: an order having the full force of law that is issued by the British monarch acting by and with the advice of the Privy Council or by a governor-general acting by and with the advice of the privy council or similar body of a member nation of the British Commonwealth usually as a means of giving legal effect to a decision of the cabinet in areas not involving parliamentary action
the promulgation of orders-in-council both in pursuance of royal prerogative and under authority of statute—F. A. Ogg & Harold Zink
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