Royal Warrant (document)
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A warrant is generally an order that serves as a specific type of
authorization Authorization or authorisation (see spelling differences) is the function of specifying access rights/privileges to resources, which is related to general information security and computer security, and to access control in particular. More fo ...
, that is, a
writ In common law, a writ (Anglo-Saxon ''gewrit'', Latin ''breve'') is a formal written order issued by a body with administrative or judicial jurisdiction; in modern usage, this body is generally a court. Warrants, prerogative writs, subpoenas, a ...
issued by a competent officer, usually a
judge A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a panel of judges. A judge hears all the witnesses and any other evidence presented by the barristers or solicitors of the case, assesses the credibility an ...
or
magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judici ...
, that permits an otherwise illegal act that would violate
individual rights Group rights, also known as collective rights, are rights held by a group '' qua'' a group rather than individually by its members; in contrast, individual rights are rights held by individual people; even if they are group-differentiated, which ...
and affords the person executing the writ protection from
damages At common law, damages are a remedy in the form of a monetary award to be paid to a claimant as compensation for loss or injury. To warrant the award, the claimant must show that a breach of duty has caused foreseeable loss. To be recognised at ...
if the act is performed. A warrant is usually issued by a
court A court is any person or institution, often as a government institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accordance ...
and is directed to a
sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly transla ...
, a
constable A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in criminal law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions. A constable is commonly the rank of an officer within the police. Other peop ...
, or a
police The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and t ...
officer. Warrants normally issued by a court include
search warrant A search warrant is a court order that a magistrate or judge issues to authorize law enforcement officers to conduct a search of a person, location, or vehicle for evidence of a crime and to confiscate any evidence they find. In most countries, ...
s,
arrest warrant An arrest warrant is a warrant issued by a judge or magistrate on behalf of the state, which authorizes the arrest and detention of an individual, or the search and seizure of an individual's property. Canada Arrest warrants are issued by a j ...
s, and execution warrants.


Types

*
Arrest warrant An arrest warrant is a warrant issued by a judge or magistrate on behalf of the state, which authorizes the arrest and detention of an individual, or the search and seizure of an individual's property. Canada Arrest warrants are issued by a j ...
, issued by a judge to detain someone * Execution warrant, writ issued by a judge authorizing the death of someone * Possessory warrant, a civil writ issued by a judge ordering property delivered to a named person *
Search warrant A search warrant is a court order that a magistrate or judge issues to authorize law enforcement officers to conduct a search of a person, location, or vehicle for evidence of a crime and to confiscate any evidence they find. In most countries, ...
, a writ issued by a judge allowing law enforcement to look inside a property *
Warrant of committal Warrant of Committal is a legal term used by the law systems of Canada and the United Kingdom, which allows a magistrate or judge to enforce a judgment or order against a person or corporation that has refused or neglected to comply with a known co ...
, issued by a judge ordering enforcement of a previous order against an uncooperative person or corporation * Warrant of delivery, a civil writ issued by a judge ordering property delivered to a named person *
Warrant of execution A warrant of execution is a form of writ of execution used in the County Court in England and Wales (only). It is a method of enforcing judgments and empowers a County Court bailiff to attend a judgment debtor’s (hereafter, debtor) address to ...
, a writ issued by a judge allowing law enforcement officers to seize property *
Warrant of possession A warrant of possession under Australian law can be issued after a lessor or agent has applied for, and received, a termination order to end a residential tenancy. The lessor or agent should therefore apply for this warrant when applying for a ...
, an Australian judge ordered to terminate of a residential real estate tenancy


United Kingdom

In the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
, senior public appointments are made by warrant under the ''
royal sign-manual The royal sign-manual is the signature of the sovereign, by the affixing of which the monarch expresses his or her pleasure either by order, commission, or warrant. A sign-manual warrant may be either an executive act (for example, an appointmen ...
'', the personal
signature A signature (; from la, signare, "to sign") is a handwritten (and often stylized) depiction of someone's name, nickname, or even a simple "X" or other mark that a person writes on documents as a proof of identity and intent. The writer of a ...
of the
monarch A monarch is a head of stateWebster's II New College DictionarMonarch Houghton Mifflin. Boston. 2001. p. 707. Life tenure, for life or until abdication, and therefore the head of state of a monarchy. A monarch may exercise the highest authority ...
, on the recommendation of the government. In an interesting survival from medieval times, these warrants abate (lose their force) on the death of the sovereign if they have not already been executed. This particularly applied to death warrants in the days when
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
authorized
capital punishment Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that t ...
. Perhaps the most celebrated example of this occurred on 17 November 1558, when England was under the rule of a Catholic queen,
Mary I Mary I (18 February 1516 â€“ 17 November 1558), also known as Mary Tudor, and as "Bloody Mary" by her Protestant opponents, was Queen of England and Ireland from July 1553 and Queen of Spain from January 1556 until her death in 1558. She ...
, daughter of Henry VIII and the Spanish Catholic
Catherine of Aragon Catherine of Aragon (also spelt as Katherine, ; 16 December 1485 â€“ 7 January 1536) was Queen of England as the first wife of King Henry VIII from their marriage on 11 June 1509 until their annulment on 23 May 1533. She was previously ...
. Several
Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...
"
heretics Heresy is any belief or theory that is strongly at variance with established beliefs or customs, in particular the accepted beliefs of a church or religious organization. The term is usually used in reference to violations of important religi ...
" had been condemned to die, a not uncommon situation under the reign of "Bloody Mary". They were tied to stakes in Smithfield, an open market area in central
London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
, and the firewood bundles were about to be lit, when a royal messenger rode up to announce that
Mary I Mary I (18 February 1516 â€“ 17 November 1558), also known as Mary Tudor, and as "Bloody Mary" by her Protestant opponents, was Queen of England and Ireland from July 1553 and Queen of Spain from January 1556 until her death in 1558. She ...
had died: the warrants for their death had lost their force. The first formal act of Mary's successor, the Protestant
Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was List of English monarchs, Queen of England and List of Irish monarchs, Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is ...
, daughter of Henry VIII and
Anne Boleyn Anne Boleyn (; 1501 or 1507 – 19 May 1536) was Queen of England from 1533 to 1536, as the second wife of King Henry VIII. The circumstances of her marriage and of her execution by beheading for treason and other charges made her a key ...
, was to decline to re-issue the warrants; the Protestants were released a few weeks later.


