The Commonwealth/Talk

What exactly IS the British Commonwealth these days, anyway? I mean, what does it do? What power does it wield, if any?

Not a lot. Occasionally they put pressure on members who are seen to be misbehaving: Nigeria was recently threatened with expulsion over its civil rights record, and pressure put on Pakistan and India over the build of tensions over Kashmir.

Do member nations get together from time to time?

Yes, there are "commonwealth conferences" of the heads of states of member nations. There is also the "Commonwealth Games", a mini-Olympics for member states, which also encompasses sports such as bowls and cricket. Naturally, Australia always win everything :)

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I seem to remember that a place in Australia called the 'Hutt River Province' recently tried to declare itself semi-independant from Australia. It appealed somehow through legal channels to England.

The international legal situation is clear since the passing of parallel acts of Parliament in Australia and England in the 1980's. The Australian High Court is the supreme legal authority for all Australian territory, and appeals to British courts are now impossible. The Hutt River Province got laughed out of court. --Robert Merkel

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Note to all who might be confused by the move to "The Commonwealth": check out http://www.thecommonwealth.org, "The Commonwealth" is the correct name these days, not "British Commonwealth" or "Commonwealth of Nations". --Robert Merkel