Privy Counsellor On The Judicial Committee
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The Judicial Committee of the
Privy Council A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...
(JCPC) is the highest court of appeal for the Crown Dependencies, the
British Overseas Territories The British Overseas Territories (BOTs), also known as the United Kingdom Overseas Territories (UKOTs), are fourteen dependent territory, territories with a constitutional and historical link with the United Kingdom. They are the last remna ...
, some
Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...
countries and a few institutions in the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
. Established on 14 August 1833 to hear appeals formerly heard by the
King-in-Council The King-in-Council or the Queen-in-Council, depending on the gender of the reigning monarch, is a constitutional term in a number of states. In a general sense, it would mean the monarch exercising executive authority, usually in the form of ap ...
, the Privy Council formerly acted as the court of last resort for the entire
British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts esta ...
, other than for the United Kingdom itself.P. A. Howell, ''The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, 1833–1876: Its Origins, Structure, and Development'', Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1979 Formally a statutory committee of His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, the Judicial Committee consists of senior judges who are Privy Councillors; they are predominantly
Justices A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a panel of judges. A judge hears all the witnesses and any other evidence presented by the barristers or solicitors of the case, assesses the credibility an ...
of the
Supreme Court of the United Kingdom The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom (initialism: UKSC or the acronym: SCOTUK) is the final court of appeal in the United Kingdom for all civil cases, and for criminal cases originating in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. As the Unite ...
and
senior judge Senior status is a form of semi-retirement for United States federal judges. To qualify, a judge in the federal court system must be at least 65 years old, and the sum of the judge's age and years of service as a federal judge must be at least ...
s from the Commonwealth of Nations. Although it is often simply referred to as the 'Privy Council', the Judicial Committee is only one constituent part of the Council. In
Commonwealth realm A Commonwealth realm is a sovereign state in the Commonwealth of Nations whose monarch and head of state is shared among the other realms. Each realm functions as an independent state, equal with the other realms and nations of the Commonwealt ...
s, appeals are nominally made to "His Majesty in Council" (i.e. the
British monarch The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the constitutional form of government by which a hereditary sovereign reigns as the head of state of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies (the Bailiwi ...
as formally advised by his Privy Counsellors), who then refers the case to the Judicial Committee for "advice", while in
republics in the Commonwealth of Nations The republics in the Commonwealth of Nations are the sovereign states in the organisation with a republican form of government. , 36 out of the 56 member states were republics. Charles III, who is the reigning monarch in the Commonwealth realms ...
retaining the JCPC as their final court of appeal, appeals are made directly to the Judicial Committee itself. The panel of judges (typically five in number) hearing a particular case is known as "the Board". The report of the Board is, by convention, always accepted by the King-in-Council as judgment.


History

The origins of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council can be traced back to the , or royal council. In theory, the King was the fount of justice, and petitions for redress of wrongs arising from his courts were addressed to him. That power was gradually taken over by
Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
(which evolved out of the ) within England, but the
King-in-Council The King-in-Council or the Queen-in-Council, depending on the gender of the reigning monarch, is a constitutional term in a number of states. In a general sense, it would mean the monarch exercising executive authority, usually in the form of ap ...
(which also evolved out of the ') retained jurisdiction to hear petitions from the King's non-English possessions, such as the
Channel Islands The Channel Islands ( nrf, Îles d'la Manche; french: îles Anglo-Normandes or ''îles de la Manche'') are an archipelago in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They include two Crown Dependencies: the Bailiwick of Jersey, ...
and, later on, from England's colonies. The task of hearing appeals was given to a series of short-lived committees of the Privy Council. In 1679, appellate jurisdiction was given to the
Board of Trade The Board of Trade is a British government body concerned with commerce and industry, currently within the Department for International Trade. Its full title is The Lords of the Committee of the Privy Council appointed for the consideration of ...
, before being transferred to a standing Appeals Committee of the Privy Council in 1696. By the early nineteenth century, the growth of the British Empire, which had greatly expanded the appellate jurisdiction of the Privy Council (despite the loss of appeals from the American colonies), had put great strains on the existing arrangements. In particular, the Appeals Committee had to hear cases arising from a variety of different legal systems in the colonies, such as
Hindu law Hindu law, as a historical term, refers to the code of laws applied to Hindus, Buddhists, Jains and Sikhs in British India. Hindu law, in modern scholarship, also refers to the legal theory, jurisprudence and philosophical reflections on the nat ...
, with which its members were unfamiliar. Another serious problem was that the Appeals Committee was technically a
committee of the whole A committee of the whole is a meeting of a legislative or deliberative assembly using procedural rules that are based on those of a committee, except that in this case the committee includes all members of the assembly. As with other (standing) c ...
of the entire Privy Council, of which a minimum of three were required for a quorum. Since many members of the Privy Council were not lawyers, all members of the Appeals Committee had equal votes, and there was no requirement that any of the Privy Councillors actually hearing a particular appeal had to be a lawyer, it became possible for certain parties to appeals to secure desired judgments by persuading nonlawyer Privy Councillors to attend the hearings on their appeals. For these reasons, the Appeals Committee fell into disrepute among better-informed lawyers and judges in the colonies. In 1833, at the instigation of
Lord Brougham Henry Peter Brougham, 1st Baron Brougham and Vaux, (; 19 September 1778 – 7 May 1868) was a British statesman who became Lord High Chancellor and played a prominent role in passing the 1832 Reform Act and 1833 Slavery Abolition Act. ...
, the
Lord Chancellor The lord chancellor, formally the lord high chancellor of Great Britain, is the highest-ranking traditional minister among the Great Officers of State in Scotland and England in the United Kingdom, nominally outranking the prime minister. The ...
, Parliament passed the
Judicial Committee Act 1833 The judiciary (also known as the judicial system, judicature, judicial branch, judiciative branch, and court or judiciary system) is the system of courts that adjudicates legal disputes/disagreements and interprets, defends, and applies the law ...
. The Act established a statutory committee of the Privy Council, known as The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, to hear appeals to the
King-in-Council The King-in-Council or the Queen-in-Council, depending on the gender of the reigning monarch, is a constitutional term in a number of states. In a general sense, it would mean the monarch exercising executive authority, usually in the form of ap ...
. In addition to colonial appeals, later legislation gave the Judicial Committee appellate jurisdiction over a range of miscellaneous matters, such as patents, ecclesiastical matters, and
prize A prize is an award to be given to a person or a group of people (such as sporting teams and organizations) to recognize and reward their actions and achievements.
suits. At its height, the Judicial Committee was said to be the court of final appeal for over a quarter of the world. In the twentieth century, the jurisdiction of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council shrank considerably, as British
Dominion The term ''Dominion'' is used to refer to one of several self-governing nations of the British Empire. "Dominion status" was first accorded to Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Newfoundland, South Africa, and the Irish Free State at the 1926 ...
s established their own courts of final appeal and as British colonies became independent, although many retained appeals to the Privy Council post-independence. Canada abolished Privy Council appeals in 1949, India and South Africa in 1950, and New Zealand in 2003. Currently, twelve Commonwealth countries outside of the United Kingdom retain Privy Council appeals, in addition to various British and New Zealand territories. The Judicial Committee also retains jurisdiction over a small number of domestic matters in the United Kingdom, reduced by the creation of the
Supreme Court of the United Kingdom The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom (initialism: UKSC or the acronym: SCOTUK) is the final court of appeal in the United Kingdom for all civil cases, and for criminal cases originating in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. As the Unite ...
in 2009.


