Letters patent

Letters patent (always in the plural) are a type of legal instrument in the form of a published written order issued by a monarch, president, or other head of state, generally granting an office, right, monopoly, title, or status to a person or corporation. Letters patent can be used for the creation of corporations or government offices, or for the granting of city status or a coat of arms. Letters patent are issued for the appointment of representatives of the Crown, such as Governors and Governors-General of Commonwealth realms, as well as appointing a Royal Commission. In the United Kingdom they are also issued for the creation of peers of the realm. A particular form of letters patent has evolved into the modern patent (referred to as a utility patent or design patent in United States patent law) granting exclusive rights in an invention (or a design in the case of a design patent). Clearly in this case it is essential that the written grant should be in the form of a public document so other inventors can consult it to avoid infringement and also to understand how to "practice" the invention, i.e., put it into practical use.

Letters Patent, 1947

The Letters Patent, 1947 (more formally, the Letters Patent Constituting the Office of Governor General and Commander-in-Chief of Canada) are a legal instrument introduced by King George VI, which came into effect on 1 October 1947 and continue to, along with parts of the Constitution Act, 1867, constitute the Office of the Governor General. These letters served to expand the role and powers of the governor general in exercising the Royal Prerogative, allowing the governor general to carry out an increased number of the King's duties in "exceptional circumstances". While the letters patent delegate most of the "powers and authorities" lawfully belonging to the Queen of Canada to the governor general, this delegation can be revoked, altered, or amended by the sovereign at any time, and thus these powers and authorities remain with the Queen and are carried out by the governor general on her behalf.

Historical context

The first letters patent in Canada were, starting in 1663, issued to the governors of New France by the Kings of France. At that time, the letters patent outlining the office of the governor and its role were issued with a commission appointing the occupant to the office, as well as an accompanying set of royal instructions. In this way, a different set of letters patent were issued by the Crown each time a new governor was appointed, a custom that was continued by the British following the surrender of New France in 1763 to the United Kingdom. This system remained largely unchanged until 1947 with two exceptions: The first was the granting of the title commander-in-chief in 1905 and the second occurred in 1931, when the governor general went from acting as an agent of the British government to a representative of the Canadian Crown.