h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

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Hello!

This is a great start, Lord Denning was certainly an interesting character.

I have to to admit I'd like to know a bit more about the sort of judgements he made, after all a lot of people don't really see him in such a positive light?

He certainly wasn't a liberal was it? I'd also like a bit more background on the cases and perhaps some quotes of some of his more, er, interesting judgement.

Hi Rich,

If it gets accepted I could link loads of stuff to it like Master of the Rolls and all the judicial offices, with a list of who they have been and are currently. Though there are a couple of really good basic law related articles in hootoo that give a real no nonsense approach but still loads of gaps. I could be here for the next hundered years and never finish. Anyone you know who might fancy helping?

With regards to this article I have made some changes to the intro and developed some of the points. I've taken out some of the hard law as I felt it made the article a little to dry for hootoo. Would you have another read and see what you think?

Python-Yes he was a really interesting guy. I would agree he was not a liberal. Though I believe he maintained judicial independance, and upheld the seperation of powers. He was kind of on his own really. Some of his judgements are really interesting but the thing is with the really interesting ones you need to know a little law to know exactly why this is so. I think if I put too much law in this one its going to be too dry. I could make some links later, but I'd rather keep this as autobigraphical as possible and leave a little mystique for people to follow in links if they want to read more. If you would really like to know more though chuck us a thread, though I warn you, none of the donkeys round my space have any hind legs!

When I read it, I'm still not sure what made him such a great judge. Don't get me wrong, it's a great start, but I feel you need to look into a few of the cases in more detail and explain to us laypeople what he did that was so revolutionary. I don't know much about law and great judges; imagine you were sitting with me over a pint and explaining to me why he so well renowned.

Yes, there are lots of gaps; that's why we need guys like you to start filling them in for us!

There's no mad rush - entries are often worked on for a few weeks before they're chosen for the Edited Guide, so don't lose heart. It's going well, but I feel it still needs more expanding - and don't forget, that 'no nonsense approach' really works!

Rich - To explain the best cases and judgements, There would have to be a bit of irrelevence for a couple of paragraphs to explain.
Its one of them to understand x you have to calculate y first things.

Taking MJ's comment on board, what is the proceedure for having linked pages, would the pages be submitted together?

That way more depth could be achieved on his famous judgements, a couple on the principles and *digs around in notepad archive* well loads of stuff here. Also that would keep the article concise, and allow people to go into more depth on the trickier aspects if they are interested without detracting from the approach of the article.

If this is to make the Edited Guide, it needs to have *all* the info on him. I don't want to put you off, but it must contain all the required information and not rely on links - you need to give a brief precis of the key cases and link to pages that expand on that if necessary. The reader must be able to read it and know enough about the subject to *want* to find out more - not *need* to.

As far as concise goes, this is fairly short as EG entries go - you can expand considerably without fear of losing that

OK Rich leave it with me.

Great - look forward to reading the updated version

I agree with Rich that this needs more in the line of explanations of Denning's famous unusual reasoning. Wasn't he good at seeing the spirit behind the law rather than the wording of the law. Perhaps you could come up with a case which shows this in terms we non-legal people can understand.

Hi, dandanorff!

This is an interesting topic and you have made a good start, but I agree with the commenters who felt that the entry doesn't really get across *why* he was so famous and so highly regarded.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,315559,00.html

gives some examples of his more famous judgements,including these:
--Gave deserted wives the right to remain in the matrimonial home.

--Ruled that trust law could provide that an unmarried partner who contributed to buying a home could claim a share.

--Decided that if a man was fit when he joined the armed forces and unfit when he left it was up to the Government to disprove the disability was due to his service, not to the man to prove it.

--Held for the first time that a local council should be liable for the negligence of a council surveyor "in passing work as good when in truth it is bad".

They certainly give the impression of someone who stood up for the rights of ordinary people.

This balances out my only previous knowledge of him, where he was famous for upholding a police appeal in 1980 against an action being taken by the Birmingham Six, on the grounds that
"If the six men win, it will mean that the police were guilty of perjury, that they were guilty of violence and threats, that the confessions were involuntary and were improperly admitted in evidence and that the convictions were erroneous...[]...This is such an appalling vista that every sensible person in the land would say: 'It cannot be right that these actions should go any further'."

The phrase "appalling vista" has echoed rather mockingly through all the appeals and cases of police misbehaviour since then, and I think is probably known to nearly anyone in the UK or Ireland involved in human rights issues.

I think the "appalling vista" deserves some mention, as an example of a case where his judgement was famously wrong.


Azara

OK thanks for that. Changes are pending, i havnt got time for the next few days.

How you doing with this one dand?

Come back dan!

I have e-mailed Dan twice now with no response.This is a good article and deserves to be finished and in the guide in my view.
Can I recommend a move to FM?
I think at this moment Dan has "Elvised" so to speak! Such a shame.

ST.

I'd second a move to the Flea Market, dan hasn't posted since the 26th of Feb, 2006 and this went into PR more than 2 months ago.

MJ

Added to Scout database 21 April

It's almost at 2 months so OK add it.

For the record, it's not that wise to be too enthusiastic in clearing out entries from PR, as sometimes folk come back and take great offence at their entries being shuffled out the back door.

I had the privilege of meeting Lord Denning. His step daughter was a family friend and I met him at the wedding of her elder daughter. Interestingly the brides father worked for the Beeb - I think he was a script editor.

He was a charming man with a broad Hampshire accent that came as something of a surprise. However, it said a great deal about the man that he never attempted to hide his origins.

Before going to Oxford he was a pupil at Andover Grammar School. He returned to the school to unveil a plaque recalling his time there. By then the school had become the John Hanson and it has since moved to a new site. I don't know what happened to the plaque, which was in the library.

Sorry I can't be specific about dates.

Dyst.