Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, usually known simply as the Privy Council, is a formal body of advisers to the Sovereign in the United Kingdom. Its membership is mostly made up of senior politicians who are (or have been) members of either the House of Commons or the House of Lords.
The Privy Council, the modern-day successor to the Privy Council of England and the Privy Council of Scotland, was formerly a powerful institution, but its policy decisions are now exclusively in the hands of one of its committees, the Cabinet. The Council formally advises the Sovereign on the exercise of the Royal Prerogative, and together (as the Queen-in-Council) they issue executive instruments known as Orders in Council, which amongst other things are used to make Regulations. The Council by itself also has a delegated authority to issue Orders of Council, which are mostly used to regulate certain public institutions. The Council also advises the Sovereign on the issuing of Royal Charters, which are used to grant special status to incorporated bodies, and city or borough status to local authorities.
Certain judicial functions are also performed by the Queen-in-Council, although in practice the actual work of hearing and deciding upon cases is carried out exclusively by the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council. The Judicial Committee consists of senior judges appointed as Privy Counsellors: Justices of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom, judges of the Court of Appeal of England and Wales, judges of the Court of Appeal in Northern Ireland, judges of the Inner House of the Court of Session (the supreme civil court in Scotland), and judges from various other Commonwealth member states. The Council was formerly a supreme court of appeal for the entire British Empire (other than for the United Kingdom itself), and continues to hear appeals from the Crown Dependencies, the British Overseas Territories, and a number of Commonwealth member countries.
Read more about Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council: History, Origin of The Term, Composition, Privy Council Oath, Term of Office, Meetings, Functions, Notable Orders, Rights and Privileges of Members, Other Councils, See Also
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