The Royal Succession Act is an act of the

New Zealand Parliament The New Zealand Parliament () is the unicameral legislature of New Zealand, consisting of the Monarchy of New Zealand, Sovereign and the New Zealand House of Representatives. The King is usually represented by his Governor-General of New Zeal ...

to alter the laws of succession to the New Zealand throne. Compared to the Canadian Succession to the Throne Act, 2013 which merely assented to the British Succession to the Crown Act 2013, this legislation effectively re-legislated the effects of the British act.

Background

On 28 October 2011, at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting held in

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

, Western Australia, the heads of government of the 16

Commonwealth realm A Commonwealth realm is a sovereign state in the Commonwealth of Nations that has the same constitutional monarch and head of state as the other realms. The current monarch is King Charles III. Except for the United Kingdom, in each of the re ...

s, which share

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

as head of state, announced that they would introduce legislation in all 16 countries to end the primacy of males over females and the disqualification of persons married to

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

spouses in the succession to the Crown. In a letter to the other realms' heads of government, prior to the Perth Agreement, British Prime Minister David Cameron additionally proposed to limit the requirement to obtain the monarch's permission to marry to the first six people in line to the throne.

Debate

Monarchy New Zealand Monarchy New Zealand is a national, non-partisan, not-for-profit organisation whose purpose is to promote, support and defend the constitutional monarchy, constitutional monarchy of New Zealand. In addition to the general public, the organisat ...

welcomed the Bill, stating "The much-needed changes to the royal succession will remove gender discrimination by allowing women equal right to the throne." The Republican Movement of Aotearoa New Zealand described the changes as "too little, too late" and was critical of the continuation of the rule preventing Catholics being monarch.

Clauses

The bill's provisions are to implement in New Zealand law changes to the succession agreed to at the

2011 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting The 2011 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, commonly known as CHOGM 2011, was the 22nd Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, Meeting of the Commonwealth Heads of Government, Heads of Government of the Commonwealth of Nations. Held in P ...

. Specifically it: * provides for the succession of the Crown to be determined without regard to the sex of those born after 29 October 2011 * abolishes the exclusion from the throne of those who marry Roman Catholics * repeals the Royal Marriages Act and substitutes a requirement that the first six individuals in line to the throne obtain the consent of the Sovereign to marry * validates certain marriages that occurred in violation of the Royal Marriages Act. To implement those provisions, the bill provides for amending the

Bill of Rights 1689 The Bill of Rights 1689 (sometimes known as the Bill of Rights 1688) is an Act of Parliament (United Kingdom), act of the Parliament of England that set out certain basic civil rights and changed the succession to the Monarchy of England, Engl ...

, the Act of Settlement 1701 and the Imperial Laws Application Act 1988 in so far as they apply in New Zealand.

Bill stages

The Bill was introduced into Parliament on 18 February 2013, by Minister of Justice Judith Collins, and it passed its first reading on 2 July 2013, with 104 votes in favour and 15 abstentions. It was then referred to the Justice and Electoral Committee, which reported on 31 October 2013. Its second and third readings were on 10 December 2013. Royal assent was given on 17 December.NZ Parliament
/ref> The Act was brought into force on 26 March 2015, in concert with Her Majesty's other realms.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Monarchy of New Zealand Statutes of New Zealand 2013 in New Zealand law Perth Agreement Succession acts