Jurisdiction


Domestic jurisdiction

The United Kingdom does not have a single highest national court; the Judicial Committee is the highest court of appeal in some cases, while in most others the highest court of appeal is the
Supreme Court of the United Kingdom The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom (initialism: UKSC or the acronym: SCOTUK) is the final court of appeal in the United Kingdom for all civil cases, and for criminal cases originating in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. As the Unite ...
. (In Scotland the highest court in criminal cases is the
High Court of Justiciary The High Court of Justiciary is the supreme criminal court in Scotland. The High Court is both a trial court and a court of appeal. As a trial court, the High Court sits on circuit at Parliament House or in the adjacent former Sheriff Cou ...
; the Supreme Court is the highest court in civil cases and matters arising from
Scottish devolution Devolution is the process in which the central British parliament grants administrative powers (excluding principally reserved matters) to the devolved Scottish Parliament. Prior to the advent of devolution, some had argued for a Scottish Parl ...
, the latter previously having been dealt with by the Judicial Committee.) The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council has jurisdiction in the following domestic matters: *Appeals against schemes of the
Church Commissioners The Church Commissioners is a body which administers the property assets of the Church of England. It was established in 1948 and combined the assets of Queen Anne's Bounty, a fund dating from 1704 for the relief of poor clergy, and of the Eccle ...
(who control the estate of the
Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...
). *Appeals from the
ecclesiastical court An ecclesiastical court, also called court Christian or court spiritual, is any of certain courts having jurisdiction mainly in spiritual or religious matters. In the Middle Ages, these courts had much wider powers in many areas of Europe than be ...
s (the
Arches Court The Arches Court, presided over by the Dean of Arches, is an ecclesiastical court of the Church of England covering the Province of Canterbury. Its equivalent in the Province of York is the Chancery Court. It takes its name from the street-level ...
of Canterbury and the
Chancery Court of York The Chancery Court of York is an ecclesiastical court for the Province of York of the Church of England. It receives appeals from consistory courts of dioceses within the province. The presiding officer, the Official Principal and Auditor, has b ...
) in non-doctrinal faculty cases. *Appeals from the
High Court of Chivalry His Majesty's High Court of Chivalry is a civil law (i.e., non common law) court in English and Welsh law with jurisdiction over matters of heraldry. The court has been in existence since the fourteenth century; however, it rarely sits. The so ...
. *Appeals from the
Court of Admiralty Admiralty courts, also known as maritime courts, are courts exercising jurisdiction over all maritime contracts, torts, injuries, and offences. Admiralty courts in the United Kingdom England and Wales Scotland The Scottish court's earliest ...
of the
Cinque Ports The Confederation of Cinque Ports () is a historic group of coastal towns in south-east England – predominantly in Kent and Sussex, with one outlier (Brightlingsea) in Essex. The name is Old French, meaning "five harbours", and alludes to th ...
. *Appeals from
prize court A prize court is a court (or even a single individual, such as an ambassador or consul) authorized to consider whether prizes have been lawfully captured, typically whether a ship has been lawfully captured or seized in time of war or under the te ...
s. *Appeals from the Disciplinary Committee of the
Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons The Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) is the regulatory body for veterinary surgeons in the United Kingdom, established in 1844 by royal charter. It is responsible for monitoring the educational, ethical and clinical standards of the v ...
. *Disputes under the
House of Commons Disqualification Act 1975 The House of Commons Disqualification Act 1975 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that prohibits certain categories of people from becoming members of the House of Commons. It is an updated version of similar older acts, known col ...
. Additionally, the government may (through the King) refer any issue to the committee for "consideration and report" under section 4 of the Judicial Committee Act 1833. The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council is the court of final appeal for the
Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...
. It hears appeals from the
Arches Court The Arches Court, presided over by the Dean of Arches, is an ecclesiastical court of the Church of England covering the Province of Canterbury. Its equivalent in the Province of York is the Chancery Court. It takes its name from the street-level ...
of Canterbury and the
Chancery Court of York The Chancery Court of York is an ecclesiastical court for the Province of York of the Church of England. It receives appeals from consistory courts of dioceses within the province. The presiding officer, the Official Principal and Auditor, has b ...
, except on matters of doctrine, ritual or ceremony, which go to the
Court for Ecclesiastical Causes Reserved The Court of Ecclesiastical Causes Reserved is an appellate court within the hierarchy of ecclesiastical courts of the Church of England. Hearing cases involving church doctrine, ceremony, or ritual, the court has jurisdiction over both the Prov ...
. By the
Church Discipline Act 1840 Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * Chris ...
and the
Appellate Jurisdiction Act 1876 The Appellate Jurisdiction Act 1876 ( 39 & 40 Vict c 59) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that altered the judicial functions of the House of Lords by allowing senior judges to sit in the House of Lords as life peers, known as ...
all archbishops and bishops of the Church of England became eligible to be members of the Judicial Committee. Prior to the coming into force of the
Constitutional Reform Act 2005 The Constitutional Reform Act 2005 (c 4) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, relevant to UK constitutional law. It provides for a Supreme Court of the United Kingdom to take over the previous appellate jurisdiction of the Law Lo ...
, the Privy Council was the court of last resort for
devolution Devolution is the statutory delegation of powers from the central government of a sovereign state to govern at a subnational level, such as a regional or local level. It is a form of administrative decentralization. Devolved territories h ...
issues. On 1 October 2009 this jurisdiction was transferred to the new
Supreme Court of the United Kingdom The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom (initialism: UKSC or the acronym: SCOTUK) is the final court of appeal in the United Kingdom for all civil cases, and for criminal cases originating in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. As the Unite ...
.


