Michael L Nash discusses DNA & disputed titles
“I am my father’s son, according to my mother”, runs an old saying, but now the advent of DNA testing and techniques has added another factor to the equation.
On 11 October 2015 it was reported that the Queen, in a most unusual step, had referred a disputed titles case to the Baronetage Committee of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, something which had not been done since 1927.
This most august body, composed of senior judges from Britain and the Commonwealth, meets in informal style in Whitehall, governed by the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council Act of 1833. It is under s 4 of this Act that the Queen has made the referral. The section states: “Her Majesty may refer any other matters to the Committee”, a kind of catch-all section for matters on which the Queen seeks advice. The judgments of the Judicial Committtee take the form of advice to the Queen, but they have the same status as those of the Supreme Court.
The case in question concerns the baronetcy of
