The Crown
The Crown broadly represents 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).[1] The term can be used to refer to the office of the monarch or the monarchy as institutions; to the rule of law; or to the functions of executive (the Crown-in-council), legislative (the Crown-in-parliament), and judicial (the Crown on the bench) governance and the civil service.[2]
This article is about the term referring to the state in some nations. For the television series, see The Crown (TV series). For other uses, see Crown (disambiguation).
The concept of the Crown as a corporation sole developed first in the Kingdom of England as a separation of the physical crown and property of the kingdom from the person and personal property of the monarch. It spread through English and later British colonisation and is now rooted in the legal lexicon of all 15 Commonwealth realms, their various dependencies, and states in free association with them. It is not to be confused with any physical crown, such as those of the British regalia.[3]
The term is also found in various expressions such as Crown land, which some countries refer to as public land or state land; as well as in some offices, such as minister of the Crown, Crown attorney, and Crown prosecutor.
Definition[edit]
The term the Crown does not have a single definition. Legal scholars Maurice Sunkin and Sebastian Payne opined, "the nature of the Crown has been taken for granted, in part because it is fundamental and, in part, because many academics have no idea what the term the Crown amounts to".[4] Nicholas Browne-Wilkinson theorised that the Crown is "an amorphous, abstract concept" and, thus, "impossible to define",[5] while William Wade stated the Crown "means simply the Queen".[6]
Warren J. Newman described the Crown is "a useful and convenient means of conveying, in a word, the compendious formal, executive and administrative powers and apparatus attendant upon the modern constitutional and monarchical state."[7]
The Lord Simon of Glaisdale stated, "the crown is a piece of bejewelled headgear under guard at the Tower of London; but, one that symbolises the powers of government, which were formerly wielded by the wearer of the crown".[5]
The Lord Diplock suggested the Crown means "the government [and] all of the ministers and parliamentary secretaries under whose direction the administrative work of the government is carried out by the civil servants employed in the various government departments."[5] This interpretation was supported by Section 8 of the Pensions (Colonial Service) Act 1887, which set the terms "permanent civil service of the state", "permanent civil service of Her Majesty" and "permanent civil service of the Crown" as having the same meaning.[8]
Crown forces[edit]
The term "Crown forces" has been used by Irish republicans and nationalists, including members of paramilitary groups, to refer to British security forces which operate in Ireland. The term was used by various iterations of the Irish Republican Army (IRA) during conflicts such as Irish War of Independence and the Troubles. As noted by Irish republican Danny Morrison, "[t]he term 'security forces' suggests legitimacy, which is why republicans prefer terms like 'the Brits' or 'the Crown Forces', which undermines their authority."[a][71] Due to the Irish War of Independence, "the phrase 'Crown Forces' came to represent something abhorrent in the Republican narrative".[72]