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A British Empire Court - A Brief Appraisal of the History of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council
Author(s)
Date Issued
2011-06
Date Available
2013-12-13T10:14:04Z
Abstract
In the early twentieth century the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council acted as the final appellate court for most of the territories of the British Empire. Its area of jurisdiction has gradually declined since the conclusion of the Second World War. This paper offers a brief and accessible appraisal of a number of general themes within the history of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council. It assesses the claim that this court acted as a safeguard for minority communities within the constituent parts of the British Empire and Commonwealth. This article also examines many of the practical objections raised against the Privy Council appeal by its opponents, including the issues of expense and delay. It also examines the assertion that the Privy Council was not suited to act as a final court of appeal on the grounds that it was an out-dated institution that was out of touch with local values and conditions in the various parts of the British Empire and Commonwealth. This article questions the validity of many of these grounds for criticism and argues that they were often used to conceal other reasons for desiring the abolition of the appeal to the Privy Council. The conclusion assesses the future prospects of this most unusual court.
Type of Material
Book Chapter
Publisher
Irish Academic Press
Series
Historical Studies XXVII
Copyright (Published Version)
2011 Irish Academic Press
Language
English
Status of Item
Not peer reviewed
Part of
Anthony McElligott et al. (eds.). Power in History : From Medieval to the Post-Modern World
ISBN
978 0 7165 3108 1
This item is made available under a Creative Commons License
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