Roman law on the river ‘Hooghly’: An Excerpt from the history of colonial legal education

Abstract British Colonial rule in India led to legal pluralism which colonial civil servants and judges had to deal with in their day-to-day duties. After a brief overview of colonial legal administration in India, this paper will illustrate how future civil servants and judges were educated and prepared for their legal duties in India and what part Roman law played in that. One focus of their legal education lay on the law of property and possession as it assumed particular practical relevance in colonial India. The paper will trace how a Roman rule of property law travelled to Haileybury College in Hertfordshire, England and to the East India Company's courts in India.