## Facts

- During World War I, the government seized De Keyser’s Royal Hotel using royal prerogative powers.
- The Defence of the Realm Act 1914 (DORA) provided the government broad authority to requisition property and included provisions for compensating owners.
- The hotel owners claimed compensation under DORA’s statutory scheme, arguing the requisition should be subject to its payment rules.
- The government contended it acted purely under royal prerogative, which did not require payment according to DORA’s terms.
- The resulting dispute centered on whether statutory powers in DORA or the royal prerogative controlled the requisition and entitlement to compensation.

## Issues

1. Whether the government could rely on royal prerogative powers to requisition property when a statute (DORA) provided for the same subject matter and prescribed payment to owners.
2. Whether, in cases of overlap, statutory provisions supersede the use of equivalent royal prerogative powers.

## Decision

- The House of Lords held in favour of De Keyser’s Royal Hotel.
- The judgment clarified that when an Act of Parliament addresses the same matter as royal prerogative, statutory provisions must be followed and take priority.
- The Crown could not bypass statutory compensation requirements by invoking prerogative powers when Parliament had legislated on the issue.
- The specific statutory regime under DORA replaced, to the relevant extent, prerogative powers regarding property requisition and compensation.

## Legal Principles

- Statutes enacted by Parliament override royal prerogative powers in cases of direct overlap.
- The Crown is bound by statutory provisions governing the same subject as former prerogative powers; statutory authority controls.
- Parliamentary supremacy ensures government actions, even in emergencies such as war, must comply with statutory requirements when enacted.

## Conclusion

The House of Lords in Attorney-General v De Keyser’s Royal Hotel Ltd established that parliamentary legislation takes precedence over conflicting royal prerogative, confirming that statutory requirements for property requisition and compensation override the Crown’s historic powers in such circumstances. This case remains a basis for the principle of parliamentary supremacy and the regulation of executive powers.


Attorney-General v De Keyser's Royal Hotel Ltd [1920] AC 508 (HL)