Demise is an Anglo-Norman legal term (from French ''démettre'', from

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

''dimittere'', to send away) for the transfer of an estate, especially by

lease A lease is a contractual arrangement calling for the user (referred to as the ''lessee'') to pay the owner (referred to as the ''lessor'') for the use of an asset. Property, buildings and vehicles are common assets that are leased. Industrial ...

. It has an operative effect in a lease, implying a covenant "for quiet enjoyment". The phrase "

demise of the Crown Demise of the Crown is the legal term in the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth realms for the transfer of the Crown upon the death or abdication of the monarch. The Crown transfers automatically to the monarch's heir. The concept evolved ...

" is used in English law to signify the immediate transfer of the sovereignty, with all its attributes and prerogatives, to the successor without any

interregnum An interregnum (plural interregna or interregnums) is a period of revolutionary breach of legal continuity, discontinuity or "gap" in a government, organization, or social order. Archetypally, it was the period of time between the reign of one m ...

in accordance with the maxim "

the Crown The Crown is a political concept used in Commonwealth realms. Depending on the context used, it generally refers to the entirety of the State (polity), state (or in federal realms, the relevant level of government in that state), the executive ...

never dies". At

common law Common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law primarily developed through judicial decisions rather than statutes. Although common law may incorporate certain statutes, it is largely based on prece ...

the death of the sovereign ''eo facto'' dissolved Parliament, but this was abolished by the

Representation of the People Act 1867 The Representation of the People Act 1867 ( 30 & 31 Vict. c. 102), known as the Reform Act 1867 or the Second Reform Act, is an act of the British Parliament that enfranchised part of the urban male working class in England and Wales for the f ...

. Similarly the common law doctrine that all offices held under the Crown were terminated at its demise has been abolished by the Demise of the Crown Act 1901.

Etymology

The English word "demise" comes from the Latin word "demissio" (see, e.g., ex demissione), which comes from Latin "demittere", which is a compound of de + mittere, meaning "to send from".

Notes

References

* ;Attribution *{{EB1911, wstitle=Demise Legal terminology