Claim of Right 1689
 | |
| Long title | The Declaration of the Estates of the Kingdom of Scotland containing the Claim of Right and the offer of the Croune to the King and Queen of England. |
|---|---|
| Citation | 1689 c. 28 |
| Territorial extent | Kingdom of Scotland |
Status: Current legislation | |
| Text of statute as originally enacted | |
| Revised text of statute as amended | |
The Claim of Right is an Act passed by the Parliament of Scotland in April 1689. It is one of the key documents of Scottish constitutional law.
Background
In the Glorious Revolution, William of Orange landed with his army in England on 5 November 1688. King James VII of Scotland, who was also King of England and Ireland as James II, attempted to resist the invasion. He then sent representatives to negotiate, and he finally fled England on 23 December 1688.
Whilst the Convention Parliament in England declared that James, as King of England, had abdicated the Government, and issued an English Bill of Rights on 13 February 1689 offering the Crown of England to William and Mary, the Scots found themselves facing a more difficult constitutional problem. As James had not been present in Scotland during the crisis and had not fled from Scottish territory in December, it would be highly dubious to claim that he had abdicated the Scottish throne.
Process
Therefore, a Convention of the Scottish Estates met to consider letters received on 16 March 1689 from the two contenders for the Crown. On 4 April they voted to remove James VII from office, drawing on George Buchanan's argument on the contractual nature of monarchy.[1]
Later that month, the Convention adopted the Claim of Right and the Article of Grievances, enumerating what they saw as the contemporary requirements of Scottish constitutional law. It also declared that, because of his actions in violation of these laws, James had forfeited the Scottish throne.[2]
The Convention proceeded to offer the crown on the basis of these documents to William and Mary, who accepted it on 11 May 1689, and were proclaimed King and Queen of the Scots as William II and Mary II, though with subsequent controversy over whether the Claim of Right articles against Episcopacy were fully accepted by the new monarchy.[1]
Provisions of the Act
The Act includes the passages:
- “That for redress of all grievances and for the amending strenthneing and preserving of the lawes Parliaments ought to be frequently called and allowed to sit and the freedom of speech and debate secured to the members”
Significance
The effect of the Claim of Right was to "bolster the position of parliament within the Scottish constitution at the expense of the royal prerogative".[3] The Act was retained by the Parliament of the United Kingdom after the Acts of Union 1707.
In 2019, the Act was cited by MPs seeking a court ruling that Prime Minister Boris Johnson's prorogation of Parliament was unlawful. The claim was upheld by the Court of Session but the breach of the Act was found non-justiciable and that if it was justiciable then there was no breach.[4]
References
- ^ a b Lynch, Michael (1992). Scotland: A New History. Pimlico. p. 302. ISBN 0-7126-9893-0.
- ^ Wikisource:Claim of Right
- ^ Harris, Tim Revolution: The Great Crisis of the British Monarchy 1685-1720 Allen Lane (2006) pp401-402
- ^ "Prorogation case opinions" (PDF). Scottish Courts and Tribunals. September 12, 2019. pp. 43, 50. Retrieved September 13, 2019.
An illustration of circumstances in which a court may conclude that a question or issue is not justiciable is provided by the line of argument in the present case that the making of the Order contravenes the provisions of the Claim of Right Act 1689. It is a statute but also a document of its time. It lacks the precision to be expected of modern legislation.
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External links
- Text of the Claim of Right Act 1689 as in force today (including any amendments) within the United Kingdom, from legislation.gov.uk.