The Royal Succession Act is an act of the

New Zealand parliament The New Zealand Parliament ( mi, Pāremata Aotearoa) is the unicameral legislature of New Zealand, consisting of the King of New Zealand ( King-in-Parliament) and the New Zealand House of Representatives. The King is usually represented by h ...

to alter the laws of succession to the New Zealand throne. Compared to the Canadian Succession to the Throne Act, 2013 which merely proposes to assent to the British

Succession to the Crown Act 2013 The Succession to the Crown Act 2013 (c. 20) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that altered the laws of succession to the British throne in accordance with the 2011 Perth Agreement. The Act replaced male-preference primogeniture ...

, this legislation effectively re-legislates the effects of the British act.

Background

On 28 October 2011, at the

Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM; or) is a biennial summit meeting of the governmental leaders from all Commonwealth nations. Despite the name, the head of state may be present in the meeting instead of the head of go ...

held in

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

, Western Australia, the heads of government of the 16

Commonwealth realm A Commonwealth realm is a sovereign state in the Commonwealth of Nations whose monarch and head of state is shared among the other realms. Each realm functions as an independent state, equal with the other realms and nations of the Commonwealt ...

s, which share

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

as head of state, announced that they would introduce legislation in all 16 countries to end the primacy of males over females and the disqualification of persons married to Catholic spouses in the succession to the Crown. In a letter to the other realms' heads of government, prior to the Perth Agreement, British Prime Minister David Cameron additionally proposed to limit the requirement to obtain the monarch's permission to marry to the first six people in line to the throne.

Debate

Monarchy New Zealand Monarchy New Zealand is a national, non-partisan, not-for-profit organisation whose purpose is to promote, support and defend the constitutional monarchy of New Zealand. In addition to the general public, the organisation's membership includes ...

welcomed the Bill, stating "The much-needed changes to the royal succession will remove gender discrimination by allowing women equal right to the throne." The

Republican Movement of Aotearoa New Zealand New Zealand Republic Inc. is an organisation formed in 1994 whose object is to support the creation of a New Zealand republic. The campaign chair is Lewis Holden, an Auckland political activist and businessman. The organisation is not aligned w ...

described the changes as "too little, too late" and was critical of the continuation of the rule preventing Catholics being monarch.

Clauses

The bill's provisions are to implement in New Zealand law changes to the succession agreed to at the 2011 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting. Specifically it: * provides for the succession of the Crown to be determined without regard to the sex of those born after 29 October 2011 * abolishes the exclusion from the throne of those who marry Roman Catholics * repeals the

Royal Marriages Act The Royal Marriages Act 1772 (12 Geo 3 c. 11) was an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain which prescribed the conditions under which members of the British royal family could contract a valid marriage, in order to guard against marriages th ...

and substitutes a requirement that the first six individuals in line to the throne obtain the consent of the Sovereign to marry * validates certain marriages that occurred in violation of the Royal Marriages Act. To implement those provisions, the bill provides for amending the

Bill of Rights 1689 The Bill of Rights 1689 is an Act of the Parliament of England, which sets out certain basic civil rights and clarifies who would be next to inherit the Crown, and is seen as a crucial landmark in English constitutional law. It received Royal ...

, the Act of Settlement 1701 and the

Imperial Laws Application Act 1988 The Imperial Laws Application Act 1988 is an important part of New Zealand's uncodified constitution. The Act applies certain enactments of the Parliament of the United Kingdom and its predecessors, rulings of the Judicial Committee of the Priv ...

in so far as they apply in New Zealand.

Bill stages

The Bill was introduced into Parliament on 18 February 2013, by Minister of Justice

Judith Collins Judith Anne Collins (born 24 February 1959) is a New Zealand politician who served as the Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the New Zealand National Party from 14 July 2020 to 25 November 2021. She was the second female Leader of the Natio ...

, and it passed its first reading on 2 July 2013, with 104 votes in favour and 15 abstentions. It was then referred to the Justice and Electoral Committee, which reported on 31 October 2013. Its second and third readings were on 10 December 2013. Royal assent was given on 17 December.NZ Parliament
/ref> The Act was brought into force on 26 March 2015, in concert with Her Majesty's other realms.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Monarchy in New Zealand 2013 in New Zealand law Perth Agreement Succession acts