Tom Denning, Baron Denning
During his 38-year career as a judge, he made large changes to the common law, particularly while in the Court of Appeal, and although some of his decisions were overturned by the House of Lords several of them were confirmed by Parliament, which passed statutes in line with his judgments.Appreciated for his role as "the people's judge" and his support for the individual, Denning attracted attention for his occasionally flexible attitude to the common law principle of precedent.Both boys won scholarships to Andover Grammar School, where Denning excelled academically, winning four prizes for English essays on the subjects of "The Great Authors", "Macaulay", "Carlyle" and "Milton".[9] Denning was told he would be ineligible to serve in the Armed Forces because of a systolic heart murmur, which he believed the doctor diagnosed because he was tired of sending young men off to die.[13] He studied hard, not participating in any of the university's numerous societies or clubs so that he could better focus on his work, and graduated in 1920, placing in the first class of the Mathematical Greats (the final undergraduate examinations for the subject).He did not return to read for a Bachelor of Civil Law (BCL) but instead attempted to gain a prize fellowship at All Souls College, Oxford; he failed to be accepted, something he put down to his poor pronunciation of Latin.[27] On the advice of his brother's friend Frank Merriman he applied to 4 Brick Court, Middle Temple, a small set of chambers run by Henry O'Hagan.[28] During this time, he also wrote a manual for the railway police giving guidance on incidents such as taxi drivers who refused to take a customer to a destination within the area specified by the Public Carriage Office (which they were legally obliged to do).[29] He wrote his first article in 1924 titled "Quantum meruit and the Statute of Frauds" on the decision in Scott v Pattison [1923] 2 KB 723; it was accepted by the Law Quarterly Review and published in January 1925.[53] It resurrected the principle of promissory estoppel established in Hughes v Metropolitan Railway Co (1876–77) LR 2 App Cas 439 and has been both praised and criticised by lawyers and legal theorists.[59] The decision provoked disapproval among the judiciary and from the public; a correspondent wrote: Dear Sir: You are a disgrace to all mankind to let these women break up homes and expect us chaps to keep them while they rob us of what we have worked for and put us out on the street.[63] In 1951, he gave a significant dissenting judgment in the case Candler v Crane, Christmas & Co, regarded as a "brilliant advancement to the law of negligent misstatements"[64] and which was later approved of by the House of Lords in Hedley Byrne & Co Ltd v Heller & Partners Ltd [1963] 2 All ER 575.[65][66] In 1954, his decision in Roe v Minister of Health [1954] 2 AER 131 altered the grounds on which hospital staff could be found negligent, a legal precedent he himself had set in Gold v Essex County Council in 1942.In 1955, his leading judgment in Entores Ltd v Miles Far East Corporation [1955] 2 QB 327 implemented a way to judge the moment of acceptance in an instantaneous or near-instantaneous method of communication; like the High Trees case it is still valid.After a period of contemplation (he worried that such an appointment would reduce his chances of becoming Master of the Rolls or Lord Chief Justice) he accepted, and was formally offered the job on 5 April 1957.He was appointed on 24 April 1957, as Baron Denning, of Whitchurch in the County of Southampton; for the supporters of his coat of arms he chose Lord Mansfield and Sir Edward Coke.[74] In 1963, he chaired a committee investigating ways to reduce the archive of legal documents kept by the Public Record Office; by that point the files for civil cases of the High Court alone occupied four miles of shelving.He concluded that the primary responsibility for the scandal was with Profumo, for associating with Keeler and for lying to his colleagues, with the greatest error being his false statement in the House of Commons.This brought criticism from several government ministers including Sir John Hobson, the Attorney-General for England and Wales, saying that it would mean condemning a man on the basis of suspicion rather than evidence.