Authority of Privy Council decisions in domestic British courts

Judgments of the Judicial Committee are not generally binding on courts within the United Kingdom, having only
persuasive authority A precedent is a principle or rule established in a previous legal case that is either binding on or persuasive for a court or other tribunal when deciding subsequent cases with similar issues or facts. Common-law legal systems place great value ...
, but are binding on all courts within any other Commonwealth country from which an appeal is heard. Where a binding precedent of the UK Supreme Court, or of the
House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the Bicameralism, upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by Life peer, appointment, Hereditary peer, heredity or Lords Spiritual, official function. Like the ...
, or of the
Court of Appeal A court of appeals, also called a court of appeal, appellate court, appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal. In much of t ...
conflicts with that of a decision of the Judicial Committee on English law, English courts are required to follow the domestic decision over that of the Judicial Committee except when the Judicial Committee has in its decision expressly directed the domestic court to follow its new decision. However, given the overlap between the membership of the Judicial Committee and of the Supreme Court, the decisions of the former are extremely persuasive and usually followed.


Overseas jurisdiction

The Judicial Committee holds jurisdiction in appeals from the following 32 jurisdictions (including twelve independent nations):


Jurisdiction removed

Judicial appeal of final resort has been assumed by other bodies in some current and former Commonwealth countries: The following countries or territories did not retain the jurisdiction of the Judicial Committee at the time of independence or of the transfer sovereignty from the United Kingdom:
Burma Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...
(1948),
Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
(1948),
Somaliland Somaliland,; ar, صوماليلاند ', ' officially the Republic of Somaliland,, ar, جمهورية صوماليلاند, link=no ''Jumhūrīyat Ṣūmālīlānd'' is a ''de facto'' sovereign state in the Horn of Africa, still conside ...
(1960),
Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...
(1960),
Zanzibar Zanzibar (; ; ) is an insular semi-autonomous province which united with Tanganyika in 1964 to form the United Republic of Tanzania. It is an archipelago in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of the mainland, and consists of many small islands ...
(1963),
Zambia Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most cent ...
(1964),
Rhodesia Rhodesia (, ), officially from 1970 the Republic of Rhodesia, was an unrecognised state in Southern Africa from 1965 to 1979, equivalent in territory to modern Zimbabwe. Rhodesia was the ''de facto'' successor state to the British colony of S ...
(1965),
South Yemen South Yemen ( ar, اليمن الجنوبي, al-Yaman al-Janubiyy), officially the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen (, ), also referred to as Democratic Yemen (, ) or Yemen (Aden) (, ), was a communist state that existed from 1967 to 19 ...
(1967),
Swaziland Eswatini ( ; ss, eSwatini ), officially the Kingdom of Eswatini and formerly named Swaziland ( ; officially renamed in 2018), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. It is bordered by Mozambique to its northeast and South Africa to its no ...
(1968),
Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...
(1975),
Seychelles Seychelles (, ; ), officially the Republic of Seychelles (french: link=no, République des Seychelles; Creole: ''La Repiblik Sesel''), is an archipelagic state consisting of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean. Its capital and largest city, V ...
(1976),
Solomon Islands Solomon Islands is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands in Oceania, to the east of Papua New Guinea and north-west of Vanuatu. It has a land area of , and a population of approx. 700,000. Its capita ...
(1978),
Vanuatu Vanuatu ( or ; ), officially the Republic of Vanuatu (french: link=no, République de Vanuatu; bi, Ripablik blong Vanuatu), is an island country located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is east of no ...
(1980),
Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...
(1997)


Composition


Members

The following are members of the Judicial Committee: *Justices of the
Supreme Court of the United Kingdom The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom (initialism: UKSC or the acronym: SCOTUK) is the final court of appeal in the United Kingdom for all civil cases, and for criminal cases originating in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. As the Unite ...
(before the establishment of that court in 2009, the
Lords of Appeal in Ordinary Lords of Appeal in Ordinary, commonly known as Law Lords, were judges appointed under the Appellate Jurisdiction Act 1876 to the British House of Lords, as a committee of the House, effectively to exercise the judicial functions of the House of ...
) *Other Lords of Appeal (senior judges) from within the United Kingdom *Privy Counsellors who are (or have been) judges of the
Court of Appeal of England and Wales The Court of Appeal (formally "His Majesty's Court of Appeal in England", commonly cited as "CA", "EWCA" or "CoA") is the highest court within the Courts of England and Wales#Senior Courts of England and Wales, Senior Courts of England and Wal ...
, the
Inner House The Inner House is the senior part of the Court of Session, the supreme civil court in Scotland; the Outer House forms the junior part of the Court of Session. It is a court of appeal and a court of first instance. The chief justice is th ...
of the
Court of Session The Court of Session is the supreme civil court of Scotland and constitutes part of the College of Justice; the supreme criminal court of Scotland is the High Court of Justiciary. The Court of Session sits in Parliament House in Edinburgh ...
in Scotland, or of the
Court of Appeal in Northern Ireland The courts of Northern Ireland are the civil and criminal courts responsible for the administration of justice in Northern Ireland: they are constituted and governed by the law of Northern Ireland. Prior to the partition of Ireland, Northern Ir ...
*Judges of certain superior courts in Commonwealth nations, who are appointed Privy Counsellors for the purpose of sitting in the JCPC The bulk of the Committee's work is done by the Supreme Court Justices, who are paid to work full-time in both the Supreme Court and the Privy Council. Overseas judges may not sit when certain UK domestic matters are being heard, but will often sit when appeals from their own countries are being heard.


Registrars

* Henry Reeve, 1853–1887 *
Denison Faber, 1st Baron Wittenham George Denison Faber, 1st Baron Wittenham, CB, DL (14 December 1852 – 1 February 1931), known as Denison Faber, was a Conservative Party politician in the United Kingdom. Background and early life Faber was the second surviving son of Cha ...
, 1887–1896 * Sir Thomas Raleigh, 1896–1899 * Edward Stanley Hope, KCB, 1899–1909 * Sir Charles Henry Lawrence Neish KBE CB, 1909–1934 * Colin Smith MVO OBE, 1934–1940 * Lieutenant-Colonel John Dallas Waters, CB, DSO, 1940–1954 * Aylmer J. N. Paterson, 1954–1963 * Leslie Upton
CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
, 1963–1966 * Eric Mills, 1966–1983 * D. H. O. Owen, 1983–1998 * John Watherston, 1998–2005 * Mary Macdonald, 2005–2010 * Louise di Mambro, 2011–present Until 1904 the Registrar of the
Admiralty court Admiralty courts, also known as maritime courts, are courts exercising jurisdiction over all maritime contracts, torts, injuries, and offences. Admiralty courts in the United Kingdom England and Wales Scotland The Scottish court's earliest ...
was also Registrar to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in ecclesiastical and maritime causes.


