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Social Sciences

Our collection covers social sciences disciplines including, but not restricted to anthropology, criminology, economics, education, management and business studies, media studies, politics, psychology, research methods and social policy.

Judicial Committee of the Privy Council appeal cases

We have judgments and case papers for almost all cases decided by the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (JCPC) from 1861–2007. We also have many published and archival sources to support your research on the Privy Council's judicial work.  

About the collection

The judicial role of the Privy Council has been traced to medieval times. Since then its jurisdiction has expanded and contracted, as the Judicial Committee’s website explains. By the 1920s a quarter of the world is said to have been able to appeal to the Privy Council. Today that jurisdiction is significantly reduced.  

Please contact us or speak to one of our team in the Social Sciences Reading Room if you wish to gain access to these cases.  

Our collection of Privy Council appeal case papers from 1861–2007 includes:  

  • judgments and associated orders in council  

  • appellants’ and respondents’ printed cases  

  • printed records of proceedings in the courts in which the case originated.  

You can also find judgments of selected cases in a range of published law report series on Privy Council and appeal cases generally, particular countries or fields of law.  

Our archival and manuscript collections feature materials relating to Privy Council appeal cases including India Office records and private papers of selected officials.