A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a nation, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the monarch's closest advisors to give confidential advice on state affairs.

Privy councils

Functioning privy councils

 Belgium: Crown Council of Belgium

 Bhutan: Privy Council of Bhutan

 Brunei: Privy Council of Brunei

 Canada: Queen's Privy Council for Canada

 Cambodia: Supreme Privy Council of His Majesty the King of Cambodia

 Denmark: Danish Council of State

 Norway: Norwegian Council of State

 Netherlands: Dutch Council of State

 Thailand: Privy Council of Thailand

 Tonga: Privy Council of Tonga

 United Kingdom: Her Majesty’s Most Honourable Privy Council

• Cabinet Committee of the Privy Council; the Cabinet of the United Kingdom
• Judicial Committee of the Privy Council
• Privy Council Office

The Privy Council of Tonga is the highest ranking council to advise the Monarch in the Kingdom of Tonga. It is empowered to advise the King in his capacity as Head of State and Fountain of Justice under the provisions of Clause 50 ( 1 ) of the Constitution of Tonga:

" Clause 50 (1) The King shall appoint a Privy Council to provide him with advice. The Privy Council shall be composed of such people whom the King shall see fit to call to his Council."

Membership

Members of the Privy Council are appointed by the King of Tonga who is its Chairman. The Council has 3 types of members:

The Lord Chancellor, the Lord President of the Supreme Court and the Attorney General are automatically members of the Privy Council. The constitution doesn't set a limit on the number of members who sit on the Council and this is left to the decision of the Monarch.

Judicial functions

Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, usually known simply as the Privy Council, is a formal body of advisers to the Sovereign of the United Kingdom. Its membership mainly comprises senior politicians, who are present or former members of the House of Commons or the House of Lords.

The Privy Council formally advises the sovereign on the exercise of the Royal Prerogative, and corporately (as Queen-in-Council) it issues executive instruments known as Orders in Council, which among other powers enact Acts of Parliament. The Council also holds the delegated authority to issue Orders of Council, mostly used to regulate certain public institutions. The Council advises the sovereign on the issuing of Royal Charters, which are used to grant special status to incorporated bodies, and city or borough status to local authorities. Otherwise, the Privy Council's powers have now been largely replaced by the Cabinet of the United Kingdom.

Certain judicial functions are also performed by the Queen-in-Council, although in practice its actual work of hearing and deciding upon cases is carried out day-to-day by the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council. The Judicial Committee consists of senior judges appointed as Privy Counsellors: predominantly Justices of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom and senior judges from the Commonwealth. The Privy Council formerly acted as the High Court of Appeal for the entire British Empire (other than for the United Kingdom itself), and continues to hear appeals from the Crown Dependencies, the British Overseas Territories, and some independent Commonwealth states.

The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (JCPC) is one of the highest courts in the United Kingdom. Established by the Judicial Committee Act 1833 (or with the Privy Council Appeals Act 1832) to hear appeals formerly heard by the King-in-Council (s. 3), it is the highest court of appeal (or court of last resort) for several independent Commonwealth countries, the British Overseas Territories and the British Crown dependencies. It is often referred to as the Privy Council, as in most cases appeals are made to ‘Her Majesty in Council’ (i.e. the British monarch as formally advised by her Privy Counsellors), who then refers the case to the Judicial Committee for ‘advice’; the ‘report’ of the Judicial Committee is always accepted by the Queen in Council as judgment. The panel of judges (typically five in number) hearing a particular case is known as ‘the Board’.

In Commonwealth republics retaining the JCPC as their final court of appeal, appeals are made directly to the Judicial Committee itself. In the case of Brunei, appeals are made to the Sultan of Brunei, who then refers the case to the Judicial Committee for advice.