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SUMMARY:'The consciousness of a duty done': British attitudes towards self
 -determination and the case of the Sudan - Dr Sarah Nouwen (University Sen
 ior Lecturer in International Law) &amp\; Orfeas Chasapis-Tassinis (doctor
 al candidate\, Lauterpacht Centre of International Law)
DTSTART:20181017T161500Z
DTEND:20181017T173000Z
UID:TALK110911@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:44502
DESCRIPTION:It is rare for studies on the era of decolonization to present
  a colonial power as champion of the concept of self-determination. Most o
 f the time\, colonial powers were not eager\, to put it mildly\, to accept
  the ‘blessing of a people freed // the consciousness of a duty done’ 
 (as a senior British administrator in the Sudan described it). Indeed\, so
 me former colonial powers have relied on this reluctance to argue that the
 y were\, in terms of international law\, ‘persistent objectors’ to the
  customary norm of self-determination\, and are therefore not bound by it.
  In a recent arbitration between Mauritius and the United Kingdom\, the la
 tter argued that it ‘consistently\, throughout the 1950s and the 1960s\,
  objected to references to a “right” of self-determination’\,   and 
 that self-determination as enshrined in the UN Charter did not have any co
 ncrete legal meaning before the 1970s.  However\, as the quote above illus
 trates\, the British history in the Sudan reveals a different\, more curio
 us and more nuanced story of British attitudes towards self-determination.
  When Egypt—a country that had experienced British colonial rule—sough
 t to absorb the Sudan on the ground of titular sovereignty\, Great Britain
  invoked self-determination as a legal right of the Sudanese. Relying exte
 nsively on primary sources\, this article shows\, contrary to the dominant
  narrative\, that the UN Charter’s references to self-determination were
  imbued with legal meaning soon after its adoption. Moreover\, whereas the
  legal literature on self-determination largely concentrates on the texts 
 and circumstances of the classic UN General Assembly resolutions of 1960 a
 nd 1970\, this article shows how diplomatic and administrative exchanges w
 ithin one government changed\, in a specific case\, that government’s at
 titude towards self-determination\, transforming it from a political princ
 iple to a legal entitlement. This internal process culminated in the UK in
 voking self-determination before the UN Security Council\, and with succes
 s. The article therefore tells two closely intertwined stories: one of the
  internal dynamics leading to the formation of a state’s foreign policy\
 , and one of the subsequent efforts of that state externally to objectify 
 its understanding of self-determination by using the language of law\, the
 reby translating it to a precise legal entitlement.\n\nABOUT THE SPEAKER :
  Sarah Nouwen is University Senior Lecturer in International Law at the Un
 iversity of Cambridge\, and Orfeas Chasapis-Tassinis is a doctoral candida
 te in the Faculty of Law.  \n\nABOUT THE SEMINAR : ** The seminar will pro
 ceed on the basis that participants have read the paper in advance. For a 
 copy of the paper (available one week in advance)\, or to join the seminar
  mailing list\, please contact md718. **\n\nThe Legal Histories beyond the
  State series is an initiative of the Lauterpacht Centre for International
  Law\, the Centre for History and Economics\, and the Cambridge Centre for
  Political Thought. It brings together historians\, political theorists an
 d lawyers who are interested in the social\, economic and political dimens
 ions of law in the early modern and modern periods. We focus on the ways i
 n which law and legal institutions order and organize space and people. Th
 is encompasses both imperial and international law\, and domestic public a
 nd private law in its manifold influences on the nature and form of relati
 ons across borders. We are interested in legal actors and institutions\, b
 oth national and supranational\; doctrines and concepts\, like jurisdictio
 n\; and also diverse forms of legal border-crossing\, including the migrat
 ion of people\, ideas and objects across time and place. Embracing new tre
 nds in legal and historical research\, we pursue the exchange of legal ide
 as in formal and informal contexts\, and the creation\, appropriation and 
 interpretation of law by non-traditional actors\, and in unexpected places
 .\n\nSome sessions will be devoted to discussion of new\, published work i
 n the field\, and others to the sharing of works-in-progress\, whether dra
 ft articles\, chapters or book prospectuses\, with a core group of scholar
 s from a variety of disciplines.\n\nAll are welcome.\n\n
LOCATION:Lauterpacht Centre for International Law\, 5 Cranmer Rd
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