# Do Britons (and I assume Canadians, Australians, etc.) All Have To Get New Passports Now? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 9, 2022, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-britons-and-i-assume-canadians-australians-etc-all-have-to-get-new-passports-now/971269 "2022-09-09T14:21:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2022, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-britons-and-i-assume-canadians-australians-etc-all-have-to-get-new-passports-now/971269/61 "2022-09-11T18:19:35Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > It’s a mark of the stability of a currency - government notes hold their face value. The central banks will honour the notes. > [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > Bottom line, though, is that you’ve got a legal guarantee that notes keep their face value. Their face value they may keep, but thanks to inflation not their purchasing power. And that is the real mark of stability, I’m afraid. This affects all currencies, some more than others. But in the end all coins and notes end up being worth more as collector items than at face value, sooner or later. ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2022, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-britons-and-i-assume-canadians-australians-etc-all-have-to-get-new-passports-now/971269/62 "2022-09-11T18:34:12Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Having to travel to “the head office of the Bank of England” to exchange one’s bank notes really isn’t practical for many people. No doubt the exchange can be made by post. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2022, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-britons-and-i-assume-canadians-australians-etc-all-have-to-get-new-passports-now/971269/63 "2022-09-11T20:24:07Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Having to travel to “the head office of the Bank of England” to exchange one’s bank notes really isn’t practical for many people. I think it’s deliberate - not just to make life difficult, but they give a pretty long window to swap them, and if there is no incentive to do so people just won’t bother and they be circulating forever. This gives an incentive, but if grandma has a large stash hidden away, it’s not worthless. ---
**Author:** ![md-2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9d8465/32.png) [@md-2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md-2000)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2022, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-britons-and-i-assume-canadians-australians-etc-all-have-to-get-new-passports-now/971269/64 "2022-09-11T23:56:51Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > I think it’s deliberate - not just to make life difficult, but they give a pretty long window to swap them, and if there is no incentive to do so people just won’t bother and they be circulating forever. This gives an incentive, but if grandma has a large stash hidden away, it’s not worthless. I think the basic problem is that with modern technology it has gotten easier and easier for the average small “entrepreneur” to print paper money, particularly when you can pass it to those who are not so adroit at spotting it. (such as George Floyd). By limiting its acceptance to a few specific banks, they probably (a) end up knowing who _you_ are, and (b) best able to tell whether the paper is fake or not. Unlike India, where the purpose was to flush out the the underground economy and those who were hoarding big bills to avoid tax collectors. We visited there a few weeks after the exchange started, it was sad. Most bank machines ran out very quick, the government did not print enough money. When we found a machine not empty - take out as much as we could at once. It was impossible to get any cash from the foreign exchange places before arriving. To exchange old bills, you needed a bank account so there were accounts of the less affluent (“hippie”) tourists being stuck with worthless money and having to beg in the streets. I recall when going to places like Egypt and Tanzania where they are willing (eager?) to accept American bills, the advice was to take money printed about 2007 or later, with the extra security features that make it easier to tell it is real. American politicians are the last ones wary of changing the money in case the other party calls them out for “debasing” the money, just same as the reason why they’ve never stopped producing the $1, unlike Canada, the Euro, or the Pound. (I still have a Bank of Scotland 1-pound note.) ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Feldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lord_feldon/32/341_2.png) [@Lord\_Feldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Feldon)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2022, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-britons-and-i-assume-canadians-australians-etc-all-have-to-get-new-passports-now/971269/65 "2022-09-12T01:19:25Z")
> [@bob\_2](#): > > _Demonetize_ may not have the meaning you think it has. Yes, it has been deprived of its status as money, in the sense that you cannot use it to buy something, but it still retains its value as half of a GBP. That is, one can take it to the bank and exchange it for a current 50p. At the pleasure of the bank, if it wishes to provide [that service](https://www.royalmint.com/help/coinage-faqs/how-can-i-dispose-of-demonetised-coins/): > It is our understanding that some United Kingdom high-street banks are willing to accept demonetised coins from their customers. Please be aware, however, they are under no legal obligation to do so. And the Bank of England only exchanges old _notes_. ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2022, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-britons-and-i-assume-canadians-australians-etc-all-have-to-get-new-passports-now/971269/66 "2022-09-12T01:50:15Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > > [@md-2000](#): > > > > It was mentioned on our news that the name of Court of Queens Bench and lawyers with “Queen’s Counsel” designation would have to make changes, among other things. > > Here’s the public announcement on this topic from the Saskatchewan government: > > > [@](#): > > > > # Public Notice: Effects of Succession on Saskatchewan Courts > > > > Released on September 8, 2022 > > > > Upon the recent passing of Her late Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II, and the succession of His Majesty, King Charles III, questions may be asked about the effect on the terminology used in the courts and the legal profession which refer to the monarch > > > > Please take notice that, in accordance with _The Queen’s Bench Act, 1998_ and _The Legislation Act_: > > > > 1. The name of the Court of Queen’s Bench changes automatically upon the succession of the King. It is now the Court of King’s Bench, and should be referred to by that name henceforth. > > > > 2. Pleadings and legal documents which have been filed with the Court under the name of “Queen’s Bench” continue to be valid. There is no need to amend or re-file the documents. Henceforth, the term “King’s Bench” should be used in all pleadings and legal documents. > > > > 3. The term “Queen’s Counsel” changes automatically to “King’s Counsel,” and the abbreviation “K.C” replaces “Q.C.” The succession does not affect existing appointments as Queen’s Counsel or seniority at the bar. There is no need for existing patents of appointment to be re-issued. There is no change to the French abbreviation - the title “conseiller du roi” remains correct, as does the abbreviation “c.r.” > > [Public Notice: Effects of Succession on Saskatchewan Courts | News and Media | Government of Saskatchewan](https://www.saskatchewan.ca/government/news-and-media/2022/september/08/public-notice--effects-of-succession-on-saskatchewan-courts) This seems so delightfully sensible and, well, _Canadian_. It’s like the government is saying, “Yes, we’ve got a new king and if course we’re going to acknowledge that; but we’re not going to be stupid about it.” ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2022, 7:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-britons-and-i-assume-canadians-australians-etc-all-have-to-get-new-passports-now/971269/67 "2022-09-13T07:33:46Z")
Now I have to look up just what does the name “Court of King’s/Queen’s Bench” mean. I’m imagining a bunch of people on the grass under a tree, all watching a ceremony involving a couple of notables sitting on a wooden bench carved from half a log. ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2022, 8:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-britons-and-i-assume-canadians-australians-etc-all-have-to-get-new-passports-now/971269/68 "2022-09-13T08:26:01Z")
800 or so years ago, it wasn’t far off that: > **[Court of King's Bench (England)](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Court_of_King%27s_Bench_(England))** > > The Court of King's Bench,\[a\] formally known as The Court of the King Before the King Himself,\[a\] was a court of common law in the English legal system. Created in the late 12th to early 13th century from the curia regis, the King's Bench initially followed the monarch on his travels. The King's Bench finally joined the Court of Common Pleas and Exchequer of Pleas in Westminster Hall in 1318, making its last travels in 1421. The King's Bench was merged into the High Court of Justice by the Sup... ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2022, 10:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-britons-and-i-assume-canadians-australians-etc-all-have-to-get-new-passports-now/971269/69 "2022-09-13T10:06:55Z")
Lizzy died at 3.30am my time and by 9.00 am my time I had received an email from counsel marked KC. Doesn’t take too long to change one character in the footer of an email I guess. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2022, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-britons-and-i-assume-canadians-australians-etc-all-have-to-get-new-passports-now/971269/70 "2022-09-13T19:57:47Z")
> [@Sunspace](#): > > Now I have to look up just what does the name “Court of King’s/Queen’s Bench” mean. I’m imagining a bunch of people on the grass under a tree, all watching a ceremony involving a couple of notables sitting on a wooden bench carved from half a log. In the Canadian context, it’s the superior court in a province, as opposed to the inferior court (i.e. Provincial Court, where preliminary inquiries take place, small claims matters are heard, first appearances and trials in some small criminal matters, among other purposes). King’s/Queen’s Bench is for the “big stuff”–serious criminal matters, large lawsuits, and so on. Note that this is very general information, as some provinces may hear certain matters in the superior court that I would expect to be heard in the provincial court of my province. It’s up to a province as to what it calls its superior court. Ontario does not use the King’s/Queen’s Bench appellation, though it has the same thing that fulfills the same functions: in Ontario, the equivalent is called “the Superior Court of Justice.” ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2022, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-britons-and-i-assume-canadians-australians-etc-all-have-to-get-new-passports-now/971269/71 "2022-09-13T22:08:23Z")
Thanks! I am more wondering about the etymology of the name. Did it literally refer to a “bench” as we would know it at one time? Has the meaning of the word “bench” shifted? ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2022, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-britons-and-i-assume-canadians-australians-etc-all-have-to-get-new-passports-now/971269/72 "2022-09-13T22:34:32Z")
Not really. The bench was literally a seat for the judges in a court, but it has also become a metonym used to describe members of the judiciary collectively. From that, comes more specific groups like “King’s Bench” ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2022, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-britons-and-i-assume-canadians-australians-etc-all-have-to-get-new-passports-now/971269/73 "2022-09-13T22:34:57Z")
