When a knightly order conforms to international law, it has the legitimate right to grant honors on a par with any national State. Republics generally abstain from granting nobility and titles of nobility. Nevertheless there are several remarkable exceptions in the instances of the ancient republics of Bologna, Genoa, Florence, Venice, and also today the «Republic of San Marino » of which the Head of State has always retained the prerogative of granting titles of nobility. But that is a dormant right. Likewise sometimes the French Republic exceptionally recognizes titles of nobility, and might decide as all republics to grant nobility, as the Republic of San Marino in the XXth century, but today dormant in the XXIth century.
The Sovereign was and is the first and most exclusive right and honor (quod principi placuit legis habet valorem), and all highest powers are centered in this figure. These are also called the “prerogatives of the crown” and can be summarized as follows:
a) Jus imperii, i.e. power of command;
b) Jus gladii, i.e., right to obedience by his subjects;
c) Jus majestatis, i.e., right to receive defense and honors;
d) Jus honorum, i.e., right to award, grant honors, noble and knightly dignities, or to invest others with the power to grant said honors.
In current public law, sovereignty lies with the State or, as we all know, with the people legally organized to govern a land. By saying people, we mean “all” the people, in the same way it is organized in nature with the various classes being distinct from each other, each one formed of groups of similar, able or unable, gregarious or leaders, favored or frowned upon by fortune or society.
The concession of a noble title in Italy is not a prerogative of the State today, but is for virtue of the merits recognized of the person by the prerogatives and discretion of the pretender prince to the throne.
The recognition is granted to people who have distinguished themselves for their actions in favor of the Sovereign House, for independent valorous or charitable deeds, and for the recognition of private or public good deeds, which have touched the sensitivity of the Pretender Prince, and do not depend on the relationships with the public or the country the person belongs to.
This concept has always been taken on by the ex-reigning Houses who have lost their throne further to final occupation of the territory: in this case, as the situation of debellatio is not applied, the figure of the Pretender Prince to the throne has emerged.
(Picture: Napoléon Bonaparte French General, First Consul and Emperor, b. 15 August 1769 (Ajaccio (Corsica), France), d. 5 May 1821 (St. Helena Island). Napoleon's father Carlo Buonaparte and his mother Letizia Ramolino came from ancient nobility of the Italian region of Tuscany. The family had emigrated to Corsica in the 16th century, when the island was under the control of the Italian city-state of Genoa.
A noble who wishes to freely use his title, has no need to be recognized and, less still, to be registered in the Gold Book or other “Official” Lists of Italian nobility. The fact the person is not registered does not mean he cannot continue to use his title, as long as it is true, thus reaching a clear distinction between “existing title” and “recognized title”.
What counts is the effective concession of the title and legal possession by the person or family; possession which must be proved by historic, genealogical, legal and canon documentation. The person must possess the appointment deed (letters patent and decree) that proves the claimed right to nobility, so that he does not need to be recognized and, less still, to be registered in the various lists.
Noble titles granted by the Head of Name and Arms of a Dynasty, to be received and born, do not require any registration in the registers of the ex “Heraldic Consulta”, nor in the various Official Lists, or lists in the current Gold Books held by private associations (The Heraldic Council), as those noted pursuant to the Order of the Italian Nobiliary State refer exclusively to titles granted or recognized by the Savoy Family and subsequently those by the Vatican, recognized further to the Agreement of 11th February 1929.
We do not consider requesting some Royal Family that they should be registered /certified with us or to any Commissions on Nobility to be considered genuine, there is NO need for any genuine Royal, Noble or Order to need any kind of registration/certification with any organization to be considered genuine, as International Law covers them, along with many laws of countries that they are still or once ruled over. If they are genuine or not, that comes with Birthright and the knowledge of who they are and their places in history.
Traditional ranks among European royalty, peers, and nobility are rooted in Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages. Although they vary over time and between geographic regions, for example, one region's prince might be equal to another's grand duke.
It is worth mentioning also that the princely families, with the sovereign attributes, requires NO RECOGNITION by the government of their country of origin, or submit any record in countries where its members settle in residence. The dynastic and political independence is based on the sovereignty itself, which guides their social existence and regardless OF ANY LEGAL RECOGNITION, with respect to dynastic and private affairs. "
To conclude
"a) Nobility is the only emanation of Royal, Imperial and Serene prerogative and to be more precise, Sovereign; b) Once a noble title has been acquired with relative predicate and arms, it is not lost if it is not used or a term lapses, as it is a part of the unavoidable wealth of the person;
c) The predicate should be an integral part of the surname; d) “Noble Titles” should not be confused with the “Sovereign Titles”, even if their qualification (e.g. Prince) could be the same, and we must remember that the former are subject to special regulations (regarding their recognition, succession, etc.), the latter do not require any formalities, as they are native. This way the concept of nobility, today without any conceit or privilege, becomes part of sociology as a refinement of the human race in its continued future, with the aim of holding high the banner of the country’s history, which is the symbol of respect for traditions, undeniable life force and source of energy in any evolution of time, society and institutions".