Procedure

Most appeals to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council are formally appeals to "His Majesty in Council". Appeals from Brunei are formally to the Sultan and Yang di-Pertuan, while appeals from republics within the Commonwealth are directly to the Judicial Committee. Appeals are generally by leave of the local Court of Appeal, although the Judicial Committee retains discretionary power to grant leave to appeal as well. After hearing an appeal, the panel of judges which heard the case (known as "the Board") issues its decision in writing. For appeals to His Majesty in Council, the Board submits its decision to the King as advice for his consideration. By convention, the advice is always accepted by the King and given effect via an
Order in Council An Order-in-Council is a type of legislation in many countries, especially the Commonwealth realms. In the United Kingdom this legislation is formally made in the name of the monarch by and with the advice and consent of the Privy Council ('' Ki ...
. Historically, the Judicial Committee could only give a unanimous report, but since the Judicial Committee (Dissenting Opinions) Order 1966, dissenting opinions have been allowed. The Judicial Committee is not bound by its own previous decisions, but may depart from them in exceptional circumstances if following its previous decisions would be unjust or contrary to public policy.


Location

The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council is based in London. From its establishment to 2009, it mainly met in the Privy Council Chamber in
Downing Street Downing Street is a street in Westminster in London that houses the official residences and offices of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and the Chancellor of the Exchequer. Situated off Whitehall, it is long, and a few minutes' walk ...
, although increase in the Judicial Committee's business in the twentieth century required it to sit simultaneously in several panels, which met elsewhere. The Chamber, designed by
John Soane Sir John Soane (; né Soan; 10 September 1753 – 20 January 1837) was an English architect who specialised in the Neoclassical architecture, Neo-Classical style. The son of a bricklayer, he rose to the top of his profession, becoming professo ...
, was often criticised for its interior design, and was extensively remodelled in 1845 by
Sir Charles Barry Sir Charles Barry (23 May 1795 – 12 May 1860) was a British architect, best known for his role in the rebuilding of the Palace of Westminster (also known as the Houses of Parliament) in London during the mid-19th century, but also responsi ...
. On 1 October 2009, the Judicial Committee moved to the former
Middlesex Guildhall The Middlesex Guildhall is the home of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom and of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council. It stands on the south-west corner of Parliament Square in London. It is a Grade II* listed building. Constructe ...
building, which had been refurbished in 2007 to provide a home for both the JCPC and the newly created
Supreme Court of the United Kingdom The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom (initialism: UKSC or the acronym: SCOTUK) is the final court of appeal in the United Kingdom for all civil cases, and for criminal cases originating in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. As the Unite ...
. In this renovated building, Court 3 is used for Privy Council sittings. In recent years, the Judicial Committee has occasionally sat outside of London. Between 2005 and 2010 it sat twice in Mauritius and three times in the Bahamas.


Decline in Commonwealth appeals

Initially, all
Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...
realms A realm is a community or territory over which a sovereign rules. The term is commonly used to describe a monarchical or dynastic state. A realm may also be a subdivision within an empire, if it has its own monarch, e.g. the German Empire. Etym ...
and their territories maintained a right of appeal to the Privy Council. Many of those Commonwealth countries that became republics, or which had indigenous monarchies, preserved the Judicial Committee's jurisdiction by agreement with the United Kingdom. However, retention of a right of appeal to a court located overseas, made up mostly of British judges who may be out of tune with local values, has often come to be seen as incompatible with notions of an independent nation's sovereign status, and so a number of Commonwealth members have ended the right of appeal from their jurisdiction. The
Balfour Declaration of 1926 The Balfour Declaration of 1926, issued by the 1926 Imperial Conference of British Empire leaders in London, was named after Arthur Balfour, who was Lord President of the Council. It declared the United Kingdom and the Dominions to be: The ...
, while not considered to be ''
lex scripta ''Lex scripta'' pl. ''leges scriptae'' is a Latin expression that means "written or statutory law". It is in contrast to ''lex non scripta'', customary or common law. The term originates from the Roman legal tradition. Emperor Justinian divides ...
'', severely limited the conditions under which the Judicial Committee might hear cases:
From these discussions it was clear that it was no part of the policy of His Majesty's Government in Great Britain that questions affecting judicial appeals should be determined otherwise than in accordance with the wishes of the part of the Empire primarily affected ...


Australia

In 1901, the
Constitution of Australia The Constitution of Australia (or Australian Constitution) is a written constitution, constitutional document that is Constitution, supreme law in Australia. It establishes Australia as a Federation of Australia, federation under a constitutio ...
limited appeals from the new federal
High Court of Australia The High Court of Australia is Australia's apex court. It exercises Original jurisdiction, original and appellate jurisdiction on matters specified within Constitution of Australia, Australia's Constitution. The High Court was established fol ...
to the Privy Council, by prohibiting appeals on constitutional matters unless leave is granted by the High Court on ''inter se'' questions. Appeals on non-constitutional matters were not prohibited, but the federal
Parliament of Australia The Parliament of Australia (officially the Federal Parliament, also called the Commonwealth Parliament) is the legislature, legislative branch of the government of Australia. It consists of three elements: the monarch (represented by the ...
had the power to legislate to limit them. The right of appeal from federal courts (including territory supreme courts) was abolished through the Privy Council (Limitation of Appeals) Act 1968. Appeals from state courts, a continuation of the right to appeal decisions of colonial courts before 1901, continued, until they were also abolished by the
Australia Act 1986 The Australia Act 1986 is the short title of each of a pair of separate but related pieces of legislation: one an Act of Parliament, Act of the Commonwealth (i.e. federal) Parliament of Australia, the other an Act of Parliament (UK), Act of ...
, which was enacted by both the UK and Australian parliaments, on the request of all the state governments. The
Australian Constitution The Constitution of Australia (or Australian Constitution) is a constitutional document that is supreme law in Australia. It establishes Australia as a federation under a constitutional monarchy and outlines the structure and powers of the ...
retains the provision allowing the
High Court of Australia The High Court of Australia is Australia's apex court. It exercises Original jurisdiction, original and appellate jurisdiction on matters specified within Constitution of Australia, Australia's Constitution. The High Court was established fol ...
to permit appeals to the Privy Council on ''
inter se ''Inter se'' (also styled as ''inter sese'') is a Legal Latin phrase that means " ong or between themselves"., ''Inter se'' 819 (6th Ed.). The phrase is "used to distinguish rights or duties between two or more parties from their rights or duty ...
'' questions. However, the High Court has stated that it will not give such permission, that the jurisdiction to do so "has long since been spent", and that it is obsolete.


