Statute of Westminster
The Statute of Westminster, enacted in 1931, marked a significant milestone in the legislative history of the British Commonwealth, particularly for the white dominions—Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and the Irish Free State. It recognized these countries as equal entities within the Commonwealth, effectively ending the British Parliament's legislative supremacy over them. Importantly, the statute allowed dominion legislatures to create laws without requiring British assent, thereby granting them a greater degree of self-government. Although the statute did not apply to India's status and excluded certain constitutional laws from its effects, it reflected a growing push for autonomy among these nations during the early 20th century.
The impact of the Statute of Westminster was particularly notable in Canada, which had already begun to operate with a significant degree of independence. While it did not completely sever ties with the United Kingdom, it acknowledged Canada's self-governing status and facilitated its peaceful progression towards full sovereignty. The statute also maintained the symbolic unity of the Commonwealth through shared monarchy, emphasizing continuity alongside the political changes. However, Newfoundland's situation was different, as it did not ratify the statute and eventually reverted to direct British control due to financial difficulties. Overall, the Statute of Westminster represents a crucial step in the evolution of self-governance within the Commonwealth, reflecting broader themes of nationalism and autonomy in the context of colonial history.
Statute of Westminster
The Law Act of the British parliament establishing legislative independence for British Dominions, including Canada and Newfoundland
Date December 11, 1931
The Statute of Westminster was a major step away from a centralized British Empire toward a “British Commonwealth,” or voluntary federation of independent Dominions. For the Dominion of Canada, the statute represented recognition of its independent national existence within the British Empire. The statute’s significance for Newfoundland, then separate from Canada, was limited by the fact that Newfoundland returned to direct British rule in 1933 and was subsequently incorporated into Canada.
The “white dominions” of the British Empire, referred to as such because their citizens were predominantly of European descent, including South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and Newfoundland, were increasingly restive under the system of subordination to the United Kingdom. A series of Imperial Conferences during the 1920’s had been marked by increasing assertiveness on the part of the Dominions and by the British desire to accommodate Dominion ambitions within a continuing association. At the Imperial Conference of 1930, the decision was made to recognize the equal status of the Dominions within the “British Commonwealth,” an expression dating to the late nineteenth century, by abolishing the legislative supremacy of the British parliament.
The Statute of Westminster was explicitly identified as a realization of the program of the Imperial Conferences of 1926 and 1930. It handed over a great deal of self-government to the white dominions and the Irish Free State (now known as the Republic of Ireland). (India was also a dominion but was not included in the Statute. The division between India and the white dominions of European settlement reinforced the racial hierarchy of the British Empire.) The preamble to the statute defined the British Commonwealth of Nations as a free association.
The statute built on the previous work of Arthur Balfour, a Canadian Liberal prime minister, a leader in pushing for Dominion self-government, and British Conservative statesman. The most important legal change made by the statute was that laws passed by Dominion legislatures no longer required the assent of the British parliament, nor could they be prevented from going into effect as contradicting British law or an act of the British parliament. In the case of Canada, a federal state, this provision extended to provincial legislatures.
Acts of Parliament would not have legal force in the Dominions unless Dominion legislatures assented to them. Dominion legislatures also received the power to make laws with extra-territorial effect. These changes, however, were more recognition of existing practices than they were innovations and did not apply to fundamental, constitutional law. The Statute of Westminster specifically excluded the British North America Acts from 1867 to 1930 from its effects. These acts were the effective constitution of Canada. The statute did not alter the fact that the acts could be amended only by the British parliament. The reservation of constitutional powers to Parliament was the result of Canadian failure to find a formula acceptable to the federal government and the governments of the Canadian provinces by which the act could be amended by Canadians.
In the case of Canada, the statute had little immediate impact, as it was largely a recognition of the independent and self-governing status the country already enjoyed. Canada had already been admitted to the League of Nations as a country separate from Great Britain. The de facto independence recognized by the statute was far less successful in the case of Newfoundland, which never ratified the statute. Because of a fiscal crisis, Newfoundland voluntarily gave up self-government in favor of direct rule from London by the Newfoundland Act of 1933, an act of the British parliament.
The Dominions continued to share the monarchy as a symbol of unity and common heritage. The assent of Dominion legislatures would be necessary for fundamental changes in the monarchy, such as to the law of succession.
Impact
Although the Statute of Westminster did not fully free Canada from subordination to the United Kingdom, its passage was an important way station along Canada’s road to independence. It ensured that the political separation of Canada from Britain and its assumption of an equal place among nations would be peaceful and would incorporate large elements of continuity, among them the monarchy.
Bibliography
Buckner, Phillip, ed. Canada and the British Empire. New York: Oxford University Press, 2008.
Wheare, K. C. The Statute of Westminster and Dominion Status. 5th ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 1953.