BILLS OF RIGHTS AND DECOLONIZATION

Book by: Dr. Charles O.H. Parkinson

We offer Bills of Rights and Decolonization
Purchase the book with a fair price

Seminar/Forum
Tuesday 20 November 2007 @ 06:30 pm - 07:30 pm
Melbourne Law School, 185 Pelham Street, Carlton

Launch of Dr Charles Parkinson's new book 'Bills of Rights and Decolonization: the emergence of domestic human rights instruments in Britain's overseas territories.' by Justice Hayne

'Bills of Rights and Decolonization' traces the emergence of human rights instruments in Britain's former colonial territories in Africa, the West Indies and South East Asia as well as in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.

More broadly it explores the political dimensions of securing the protection of human rights at independence and the British legal establishment's change in attitude towards bills of rights for its overseas territories.

At a time when Australia is considering whether to adopt a bill of rights, 'Bills of Rights and Decolonization' offers valuable insights by explaining how bills of rights became the accepted norm for nations that gained independence from Britain in the latter half of the twentieth century.

Dr Charles Parkinson completed his LLB(Hons), BA(Hons) and MA at the University of Melbourne and his DPhil as a Commonwealth Scholar at Trinity College, Oxford. His principal area of research is Commonwealth constitutional law and he is the author of Sir William Stawell and the Victorian Constitution.

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press (15 Nov 2007)
• Language English
• ISBN-10: 0199231931
• ISBN-13: 978-0199231935
• Product Dimensions: 0.3 x 0.3 x 0.3 cm

Synopsis

Bills of Rights and Decolonization analyzes the British Government's radical change in policy during the late 1950s on the use of bills of rights in colonial territories nearing independence. More broadly it explores the political dimensions of securing the protection of human rights at independence and the peaceful transfer of power through constitutional means. This book fills a major gap in the literature on British and Commonwealth law, history, and politics by documenting how bills of rights became commonplace in Britain's former overseas territories. It provides a detailed empirical account of the origins of the bills of rights in Britain's former colonial territories in Africa, the West Indies and South East Asia as well as in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. It sheds light on the development of legal systems at the point of gaining independence and raises questions about the colonial influence on the British legal establishment's change in attitude towards bills of rights in the late twentieth century. It presents an alternative perspective on the end of Empire by focusing upon one aspect of constitutional decolonization and the importance of the local legal culture in determining each dependency's constitutional settlement and provides a series of empirical case studies on the incorporation of human rights instruments into domestic constitutions when negotiated between a state and its dependencies. More generally this book highlights Britain's human rights legacy to its former Empire, and traces the genesis of the bills of rights of over thirty nations from the Commonwealth.

Dr. Charles Parkinson's book "Bills of Rights and Decolonization" finally comes to meet the readers. It is a serious book. But it is pretty interesting as it introduces many aspects of British colonization and decolonization in countries such as Malaya and East Africa. This book offers an important contribution both to the legal aspects of decolonization and more broadly to the assessment of the legacy of British colonialism. His book also explored the area which has not perhaps been as fully studied as it ought to be. (A.W. Brian Simpson, 2007)

Chapters recommended:

Chpt 4: Malaya

Chpt 8: East Africa

Chpt 9: Epilogue: a policy on bills of rights

We offer Bills of Rights and Decolonization

Purchase the book with a fair price