United States


History

For many years, the English, later British, government had used a "general warrant" to enforce its laws. These warrants were broad in nature and did not have specifics as to why they were issued or what the arrest was being made for. A general warrant placed almost no limitations on the search or arresting authority of a soldier or sheriff. This concept had become a serious problem when those in power issued general warrants to have their enemies arrested when no wrongdoing had been done. The
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 ...
of
Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...
The Treaty (act) of the Union of Parliament 1706
, ''Scots History Online''
passed the Revenue Act of 1767 which reaffirmed the legality of
writs of assistance In common law, a writ (Anglo-Saxon ''gewrit'', Latin ''breve'') is a formal written order issued by a body with administrative or judicial jurisdiction; in modern usage, this body is generally a court. Warrants, prerogative writs, subpoenas, a ...
, or general
search warrant A search warrant is a court order that a magistrate or judge issues to authorize law enforcement officers to conduct a search of a person, location, or vehicle for evidence of a crime and to confiscate any evidence they find. In most countries, ...
s, and gave customs officials broad powers to search houses and businesses for smuggled goods. This law was one of the key acts of Great Britain which led to the
American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolut ...
, and is the direct reason that the
American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...
Founding Fathers ensured that general warrants would be illegal in the United States by ratifying the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution in 1791.


Practice

Under the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution a warrant is broadly required, which particularly describes the place to be searched, and the persons, or things, to be seized; no warrants may be issued without
probable cause In United States criminal law, probable cause is the standard by which police authorities have reason to obtain a warrant for the arrest of a suspected criminal or the issuing of a search warrant. There is no universally accepted definition o ...
, and support by testimony before a judge. The courts have recognized many warrantless searches, including exceptions for routine administrative or inventory searches, searches made under exigent circumstances, and searches made with consent. A typical arrest warrant in the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
will take the approximate form of: "This Court orders the
Sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly transla ...
or Constable to find the named person, wherever he may be found, and deliver said person to the custody of the Court." Generally, a U.S. arrest warrant must contain the
caption Caption may refer to: * Caption (text), explanatory text about specific published photos and articles *An element of comics where words appear in a separate box, see Glossary of comics terminology#Caption *Caption (comics convention), a small pre ...
of the court issuing the warrant, the name (if known) of the person to be arrested, the offense charged, the date of issue, the officer(s) to whom the warrant is directed, and the signature of the magistrate.''Criminal Procedure for the Criminal Justice Professional''; John N. Ferdico, Henry Fradella, Christopher Totten; Cengage Learning; 2015
page 246
Warrants may also be issued by other
government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...
entities, including
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 ...
s, since most have the
power Power most often refers to: * Power (physics), meaning "rate of doing work" ** Engine power, the power put out by an engine ** Electric power * Power (social and political), the ability to influence people or events ** Abusive power Power may a ...
to compel the attendance of their members. When a legislature issues a warrant, it is called a call of the house. The person being investigated, arrested, or having their property seized, pursuant to a warrant is given a copy of the warrant at the time of its execution.


See also

* Arrest Warrant of 11 April 2000 case, a case in public international law involving diplomatic immunity *
Warrant canary A warrant canary is a method by which a communications service provider aims to inform its users that the provider has been served with a government subpoena despite legal prohibitions on revealing the existence of the subpoena. The warrant canar ...
, a method used by Internet service providers to inform their customers that the provider has been served with a secret government subpoena * ''
Quo warranto In law, especially English and American common law, ''quo warranto'' (Medieval Latin for "by what warrant?") is a prerogative writ requiring the person to whom it is directed to show what authority they have for exercising some right, power, or ...
'', a writ requiring the person to whom it is directed to show what authority they have for exercising some right or power (or "franchise") they claim to hold


References


External links

*
UK appointments made by warrant under the Royal sign manual
€”from the '' London Gazette'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Warrant (Law) Law enforcement terminology *