About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

1 Law, Crime & Hist. 58 (2011)
In Defence of Intrinsic Human Rights: Edmund Burke's Controversial Prosecution of Warren Hastings, Governor-General of Bengal

handle is hein.journals/lwcmehy1 and id is 206 raw text is: Law, Crime and History (2011) 2 IN DEFENCE OF INTRINSIC HUMAN RIGHTS: EDMUND BURKE'S CONTROVERSIAL PROSECUTION OF WARREN HASTINGS, GOVERNOR-GENERAL OF BENGAL Chris Monaghan' Abstract For the first time, this article examines the impeachment trial of Warren Hastings from a human rights perspective. Even now, the seven year impeachment trial retains a degree of controversy, particularly as to its merits, and to the motivation of Edmund Burke, the man responsible for holding Hastings to account. The trial resulted in the clash between the reality of Britain's colonial expansion for many contemporaries and a defence of the intrinsic human rights of the Company's Indian subjects. If for many, it is debatable as to how successful Burke was in raising awareness of 'human rights' and whether the impeachment trial brought about any tangible results; this article argues not only that Burke's awareness of 'human rights' as a concept which could be defended by a court of law was for the late eighteenth century revolutionary but also that its legacy has a current resonance. In order to address these issues an exploration is provided of the events which gave rise to the impeachment, namely the role of Edmund Burke, and the political and moral concerns surrounding the East India Company's administration of a substantial part of modern India and Bangladesh. The political attempts to hold the Company to account will also be discussed, with particular reference as to why Burke felt the need to impeach Hastings. Finally, consideration will be given to the use of impeachment as a method of accountability and parallels that can be drawn with the modern inquiry and the human rights dimensions thereto. Keywords: Warren Hastings, human rights, East India Company, Edmund Burke and impeachment, Chilcot Inquiry. Introduction Human rights today are enshrined in the European Convention on Human Rights and the United Declaration of Human Rights. The concept of legal sanction for abuse of rights is on an international level demonstrated by the International Criminal Court at The Hague. The impeachment of Warren Hastings remains controversial as does Burke's role as the trial's instigator. However, amid the controversy, there was an attempt in the late eighteenth century to prosecute Britain's most important colonial administrator for abusing the rights of the indigenous population. Burke viewed the administration in Bengal as morally oppressive and corrupt, and guilty of breaching the rights of Indians. The Company's Indian subjects deserved good government and not just protection from violent and physical oppression. Without wishing to 1 Chris Monaghan LLM, BA (Hons), is a Lecturer in Law at BPP University College christophermonaghan@bpp.com. I am grateful to my anonymous reviewers for their extremely helpful and informed comments. 58

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Purchase Access

Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most