclamation or held ...
s and the issuance of coinage. Royal proclamations of this character, made in furtherance of the executive power of
the Crown The Crown is the state in all its aspects within the jurisprudence of the Commonwealth realms and their subdivisions (such as the Crown Dependencies, overseas territories, provinces, or states). Legally ill-defined, the term has different ...
, 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 Stephen or Steven is a common English first name. It is particularly significant to Christians, as it belonged to Saint Stephen ( grc-gre, Στέφανος ), an early disciple and deacon who, according to the Book of Acts, was stoned to death; ...
's ''Commentaries'', 14th 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 subject to fulfil 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 misdemeanour) is an aggravation of the offence (see charge of Chief Justice Cockburn to the grand jury in ''R v. Eyre'' (1867) and ''
Case of Proclamations The ''Case of Proclamations'' English constitutional law case during the reign of King James I">UK constitutional law">English constitutional law case during the reign of King James I (1603–1625) which defined some limitations on the Royal Pr ...
'' 1610, 12 Co. Rep. 74England and Wales High Court (King's Bench Division) Decisions
/ref>). The Crown has from time to time legislated by proclamation; and the
Statute of Proclamations 1539 The Proclamation by the Crown Act 1539 (31 Hen. 8 c. 8; also known as the Statute of Proclamations) was a law enacted by the English Reformation Parliament of Henry VIII. It permitted the King to legislate by decree, ordering that "traditional" pro ...
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 offence at law, or adds fresh penalties to any offence, is of no effect unless itself issued in virtue of statutory authority (see also
Order in Council An Order-in-Council is a type of legislation in many countries, especially the Commonwealth realms. In the United Kingdom this legislation is formally made in the name of the monarch by and with the advice and consent of the Privy Council ('' Ki ...
). 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
North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...
following the
Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (1754 ...
by the
Royal Proclamation of 1763 The Royal Proclamation of 1763 was issued by King George III on 7 October 1763. It followed the Treaty of Paris (1763), which formally ended the Seven Years' War and transferred French territory in North America to Great Britain. The Procla ...
and in the
Transvaal Colony The Transvaal Colony () was the name used to refer to the Transvaal region during the period of direct British rule and military occupation between the end of the Second Boer War in 1902 when the South African Republic was dissolved, and the ...
during the
Second Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sout ...
1899–1902. In the British colonies, ordinances were frequently brought into force by proclamation; certain imperial acts did not take effect in a colony until they were proclaimed (e.g. the
Foreign Enlistment Act 1870 The Foreign Enlistment Act 1870 (33 & 34 Vict c 90) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that seeks to regulate mercenary activities of British citizens. It received royal assent on 9 August 1870. Background There was no common la ...
); and proclamations were constantly issued in furtherance of executive acts. In many British protectorates the high commissioner or administrator was 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 The Fines and Recoveries Act 1833The act was assigned this name by the Short Titles Act 1896. (3 & 4 Will. IV c.74) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ire ...
. On certain rare occasions, the
herald A herald, or a herald of arms, is an officer of arms, ranking between pursuivant and king of arms. The title is commonly applied more broadly to all officers of arms. Heralds were originally messengers sent by monarchs or noblemen to ...
s of the
College of Arms The College of Arms, or Heralds' College, is a royal corporation consisting of professional Officer of Arms, officers of arms, with jurisdiction over England, Wales, Northern Ireland and some Commonwealth realms. The heralds are appointed by the ...
and the
Lyon Court The Court of the Lord Lyon (the Lyon Court) is a standing Courts of Scotland, court of law, based in New Register House in Edinburgh, which regulates heraldry in Scotland. The Lyon Court maintains the register of grants of coat of arms, arms, kno ...
(or somebody else assigned to) still publicly read out certain proclamations such as the proclamation regarding the dissolution of parliament or proclamations regarding the monarch's coronation, where they are read at the steps of the Royal Exchange in London and at the Mercat Cross in Edinburgh.


See also

*
Proclamation of accession of Elizabeth II Elizabeth II was proclaimed queen throughout the Commonwealth after her father, King George VI, died in the early hours of 6 February 1952, while Elizabeth was in Kenya. Proclamations were made in different Commonwealth realms on 6, 7, 8, and 11 ...
*
Proclamation of accession of Charles III Charles III acceded to the throne of the United Kingdom and the thrones of the other Commonwealth realms upon the death of his mother, Elizabeth II, on the afternoon of 8 September 2022. Royal succession in the realms occurs immediately upon ...
*
Proclamation of the People's Republic of China The founding of the People's Republic of China was formally proclaimed by Mao Zedong, the Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), on October 1, 1949, at 3:00 pm in Tiananmen Square in Peking, now Beijing (formerly Beiping), the new ca ...
*
Proclamation Day Proclamation Day is the name of official or unofficial holidays or other anniversaries which commemorate or mark an important proclamation. In some cases it may be the day of, or the anniversary of, the proclamation of a monarch's accession to the ...
*
Proclamation For the Encouragement of Piety and Virtue __NOTOC__ King George III's Royal Proclamation For the Encouragement of Piety and Virtue, and for the Preventing and Punishing of Vice, Profaneness and Immorality exhorted the British public against sexually explicit material. It called for the sup ...
*
Proclamation of the Irish Republic A proclamation (Lat. ''proclamare'', to make public by announcement) is an official declaration issued by a person of authority to make certain announcements known. Proclamations are currently used within the governing framework of some nations ...
*
Ukase In Imperial Russia, a ukase () or ukaz (russian: указ ) was a proclamation of the tsar, government, or a religious leader (patriarch) that had the force of law. "Edict" and "decree" are adequate translations using the terminology and concepts ...
*
Edict An edict is a decree or announcement of a law, often associated with monarchism, but it can be under any official authority. Synonyms include "dictum" and "pronouncement". ''Edict'' derives from the Latin edictum. Notable edicts * Telepinu Proc ...
*
Decree A decree is a legal proclamation, usually issued by a head of state (such as the president of a republic or a monarch), according to certain procedures (usually established in a constitution). It has the force of law. The particular term used for ...
*
Presidential proclamation A presidential proclamation is a statement issued by a US president on an issue of public policy and is a type of presidential directive. Details A presidential proclamation is an instrument that: *states a condition, *declares a law and require ...
*
Letters patent Letters patent ( la, litterae patentes) ( always in the plural) are a type of legal instrument in the form of a published written order issued by a monarch, president or other head of state, generally granting an office, right, monopoly, titl ...
*
Proclamation of Independence of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam The Proclamation of Independence of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam ( vi, Tuyên ngôn độc lập Việt Nam Dân chủ Cộng hòa) was written by Hồ Chí Minh, and announced in public at the Ba Đình flower garden (now the Ba Đình ...
*
Proclamation of Indonesian Independence The Proclamation of Indonesian Independence ( id, Proklamasi Kemerdekaan Indonesia, or simply ''Proklamasi'') was read at 10:00 on Friday, 17 August 1945 in Jakarta. The declaration marked the start of the diplomatic and armed resistance of th ...
*
Royal Proclamation of 2003 The Royal Proclamation of 2003, formally known as ''Proclamation Designating 28 July of Every Year as "A Day of Commemoration of the Great Upheaval", Commencing on 28 July 2005'', is a document issued in the name of Queen Elizabeth II acknowledg ...


References


External links


Introduction, ''Proclamations of Accession of English and British Sovereigns (1547–1952)''
Heraldica, 2007 (accessed 2 November 2013) {{Authority control Legal terminology