MEMBERSHIP OF THE COMMONWEALTH
I have given a sketch of internal changes within the country and in its relations with the United Kingdom. We must now look further afield, beginning with the Commonwealth. Independence and Membership of the Commonwealth are by no means die same thing.
Independence, its form and timing, are matters for decision and action by the country responsible for the dependent territory in agreement with the territory itself, but for the admission of a new Member of the Commonwealth the agreement of existing Members is required. So far, no country attaining independence and wishing to remain within the Commonwealth has been rejected. I dare say one can assume that the United Kingdom Government would always consult, or at least inform, the other Members of the Commonwealth when it contemplated the creation of another independent state which will become a candidate for Membership, but it appears to me that Professor de Smith, in the same article, went rather too far in saying that it is hardly possible for the concurrence of other Members to be withheld; that in consequence the effective power to determine whether a territory shall be admitted to Membership rests with the United Kingdom; and that foreknowledge of likely opposition by other Members might conceivably inhibit a United Kingdom Government from pressing the constitutional advancement of a dependent territory to a point of no return.Since transition from dependence to independence normally carries with it the opportunity to acquire Membership of the Commonwealth, a comprehensive appreciation of our machine’s functions necessitates at least a glance at what Membership involves. The question can be looked at from two viewpoints. First, what, as a Member of the Commonwealth, will the country concerned acquire which it does not possess in its dependent status? And secondly, what will it lose on independence if it elects to leave the Commonwealth?
The Commonwealth, as such, has no constitution and no written document to describe the relationship of each of its members to all the others.
But Membership entails legal and other rights and privileges and informal obligations which are known to Members themselves, and even though, as a matter of jurisprudence, we may have to say that, because most of them import no legal rights and obligations, they are not law, that does not mean that the incidents of Membership are not within the lawyer’s province. Some of them involve the use of our legal machinery. Others do not, but to ignore them and deal with those which do would be like taking a continental breakfast without the coffee. So I must wander a little way outside the strict limits of the title of this paper.If one is asked to describe in one word what Membership affords and requires, ‘co-operation’ must suffice. It is better to be allowed a little more latitude and use three words, ‘consultation and information’; but as they do not quite cover all the possible advantages one should for good measure add ‘mutual assistance’. On December 15, 1948, Lord Jowitt, then Lord Chancellor, speaking in the House of Lords, said:
‘Surely the great benefit the Commonwealth brings is the joint
consultation, alike in matters civil and military, the sharing of information, and the resulting solution of common difficulties... I would venture to say that the flow and interchange of communication and information and the sharing of common tasks and common friends, are the hallmark and the importance of the Commonwealth relationship.’
I must at this point take die precaution of saying that Members of the Commonwealth may have different ideas about the rights and obligations of Membership, and I am not in a position to state the views even of the United Kingdom Government. I can profess to do no more than sketch an outline as it appears to me.
There are, however, some primary principles which form the background to what I have suggested should be described as ‘cooperation’, and which by their nature do not appear to leave much room for difference of opinion.
(a) First, the old Members were, and indeed still are, ‘united by a common allegiance to the Crown’. The Republics who are now Members of the Commonwealth recognize the Sovereign ‘as the symbol of the free association of its independent member nations and as such the Head of the Commonwealth’. I cannot imagine that any country would be admitted to Membership which was not prepared to accept that formula or one very much like it.
(3) Secondly, as I have said, a new Member can be admitted only by the decision of existing Members, which has hitherto been unanimous.
(c) Thirdly, it is generally agreed that a Member will not normally intervene in, or comment upon, the domestic affairs of another Member; and that when one Member contemplates taking any action which may affect the interests or policies of another Member, the former will consult, or at least inform, the latter in advance.
(d) Fourthly, a representative of one Member accredited to another is a High Commissioner, possessing ambassadorial status, and he and his Staff enjoy diplomatic immunity.
