Unknown God: The Limits of Imperial Justice

Abstract This chapter examines the circumstances leading to the demise of the JCPC in British Africa. It explores the legal and political impulses that shaped the demands for the abolition of Privy Council appeals. A central theme is the debate over sovereignty and judicial independence. It also examines the efforts made by British officials and politicians in the dominions and colonies to reform the JCPC to retain its relevance in the transition from Empire to Commonwealth, from the 1930s to the 1960s. The chapter focuses on the abolition of the JCPC’s jurisdiction in Africa but begins by tracing the antecedents of the abolition of JCPC jurisdiction elsewhere in the Empire.

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