Church of England measure

A Church of England measure is primary legislation that is made by the General Synod of the Church of England and approved by the Parliament of the United Kingdom under section 3 of the Church of England Assembly (Powers) Act 1919.^[1]

Procedure

Consideration by the General Synod

Measures are passed by the General Synod of the Church of England. Before the passage of the Synodical Government Measure 1969, this function was undertaken by the National Assembly of the Church of England.^[2]

The current procedure depends on the content of the measure and is set out in the Synodical Government Measure 1969 - draft measures are presented and approved before being sent to Parliament.^[2]

Ecclesiastical Committee

Main article: Ecclesiastical Committee

The Ecclesiastical Committee is a joint committee of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.^[3]

It comprises 30 members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The Lord Speaker appoints 15 members from the House of Lords, and the Speaker of the House of Commons appoints 15 MPs to serve on the committee.^[4][3]

The 1919 Act requires the committee to report on "the nature and legal effect of the measure".^[5]

Motions by Houses of Parliament

A measure is then presented for approval of both Houses of Parliament at the same time as the Committee lays its report, as long as the report is not an adverse report.^[5] In the Commons this is tabled by the Second Church Estates Commissioner, and in the House of Lords this is tabled by the Lords Spiritual.

Royal assent

Royal assent to Church of England measures were given by means of letters patent using the following wording:

Form of letters patent during the reign of Queen Elizabeth II (until 8 September 2022):

Letters patent for a measure receiving royal assent[6]

ELIZABETH THE SECOND by the Grace of God of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of Our other Realms and Territories Queen Head of the Commonwealth Defender of the Faith To Our right trusty and right well beloved the Lords Spiritual and Temporal and to Our trusty and well beloved the Knights Citizens and Burgesses of the House of Commons in this present Parliament assembled GREETING: FORASMUCH as in pursuance of the Church of England Assembly (Powers) Act 1919 certain Measures the short Titles of which are set forth in the said Schedule have been presented to Us in the form laid before Parliament AND forasmuch as We cannot at this time be present in the Higher House of Our said Parliament being the accustomed place for giving Our Royal Assent We have therefore caused these Our Letters Patent to be made and have signed them and by them do give Our Royal Assent to the said Measures WILLING that the said Measures shall be of the same strength force and effect as if We had been personally present in the said Higher House and had publicly and in the presence of you all assented to the same COMMANDING ALSO ['here insert the name of the Lord Chancellor'] Chancellor of Great Britain to seal these Our Letters with the Great Seal of Our Realm AND ALSO COMMANDING [here insert the names of the Commissioners, for example Our most dear and entirely beloved Son and most faithful Counsellor Charles Philip Arthur George Prince of Wales The Most Reverend Father in God and Our faithful Counsellor [...] of Canterbury Primate of All England and Metropolitan ['followed by the names of the Lord Chancellor and at least two other Lords of the Privy Council'] or any three or more of them to declare this Our Royal Assent in the said Higher House in the presence of you the said Lords and Commons and the Clerk of Our Parliaments to endorse the said Measures in Our name as is requisite and to record these Our Letters Patent and the said Measures in manner accustomed AND FINALLY WE do declare that after this Our Royal Assent given and declared as is aforesaid then and immediately the said Measures shall be taken and accepted as and good and perfect Measures and be put in due execution accordingly In Witness whereof We have caused these Our Letters to be made Patent WITNESS Ourself at Westminster the ... day of ... in the year of Our Reign By the Queen Herself

Enacting formula

Church of England measures do not have an enacting formula.^[7]

Crown Dependencies

Isle of Man

The Isle of Man has a similar system – the diocesan synod takes the place of the General Synod, Tynwald takes the place of Parliament and the Bishop of Sodor and Man takes the place of the Lords Spiritual.

Under the Church (Application of General Synod Measures) Act 1979, the Church Act 1992 and the Church Legislation Procedure Act 1993, measures can be approved by the ecclesiastical committee of Tynwald after approval by the legislative committee of the diocesan synod.^[8][9][10]

Channel Islands

Measures can be applied to the Channel Islands when a clause within a measure indicates that they are to extend to those jurisdictions. The actual application of the relevant measure to the Channel Islands is made via an Order in Council, or via processes within the legislatures of the Channel Islands.^[11]

This procedure has been amended in 1957 and 2020, since it was originally established by the Channel Islands (Church Legislation) Measure 1931 (21 & 22 Geo 5. No. 4).^{[12][13][14][15]}

See also

• List of Church of England measures

References

1. "Church of England Assembly (Powers) Act 1919: Section 3", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, 23 December 1919, 1919 c. (s. 3), retrieved 11 September 2024
2. "Synodical Government Measure 1969". legislation.gov.uk. The National Archives. 29 July 1969. Retrieved 11 September 2024.
3. "Ecclesiastical Committee - Role". Committees of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Parliament of the United Kingdom. Archived from the original on 1 March 2024. Retrieved 10 September 2024. It will generally ask members of the General Synod to assist it in its consideration of draft measures. In some circumstances a conference of the Ecclesiastical Committee and the Legislative Committee may be convened.
4. "Ecclesiastical Committee - Role". Parliament.UK. Retrieved 5 March 2021. The Committee is chaired by Baroness Butler-Sloss and has 30 members. 15 members are MPs appointed by Mr. Speaker and 15 members of the House of Lords appointed by the Lord Speaker.
5. House of Commons Information Office (2010). "Church of England Measures" (PDF). Parliament of the United Kingdom. Parliament of the United Kingdom. Retrieved 10 September 2024. The 1919 Act requires the Committee to report on "the nature and legal effect of the measure and its views as to the expediency thereof, especially with relation to the constitutional rights of all His Majesty's subjects." Committee reports are first communicated in draft to the Legislative Committee of the General Synod. While the Committee's draft report may recommend the amendment of a draft Measure, the Committee itself has no power to amend Measures. A Report is not laid before the two Houses until the Legislative Committee has signified its wish that it should be.
6. "The Crown Office (Forms and Proclamations Rules) Order 1992", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, 23 July 1992, SI 1992/1730, retrieved 11 September 2024
7. "Diocesan Stipends Funds (Amendment) Measure 2023". legislation.gov.uk. The National Archives. Retrieved 11 September 2024.
8. "CHURCH LEGISLATION PROCEDURE ACT 1993" (PDF). legislation.gov.im. Isle of Man Government. 7 July 1993. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 September 2024. Retrieved 13 September 2024.
9. "CHURCH (MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS) MEASURE (ISLE OF MAN) 1990" (PDF). legislation.gov.im. Isle of Man Government. 16 June 1992. Retrieved 13 September 2024.
10. "CHURCH ACT 1992" (PDF). legislation.gov.im. Isle of Man Government. 20 November 1990. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 September 2024. Retrieved 13 September 2024.
11. "General Synod Legislative Committee: Channel Islands Measure: Comments and explanations".
12. "Channel Islands (Church Legislation) Measure 1931". legislation.gov.uk. National Archives. 8 July 1931. Retrieved 13 September 2024.
13. "Channel Islands (Representation) Measure 1931". legislation.gov.uk. National Archives. 8 July 1931. Retrieved 13 September 2024.
14. "Channel Islands (Church Legislation) Measure 1931 (Amendment) Measure 1957". legislation.gov.uk. National Archives. 17 July 1957. Retrieved 13 September 2024.
15. "Channel Islands Measure 2020". legislation.gov.uk. National Archives. 22 July 2020. Retrieved 13 September 2024.

External links

• Church of England website
• Church of England measures on the website of the UK parliament