The Judicial House of Lords 1876 - 2009

Description: BOOK REVIEW

THE JUDICIAL HOUSE OF LORDS 1876-2009

Edited by: Louis Blom-Cooper Brice Dickson Gavin Drewry

www.oup.com

ISBN: 978-0-19-953271-1

A TRIBUTE, A COMMEMMORATION AND A VALEDICTION

An appreciation by Phillip Taylor MBE and Elizabeth Taylor of Richmond Green Chambers

At last the Judicial House of Lords has come up to retirement, having closed its venerable doors on 1st October 2009, with the new UK Supreme Court having just taken over its judicial functions. This quite exquisitely compiled volume in 800 pages is very much, so to speak, its commemorative engraved silver salver, or gold watch following 133 years of service as the highest court in the UK. A momentous chapter in the history of the UK legal system has now ended with another having just begun.

The work is actually a compilation of articles, essays, review and comments by over 40 leading scholars, judges, academics, practitioners and other top professionals from the UK and abroad. The aim: to provide ‘a history of the House of Lords as a judicial institution’, together with an examination of ‘its role, working practices, international reputation and its impact on the UK legal system.’ The book is in five parts with 40chapters and some important historical information in the 4 appendices.

The idea for the book was inspired by, in the words of the editors, ‘a strong desire to commemorate the achievements of a prominent legal institution in British society and to offer the reader ‘a rich and diverse range of perspectives on the history, work and contribution of the House of Lords in its judicial capacity.’

The publication date was expressly timed to coincide with the changeover of the venue of the court from the Palace of Westminster to Middlesex Guildhall on the west side of Parliament Square – a handsomely restored venue now occupied by the Justices of the Supreme Court and the administrators of the Court following the start of the new legal year in 2009. So this book is very much a legal history book, and one which all common law practitioners will find informative about an era which has drawn to a close.

Limitations of space and the vastness of the topic would naturally result in a necessary selectivity on the part of the editors and contributors as to what to include and/or to omit from this significant work. The contributors were not able to comment on every relevant House of Lords decision; rather they were for the most part, asked to focus on highlights and trends. The result is a work of scholarship and insight with editorial voices sounding forth from every aspect of the legal profession. It is also great for those students of legal history looking for the occasional comment to enhance their assignments and examination answers!

Of course, this is also a mighty work of reference, with Tables of Cases, Tables of Legislation, Notes on Contributors and capacious appendices ‘intended to be an aide memoire for anyone wanting to be reminded of the sequence of appointments to the office of Lord of Appeal (or Lord Chancellor) and of the background of the individuals in question.’

The work is, indeed, a fitting tribute, a commemoration and a valediction to what is now a piece of constitutional history as the Supreme Court grapples with the hard cases from the second decade of the 21st century onwards.

ISBN: 978-0-19-953271-1