Plain language law

New Zealand law explained for everyone

Constitution Act 1986

The Sovereign

5: Demise of the Crown

You could also call this:

"What happens to the monarch's jobs and powers when they die"

Illustration for Constitution Act 1986

When the Sovereign dies, all their jobs and powers automatically go to their successor. This happens according to the rules set out in the Act of Settlement and other laws about who gets to be the next Sovereign. The death of the Sovereign does not change anything else in the law. You need to know that when a document mentions the Sovereign, it usually means the current Sovereign and their future heirs and successors, unless the document says otherwise. This means that the rules and laws that apply to the Sovereign also apply to the people who come after them, unless the context of the document says something different.

This text is automatically generated. It might be out of date or be missing some parts. Find out more about how we do this.

This page was last updated on

View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM94217.

Topics:
Government and voting > Government departments
Previous

4: Regency, or

"What happens when someone else does the Queen or King's job in New Zealand"

Next

6: Ministers of Crown to be members of Parliament, or

"To be a Minister of the Crown, you must be a member of Parliament."

Part 1The Sovereign

5Demise of the Crown

  1. The death of the Sovereign shall have the effect of transferring all the functions, duties, powers, authorities, rights, privileges, and dignities belonging to the Crown to the Sovereign's successor, as determined in accordance with the enactment of the Parliament of England intituled The Act of Settlement (12 & 13 Will 3, c 2) and any other law relating to the succession to the Throne, but shall otherwise have no effect in law for any purpose.

  2. Every reference to the Sovereign in any document or instrument in force on or after the commencement of this Act shall, unless the context otherwise requires, be deemed to include a reference to the Sovereign's heirs and successors.