Canada

Canada created its own
Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
in 1875 and abolished appeals to the Privy Council in criminal cases in 1933. Despite this, some decisions by the Supreme Court of Canada went on to appeal in the JCPC, including notably the
Persons Case ''Edwards v Canada (AG)''also known as the ''Persons Case'' (french: l'Affaire « personne »)is a famous Canadian constitutional case that decided in 1929 that women were eligible to sit in the Senate of Canada. The legal case was put forward b ...
(''Edwards v Canada (AG)''), which affirmed that women had always been "qualified persons" under the
British North America Act, 1867 The ''Constitution Act, 1867'' (french: Loi constitutionnelle de 1867),''The Constitution Act, 1867'', 30 & 31 Victoria (U.K.), c. 3, http://canlii.ca/t/ldsw retrieved on 2019-03-14. originally enacted as the ''British North America Act, 186 ...
(Canada's
Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of Legal entity, entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When ...
) eligible to sit in the
Senate of Canada The Senate of Canada (french: region=CA, Sénat du Canada) is the upper house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the House of Commons, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada. The Senate is modelled after the B ...
. In this case, it also used a metaphor in the ''
obiter dicta ''Obiter dictum'' (usually used in the plural, ''obiter dicta'') is a Latin phrase meaning "other things said",'' Black's Law Dictionary'', p. 967 (5th ed. 1979). that is, a remark in a legal opinion that is "said in passing" by any judge or arb ...
'', later reinterpreted and employed by the Supreme Court of Canada in the 1980s to establish what came to be known as the "
living tree doctrine In Canadian law, the living tree doctrine () is a doctrine of constitutional interpretation that says that a constitution is organic and must be read in a broad and progressive manner so as to adapt it to the changing times. Concept The livin ...
" in Canadian Constitutional law, which says that a constitution is organic and must be read in a broad and liberal manner so as to adapt it to changing times. In 1949, all appeals to the Privy Council were abolished, but prior to this, there were several factors that served to limit the effectiveness of measures to reduce appeals: *Appeals of rulings from the various provincial courts of appeal could still be made directly to the Privy Council, without first going to the
Supreme Court of Canada The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC; french: Cour suprême du Canada, CSC) is the Supreme court, highest court in the Court system of Canada, judicial system of Canada. It comprises List of Justices of the Supreme Court of Canada, nine justices, wh ...
. *In '' Cushing v. Dupuy'' (1885), the Privy Council held that the ability to grant special leave to appeal to the Privy Council was unaffected, as the prerogative of the Crown cannot be taken away except by express words. *In '' Nadan v The King'' (1926), the Privy Council ruled that the provision of the
Criminal Code A criminal code (or penal code) is a document that compiles all, or a significant amount of a particular jurisdiction's criminal law. Typically a criminal code will contain offences that are recognised in the jurisdiction, penalties that migh ...
barring appeals to the Privy Council was ''
ultra vires ('beyond the powers') is a Latin phrase used in law to describe an act which requires legal authority but is done without it. Its opposite, an act done under proper authority, is ('within the powers'). Acts that are may equivalently be termed ...
'' of the
Parliament of Canada The Parliament of Canada (french: Parlement du Canada) is the federal legislature of Canada, seated at Parliament Hill in Ottawa, and is composed of three parts: the King, the Senate, and the House of Commons. By constitutional convention, the ...
as it was contrary to s. 2 of the
Colonial Laws Validity Act 1865 The Colonial Laws Validity Act 1865 (28 & 29 Vict. c. 63) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Its long title is "An Act to remove Doubts as to the Validity of Colonial Laws". The purpose of the Act was to remove any apparent inco ...
. ''Nadan'', together with the King–Byng Affair, was a major irritant for Canada and provoked the discussion at the
1926 Imperial Conference The 1926 Imperial Conference was the fifth Imperial Conference bringing together the prime ministers of the Dominions of the British Empire. It was held in London from 19 October to 22 November 1926. The conference was notable for producing the ...
which led to the
Balfour Declaration The Balfour Declaration was a public statement issued by the British government in 1917 during the First World War announcing its support for the establishment of a "national home for the Jewish people" in Palestine, then an Ottoman regio ...
, which declared the United Kingdom and the
Dominion The term ''Dominion'' is used to refer to one of several self-governing nations of the British Empire. "Dominion status" was first accorded to Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Newfoundland, South Africa, and the Irish Free State at the 1926 ...
s to be With that Declaration and its statutory confirmation in the
Statute of Westminster 1931 The Statute of Westminster 1931 is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that sets the basis for the relationship between the Commonwealth realms and the Crown. Passed on 11 December 1931, the statute increased the sovereignty of the ...
(Imp, 22–23 Geo 5, c.4)Text of the "Statute of Westminster" online at legislation.gov.uk
/ref> the impediment to abolishing appeals to the Privy Council, whether or not it had been legitimate, was comprehensively removed. Criminal appeals to the Privy Council were ended in 1933. Moves to extend the abolition to civil matters were shelved during the growing international crisis of the 1930s but re-tabled after the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, and civil appeals ended in 1949, with an amendment of the Supreme Court Act. Cases begun before 1949 were still allowed to appeal after 1949, and the final case to make it to the Council was not until 1959 with the case of '' Ponoka-Calmar Oils v Wakefield''. The JCPC played a controversial role in the evolution of Canadian
federalism Federalism is a combined or compound mode of government that combines a general government (the central or "federal" government) with regional governments (Province, provincial, State (sub-national), state, Canton (administrative division), can ...
in that, whereas some Fathers of Confederation in negotiating the union of the British North American colonies against the backdrop of the American Civil War wished to ensure a strong central government vis-à-vis relatively weak provinces, appeals to the JCPC in constitutional matters progressively shifted the balance in favour of the provinces. While a few commentators have suggested that Canadian
First Nations First Nations or first peoples may refer to: * Indigenous peoples, for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area. Indigenous groups *First Nations is commonly used to describe some Indigenous groups including: **First Natio ...
retain the right to appeal to the Privy Council because their treaties predate their relationship to Canada, the JCPC has not entertained any such appeal since 1867 and the dominant view is that no such appeal right exists.


