Chasing the Chimera: The Rule of Law in the British Empire and the Comparative Turn in Legal History

This article compares the imposition, application and evolution of the Rule of Law in colonial territories and their populations within the British Empire as evidence of a 'Comparative Turn' in exploring metropolitan and colonial legal cultures and their interrelationships. The purpose of the study is not primarily to either justify or criticise that concept, but to suggest that its complexity, contingency and controversy provides fertile soil for research relating to law and justice, and their ideologies across the British Empire. Full text also available via Informit