Watkins, Edwin Horatio (1968) A history of the legal system of Jamaica (1661-1900). PhD thesis, University of Sheffield.
Abstract
This work examines the evolution of the legal system of Jamaica and the social, economic and political influences which moulded it from the establishment of civil government in 1661 up to 1900. In Chapters 1 to 3 economic, social and political factors by which the legal system and the law (described in Chapters 4 and 5) were dominated for nearly two centuries are described. The special problems of legal administration in a slave society (Chapter 6), and during the period of apprenticeship which followed emancipation (Chapters 7 and 8) are examined. The operations of a Judiciary re-modelled to meet the changed conditions of a fully emancipated society are viewed in Chapter 9 against the background of new social and economic conditions which ensued. The gradual emergence of a principle of judicial independence is the subject of special attention in Chapter 10. How the failing economy and political institutions occasioned retrenchment of the legal system and the resulting decline in legal administration are examined in Chapters 11 and 12. Chapter 13 identifies the causal factors in the Morant Bay Rebellion 1865 and traces the consequential replacement of the Old Representative, by the Crown Colony, system of Government which provided new foundations for a radically new legal system. Chapters 14, 15 and 16 mark progressive developments under this new form of government in the legal system: the establishment of an intermediate judicial system; the assimilation of Superior Courts of Law and Equity in procedure and practice, and finally the consolidation of these courts. In Chapter 17 the defects and deficiencies of these re-organisations of the legal system in the context of limited economic resources and bitter political agitation are examined. Chapter 18 describes the establishment of the Resident Magistrates Courts, whilst Chapter 19 looks at some particular developments in relation to the Supreme Court. The evolution of the legal profession and its role in Jamaica society comprise the subject-matter of Chapter 20, and in the concluding Chapter some current problems are examined against the background of past experiences.
Metadata
Awarding institution: | University of Sheffield |
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Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Social Sciences (Sheffield) > School of Law (Sheffield) |
Identification Number/EthosID: | uk.bl.ethos.799860 |
Depositing User: | EThOS Import Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 12 Oct 2023 12:13 |
Last Modified: | 12 Oct 2023 12:13 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:etheses.whiterose.ac.uk:27514 |
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