Caribbean Community

The nations of the
Caribbean Community The Caribbean Community (CARICOM or CC) is an intergovernmental organization that is a political and economic union of 15 member states (14 nation-states and one dependency) throughout the Caribbean. They have primary objectives to promote econom ...
voted in 2001 to abolish the right of appeal to the Privy Council in favour of a
Caribbean Court of Justice The Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ; nl, Caribisch Hof van Justitie; french: Cour Caribéenne de Justice) is the judicial institution of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM). Established in 2005, it is based in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. ...
(CCJ). Some debate between member countries and also the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council had repeatedly delayed the court's date of inauguration. As of 2005,
Barbados Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Islands. It occupies an area of and has a population of about 287,000 (2019 estimate). ...
replaced the process of appeals to Her Majesty in Council with the CCJ, which had then come into operation. The
Co-operative Republic of Guyana Guyana ( or ), officially the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern mainland of South America. Guyana is an indigenous word which means "Land of Many Waters". The capital city is Georgetown. Guyana is bordered by the ...
also enacted local legislation allowing the CCJ to have jurisdiction over their sovereign final court of appeals system.
Belize Belize (; bzj, Bileez) is a Caribbean and Central American country on the northeastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a wate ...
acceded to the Appellate Jurisdiction of the CCJ on 1 June 2010. As it stands, a few other CARICOM states appear to be ready for the abolition of appeals to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in the immediate future. The government of
Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...
in particular had come close and attempted to abolish appeals to the Judicial Committee without the support of the opposition in Parliament; however, it was ruled by the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council that the procedure used in Jamaica to bypass the opposition was incorrect and unconstitutional. Another attempt will also be forthcoming. Caribbean governments have been coming under increased pressure from their electorates to devise ways to override previous rulings by the JCPC such as '' Pratt v A-G'' (Jamaica, 1993), ''
R v Hughes ''R v Hughes'' is a 2002 Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (JCPC) case in which it was held that it was unconstitutional in Saint Lucia for capital punishment to be the mandatory sentence for murder. The JCPC held that because the Consti ...
'' (Saint Lucia, 2002), ''
Fox v R ''Fox v R'' is a 2002 Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (JCPC) case in which it was held that it was unconstitutional in Saint Kitts and Nevis for capital punishment to be the mandatory sentence for murder. The JCPC held that because the Con ...
'' (Saint Kitts and Nevis, 2002), '' Reyes v R'' (2002, Belize), ''
Boyce v R ''Boyce v R'' is a 2004 Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (JCPC) case which upheld the law that sets out a mandatory sentence of death for murder in Barbados. The JCPC held in some cases, the law that makes capital punishment mandatory f ...
'' (Barbados, 2004), and ''
Matthew v S ''Matthew v S'' is a 2004 Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (JCPC) case which upheld the law that sets out a mandatory sentence of death for murder in Trinidad and Tobago. The JCPC held in some cases, the law that makes capital punishment m ...
'' (Trinidad and Tobago, 2004), all of which are Privy Council judgments concerning the death penalty in the Caribbean region. The then President of the
Supreme Court of the United Kingdom The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom (initialism: UKSC or the acronym: SCOTUK) is the final court of appeal in the United Kingdom for all civil cases, and for criminal cases originating in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. As the Unite ...
,
Lord Phillips of Worth Matravers Nicholas Addison Phillips, Baron Phillips of Worth Matravers, (born 21 January 1938) is a British former senior judge. Phillips was the inaugural President of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom, holding office between October 2009 and Oc ...
, has voiced displeasure with
Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...
and other
Commonwealth countries The Commonwealth of Nations is a voluntary association of 56 sovereign states. Most of them were British colonies or dependencies of those colonies. No one government in the Commonwealth exercises power over the others, as is the case in a po ...
continuing to rely on the British JCPC. During an interview Lord Phillips was quoted by the ''
Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Nik ...
'' as saying that in an ideal world' Commonwealth countries—including those in the Caribbean—would stop using the Privy Council and set up their own final courts of appeal instead". On 18 December 2006, the Judicial Committee made history when for the first time in more than 170 years it ventured outside London, holding a five-day sitting in
the Bahamas The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to ...
. Lords Bingham, Brown, Carswell, and Scott, and Baroness Hale of Richmond, travelled to the Bahamas for the special sitting at the invitation of Dame Joan Sawyer, then the
President of the Court of Appeal of the Bahamas The President of the Court of Appeal of the Bahamas heads the Court of Appeal of the Bahamas. Legal basis The position of President of the Court of Appeal is authorised by Article 98(2)(a) of the Constitution of the Bahamas. Under Article 98(2)(b), ...
; the Committee returned to the Bahamas in December 2007 for a second sitting. On the latter occasion, Lords Hope, Rodger, Walker, and Mance, and Sir Christopher Rose, heard several cases. At the end of the sitting, Lord Hope indicated that there may be future sittings of the Committee in the Bahamas, and the Committee has indeed sat in the Bahamas again, in 2009. The 2018 Antiguan constitutional referendum saw the proposal to replace the JCPC with the CCJ rejected by a 52.04% majority.


Sri Lanka (Ceylon)

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
, formerly
Ceylon Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
, abolished appeals to the Privy Council under the Court of Appeal Act, 1971, which came into effect on 15 November 1971. Previously, the Privy Council had ruled in '' Ibralebbe v The Queen'' that it remained the highest court of appeal in Ceylon notwithstanding the country's independence as a
Dominion The term ''Dominion'' is used to refer to one of several self-governing nations of the British Empire. "Dominion status" was first accorded to Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Newfoundland, South Africa, and the Irish Free State at the 1926 ...
in 1948.


The Gambia

The Gambia The Gambia,, ff, Gammbi, ar, غامبيا officially the Republic of The Gambia, is a country in West Africa. It is the smallest country within mainland AfricaHoare, Ben. (2002) ''The Kingfisher A-Z Encyclopedia'', Kingfisher Publicatio ...
retained the right of appeal to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council under the
Gambia Independence Act 1964 The Gambia Independence Act 1964 (1964 c. 93) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that gave independence to The Gambia with effect from 18 February 1965. The Act also provided for the continued right of appeal from the Gambian c ...
, even after The Gambia became a republic in the Commonwealth of Nations in April 1970 under Sir
Dawda Jawara Sir Dawda Kairaba Jawara (16 May 1924 – 27 August 2019) was a Gambian politician who served as Prime Minister from 1962 to 1970, and then as the first President of the Gambia from 1970 to 1994. Jawara was born in Barajally, MacCarthy Island ...
. Appeals were still taken to the JCPC from 1994 to 1998, when
Yahya Jammeh Yahya Abdul-Aziz Jemus Junkung Jammeh (born 25 May 1965) is a Gambian politician and former military officer who was the leader of The Gambia from 1994 to 2017, firstly as chairman of the Armed Forces Provisional Ruling Council (AFPRC) from 199 ...
, the then dictator and
President of the Gambia The president of the Republic of The Gambia is the head of state and head of government of the Gambia. The president leads the executive branch of the government of the Gambia and is the commander-in-chief of the Gambia Armed Forces. The post w ...
decided to restructure the Gambian judiciary under the 1997 Constitution of the Gambia to replace the JCPC with the
Supreme Court of the Gambia The Supreme Court of the Gambia is a superior court of record and the highest court in The Gambia. Established in 1851, it has appellate and original jurisdiction over any law exceeding the powers conferred by the Constitution or any law upon th ...
. The last case from The Gambia to the JCPC was '' West Coast Air Limited v. Gambia Civil Aviation Authority and Others'' UKPC 39 (15 September 1998).


