Speaker(s):
Associated with:
Professor Timothy Endicott and Dr. Dominic Burbidge
More than 50 British colonies and former colonies in many parts of the world adopted the Westminster model of parliamentary government when they became Dominions, or when they gained independence.
This conference will address what happened next. The Westminster model was adapted and transformed to fit new realities in diverse political and social conditions, and in some countries it was abandoned altogether. Commonalities can be found among these various developments. But national variations and differences of interpretation provide opportunities for conversation on how the model has worked and how it has failed, and on its significance today for constitutionalism and comparative legal theory.
We will focus on the most striking common features in this constitutional model: a parliament modelled on Parliament in Westminster, and a parliamentary executive (that is, a Prime Minister is appointed by reference to party representation in the parliament; the Prime Minister selects other ministers and can dismiss them; and the whole government is accountable to the parliament).
Day one of the conference will be held at All Souls College.
08:45 - 16:00
All Souls College | Access Guide (ox.ac.uk)
Day two of the conference will be held at the St Cross Building.
8:30 - 16:15
Friday 29th November – The Old Library, All Souls College
08:45-09:00 Welcome & opening remarks - Professor Timothy Endicott (University of Oxford)
09:00-10:50 Session 1: East Africa, Southern Africa, West Africa
Dr Daisy Ogembo (University of Birmingham)
Professor Hugh Corder (University of Cape Town)
Dr Maame Mensa-Bonsu (Ashesi University)
Chaired by Dominic Burbidge (University of Oxford)
10:50-11:20 Coffee break – Wharton Room
11:20-13:10 Session 2: The Caribbean
Professor Cynthia Barrow-Giles (University of the West Indies)
Dr Derek O’Brien (Oxford Brookes University)
Dr Kate Quinn (University College London)
Chaired by Dr Charlotte Smith (National Archives)
13:10-14:00 Sandwich lunch for all participants – Wharton Room
14:00-16:00 Session 3: Canada, Australia, New Zealand
Professor Philippe Lagassé (Carleton University)
Dr Benjamin Spagnolo (University of Cambridge)
Dr Mark Hickford (Thorndon Chambers, Wellington)
Chaired by Professor Annalise Acorn (University of Alberta)
16:00-16:30 Tea – Wharton Room
Saturday 30th November – The Cube, Faculty of Law
08:30-09:00 Welcome coffee
09:00-11:00 Session 4: South Asia – India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka
Professor Arun Thiruvengadam (National Law School of India University, Bangalore)
Dr Yasser Kureshi (University of Oxford)
Dr Asanga Welikala (University of Edinburgh)
Chaired by Rupavardhini Balakrishnan Raju (University of Oxford)
11:00-11:30 Coffee break
11:30-13:00 Session 5: Continuities
Panel discussion on continuities in the structure and operation of the model
Professor John Allison (University of Cambridge)
Dr Moiz Tundawala (University of Oxford)
Dr Paul Yowell (University of Oxford)
Chaired by Professor Sudhir Krishnaswamy (National Law School of India University, Bangalore)
13:00-13:45 Sandwich lunch for all participants
13:45-15:15 Session 6: Ruptures
Panel discussion on major changes in the model
Professor Tarun Khaitan (London School of Economics)
Dr Harshan Kumarasingham (University of Edinburgh)
Professor Kate O’Regan (University of Oxford)
Chaired by Professor Catharine MacMillan (King’s College London)
15:15-16:15 Refreshments
