Details
Presents the fullest statement of Tom Bingham's views on the role of the judiciary and the ethics of judging
Includes Bingham's important early writings on the development of human rights law, reforming the constitution, and the common law
Bingham's engaging style will appeal to judges, barristers, and solicitors, and anyone interested in constitutional, social, and public affairs
Tom Bingham (1933-2010) was the 'greatest judge of our time' (The Guardian), a towering figure in modern British public life who championed the rule of law and human rights inside and outside the courtroom. The Business of Judging collects Bingham's most important writings during his period in judicial office before the House of Lords.
The papers collected here offer Bingham's views on a wide range of issues, ranging from the ethics of judging to the role of law in a diverse society. They include his reflections on the main contours of English public and criminal law, and his early work on the incorporation of the European Convention on Human Rights and reforming the constitution.
Written in the accessible style that made The Rule of Law (2010) a popular success, the book will be essential reading for all those working in law, and an engaging inroad to understanding the role of the law and courts in public life for the general reader.
Readership: Judges, barristers, and solicitors. Scholars and students with an interest on constitutional, social, and public issues. Anyone working on public affairs in the UK and Commonwealth.
Part I: The Business of Judging
1: The Judge as Juror: The Judicial Determination of Factual Issues
2: The Judge as Lawmaker: An English Perspective
3: The Discretion of the Judge
Part II: Judges in Society
1: Judicial Independence
2: Judicial Ethics
Part III: The Wider World
1: `There is a World Elsewhere': The Changing Perspectives of English Law
2: Law in a Pluralist Society
3: Speech on the Jubilee of the Supreme Court of India
Part IV: Human Rights
1: The European Convention on Human Rights: Time to Incorporate
2: Opinion: Should there be a Law to Protect Rights of Personal Privacy?
3: The Way We Live Now: Human Rights in the New Millennium
4: Tort and Human Rights
Part V: Public Law
1: Should Public Law Remedies be Discretionary?
2: The Old Despotism
3: Mr Perlzweig, Mr Liversidge, and Lord Atkin
Part VI: The Constitution
1: The Courts and the Constitution
2: Anglo-American Reflections
Part VII: The English Criminal Trial
1: The English Criminal Trial: The Credits and the Debits
2: Justice and Injustice
3: Silence is Golden - or is it?
4: A Criminal Code: Must We Wait for Ever?
Part VIII: Crime and Punishment
1: The Sentence of the Court
2: Justice for the Young
3: The Mandatory Life Sentence for Murder
4: Speech on the Second Reading of the Crime (Sentences) Bill
Part IX: Miscellaneous
1: Address to the Centenary Conference of the Bar
2: Who Then in Law is my Neighbour?
3: The Future of the Common Law
4: Lecture at Toynbee Hall on the Centenary of its Legal Advice Centre
5: Address at the Service of Thanksgiving for Rt Hon Lord Denning OM
Tom Bingham, The late, Senior Law Lord, 2000-2008
The late Tom Bingham, who died in September 2010, was arguably the most notable English judge of the twentieth century. An outspoken supporter of the Human Rights Act 1998, he held many of the most senior roles in the judiciary, acting as Queen's Bench judge, Lord Justice of Appeal, Master of the Rolls, Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales, and Senior Law Lord, before his retirement in 2008.
"Lord Bingham...considers some of the most contentious social issues of our day, and for that reason should be on the reading list of every civilised citizen, especially every politician and tabloid journalist" - Law Quarterly Review
"The current collection of lectures, speeches and essays makes full use of Lord Bingham's wide range of insights. ... the historical aspect of the book is one of its more captivating qualities ... a thoroughly enjoyable book ... ideally suited to the general reader, whether lay person or lawyer, who wants to know a little about a lot of subjects. The book is well written - always clear and concise, often insightful and amusing - and well researched ..." - The Cambridge Law Journal, 2001
"The Judge as Lawmaker and The Discretion of the Judge, are elegantly and cogently written and will appeal to lay people, as well as to lawyers." - Martin Mears, New Law Journal
"... beautifully written: scholarly, cogently argued, humorous, and humane" - Counsel, August 2001
"exceptionally thoughtful and illuminating" - Marcel Berlins, The Guardian
