The historic Cornish Stannary Parliament last assembled at Truro in 1752, and continued until 11 September 1753. The RCSP formed in 1974 claims continuity from the historic parliament on the grounds that the English legal system does not recognise desuetude , and cites the precedent of the Court of Chivalry, which sat in 1952 for the first time in over 200 years. Their contention is that the Stannary Parliament, whilst not in session, still exists. They also point to the fact that the 1508 Charter of Pardon from which the historic parliament derived its powers, was confirmed as still being on the statute books in 1977. The British government rejects the claims of the group. In March 2007, Bridget Prentice, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State in the Ministry of Justice stated in a written answer in the House of Commons "...there are no valid Cornish stannary organisations in existence.", "There are no treaties today that apply to Cornwall only..." and that " There is no special status for legislation which applies to Cornwall or to Cornish localities." This was also confirmed in a reply to a question posed by the MP Andrew George in May 2009.

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