Source: (Consiglio Araldico Italiano - Istituto M.se Vittorio Spreti Piazzale Stazione, 6 - 35131 Padova / Italia). The Sovereign abandons the country, but he does not lose his rights to sovereignty, or to be precise, he conserves intact certain prerogatives, which he can still exercise, while others are suspended. Without doubt, among the prerogatives he conserves intact there is Jus honorum, the right to grant noble titles and honors in knightly orders that are part of the wealth of the Crown.
If a current noble title is deserved and born well, it is equal to those received in past centuries, as anything is current in the moment it is acquired: this noble title is emanated by the Sovereign prerogative (rex nobilem tantum facere potest), and the Sovereign is in the position of an “object” faced with a “subject”; therefore the noble title does not have “antique” origins but “dative”. Its use and transmission are governed by the investiture deed through the “Letters Patent”.
Therefore a Princely House, previously Sovereign, is always considered a Dynasty and the current Head of Name and Arms conserves the titles, prerogatives, and dues of the last dethroned sovereign, with the name of Pretender Prince, previously Royal Highness, Imperial Highness, or Serene Highness.
The International Arbitration Tribunal
In the XIV transitory disposition of the Italian Constitution, noble titles have never been abolished, simply they are not recognized, but the fact they are not recognized just means that republicans are not interested in titles, that they are private wealth before being historic. The Constitutional Assembly could not deprive citizens of an inborn right, because it would be the same as if a law were approved in the future that cancelled certain surnames.
Therefore the ordinary Magistracy is the only authority which, regarding the safeguard of the most jealously kept and delicate of human rights – our name – ha
s the task and power to ascertain the legal noble status of a person, and declare the right to include the status in the surname, as established by the XIV transitory and final disposition of the Constitutional Decree.
The International Arbitration Tribunal, established under Italian and International law, issues a sentence ascertaining the right to noble titles, predicates and legitimacy of the noble coat of arms.
The sentence issued by the International Arbitration Tribunal is a first-degree sentence under Italian law, once an execution decree has been issued by the President of an ordinary tribunal, pursuant to art. 825 of the Italian Civil Procedure Code. The extract of the sentence and the decree by the president of the ordinary tribunal are published in the Official Gazette.
This sentence is irrevocable under Italian Law, and can be executed, within the limits established by international law, within those States that signed the New York Convention on 10th June 1958. Likewise the sentence establishes that on the confirmation and baptism certificates, the title and predicate can be included.
The nobility of Italy, like those of the rest of Europe, were the war leaders of their tribes and the closest relatives to them. At first this was not hereditary, but by the 5th or 6th century, the European tribes were beginning to recognize descent as the primary claim to any important position (although in England until the Norman Invasion, kings were chosen by the witan, a sort of parliament of nobles, from several contenders).
Things were establishing by the 9th century, and many of the titles we have now were being used by the early middle ages, as in most of Western Europe. Most Italian nobility took their surnames from their ancestral seats. In the case of Italy, you got names like di Monteverde (=from Monteverde), which indicate a noble origin. Peasants got names that indicated their job (Ferraro=smith) or their appearance (Barba=beard) or their fathers (di Giulio). Then there were the titles, which indicated the hierarchy of nobility, such as Re (king), Principe (prince) Duca (duke) Conte (count) but in Italy, there was rarely a cut off point where a noble title could no longer be used. So if you were the great-grandson of the youngest son of a count, you were still a count. In England, you lose your title after 2 generations if you are not in direct line. Some of the bearers of very old titles today are holding them by this right, not because they have any claims to the ancestral lands.
DYNASTIC LAW
A dynasty is a sequence of rulers considered members of the same family. Historians traditionally consider many “sovereign states” history within a framework of successive dynasties, e.g., China, Ancient Egypt and the Persian Empire. Much of European political history is dominated by dynasties such as the Carolingians, the Capetians, the Bourbons, the Stuarts, the Hohenzollerns, the Habsburgs, and the Romanovs. Until the 19th century, it was taken for granted that a legitimate function of a monarch was to aggrandize his dynasty; that is, to increase the territory, wealth and power of family members.
In hereditary monarchies the order of succession determines who the new monarch becomes when the incumbent sovereign dies or vacates the throne. Such orders of succession generally specify a selection process, by law or tradition, which is applied to indicate which relative of the previous monarch, or other person, has the strongest claim to succeed, and will therefore assume the throne when the vacancy occurs.
Often, the line of succession is restricted to persons of the blood royal that is, to those legally recognized as born into or descended from the reigning dynasty or a previous sovereign. The persons in line to succeed to the throne are called “dynasts”. Constitutions, statutes, house laws, and norms may regulate the sequence and eligibility of potential successors to the throne.
A dynasty is also often called a house (e.g., House of Saud and the House of Windsor) and may be described as imperial, royal,ducal or comital depending upon the chief title borne by its rulers.Dynasty is also used to refer to the era during which a family reigned, as well as events, trends and artifacts of that period (e.g. "Ming dynasty vase"). In such cases, often "dynasty" is dropped, while the name is used adjectivally; e.g., Tudor style, Ottoman expansion, Romanov decadence, etc.
