The Belfour Declaration of 1926 is the final report of the conference of the countries of the British Empire , held in 1926 . The document got its name by the name of Arthur Balfour .
The main principles laid down in the 1926 Balfour Declaration were:
- recognition of the equal state status of Great Britain and all its dominions ,
- recognition by all countries of the monarch ,
- voluntariness and equality for joining the Commonwealth of Nations .
In addition, the principle was first proposed that governors-general , who on behalf of the Crown were de facto heads of state in each of the dominions, ceased to be representatives of the British authorities in foreign relations. Subsequently, the High Commissioners were appointed, who actually began to play the role of ambassadors.
Also, the principle of a joint monarch was laid down for the first time, in which all countries of the constitutional monarchy within the Commonwealth no longer recognized the British monarch as head of their state and were given the opportunity to have their own monarch, but at the same time, the monarch’s identity remained the same for all countries of the Commonwealth .
The document became the basis and was continued in the materials of the Westminster Statute of 1931 .
See also
- Balfour Declaration (1917)