A Court at the Crossroads of Empire: Stories from the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council
A FREE exhibition at the UK Supreme Court, Parliament Square
Opening times: 09:30 to 16:30
Friday 1 August until Friday 26 September 2014 (weekdays only, except Bank Holiday Monday)
Venue: UK Supreme Court Lobby, Second Floor, Parliament Square, London
This summer, discover more about how a London-based committee served as an evolving hub of the British Empire, and how its judges applied the common law to both translate and mediate at the crossroads of Britain’s colonial interests. By looking at a range of the JCPC’s most intriguing past cases drawn from across the former British Empire, this free exhibition will draw out the personal impact of the committee’s colonial era decisions, in addition to their wider political and legal significance. The selected case studies will explore questions about the relationship between governments, national courts and the international legal order. An interactive ‘globe’ will sit at the heart of the exhibition, underlining the geographic breadth of the court’s impact and enabling visitors to find out more about the JCPC’s past and continuing links with a range of countries. The exhibition has been curated by a team of academics from a number of university institutions, led by Dr Charlotte L. Smith from the University of Reading’s School of Law and Dr Nandini Chatterjee and Dr Stacey Hynd from the University of Exeter’s Department of History. It has emerged from the ‘Translating Cultures’ network on ‘Subjects of Law: Rightful Selves and the Legal Process in Imperial Britain and the British Empire’.
Public lectures
Two lectures have been arranged to complement some of the themes of the exhibition.
Opening lecture, Thursday 31 July 2014 – 18:00
“Empire, Lawyers, and the Rule of Law”
Professor David M Anderson, University of Warwick
With opening of exhibition by Lady Hale, Deputy President of the Supreme Court
Closing lecture, Thursday 25 September 2014 –18:00
“Supervising the Administration of Justice in Empire: The Judicial Committee and Disciplining Colonial Judges”
Professor John McLaren, University of Victoria
Limited spaces available for closing lecture at time of going to press: click here for registration details.
OpenEdition suggests that you cite this post as follows:
Charles Forsdick (July 19, 2014). ‘Translating Cultures’ Exhibition — A Court at the Crossroads of Empire: Stories from the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council. Translating Cultures. Retrieved April 25, 2025 from https://doi.org/10.58079/utx1