(e) Fifthly, save in those exceptional cases where there are express agreements (which, naturally, are meant to be carried out) there is no element of specific obligation.
(/) Sixthly, there are few, if any, subjects on which there can be said to be definite Commonwealth doctrine or policy.
I have suggested, as a three-word definition, ‘consultation and information*. The two go hand in hand. No bounds are set but, for most practical purposes, normal activities fall into four groups: external affairs, defence, finance and economics, and education.
External affairs. Here information and consultation are continuous and of great importance. They cover almost the entire field but it is worth mentioning also that one Government may, at the request of another, undertake to represent the interests of that other in particular foreign countries where the second Government is not itself represented.
This is, of course, a service which may sometimes be performed for States which are not Members of the Commonwealth, but it is one which has often been undertaken on behalf of Members who are unable, owing to limited resources, to have wide diplomatic representation of their own.As a dependent territory advances towards independence, the flow of information from the United Kingdom on international aflairs increases; but apart from this, the implications of Membership in external affairs (and in some other important matters of common interest) are clear gain to countries which become Members.
Defence. Lord Jowitt, in the speech from which I have quoted, alluded to a Commonwealth partnership in defence, and, if there is little in peace time to show it in action, that is not very surprising. There are, however, such things as combined exercises, military missions, common systems of training and equipment and attendance at courses provided for the education of officers.
Finance and Economics. It is in this field that co-operation is most continuous and most highly organized. Under the general title of the Commonwealth Economic Consultative Council, Ministers of Finance and their senior officials meet regularly; and there are other meetings from time to time of those responsible for economic affairs. In the United Kingdom, Members of the Commonwealth seeking loans have special access to the London Market, and, provided that the statutory conditions are fulfilled, their Government stock has trustee status. Under the Commonwealth preference system, Members have extended to each other, by a series of bilateral agreements, trade advantages such as duty-free entry of goods or preference margins. Dependent territories can enjoy the benefits of Commonwealth preference, trustee status for their Government stock and access to the London
market, but they cannot be taken fully into consultation on economic policy, they ate not Members of the Commonwealth Economic Consultative Council and they are represented at various meetings only in an advisory capacity as part of the United Kingdom delegation.
Education. Finally, there is the Commonwealth Education Liaison Committee, which provides a forum for the consideration of ways and means of improving Commonwealth educational co-operation. Dependent territories may share the benefits of schemes of cooperation, but do not enjoy individual membership of the Committee, being represented collectively by a member appointed by the United Kingdom Government.Meetings of Prime Ministers. At the apex of this edifice of consultation are the meetings of Prime Ministers, which take place about once every two years. I should regard attendance at these meetings, rather than consultation and sharing as suggested by Lord Jowitt, as the hallmark of Membership of the Commonwealth. With the exception of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, as the successor to Southern Rhodesia, attendance is strictly confined to Members.
Citizenship. For the individual, one of the most valuable incidents of Membership is Commonwealth citizenship. To Canada goes the credit for initiating die scheme of mutual recognition by Members of each other’s citizenship. Ideally, it would secure universal acceptance throughout the Commonwealth of a common status, carrying rights, though not necessarily full citizenship rights, everywhere. Only the United Kingdom has so far gone all the way, giving all the rights of citizenship, including freedom of entry and a right, after twelve months’ residence, to acquire citizenship of the United Kingdom and Colonies by registration.1 Elsewhere, the extent to which Commonwealth citizenship is recognized varies considerably. Only in Ceylon is there no recognition of a common nationality status, though British subjects, as defined in the United Kingdom Act, are not regarded as ‘aliens’.
The rights and privileges incident to Membership of die Commonwealth which are dependent upon the legal machine which is the subject of this discussion include nationality, diplomatic immunity, Commonwealth preference, trustee stock and the preparation of any agreements between die United Kingdom and the new Member.
1 Now modified by the Commonwealth Immigrants Act, 1962, 10 & 11 El. 2, c. 21.