Statute of Westminster Adoption Act 1947
- Statute of Westminster Adoption Act 1947
The Statute of Westminster Adoption Act 1947 was a constitutional Act of the New Zealand Parliament that formally accepted the full external autonomy offered by the British Parliament. By passing the Act on November 25 1947, New Zealand ratified the Statute of Westminster 1931, an Act of the British Parliament which granted full sovereign status and Commonwealth membership to the Dominions ratifying the statute. The Act required the British Parliament to pass the New Zealand Constitution Amendment (Request and Consent) Act 1947.
Effect
The Act repealed the Colonial Laws Validity Act 1865 in New Zealand.
Background
New Zealand did not adopt the Statute of Westminster 1931 until 1947 on account of a desire not to foster separatism in the British Empire. However, in the wake of the failure to stem the Japanese advance across the Pacific during World War II, it became increasingly clear to New Zealand that it could not rely on the United Kingdom for protection, which influenced the adoption of the statute and the New Zealand nationality law. The First Labour Government of Peter Fraser had proposed to adopt the statute in its Speech from the Throne in 1944 (two years after Australia adopted the Act), which had led to an outcry by the opposition. The proposal was buried. Ironically, the National opposition prompted the adoption of the Statute in 1947 when its leader, and future Prime Minister Sidney Holland introduced a private members' bill to abolish the New Zealand Legislative Council. Because New Zealand required the consent of the Parliament of the United Kingdom to amend the New Zealand Constitution Act 1852, Fraser decided to finally adopt the Statute [ [http://www.teara.govt.nz/1966/H/HistoryConstitutional/TheLegislativeAuthorityOfTheNewZealand/en HISTORY, CONSTITUTIONAL - The Legislative Authority of the New Zealand Parliament - 1966 Encyclopaedia of New Zealand ] ] [ [http://www.parliament.nz/en-NZ/PubRes/Research/Papers/9/1/8/00PLLawRP07041-New-Zealand-sovereignty-1857-1907-1947-or-1987.htm New Zealand Parliament - New Zealand sovereignty: 1857, 1907, 1947, or 1987? ] ] .
References
ee also
* Statute of Westminster Adoption Act 1942 - Australian equivalent of the Act
* Constitution of New Zealand
* Independence of New Zealand
Wikimedia Foundation.
2010.
Look at other dictionaries:
Statute of Westminster Adoption Act — There are several Acts named Statute of Westminster Adoption Act:* Statute of Westminster Adoption Act 1942, an Act of the Parliament of Australia * Statute of Westminster Adoption Act 1947, a constitutional Act of the Parliament of New Zealand … Wikipedia
Statute of Westminster 1931 — The Statute of Westminster 1931 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom (22 23 Geo. V c. 4, December 11, 1931) which established a status of legislative equality between the self governing dominions of the British Empire and the United… … Wikipedia
New Zealand Constitution Amendment (Request and Consent) Act 1947 — The New Zealand Constitution Amendment (Request and Consent) Act 1947 (New Zealand public act no. 38) and New Zealand Constitution Amendment Act 1947 (10 11 Geo. VI c. 46) were two enactments passed by the Parliament of New Zealand and Parliament … Wikipedia
1947 — Portal Geschichte | Portal Biografien | Aktuelle Ereignisse | Jahreskalender ◄ | 19. Jahrhundert | 20. Jahrhundert | 21. Jahrhundert ◄ | 1910er | 1920er | 1930er | 1940er | 1950er | 1960er | 1970er | ► ◄◄ | ◄ | 1943 | 1944 | 1945 | 1946 |… … Deutsch Wikipedia
Colonial Laws Validity Act 1865 — Parliament of the United Kingdom Long title An Act to remove Doubts as to the Validity of Colonial Laws. Statute book chapter … Wikipedia
New Zealand Constitution Act 1852 — The New Zealand Constitution Act 1852 (15 16 Vict. c. 72) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that granted self government to the colony of New Zealand. It was the second such Act, the previous 1846 Act not having been fully… … Wikipedia
Constitution Act 1986 — Parliament of New Zealand Long title/ Purpose An Act to reform the constitutional law of New Zealand, to bring together into one enactment certain provisions of constitutional significance, and to provide t … Wikipedia
List of sovereign states by date of formation — Below is a list of sovereign states by formation dates, sorted by continent. This list includes only the 194 sovereign states currently in existence; it does not include former sovereign states. For proposed states or various indigenous nations… … Wikipedia
Dominion of New Zealand — The Dominion of New Zealand is the former name of the Realm of New Zealand. Lord Plunket declaring New Zealand a Dominion, 1907 Originally administered from New South Wales, New Zealand became a direct British colony in 1841 and received a large… … Wikipedia
Monarchy of New Zealand — This article is about the monarchy of New Zealand. For information on the other countries which share the same monarchy, see Commonwealth realm. For the current Queen of New Zealand, see Elizabeth II. Queen of New Zealand Monarchy … Wikipedia
