The Balfour Declaration of 1926, issued by the 1926 Imperial Conference of British Empire leaders in London, was named after Arthur Balfour, who was Lord President of the Council. It declared the United Kingdom and the Dominions to be:
... autonomous Communities within the British Empire, equal in status, in no way subordinate one to another in any aspect of their domestic or external affairs, though united by a common allegiance to the Crown, and freely associated as members of the British Commonwealth of Nations.
The Statute of Westminster 1931 is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that sets the basis for the relationship between the Dominions and the Crown.
The Irish Free State, also known by its Irish name Saorstát Éireann, was a state established in December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty of December 1921. The treaty ended the three-year Irish War of Independence between the forces of the Irish Republic – the Irish Republican Army (IRA) – and British Crown forces.
Governor-general, or governor general, is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy to represent the monarch of a personal union in any sovereign state over which the monarch does not normally reign in person. Governors-general have also previously been appointed in respect of major colonial states or other territories held by either a monarchy or republic, such as Japan in Korea and Taiwan and France in Indochina.
A Commonwealth realm is a sovereign state within the Commonwealth that has Charles III as its monarch and head of state. All the realms are independent of each other, although one person, resident in the United Kingdom, acts as monarch of each. Except for the UK, in each of the realms the monarch is represented by a governor-general. The phrase Commonwealth realm is an informal description not used in any law.
The Australia Act 1986 is the short title of each of a pair of separate but related pieces of legislation: one an act of the Parliament of Australia, the other an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. In Australia they are referred to, respectively, as the Australia Act 1986 (Cth) and the Australia Act 1986 (UK). These nearly identical Acts were passed by the two parliaments, because of uncertainty as to whether the Commonwealth Parliament alone had the ultimate authority to do so. They were enacted using legislative powers conferred by enabling acts passed by the parliaments of every Australian state. The acts came into effect simultaneously, on 3 March 1986.
The Dominion of New Zealand was the historical successor to the Colony of New Zealand. It was a constitutional monarchy with a high level of self-government within the British Empire.
In the British Empire, a self-governing colony was a colony with an elected government in which elected rulers were able to make most decisions without referring to the colonial power with nominal control of the colony. This was in contrast to a Crown colony, in which the British Government ruled and legislated via an appointed Governor, with or without the assistance of an appointed Council. Most self-governing colonies had responsible government.
The state known today as Ireland is the successor state to the Irish Free State, which existed from December 1922 to December 1937. At its foundation, the Irish Free State was, in accordance with its constitution and the terms of the Anglo-Irish Treaty, governed as a constitutional monarchy, in personal union with the monarchy of the United Kingdom and other members of what was then called the British Commonwealth. The monarch as head of state was represented in the Irish Free State by his Governor-General, who performed most of the monarch's duties based on the advice of elected Irish officials.
The Statute of Westminster Adoption Act 1942 is an act of the Australian Parliament that formally adopted sections 2–6 of the Statute of Westminster 1931, an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom enabling the total legislative independence of the various self-governing Dominions of the British Empire. With its enactment, Westminster relinquished nearly all of its authority to legislate for the Dominions, effectively making them de jure sovereign nations.
The monarchy of Australia is a key component of Australia's form of government, by which a hereditary monarch serves as the country's sovereign and head of state. It is a constitutional monarchy, modelled on the Westminster system of parliamentary democracy, while incorporating features unique to the constitution of Australia.
In the Commonwealth of Nations, a high commissioner is the senior diplomat, generally ranking as an ambassador, in charge of the diplomatic mission of one Commonwealth government to another. Instead of an embassy, the diplomatic mission is generally called a high commission.
Australia is a constitutional monarchy whose Sovereign also serves as Monarch of the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Canada and eleven other former dependencies of the United Kingdom including Papua New Guinea, which was formerly a dependency of Australia. These countries operate as independent nations, and are known as Commonwealth realms. The history of the Australian monarchy has involved a shifting relationship with both the monarch and also the British government.
New Zealand–United Kingdom relations are the bilateral relations between New Zealand and the United Kingdom. New Zealand has maintained a close relationship with Britain, since gaining independence from the United Kingdom.
The Constitutional history of Australia is the history of Australia's foundational legal principles. Australia's legal origins as a nation state began in the colonial era, with the reception of English law and the lack of any regard to existing Indigenous legal structures. As the colonies expanded, Australia gradually began to achieve de facto independence. Over the years as a result the foundations of the Australian legal system gradually began to shift. This culminated in the Australia Act, an act formally ending legal ties with the UK.
A dominion was any of several largely self-governing countries of the British Empire, once known collectively as the British Commonwealth of Nations. Progressing from colonies, their degrees of colonial self-governance increased unevenly over the late 19th century through the 1930s. Vestiges of empire lasted in some dominions well into the late 20th century. With the evolution of the British Empire following the 1945 conclusion of the Second World War into the modern Commonwealth of Nations, finalised in 1949, the dominions became independent states, either as Commonwealth republics or Commonwealth realms.
The British High Commission Canberra is the diplomatic mission of the Government of the United Kingdom to Australia, representing the United Kingdom and the United Kingdom's interests. It is located on Commonwealth Avenue along with the High Commissions of New Zealand and Canada in the Canberra suburb of Yarralumla. The current British High Commissioner is Vicki Treadell who was appointed in 2019.