In historical and monarchist references to formerly reigning families, dynastic describes a family member who would have succession rights if the monarchy's rules were still in force. For example, after the 1914 assassinations of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and his morganatic wife Sophie von Hohenberg, their son Max was bypassed for the Austrian throne because he was not a Habsburg dynast. Even since abolition of the Austrian monarchy, Max and his descendants have not been considered the rightful pretenders by Austrian monarchists, nor have they claimed that position.
On the other hand, the German aristocrat Ernst August, Prince of Hanover (born 1954), a male-line descendant of George III of the United Kingdom, possesses no legal British name, titles or styles (although he is entitled to reclaim the once – royal dukedom of Cumberland), was born in the line of succession to the British crown and is bound by Britain's Royal Marriages Act 1772. Thus, in 1999 he requested and obtained formal permission from Elizabeth II to marry the Roman Catholic Princess Caroline of Monaco. But immediately upon marriage he forfeited his right to the British throne because the English Act of Settlement 1701 dictates that dynasts who marry Roman Catholics are considered "dead" for the purpose of succession.
Historically, there have been differences in systems of succession, mainly revolving around the question of whether succession is limited only to males, or if females are also eligible to succeed. Agnatic succession refers to systems where females are neither allowed to succeed nor to transmit the succession rights to their male descendants (see Salic Law). An agnate is a kinsman with whom one has a common ancestor by descent in unbroken male line. Cognatic previously referred to any succession to the throne or other inheritance which allows both males and females to be heirs, although in modern usage it specifically refers to equal succession by seniority regardless of gender.
House law or House laws are rules that govern a royal family or dynasty in matters of eligibility for succession to a throne, membership in a dynasty, exercise of a regency, or entitlement to dynastic rank, titles and styles. Prevalent in European monarchies during the nineteenth century, few countries have house laws any longer, so that they are, as a category of law, of more historical than current significance.
Some dynasties have codified house laws, which thenform a distinct section of the laws of the realm, e.g., Monaco, Liechtenstein and, formerly, most of Germany's monarchies, as well as Austria and Russia. Other monarchies had few laws regulating royal life. In still others, whatever laws existed was not gathered in any particular section of the nation's laws. In Germany where many dynasties reigned as more or less independent sovereigns, laws governing dynastic rights constituted a distinct branch of jurisprudence called private princely law.
Article 2 of the Constitution of Japan provides that "The Imperial Throne shall be dynastic and succeeded to in accordance with the Imperial Household Law passed by the Diet." The Imperial Household Law of 1947” enacted by the 92nd and last session of the Imperial Diet retained the exclusion on female dynasts found in the 1889 law. The government of Prime Minister Yoshida Shigeru hastily cobbled together the legislation to bring the Imperial House in compliance with the American-written Constitution of Japan that went into effect in May 1947. In an effort to control the size of the imperial family, the law stipulates that only legitimate male descendants in the male line can be dynasts; that naishinnō (imperial princesses) and nyoō (princesses) lose their status as imperial family-members if they marry outside the imperial family; that shinnō (imperial princes), other than the crown prince, ō (princes), unmarried imperial princesses and princesses, and the widows of imperial princes and princesses may, upon their own request or in the event of special circumstances, renounce their membership in the imperial family with approval of the Imperial House Council; and that the Emperor and other members of the imperial family may not adopt children.
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The panel dealing with the succession issue recommended on October 25, 2005 amending the law to allow females of the male line of imperial descent to ascend the Japanese throne. On January 20, 2006, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi devoted part of his annual keynote speech to the controversy, pledging to submit a bill allowing women to ascend the throne to ensure that the succession continues in the future in a stable manner. Shortly after the announcement that Princess Kiko was pregnant with her third child, Koizumi suspended such plans. Her son, Prince Hisahito, is the third in line to the throne under the current law of succession. On January 3, 2007, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced that he would drop the proposal to alter the Imperial Household Law.
Dynastic orders A dynastic order of knighthood is an order belonging to the heraldic patrimony of a dynasty, often held by ancient right. These differ from military, religious, and orders of merit belonging to a particular state, having been instituted to reward personal services rendered to a sovereign, dynasty, or an ancient family of princely rank. An example of this difference is seen between the Royal Victorian Order, which is a personal gift of the sovereign (and thus is a dynastic order), and the Order of the British Empire, which is bestowed by the sovereign on the basis of recommendations by the Prime Minister (and thus is a national order).
Domain of the sovereign Dynastic orders are the exclusive domain of a sovereign and are thus bestowed by the monarch without the advice of the political leadership (prime minister or cabinet). For instance, a recent report by the British government mentioned that there is "one remaining exercise that has been identified of the Monarch’s truly personal, executive prerogative: that is, the conferment of certain honours that remain within her gift (the Orders of Merit, of theGarter, of the Thistle and the Royal Victorian Order)." Generally, Dynastic or House Orders are granted by the monarch for whatever reason the monarch may deem appropriate whereas other orders, often called Merit Orders, are granted on the recommendation of government officials to recognize individual accomplishments or services to the nation.
The Legitimacy of Non Reigning Royal Families Page 10