The Devlin Commission, officially the Nyasaland Commission of Inquiry, was a Commission of Inquiry set up in 1959 under the chairmanship of Mr.Justice Devlin, later Lord Devlin, after African opposition to the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, particularly its farming and rural conservation policies, and demands for progress towards majority rule promoted by the Nyasaland African Congress under its leader Dr Hastings Banda led to widespread disturbances in Nyasaland and some deaths. A state of emergency was declared in March 1959; about 1,300 people, many of whom were members of the Nyasaland African Congress party, were detained without trial, over were 2,000 imprisoned for offences related to the emergency and the Congress itself was banned. During the State of Emergency and the week preceding it, a total of 51 people were killed by troops or the police. Although the four members of the Commission were members of The British Establishment, its findings were highly unfavourable to the Nyasaland Government.[1]
The Devlin Report is the only example of a British judge examining whether the actions of a colonial administration in suppressing dissent were appropriate. It can be viewed not only as an incident in British decolonization, but as an expression of the values of judicial independence and commitment to the rule of law even in emergency conditions, when they are under threat.[2] Devlin's conclusions that excessive force was used and that Nyasaland was a "police state" caused political uproar at the time. Devlin was not the first person to use the expression "police state" about a British colony; Richard Crossman had described Cyprus as an "amiable police state" in 1955, but it was unusual for this to be said in an official report.[3] His report was largely rejected and the State of Emergency lasted until June 1960. Although the Devlin Report was initially discredited, in the longer term it helped to convince the British Government that the Federation was not acceptable to its African majority. Dr Banda was released from detention 1960 and the Federation was dissolved in 1963.[4]
^McCracken, (2012). A History of Malawi, 1859–1966, pp. 343–59.
^Simpson, (2002). The Devlin Commission, p. 19
^Simpson, (2002). The Devlin Commission, p. 18.
^Parkinson, (2007). Bills of Rights and Decolonization, p. 36.
The DevlinCommission, officially the Nyasaland Commission of Inquiry, was a Commission of Inquiry set up in 1959 under the chairmanship of Mr.Justice...
(2002), The DevlinCommission, pp. 23-4. McCracken, (2012). A History of Malawi, 1859–1966, pp. 356, 358–9. Simpson, (2002), The DevlinCommission, pp. 22-4...
discredit the Devlin Report initially, and to justify its rejection of many of the DevlinCommission's findings, in the longer term the Devlin Report helped...
After the emergency, a commission headed by Lord Devlin exposed the failings of the Nyasaland administration. The Commission found that the declaration...
people in the camps were emaciated and sickly. The report of the DevlinCommission in July 1959 concerning the suppression of demonstrators in Nyasaland...
Simpson, Brian. (Spring, 2002) Oxford Journal of Legal Studies, "The DevlinCommission (1959): Colonialism, Emergencies, and the Rule of Law." Page. 17....
Esmeralda Devlin CBE RDI (/ɛz/; born 24 September 1971) is an English artist and stage designer who works in a range of media, often mapping light and...
released on the same day as the Devlin Report. The Colonial Office obtained an early draft of the DevlinCommission's report and passed a copy to Armitage...
action". This letter was published as an appendix to the report of the DevlinCommission investigating disturbances in Nyasaland, and it clearly suggested...
Stuart Leslie Devlin AO CMG (9 October 1931 – 12 April 2018) was an Australian artist and metalworker who specialised in gold and silver. He designed coins...
very quickly so it could be released on the same day as the Devlin Report. The DevlinCommission concentrated on three areas: the State of Emergency, the...
supporter of the Federation. In 1959, he prepared a memorandum for the DevlinCommission rejecting a rapid transition to independence and, in the Nyasaland...
of Africans had been physically abused by the troops involved. The DevlinCommission later upheld complaints about frequent house burnings, arbitrary fines...
Martina Devlin is a novelist and newspaper columnist from Northern Ireland. Devlin was born in Omagh, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. She worked in Fleet...
O'Kelly Peter McDonald as Jonathan Devlin Amy Macken as Katy and Jessica Devlin Leah McNamara as Rosalind Devlin Jonny Holden as Damien Donnelly Sam...
science-fiction disaster film directed, cowritten, and coproduced by Dean Devlin (in his feature directorial debut). The film stars Gerard Butler, Jim Sturgess...
Secretariat in New York from 1946 to 1947. In 1959 he was a member of the DevlinCommission on Nyasaland, and he was an observer at the 1980 Southern Rhodesian...
production company, established in 2001 by veteran writer/producer Dean Devlin and led by Devlin along with partners Marc Roskin and Rachel Olschan. Electric Entertainment...
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