> [@Princhester](#): > > Lizzy died at 3.30am my time and by 9.00 am my time I had received an email from counsel marked KC. And the billing will round up to the full 6 hours. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2022, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-britons-and-i-assume-canadians-australians-etc-all-have-to-get-new-passports-now/971269/74 "2022-09-14T04:05:17Z")
> [@bob\_2](#): > > Not really. The bench was literally a seat for the judges in a court, but it has also become a metonym used to describe members of the judiciary collectively. > > From that, comes more specific groups like “King’s Bench” Does that have anything to do with “the Bar”, “called to the Bar”, etc? ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2022, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-britons-and-i-assume-canadians-australians-etc-all-have-to-get-new-passports-now/971269/75 "2022-09-14T04:10:54Z")
As I understand it, the term “bar” originally referenced a literal bar across the courtroom dividing the room, at which the lawyers appearing stood. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2022, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-britons-and-i-assume-canadians-australians-etc-all-have-to-get-new-passports-now/971269/76 "2022-09-14T04:25:27Z")
And it still exists. You can see “the bar” in any number of TV shows and movies. It’s the fence that separates the gallery from the lawyers, the judge, and the clerks. Sometimes, it has a gate in it, like on the “Judge Judy” show. In my jurisdiction, only lawyers, judges, and court officials may sit before the bar. Litigants may appear before the bar, when their matter is being heard. But members of the public, or litigants whose matters are not being heard, may not. I remember being called to the bar, and becoming a lawyer at last, and thinking, “Thank goodness, finally, I don’t have to sit in the gallery as a student-at-law, hoping I can be recognized as an almost-lawyer; I can sit before the bar and be recognized by the Court quickly and easily.” ETA: “Passing the bar,” to a lawyer, means more than just passing the bar exams. In my jurisdiction, it means when they can actually pass beyond that fence in the courtroom freely, and sit before the bar. ---
**Author:** ![APB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8e8cbc/32.png) [@APB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/APB)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2022, 9:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-britons-and-i-assume-canadians-australians-etc-all-have-to-get-new-passports-now/971269/77 "2022-09-14T09:38:15Z")
> [@Sunspace](#): > > Thanks! I am more wondering about the etymology of the name. Did it literally refer to a “bench” as we would know it at one time? Has the meaning of the word “bench” shifted? It was specifically the King’s seat at the southern end of Westminster Hall. The judges used it because they were dispensing justice in his name and Magna Carta specified that they had to do so there so that the court had a fixed location. The Court of King’s Bench continued to meet there until the nineteenth century. That’s still the upper, more prestigious end of the Hall. The King and the Queen Consort sat at that end the other day when the Lords and Commons presented their loyal addresses. What the ‘bench’ looked liked has been much debated. [Fragments of the table have been discovered](https://www.parliament.uk/about/living-heritage/building/palace/westminsterhall/architecture/king-s-seat-and-table/). Some have conjectured that the seat may have been a large stone block, whereas others think it was a more conventional chair. But no one really knows. ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2022, 9:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-britons-and-i-assume-canadians-australians-etc-all-have-to-get-new-passports-now/971269/78 "2022-09-14T09:57:56Z")
One would assume Their Lordships’ backsides were entitled to a cushion or two. ---
**Author:** ![Mk\_VII](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Mk\_VII](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mk_VII)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2022, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-britons-and-i-assume-canadians-australians-etc-all-have-to-get-new-passports-now/971269/79 "2022-09-16T17:03:23Z")
The English courts have been considerably modified in the last century or so, and things like the Barons of The Exchequer and the Chief Justice of The Common Pleas have shuffled off into history. Crown Courts have replaced both the Assizes and the Quarter Sessions. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2022, 9:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-britons-and-i-assume-canadians-australians-etc-all-have-to-get-new-passports-now/971269/80 "2022-09-17T09:54:05Z")
The Assize and Quarter Sessions were replaced by the Crown Court by the Courts Act 1971. I was about to say “relatively recently” but it’s been 50 years now! The Courts of Westminster Hall were all combined into the High Court through a series of Acts of Parliament in the 1870’s. They now sit along with the Court of Appeal in the Royal Courts of Justice on the Strand in London. > **[Royal Courts of Justice](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Courts_of_Justice)** > > The Royal Courts of Justice, commonly called the Law Courts, is a court building in Westminster which houses the High Court and Court of Appeal of England and Wales. The High Court also sits on circuit and in other major cities. Designed by George Edmund Street, who died before it was completed, it is a large grey stone edifice in the Victorian Gothic Revival style built in the 1870s and opened by Queen Victoria in 1882. It is one of the largest courts in Europe. It is a Grade I listed buildin... [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-britons-and-i-assume-canadians-australians-etc-all-have-to-get-new-passports-now/971269.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-britons-and-i-assume-canadians-australians-etc-all-have-to-get-new-passports-now/971269.md?page=5)