A command paper is an official document 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 Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
which is issued by
His Majesty's Government
His Majesty's Government, abbreviated to HM Government or otherwise UK Government, is the central government, central executive authority of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. (HMG) and presented to
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 ...
.
White paper
A white paper is a report or guide that informs readers concisely about a complex issue and presents the issuing body's philosophy on the matter. It is meant to help readers understand an issue, solve a problem, or make a decision. Since the 199 ...
s,
green paper
In the United Kingdom, the Commonwealth countries, Hong Kong, the United States and the European Union, a green paper is a tentative government report and consultation document of policy proposals for debate and discussion. A green paper represen ...
s,
treaties
A treaty is a formal, legally binding written agreement between sovereign states and/or international organizations that is governed by international law. A treaty may also be known as an international agreement, protocol, covenant, convention ...
, government responses, draft bills, reports from
royal commission
A royal commission is a major ad-hoc formal public inquiry into a defined issue in some monarchies. They have been held in the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Norway, Malaysia, Mauritius and Saudi Arabia. In republics an equi ...
s, reports from independent inquiries and various government organisations can be released as command papers, so called because they are presented to Parliament formally "By
His Majesty's Command".
Dissemination
Command papers are:
* produced by government departments
* printed on behalf of
His Majesty's Stationery Office
The Office of Public Sector Information (OPSI) is the body responsible for the operation of His Majesty's Stationery Office (HMSO) and of other public information services of the United Kingdom. The OPSI is part of the National Archives of the U ...
(HMSO)
* presented to Parliament "by Command of His Majesty" by the appropriate government minister
* recorded by the House of Commons and the House of Lords
* published by government departments on
gov.uk
* subject to statutory
legal deposit
Legal deposit is a legal requirement that a person or group submit copies of their publications to a repository, usually a library. The number of copies required varies from country to country. Typically, the national library is the primary reposit ...
Numbering
Command papers are numbered. Since 1870 they have been prefixed with an abbreviation of "command" which has changed over time to allow for new sequences.
See also
*
Office of Public Sector Information
The Office of Public Sector Information (OPSI) is the body responsible for the operation of His Majesty's Stationery Office (HMSO) and of other public information services of the United Kingdom. The OPSI is part of the National Archives of the U ...
(OPSI)
*
Treaty series
A treaty series is an officially published collection of treaties and other international agreements.
Americas Canada
Treaties in force for Canada are published in the Canada Treaty Series.
United States
Treaties and international agreeme ...
References
{{reflist
External links
*Command papers o
GOV.UK*UK national government publications at th
British Library
Collections of treaties
Government of the United Kingdom
Government reports
Documents of the United Kingdom