Elizabeth II, as Queen of the United Kingdom, acted on the advice of British Prime Minister Tony Blair to honour Black by raising him to the peerage.

Black then argued that this strict interpretation of the Nickle Resolution was payback for his political opinions and past criticism of Chrétien, and sued the prime minister unsuccessfully.

Black's supporters argued that Canada did not object to the granting of honours to dual citizens such as Ontario native Sir Godman Irvine who was knighted in 1986.

The court concluded that the prime minister had a constitutional right to advise the Queen of Canada on exercising her royal prerogative.

[4] In short, the prime minister was simply informing a foreign state of Canada's policy regarding the granting of honours to its citizens, an act which the court found that he had the legal privilege to do.

[10] He may have desired this to qualify for prisoner exchange and benefit from Canadian early release policies[11] or to enable him to cross the border following a conviction.

"[13] Even without Canadian citizenship, Black continued to be a member of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada, to which he was appointed by Governor General Ray Hnatyshyn, on the advice of Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, in 1992.