An Analysis Of The Administration Of Justice In British Settlement Of The East India Company Before 1726
Dipankar Kumar, Presidency University Bengaluru
INTRODUCTION
On December 31st, 1599, a corporation was formed under Queen Elizabeth's charter to offer British citizens exclusive commercial rights throughout Asia and America. The entire name was "The Governor and Company of Merchants of London trading into the East." On May 31st, 1609. under the reign of James I of England, a new charter was issued that guaranteed the company perpetual existence subject to the Crown's general ability to cancel it on three years' notice if the indigenous people were harmed.
When the British arrived in India, the country's legal system switched from Islamic law to civil law. These laws were designed to promote the interests of the English. Changes in the legal system were necessitated by the growth of the Indian population in these settlements throughout time. Despite this, the legal system in the presidential towns was still heavily affected by English law.
