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A dormant commission is a commission which lies dormant or sleeping until it is triggered by a particular event. The concept appears in the constitutional affairs of Commonwealth realm nations.

Historically, a dormant commission was given in relation to a military command. During the Crimean War, Sir George Cathcart held a dormant commission to take command of the British Army in Crimea if Lord Raglan was killed or disabled.

The Governors of the Australian states, by convention, are given dormant commissions to act as Administrator of the Commonwealth in the absence of a Governor-General of Australia. However, there have been cases where a governor has fallen out of favour with the government, causing their dormant commission to be revoked. The most recent example was that of Sir Colin Hannah, Governor of Queensland, in 1975.

In the same way, the Chief Justice of New Zealand holds a dormant commission to act as Governor-General of New Zealand. Other Commonwealth realms use dormant commissions in similar ways.

References

• Letters Patent constituting the Office of Governor-General of New Zealand, Section XII