Human Rights and the End of Empire : Britain and the Genesis of the European Convention

The European Convention on Human Rights of 1950 established the most effective international system of human rights protection which has yet been invented. This is the first book that gives a comprehensive account of how it came into existence, of the part played in its genesis by the British government, and of its significance for Britain in the period between 1953, when it came into force, and 1966, when Britain accepted the optional provisions providing for a right of individual petition, and the jurisdiction of the Strasbourg Court. It explores in detail the significance of the Convention for Britain as a major colonial power in the declining years of Empire, and particularly in respect of the independent constitutions of colonial territories.