Editing Order in Council (section)

===Prerogative orders===
An order in council made under the royal prerogative does not depend on any [[statute]] for its authority, although an act of Parliament may change this.<ref name="Ref_">''Council of Civil Service Unions v. Minister for the Civil Service'' [1985] 374 at 399, per [[Ian Fraser, Baron Fraser of Tullybelton|Lord Fraser of Tullybelton]]</ref> This type has become less common with the passage of time, as statutes encroach on areas that used to form part of the royal prerogative.

Matters which still fall within the royal prerogative and hence are regulated by (prerogative) orders in council include the prorogation of Parliament, royal charters, and the governance of [[British overseas territory|British Overseas Territories]].

British Orders in Council may occasionally be used to effectively reverse [[Courts of England and Wales|court]] decisions or enforce British law applicable to British Overseas Territories without involving [[Parliament of the United Kingdom|Parliament]] such as the [[Caribbean Territories (Abolition of Death Penalty for Murder) Order 1991]].{{dubious|date=February 2024}} Within the United Kingdom itself, court decisions can be formally overruled only by an act of Parliament or by the decision of a higher court on appeal.

In the rest of the Commonwealth they are used to carry out any decisions made by the cabinet and the executive that would not need to be approved by [[Parliament]].<!-- [[New Zealand]] also uses Orders in Council to exercise the Royal Prerogative (e.g. [[Mercy]]: [http://www.gg.govt.nz/role/royalprerogative.htm] [http://online.gazette.govt.nz/MSOS118/On-Line/NZGazette.nsf/6cee7698a9bbc7cfcc256d510059ed0b/a53a5b53f67d4415cc2570230083c3e7?OpenDocument&Highlight=0,Governor-General]).-->

It was long thought that prerogative orders, being primary legislation, were not subject to [[Judicial review in English law|judicial review]]. This was reversed in the 1985 case ''[[Council of Civil Service Unions v Minister for the Civil Service]]'', which, however, allowed for some exceptions, such as national security. A given prerogative order therefore may or may not be subject to judicial review, depending on its nature.