‘Should we not profit from such experiments when we could?’: Australasian Legislative Precedents in British Parliamentary Debates, 1858–1940

Abstract

This article discusses the appeal to, and use of, Australasian legislative precedents by British legislators in the period 1860–1940. It charts differing patterns of references to Australian and New Zealand law, with a period of occasional and episodic reference from 1860 to 1906 being followed briefly by frequent canvassing of Australasian precedents in social reform legislation (including discussion by governmental agencies) prior to 1914. A more restricted pattern of discussion in relation to family law and related matters occurred in the 1920s and 1930s. The article also considers how British parliamentarians gained their knowledge of Australasian statutes, and their attitudes toward those laws.