Grenada

Grenadian appeals to the Privy Council were temporarily abolished from 1979 until 1991, as a result of the
Grenadian Revolution The history of islands of Grenada in the Caribbean, part of the Lesser Antilles group of islands, covers a period from the earliest human settlements to the establishment of the contemporary nationstate of Grenada. First settled by indigenous pe ...
, which brought Prime Minister
Maurice Bishop Maurice Rupert Bishop (29 May 1944 – 19 October 1983) was a Grenadian revolutionary and the leader of New Jewel Movement – a Marxist–Leninist party which sought to prioritise socio-economic development, education, and black liberation ...
to power. People's Law 84 was enacted to this effect. In 1985, ''
Mitchell v DPP ''Mitchell v DPP'' is a 1985 Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (JCPC) case in which it was reaffirmed that a Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth state has the power to unilaterally abolish appeals to the JCPC. Following the 1979 coup by th ...
'' affirmed Grenada's right to unilaterally abolish appeals to the Privy Council. In 1991, Grenada restored the JCPC's jurisdiction. In 2016, there was a proposal in the 2016 Grenadian constitutional referendum to terminate appeals from Grenada to the JCPC and to replace the JCPC with the
Caribbean Court of Justice The Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ; nl, Caribisch Hof van Justitie; french: Cour Caribéenne de Justice) is the judicial institution of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM). Established in 2005, it is based in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. ...
. This was rejected by a 56.73% majority, which means the JCPC remains Grenada's highest court. Another referendum, the 2018 Grenadian constitutional referendum also rejected terminating appeals to the JCPC by a 55.2% majority.


Guyana

Guyana Guyana ( or ), officially the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern mainland of South America. Guyana is an indigenous word which means "Land of Many Waters". The capital city is Georgetown. Guyana is bordered by the ...
retained the right of appeal to the Privy Council until the government of Prime Minister
Forbes Burnham Linden Forbes Sampson Burnham (20 February 1923 – 6 August 1985) was a Guyanese politician and the leader of the Co-operative Republic of Guyana from 1964 until his death in 1985. He served as Prime Minister from 1964 to 1980 and then as its f ...
passed the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (Termination of Appeals) Act 1970 and the Constitution (Amendment) Act 1973.


Hong Kong

Hong Kong's court system changed following the transfer of sovereignty from the United Kingdom to
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
on 1 July 1997, with the Court of Final Appeal serving as the highest judicial authority of the Special Administrative Region (SAR), and (pursuant to Article 158 of the Basic Law, the constitutional instrument of the SAR) the power of final interpretation vested not in the Court of Final Appeal of Hong Kong but in the
Standing Committee of the National People's Congress of China The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China (NPCSC) is the permanent body of the National People's Congress (NPC) of the People's Republic of China (PRC), which is the highest organ of state po ...
. Decisions of the Privy Council on Hong Kong appeals before 1 July 1997 remain binding on the courts of Hong Kong. This accords with the principle of continuity of the legal system enshrined in Article 8 of the Basic Law. Decisions of the Privy Council on non-Hong Kong appeals are of persuasive authority only. Such decisions were not binding on the courts in Hong Kong under the doctrine of precedent before 1 July 1997 and are not binding today. Decisions of the House of Lords before 1 July 1997 stand in a similar position. It is of the greatest importance that the courts of Hong Kong should derive assistance from overseas jurisprudence, particularly from the final appellate courts of other common law jurisdictions. This is recognised by Article 84 of the Basic Law. Pursuant to Article 158 of the Basic Law, the power of final interpretation of the Basic Law is vested not in the Court of Final Appeal of Hong Kong but in the
Standing Committee of the National People's Congress of China The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China (NPCSC) is the permanent body of the National People's Congress (NPC) of the People's Republic of China (PRC), which is the highest organ of state po ...
, which, unlike the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, is a political body rather than an independent and impartial tribunal of last resort.


India

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
retained the right of appeal from the
Federal Court of India The Federal Court of India was a judicial body, established in British India, India in 1937 under the provisions of the ''Government of India Act 1935'', with original, appellate and advisory jurisdiction. It functioned until the Supreme Court of I ...
to the Privy Council after the establishment of the
Dominion of India The Dominion of India, officially the Union of India,* Quote: “The first collective use (of the word "dominion") occurred at the Colonial Conference (April to May 1907) when the title was conferred upon Canada and Australia. New Zealand and N ...
. Following the replacement of the Federal Court with the
Supreme Court of India The Supreme Court of India ( IAST: ) is the supreme judicial authority of India and is the highest court of the Republic of India under the constitution. It is the most senior constitutional court, has the final decision in all legal matters ...
in January 1950, the Abolition of Privy Council Jurisdiction Act 1949 came into effect, ending the right of appeal to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council.


Irish Free State

The right of appeal to the Privy Council was provided for in the
Constitution of the Irish Free State The Constitution of the Irish Free State ( ga, Bunreacht Shaorstát Eireann) was adopted by Act of Dáil Éireann sitting as a constituent assembly on 25 October 1922. In accordance with Article 83 of the Constitution,Oireachtas of the Irish Free State The Oireachtas of the Irish Free State ( ga, Oireachtas Shaorstát Éireann) was the legislature of the Irish Free State from 1922 until 1937. It was established by the 1922 Constitution of Ireland which was based from the Anglo-Irish Treaty. ...
, amending said constitution. In '' Moore v Attorney-General of the Irish Free State'' the right of the Oireachtas to abolish appeals to the Privy Council was challenged as a violation of the 1921
Anglo-Irish Treaty The 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty ( ga , An Conradh Angla-Éireannach), commonly known in Ireland as The Treaty and officially the Articles of Agreement for a Treaty Between Great Britain and Ireland, was an agreement between the government of the ...
. The then
Attorney General for England and Wales His Majesty's Attorney General for England and Wales is one of the law officers of the Crown and the principal legal adviser to sovereign and Government in affairs pertaining to England and Wales. The attorney general maintains the Attorney ...
(
Sir Thomas Inskip Thomas Walker Hobart Inskip, 1st Viscount Caldecote, (5 March 1876 – 11 October 1947) was a British politician who served in many legal posts, culminating in serving as Lord Chancellor from 1939 until 1940. Despite legal posts dominating his ...
) is reported to have warned the then
Attorney-General of the Irish Free State The Attorney General of Ireland ( ga, An tArd-Aighne) is a constitutional officer who is the legal adviser to the Government and is therefore the chief law officer of the State. The attorney general is not a member of the Government but does pa ...
( Conor Maguire) that the
Irish Free State The Irish Free State ( ga, Saorstát Éireann, , ; 6 December 192229 December 1937) was a state established in December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty of December 1921. The treaty ended the three-year Irish War of Independence between th ...
had no right to abolish appeals to the Privy Council. The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council itself ruled that the
Irish Free State The Irish Free State ( ga, Saorstát Éireann, , ; 6 December 192229 December 1937) was a state established in December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty of December 1921. The treaty ended the three-year Irish War of Independence between th ...
Government had that right under the
Statute of Westminster 1931 The Statute of Westminster 1931 is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that sets the basis for the relationship between the Commonwealth realms and the Crown. Passed on 11 December 1931, the statute increased the sovereignty of the ...
(Imp.).


