Campbell v Hall
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Campbell v Hall (1774) 1 Cowp 204, 98 ER 1045 was a case decided in the Court of King's Bench in 1774. On its face it was a private action for recovery of sums paid to a tax agent, but the decision laid down the principles of the King's constitutional authority in a British colony, deciding amongst other things that such authority is absolute until a representative assembly is granted, at which point the authority of the Crown is limited.
Campbell v Hall | |
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Court | Court of King's Bench (England) |
Full case name | James Campbell (Plaintiff) v. William Hall (Defendant) |
Decided | Michaelmas Term, 1774 |
Citation(s) | [1774] EngR 5, (1774) 1 Cowp 204, 98 ER 1045 |
Court membership | |
Judges sitting | Lord Mansfield, C.J., Aston, Willes, and Ashhurst, JJ. |
Case opinions | |
Decision by | Lord Mansfield, C.J. |
Keywords | |
law applicable in colonies; extent of Royal prerogative therein; role of Parliament in this field; where authority of colonial legislatures begins |
The matter was first heard in the Mayor's and City of London Court, which court found a special verdict and remitted it to the Court of King's Bench, which then heard the claim on a matter of law.
The decision turned on the validity of a tax imposed in Grenada. This was the trigger for an examination of the constitutional position of Grenada and for a review of the position in all British territories.
The political situation at the time of the judgment was interesting too; this was the time of the tax rebellion in the American colonies (including the West Indies) and was indeed two years before the American Declaration of Independence. The judgment therefore had the potential to cause political trouble.
Lord Mansfield's judgment looked beyond the narrow facts of the case. He reviewed the law applicable to British colonies in general and laid down a series of important points of constitutional law applicable to British possessions.