Command paper
Encyclopedia
A command paper is a document issued by the British
government and presented to Parliament
. White paper
s, green paper
s, treaties
, reports from Royal Commission
s and various government bodies can all be released as command papers, so-called because they are presented to Parliament formally 'By Her Majesty
's Command'.
Command papers are numbered. Since 1870 they have been prefixed with an abbreviation of 'command' which has changed over time to allow for new sequences.
Command Papers are published by TSO (The Stationery Office) for OPSI (The Office of Public Sector Information).
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
government and presented to Parliament
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...
. White paper
White paper
A white paper is an authoritative report or guide that helps solve a problem. White papers are used to educate readers and help people make decisions, and are often requested and used in politics, policy, business, and technical fields. In commercial use, the term has also come to refer to...
s, green paper
Green paper
In the Commonwealth, the Republic of Ireland and the United States a green paper is a tentative government report of a proposal without any commitment to action; the first step in changing the law...
s, treaties
Treaty
A treaty is an express agreement under international law entered into by actors in international law, namely sovereign states and international organizations. A treaty may also be known as an agreement, protocol, covenant, convention or exchange of letters, among other terms...
, reports from Royal Commission
Royal Commission
In Commonwealth realms and other monarchies a Royal Commission is a major ad-hoc formal public inquiry into a defined issue. They have been held in various countries such as the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and Saudi Arabia...
s and various government bodies can all be released as command papers, so-called because they are presented to Parliament formally 'By Her Majesty
Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom
Elizabeth II is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize,...
's Command'.
Command papers are numbered. Since 1870 they have been prefixed with an abbreviation of 'command' which has changed over time to allow for new sequences.
| Prefix | Dates | Numbers |
| 1833–1869 | 1 to 4222 | |
| C. | 1870–1899 | C.1 to C.9550 |
| Cd. | 1900–1918 | Cd.1 to Cd.9239 |
| Cmd. | 1919–1956 | Cmd.1 to Cmd.9889 |
| Cmnd. | 1956–1986 | |
| Cm. | 1986– | |
Command Papers are published by TSO (The Stationery Office) for OPSI (The Office of Public Sector Information).