Legal term of art in the UK and the Commonwealth
At His Majesty's pleasure
(when the reigning monarch is female,
at Her Majesty's pleasure
), sometimes abbreviated to the
King's pleasure
(or the
Queen's pleasure
), is a legal
term of art
referring to the indeterminate or undetermined length of service of certain appointed officials or the indeterminate sentences of some prisoners. It is based on the proposition that certain government officials are appointed by
the Crown
and can be removed for policy reasons, unlike employees. Originating in the
United Kingdom
, the phrase is now used throughout the
Commonwealth realms
,
Lesotho
,
Eswatini
,
Brunei
, and other monarchies, such as
Spain
, the
Netherlands
, and
Oman
. In realms where the monarch is represented by a
governor-general
,
governor
, or
administrator
, the phrase may be modified to be
at the governor's pleasure
or variations thereof, since the governor-general, governor, lieutenant governor, or administrator is the king's personal representative in the country, state, or province.
Service to the Crown
[
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]
People appointed by the sovereign to serve
the Crown
and who have no set limit to the time they occupy their given office?for example,
governors-general
and
minister of the Crown
?are said to
serve at His Majesty's pleasure
. In
Canada
, provincial
lieutenant governors
are appointed by the
Canadian monarch
's federal representative, the
governor general
, and are, thus, described in the
Constitution Act, 1867
, as holding office "during the pleasure of the governor general".
[1]
Similarly,
Australian
ministers of state are, by the
Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act
1900, appointed to serve "during the pleasure of the
governor-general
".
[2]
Incarceration
[
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]
The term is used to describe
detention
in prison for an indefinite length of time;
[3]
a judge may rule that a person be "detained at His Majesty's pleasure" for serious offences or based on a successful
insanity defence
.
[4]
This is sometimes used where there is a great risk of re-offending. However, it is most often used for juvenile offenders, usually as a substitute for
life sentencing
(which might be much longer for
youthful offenders
). For example, section 259 of England's
Sentencing Act 2020
(which only applies to
England
and
Wales
) states, "where [...] a person convicted of murder, or any other offence the sentence for which is fixed by law as life imprisonment, and the person appears to the court to have been aged under 18 at the time the offence was committed. The court must sentence the offender to be detained during Her Majesty's pleasure."
[5]
Prisoners held at His Majesty's pleasure are periodically reviewed to determine whether their sentence can be deemed complete; although this power traditionally rested with the monarch, such reviews are now made
in lieu
by others?the
secretary of state for justice
in
England and Wales
, for instance. Minimum terms are also set, before which the prisoner cannot be released; in England and Wales, these were originally set by the home secretary, but, since 30 November 2000, have been set by the trial judge.
[6]
Prisoners' sentences are typically deemed to be complete when the reviewing body is "satisfied that there has been a significant change in the offender's attitude and behaviour".
[6]
Derivatives
[
edit
]
In
Commonwealth republics
, such as
Botswana
,
[7]
India
,
[8]
Kenya
,
[9]
Pakistan
,
Singapore
,
[10]
and
South Africa
,
[11]
the phrase is "during the president's pleasure". This term is also applied to other republics that are outside of the Commonwealth, such as
Brazil
,
Egypt
,
Finland
,
France
,
Iceland
,
Ireland
,
Italy
,
South Korea
,
Mexico
,
Montenegro
, and
Serbia
.
In
Hong Kong
, following
the transfer of its sovereignty to China
in 1997, the term was modified to "at
executive
discretion" (
Chinese
:
等候行政長官的酌情決定
).
[12]
Subsequently, this was held, by Judge
Michael Hartmann
, in the case
Yau Kwong Man v. Secretary for Security
, to be incompatible with the separation of powers enshrined in the
Basic Law
.
[13]
In
Malaysia
, at the federal level, the term used is "at the pleasure of the
Yang di-Pertuan Agong
"
[14]
and "at the pleasure of the sultan/ruler/governor", at the
state level
.
In the
United States
,
Russia
, and the
Philippines
, the equivalent standard for political appointments is called "at the pleasure of the president" (
Russian
:
по усмотрению президента
,
romanized
:
po usmotreniyu prezidenta
;
Filipino
:
Sa kasiyahan ng Pangulo
).
[15]
See also
[
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]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Constitution Act, 1867
, V.59, 29 March 1867,
archived
from the original on 3 February 2010
, retrieved
21 January
2010
- ^
Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act
, II.62, 1 January 1901
, retrieved
21 January
2010
- ^
"Children and Young Persons Act 1933"
,
legislation.gov.uk
,
The National Archives
, 1933 c. 12
- ^
Blackstone, William
(1836).
Commentaries on the Laws of England: in four books; with an analysis of the work, Volume 2
. 24. London: Law Booksellers & Publishers.
- ^
"Sentencing Act 2020"
,
legislation.gov.uk
,
The National Archives
, 2020 c. 17
, retrieved
4 May
2024
- ^
a
b
Her Majesty's Courts Service
.
"Review of Minimum Terms set for Young Offenders detained at her Majesty's Pleasure"
. Archived from
the original
on 2 January 2010
. Retrieved
21 January
2010
.
- ^
Penal Code
(PDF)
, 26, Gaborone: Government of Botswana, 10 June 1964
, retrieved
21 January
2010
[
permanent dead link
]
- ^
Mohan, S. (22 June 2014).
"The doctrine of 'pleasure' and some Governors' tenures"
.
The Hindu
. Retrieved
5 January
2017
.
- ^
"Petition 570 of 2015 - Kenya Law"
.
- ^
"The President's Pleasure Review Board"
. Home Team Volunteers. Archived from
the original
on 17 March 2018
. Retrieved
5 January
2017
.
- ^
"1966 - The O'Malley Archives"
.
omalley.nelsonmandela.org
.
- ^
Long-Term Prison Sentences Review Ordinance
, Cap 524 s 4,
Government of Hong Kong
, 16 July 2004
, retrieved
18 October
2012
- ^
Yau Kwong Man v. Secretary for Security
[2002] HKCFI 896; HCAL1595/2001 (9 September 2002)
- ^
"Youth to be detained at pleasure of the Agong"
.
The Star
.
- ^
Sławomir Wierzbicki (2017).
"The Russian Federation President and His Role in the Management of National Security System"
(PDF)
.
World Scientific News
.
72
.
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