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SUMMARY:Islands in the Body Politick: Britain’s Political Constitution a
 nd the Conundrum of Colonial Governance in the 21st Century - Jason Grant 
 Allen
DTSTART:20131022T121000Z
DTEND:20131022T130000Z
UID:TALK48267@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Dr Katherine Bowers
DESCRIPTION:The 2009 House of Lords case Bancoult (No 2) determined the ri
 ght of the Chagossian community to return to its homeland in the Chagos Is
 lands. The case concerned the judicial review of prerogative legislation\,
  that is\, legislation for the colony enacted by Orders of the Queen in Co
 uncil\, i.e. the United Kingdom government. Bancoult\, who had been remove
 d from the islands as a child\, sought to have the Orders quashed for ultr
 a vires and irrationality. Ultimately\, the House of Lords confirmed the a
 pplication of judicial review to prerogative legislation\, but upheld the 
 Orders exiling the population from the islands. The case engaged a body of
  colonial law which illuminates the nature of the Crown’s sovereign powe
 r in colonial governance. This\, in turn\, provides us with an insight int
 o the nature of sovereign power generally and bears on the debate in Briti
 sh public law between those who advocate a constitution based on customary
  rights enshrined in the common law\, and those who advocate a constitutio
 n based on democratic agency and participation as expressed through the wi
 ll of Parliament. In my presentation\, I criticize the judgment of the Hou
 se of Lords (split 3:2)\, and suggest that a better analysis based on the 
 fiduciary nature of the Crown’s legislative power. Though the decision i
 s highly technical\, it engages some questions of substance in British con
 stitutional theory that might bear on contemporary questions of judicial r
 eview and parliamentary sovereignty.
LOCATION:The Richard King Room\, Darwin College
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