Queen's Peace - Duty of The Crown To Maintain Peace

Duty of The Crown To Maintain Peace

Maintenance of the Queen's peace is one of the duties of the Crown, carried out via the Royal Prerogative. Though this power remains the Crown's, through convention it is exercised by the Queen-in-Council; that is, the executive, or, the sovereign acting on the advice of her ministers of the Crown.

The Crown can be held responsible should it fail in upholding its duty to maintain peace; this was the justification for the Riot Act and subsequent legislation throughout the British Empire. Where civil authorities had declared the Queen's peace as breached (i.e. there was a state of riot), there was a change in the rules: the authorities (whether police, army, or militia providing military aid to the civil power) could shoot and kill the leaders of the riot, and generally take severe action against anyone who was rioting. The counterbalance was that the Crown was responsible for damage caused by the riot, having failed in its duty to preserve the peace. Into the present day, the criminal offence of rioting can only be prosecuted as such with the consent of the Attorney-General (the Queen's legal officer). If disorder does occur but is not prosecuted as rioting, it is officially called a civil disturbance, as deeming it a riot transfers the liability of insurers for any damages or injury occurring from such an event to the local police, which, as they are officers of the Crown, makes the Crown liable to pay.