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1.
The Statute of Westminster in British Imperial History
The enactment of the Statute of Westminster in 1931 represents one of the most significant events in the history of the British Empire. The very name of this historic piece of legislation, with its medieval antecedents, epitomizes a sense of enduring grandeur and dignity. 1The Statute of Westminster recognized significant advances in the evolution of the self-governing Dominions into fully sovereign states. The term "Dominion" was initially adopted in relation to Canada, but was extended in 1907 to refer to all self-governing colonies of white settlement that had been evolving in the direction of greater autonomy since the middle of the nineteenth century. 2By the early 1930s, the Dominions included Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Newfoundland, and the Irish Free State.
The significance of the Statute of Westminster has seen it ranked next to the American War of Independence as a turning point in British Imperial history.3It has even been suggested that if the former had existed in 1776, the latter might never have occurred.4The contribution of the Statute of Westminster to the advance of the Dominion autonomy has long been emphasized by historians. For example, one commentator concluded "The general effect of the Statute was to close the chapter of Commonwealth history which recorded the attainment of self-government and self-determination [of the Dominions], and to still any questionings that might yet arise as to the validity of that attainment." 5
The significance of the Statute of Westminster Act, 1931 in the evolution of the Dominions is reflected in textbooks on public international law. In the 1920s, these textbooks had been unsure how to classify the British Dominions as self-governing entities. Could they be considered as constituting fully sovereign states? A lengthy examination of this specific question, conducted as late as 1929, concluded that although significant advances had been made by the Dominions in the early twentieth century, "it is impossible to admit that the Dominions are persons of International Law of identically the same kind as those which are called 'independent sovereign States.'" 6This uncertainty evaporated after the enactment of the Statute of Westminster. Henceforth, the Dominions were firmly classified...