Jamaica

In May 2015, the Jamaican
House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...
approved, with the necessary two-thirds majority, bills to end legal appeals to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council and make the
Caribbean Court of Justice The Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ; nl, Caribisch Hof van Justitie; french: Cour Caribéenne de Justice) is the judicial institution of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM). Established in 2005, it is based in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. ...
Jamaica's final court of appeal. The reform will be debated by the Jamaican Senate; however, the government needed the support of at least one opposition Senator for the measures to be approved by the required two-thirds majority. The 2016 general election was called before the reforms could be brought to the Senate for a final vote. The Jamaican Labour Party, which opposed the changes, won the election and has promised to hold a referendum on the issue.


Malaysia

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
abolished appeals to the Privy Council in criminal and constitutional matters in 1978, and in civil matters in 1985.


New Zealand

New Zealand was the last of the original
Dominion The term ''Dominion'' is used to refer to one of several self-governing nations of the British Empire. "Dominion status" was first accorded to Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Newfoundland, South Africa, and the Irish Free State at the 1926 ...
s to remove appeals to the Privy Council from its legal system. Proposals to abolish appeals to the Privy Council in New Zealand were first put forward in the early 1980s. In October 2003, with respect to all cases heard by the Court of Appeal of New Zealand, New Zealand law was changed to abolish appeals to the Privy Council, after the end of 2003. The old system was replaced by the
Supreme Court of New Zealand The Supreme Court of New Zealand ( mi, Te Kōti Mana Nui, lit=Court of Great Mana) is the highest court and the court of last resort of New Zealand. It formally came into being on 1 January 2004 and sat for the first time on 1 July 2004. It re ...
. In 2008, Prime Minister
John Key Sir John Phillip Key (born 9 August 1961) is a New Zealand retired politician who served as the 38th prime minister of New Zealand, Prime Minister of New Zealand from 2008 to 2016 and as Leader of the New Zealand National Party from 2006 to ...
ruled out any abolition of the Supreme Court and return to the Privy Council. However, judgment on the last appeal from New Zealand to be heard by the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council was not delivered until 3 March 2015.


Pakistan

The
Dominion of Pakistan Between 14 August 1947 and 23 March 1956, Pakistan was an independent federal dominion in the Commonwealth of Nations, created by the passing of the Indian Independence Act 1947 by the British parliament, which also created the Dominion of I ...
retained the right of appeal to the Privy Council from the
Federal Court of Pakistan The Federal Court of India was a judicial body, established in India in 1937 under the provisions of the ''Government of India Act 1935'', with original, appellate and advisory jurisdiction. It functioned until the Supreme Court of India was establ ...
until the Privy Council (Abolition of Jurisdiction) Act, 1950 was passed. The Federal Court of
Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
remained the highest court until 1956, when the
Supreme Court of Pakistan The Supreme Court of Pakistan ( ur, ; ''Adālat-e-Uzma Pākistān'') is the apex court in the judicial hierarchy of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Established in accordance to thePart VIIof the Constitution of Pakistan, it has ultimate a ...
was established.


Rhodesia

Despite the
Rhodesian Constitution of 1965 Rhodesia (, ), officially from 1970 the Republic of Rhodesia, was an unrecognised state in Southern Africa from 1965 to 1979, equivalent in territory to modern Zimbabwe. Rhodesia was the ''de facto'' successor state to the British colony of So ...
coming into effect as a result of the
Unilateral Declaration of Independence A unilateral declaration of independence (UDI) is a formal process leading to the establishment of a new state by a subnational entity which declares itself independent and sovereign without a formal agreement with the state which it is secedi ...
, appeals continued to be accepted by the Privy Council as late as 1969 due to the fact that under international law,
Rhodesia Rhodesia (, ), officially from 1970 the Republic of Rhodesia, was an unrecognised state in Southern Africa from 1965 to 1979, equivalent in territory to modern Zimbabwe. Rhodesia was the ''de facto'' successor state to the British colony of S ...
remained a British colony until gaining its independence as
Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...
in April 1980.


Singapore

Singapore abolished Privy Council appeals in all cases save those involving the death penalty, or in civil cases where the parties had agreed to such a right of appeal, in 1989. The remaining rights of appeal were abolished in April 1994. One notable case in Singapore where an appeal against the death sentence was allowed by the Privy Council was a murder case that occurred in Pulau Ubin between 22 and 23 April 1972. In this case, Mohamed Yasin bin Hussein, who was 19 at the time of the murder, was sentenced to death by the High Court for murdering and raping a 58-year-old elderly woman named Poon Sai Imm, while his 25-year-old accomplice Harun bin Ripin went to ransack the elderly woman's house for items to rob (Harun, who also stood trial for murder together with Yasin, was instead sentenced to 12 years' imprisonment and received 12 strokes of the cane for a lesser charge of robbery at night). The Privy Council found that there was no evidence to show that Yasin had intended to cause death or any fatal bodily injury when he caused the fatal rib fractures on Poon while forcibly performing
sexual intercourse Sexual intercourse (or coitus or copulation) is a sexual activity typically involving the insertion and thrusting of the penis into the vagina for sexual pleasure or reproduction.Sexual intercourse most commonly means penile–vaginal penetrat ...
with the struggling victim. As such, they found him guilty of committing a rash/negligent act not amounting to culpable homicide and sentenced him to 2 years' imprisonment. As an aftermath of this appeal, Yasin was brought back to court to be charged with rape, and he was eventually jailed for another 8 years for attempted rape of the elderly victim.


South Africa

South Africa abolished the right of appeal to the Privy Council from the Appellate Division of the then Supreme Court of South Africa in 1950 under the terms of the Privy Council Appeals Act, 1950.


See also

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Constitutional Reform Act 2005 The Constitutional Reform Act 2005 (c 4) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, relevant to UK constitutional law. It provides for a Supreme Court of the United Kingdom to take over the previous appellate jurisdiction of the Law Lo ...
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List of Judicial Committee of the Privy Council cases This is a list of major cases decided by the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council. These include appeals from the following countries:List of Canadian appeals to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council


Notes


External links

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Judicial Committee Act 1833National Archives, Records of the Judicial Committee of the Privy CouncilPrivy Council Office site, including JCPC
{{DEFAULTSORT:Judicial Committee Of The Privy Council 1833 establishments in the United Kingdom Governance of the British Empire
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
* Privy Council of the United Kingdom Courts of the United Kingdom