Frost, Tom, Murray, C R G (2020) Homeland: Reconceptualising the Chagossians’ Litigation. Oxford Journal of Legal Studies, 40 (4). pp. 764-794. ISSN 0143-6503. E-ISSN 1464-3820. (doi:10.1093/ojls/gqaa033) (Access to this publication is currently restricted. You may be able to access a copy if URLs are provided) (KAR id:102861)
PDF
Publisher pdf
Language: English Restricted to Repository staff only |
|
Contact us about this Publication
|
![]() |
Official URL: https://doi.org/10.1093/ojls/gqaa033 |
Abstract
The British Indian Ocean Territory’s (BIOT) establishment in the 1960s exemplifies the UK’s efforts to maintain global standing through imperial possessions. The colonised people of these islands, the Chagossians, were swiftly expelled, their interests subordinated to those of the imperial whole. This article re-evaluates the Chagossians’ legal resistance to their treatment, drawing upon archival releases which shed light on the earliest stages of their litigation. We contend that private law rights of exclusion have underpinned the UK Government’s approach to the saga, as they have done for colonised peoples in the past, including the Banabans on Ocean Island. These underpinnings have ensured that the UK Courts’ judicial review decisions have not been able to adequately address the Chagossians’ interests, let alone reverse their expulsion. Rigid categorisations of the Chagossians’ relationship to property and territory have further hampered their cause. We nonetheless maintain that the Supreme Court decision of Bancoult (No 2) leaves open the possibility of future legal challenges by the Chagossians against the UK Government’s latest refusal to authorise resettlement of parts of the BIOT. Ongoing litigation, however, requires that the courts accept that the Chagossians’ claims cannot be conceptualised in narrow public law terms, with Commonwealth Aboriginal/Indigenous-title jurisprudence providing one as-yet-unexplored avenue.
Item Type: | Article |
---|---|
DOI/Identification number: | 10.1093/ojls/gqaa033 |
Uncontrolled keywords: | Chagos Islanders; empire; colonialism; public law; private law; rights to land |
Subjects: | K Law |
Divisions: | Divisions > Division for the Study of Law, Society and Social Justice > Kent Law School |
Funders: |
Newcastle University (https://ror.org/01kj2bm70)
University of Leicester (https://ror.org/04h699437) |
Depositing User: | Tom Frost |
Date Deposited: | 19 Sep 2023 16:23 UTC |
Last Modified: | 09 Jan 2024 05:54 UTC |
Resource URI: | https://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/102861 (The current URI for this page, for reference purposes) |
- Export to:
- RefWorks
- EPrints3 XML
- BibTeX
- CSV
- Depositors only (login required):