privacy policy

‘International Justice Within Reach of All’: The Rise of India’s ‘International Courts’, 1830-1860

Presenter:

· Christopher Jenkins University of Cambridge (Cambridge, United Kingdom)

Timeslot:

07/28 | 15:50-16:10 UTC+2/CEST

Abstract

This paper discusses a largely unknown example of Princely State-driven co-operation and innovation: the development of ‘international courts’ to deal with cross-border disputes that involved litigants from different States. These had their beginnings in the 1830s in the exchange of Princely State ambassadors in what is now Rajasthan. At the instigation of the princes themselves, regular courts were established, composed of judges representing the several States involved. Initially, these dealt with many types of cases which had an ‘international’ element; but were later restricted to cross-border crimes against merchants. By the 1860s the courts had developed complex rules on jurisdiction, precautions for travellers, and restitution. In addition to the immediate goal of deterring crime, the courts sought to create economic incentives for States and merchants to improve security of trade routes. These courts are examples of a phenomenon historian Lauren Benton has described elsewhere: state formation through the building of rule-bound institutions, which anticipated much later structures of international law. These ‘international courts’ can be contrasted with the ad hoc measures used in the suppression of ‘thuggee’ – which paid little respect to the rival jurisdiction or agency of the Princely States. Rather, the courts were a ‘rule of law’-based response which depended on the political and legal buy-in of the States and merchants involved. Indeed, they were supported by the British because, in the words of one official, they brought ‘international justice within reach of all’.