"THE HIGHEST COURT"

Evening Post, Volume CVIII, Issue 85, 7 October 1929, Page 7

"THE HIGHEST COURT"

PEiyY COUNCIL CASES

SUBJECT FOR IMPERIAL CONFERENCE (From "The Post's" Representative.) LONDON", 23rd August. The Dublin correspondent of "Thai Times" understands that the Tree State Government proposes to send at least one Minister to represent it at the conference- of experts, which is to be held in London as a preliminary to^ the Imperial Conference, the- date olf which has teen fixed for next spring* Mr. Cosgrave and his colleagues take the view that so many matters of firstrate importance must be discussed that the "presence of a responsible Minister; will be essential, and, as the other Dominion Governments may share this view, the experts' conference is likely; to become virtually a plenary meeting of the Imperial Conference proper. The chief point raised by the: Free State delegates will be the question of appeals to the Privy Council. The Tree State Government is anxious to abolish, this right of the citizen, and, although none of the other Dominions, with the possible exception of -South Africa, is opposed to the right'of appeal, the Freo State authorities hope to' be able t» persuade them that it is an anachronism and constitutes a. limitation ofj Dominion independence. In the "Morning Post," Mr. Dennis Gwynn writes :-rThe issue is simply this—whether or not any Dominion Government is justi-i fied in attempting to ensure the supremacy of its own Courts by challenging the right of the Privy Council to admit appeals? The question was raised very; vigorously at the last ImperiarConference, and it is going to be raised Tf m t?l the nes* conference. J.ne Irish Government quotes that judgment of Lord Haldani ia the Privy Council itself, that "with! the Dominion it becomes a question of! more and more, or less and less, as they; please." I s it to be denounced, egpecS &fh T-I °£ that dietUm ' f«' acting that its own pleasure is that such' appeals should become less and less? The verdict of the most authoritative experts O n questions of Dominion statuswould seem to support the attitude of the In S h Government. Thus Professor ™ith t ,ass« ts>> h" "Imperial-Unit^ and the Dominions," that "the Engl lish common law is so far from alive iv most parts of the Empire . th Jfc Law " Don "wons in Internationat

"It is claimed," writes Professor Baker, "that 'the duties of the Privy Council are of importance in preserving uniformity of law as to the prerogatives of the Crown, and maintaining the overriding force of Imperial statutes.' Again, in view of the decision of the Imperial Conference of 1926 discussed above, this language, in form at least, appears to be a little out of date. There is, moreover, a considefable movement in certain Dominions, chief among them panada and the Irish Free State, for the total abolition of the right of appeal, and it is important that the Imperial Conference noted that 'it was no part of the policy of His Majesty's Government that- questions affecting judicial appeals should be determined otherwise than in accordance with the wishes.of I the part of the Empire primarily affected. ' •• •. ' '.••-

" Robert Borden interpreted this to mean that 'questions affecting"judicial appeals are to be determined in accordance with the wishes of the part of the Empire primarily affected.' Nevertheless, abolition of the, right of appeal was not agreed to in 1926; on the contrary, it was agreed that' any such change ought only to be carried out iv respect of any single Dominion after general consultation and discussion. The Irish Free State, however, in 1928, set a new precedent by refusing to recognise a verdict by the Judicial Committee (in the -Wigg Cochrane case), -which, reversed a judgment of the Free State Supreme Court. What general effect, if any, this precedent will .have remains to be seen."

Anyone who has followed the Irish debates on this matter knows that the Irish Government is not demanding the total abolition of the right "of appeal at any rate for tho present. • It is' simply adopting the same attitude as Sir Robert Borden adopts 'in regard to appeals on questions of domestic litigation.