When was the Statute of Westminster 1931 passed?
The Statute of Westminster was passed on the 11th of December 1931. It is formally cited as 22 and 23 Geo. 5. c. 4 and is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.
Questions about Statute of Westminster 1931
Short answers, pulled from the story.
What did the Statute of Westminster 1931 do?
The Statute of Westminster removed nearly all of the British Parliament's authority to legislate for the self-governing Dominions of the British Empire. It gave the Dominions the power to pass laws inconsistent with British legislation and required the request and consent of a Dominion before any British act could apply to it.
What was the Balfour Declaration of 1926 and how does it relate to the Statute of Westminster?
The Balfour Declaration of 1926, produced by the Imperial Conference of that year, declared that the Dominions were equal in status to one another and to the United Kingdom. The Statute of Westminster 1931 gave that declaration legal force, translating the principle of equality into binding statute.
Which countries were immediately covered by the Statute of Westminster 1931?
Canada, the Irish Free State, and the Union of South Africa were covered immediately upon the statute's passage, as their governments had already given consent. Australia, New Zealand, and Newfoundland required their own parliaments to adopt the relevant sections before they took effect.
How did the Statute of Westminster affect Canada's constitution?
The statute gave Canada legal autonomy as a self-governing Dominion but excluded the British North America Acts from its scope because Canadian provinces and the federal government disagreed on an amending formula. Full sovereignty over the constitution was not achieved until the Constitution Act 1982. The Statute of Westminster, as amended, remains part of Canada's constitution under section 52(2)(b) of that act.
How did the Statute of Westminster 1931 affect the abdication of King Edward VIII?
The Statute of Westminster required the request and consent of Dominion governments before British abdication legislation could become part of each Dominion's law. Canada formally requested and consented to His Majesty's Declaration of Abdication Act 1936, the only Dominion to do both. Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa simply assented, and South Africa passed its own separate abdication act in February 1937.