[103]His remarks followed a trial over the St Pauls riot in Bristol; two jurors on the case threatened to sue him and the Society of Black Lawyers wrote to the Lord Chancellor to request that Denning "politely and firmly" be made to retire.With free time on his hands Denning spoke in the House of Lords on matters that interested him, supporting an amendment to the Abortion Act 1967 and bills designed to allow the administration of companies in financial difficulties.During debates on the Local Government Act 1986 about the Section 28, Denning boasted of having sentenced men to prison for "the abominable offence of buggery", warning that "we must not allow this cult of homosexuality, making it equal with heterosexuality, to develop in our land."[117][118] In the same article, according to Wilson, "Denning the Europhobe told me that it was 'entirely wrong' for this country to have put its interests in Europe into the hands of 'a German Jew, if you please' called Leon Brittan.[125] In 1953, he was elected President of Birkbeck College, University of London and on 18 March presented the 1952 Haldane Memorial Lecture on the subject of the rule of law and the welfare state.[139] In January 1964, Denning and his wife Joan travelled to India and Pakistan, visiting cities such as Madras (now Chennai) and Jaipur, meeting eminent jurists and speaking with Jawaharlal Nehru.[143] In August 1969, he travelled to Fiji to arbitrate in a dispute between a majority of Fijian sugarcane growers and the Australian owners of the refining mills, which he was permitted to do on the condition he did not take a fee.[128] Denning was known for his excellent memory, repeating notes almost verbatim in his exams at Oxford and on one occasion identifying the exact book, page and paragraph of text in a judgment that covered a particular situation.[149] Denning was also known for his long working schedule; when he served as Master of the Rolls he sat for five full days a week, and required reserved judgments (about one case in ten) to be written during the weekend.'s judgment in the instant case, which was delivered on September 29, 1982 is probably the last in which your Lordships will have the opportunity of enjoying his eminently readable style of exposition and his stimulating and percipient approach to the continuing development of the common law to which he has himself in his judicial lifetime made so outstanding a contribution.[157] He was equally well-loved and controversial, appreciated for his role as 'the people's judge' and his support for the common man and disliked by elements of the bar and judiciary for 'uncertainty in the law' created by his broad judgments.
The Right HonourableMaster of the RollsThe Lord EvershedThe Lord Donaldson of LymingtonLord of Appeal in OrdinaryThe Lord OakseyLord Justice of AppealJustice of the High CourtWhitchurch, HampshireRoyal Hampshire County HospitalWinchesterAlma materMagdalen College, OxfordLincoln's Innbarristercalled to the barKing's CounselProbate, Divorce and Admiralty DivisionHigh Court of JusticeKing's Bench DivisionHouse of LordsCourt of Appealcommon lawMargaret ThatcherLord BinghamProfumo affairprecedentBirmingham SixGuildford FourReginald DenningBritish ArmyNorman DenningDirector of Naval IntelligenceDeputy Chief of the Defence Staff (Intelligence)Tom ThumbAlfred the GreatNational Society for the Education of the PoorAndover Grammar SchoolMacaulayCarlyleMiltonFirst World WarUniversity College, SouthamptonexhibitionmatriculatedHampshire County CouncilHerbert WarrenDemyshipWorshipful Company of GoldsmithsModerationssystolic heart murmurHampshire RegimentRoyal EngineersOfficer Training Corpssecond lieutenantadvanced closerAmiens38th (Welsh) Infantry DivisionRiver AncreCanal du NordinfluenzaGueudecourtLincolnshire RegimentBattle of JutlandRoyal NavyWinchester CollegeAssize CourtWinchester CastleJurisprudenceEldon Law ScholarshipGeoffrey CheshireRoyal AssentBachelor of Civil LawAll Souls College, OxfordFrank MerrimanMiddle Templebar examguineasbriefsPublic Carriage OfficeQuantum meruitLaw Quarterly Reviewcounty courtsL'Estrange v F Graucob Ltdexemption clauseChancellorDiocese of SouthwarkDiocese of LondonRayner GoddardSecond World WarTreaty of WaitangiCommissioner of AssizeRecorderknighthoodBencherLord JowittLord ChancellorHildreth Glyn-Jonesdecree nisiNational Marriage Guidance CouncilBritish LegionCentral London Property Trust Ltd v High Trees House LtdEnglish contract lawpromissory estoppelHughes v Metropolitan Railway CoPrivy CounsellorBeachy HeadMatrimonial Homes Act 1967Married Women's Property Act 1882Pettitt v PettittCandler v Crane, Christmas & CoHedley Byrne & Co Ltd v Heller & Partners LtdCombe v CombeRoe v Minister of HealthEntores Ltd v Miles Far East CorporationacceptanceLord OakseyLaw Lordsupporterscoat of armsLord MansfieldSir Edward CokeGavin, Viscount SimondsLord KeithDeputy LieutenantLord Evershed