[1] The RCSP formed in 1974 claims continuity from the historic parliament on the grounds that the English legal system does not recognise desuetude (laws lapsing through lack of use), and cites the precedent of the Court of Chivalry, which sat in 1952 for the first time in over 200 years.
The group interpreted the 1508 charter as applying to all descendants of Cornish tin-miners, and claimed that they had the power to veto all laws made in Westminster, not only those relating to the tin and mineral industries.
[5] On 24 June, at a meeting at which the stannators wore kilts of Cornish tartan, and at which an unofficial Cornish national anthem was sung, the group proclaimed eighteen articles or acts, including the claim to retain all taxes gathered in the Duchy, the declaration of Saint Piran's Flag to be the national flag, a claim on all mineral rights including oil and natural gas, and sought to reverse recent local government reorganisation.
On 15 December, Brian Hambley, using the title "Lord Protector of the Stannaries", said they had decided to postpone the seizure of property in St Austell to give the four town councils an opportunity to appoint stannators.
His defence was that he was exempt from the court's jurisdiction because he was a "privileged tinner", having staked out several acres of moorland, with a view to working them for tin on land belonging to the lord-lieutenant of the county.
Shares were made available for sale in the Royal Cornish Consols United Tin Mines Cost Book Company at one pound each, the claim being that shareholders would not be liable for the charge.
[14] On 12 October, Trull was found guilty of contempt by breaching High Court orders to stop issuing shares, and for failing to disclose the whereabouts of the money.
"[15] On 22 February 1991, Trull appeared before the High Court, and his sentence was reduced to three months and suspended for two years, on the condition that he undertook to help the Department of Trade and Industry recover the money invested by the public.
[16][17] Trull remained clerk of the "revived" parliament, and in November was again before the courts claiming the Bodmin magistrates had no jurisdiction to make orders for payment against him on behalf of Restormel Borough Council, because he was 'a privileged tinner within the Stannaries of Cornwall.'
The Revived Cornish Stannary Parliament believed the reason for the introduction of the PII certificate was that the Duchy of Cornwall refuses to reveal the circumstances under which it transferred several of its properties (including Tintagel Castle) to the management of English Heritage.
[22][23] The RCSP asserts that Cornish people are subject to forced assimilation by an education system that fails to provide them with an adequate level of knowledge about their history and, hence, their identity.
[22] The organisation's website says that the group has been active in seeking repayment of alleged over-taxation on tin mined in Cornwall, and to have lodged documents with the European Court of Human Rights.
In 2007 the Revived Cornish Stannary Parliament presented at Truro Crown Court having put together a demand to restrict the 'rights and privileges' of the Duke of Cornwall, The Prince of Wales, in his role within the Duchy.