The Legal Tangle

Manawatu Times, Volume 61, Issue 290, 8 December 1936, Page 7

The Legal Tangle

WHAT ABDICATION IMPLIES. Received Monday, 8.35 p.m. LONDON, Dec. 6. The Daily Mail, discussing the problems arising in the event of abdication, points out that Professor Arthur Berriedale Keith, lecturer on the constitution of the British Empire at Edinburgh University, discussing the King’s constitutional position in his book "The King and the Imperial Crown,” expresses the opinion that abdication would probably be legally ineffective unless confirmed by Act of Parliament and by legislation, including , the debarring of the issue of a post-abdication marriage.

Some legal experts think neither the British nor Dominion Governments need t”o be consulted regarding abdication unless the King desires to surround his abdication with conditions requiring discussion. While in connection with the preamble to the Statute of Westminster which demands that the Dominions concur in questions affecting the Throne, jurists have declared that the preamble could not be quotbd in a court of law, being,only a series of assertions not legally binding. Another question is whether abdication can become a clear-cut issue for the electorate which is impossible under the present laws unless a referendum is introduced which would require special legislation. Mr. Monckton, K.C., Attorney-Gen-eral of the Duchy of Lancaster, returned last night to Fort Belvedere where tho King has remained continuously since 2.30 on Friday.