Alfred Denning

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Alfred Denning

Alfred Thompson Denning, Baron Denning , OM (born January 23, 1899 in Whitchurch , † March 5, 1999 in Winchester ) was probably the most influential English judge of the 20th century and Master of the Rolls .

education

Denning was born the fourth of five sons of a cloth merchant and a teacher. Two of his brothers died in World War I , the other two made careers in the military and became admirals and general, respectively . Denning himself served as a lieutenant in the First World War .

After his military service he completed his studies in mathematics at the University of Oxford at the Magdalen College with honors. After a brief activity as a mathematics teacher, he returned to Oxford in 1921 and studied law . He also finished this course with a first-class degree.

Professional career

In 1923 Denning was admitted to the bar ( Barrister ) in London and in 1938 was appointed Crown Attorney (King's Counsel).

In 1944 he was appointed a judge on the High Court and in 1948 he was appointed to the Court of Appeal , the second highest court for England and Wales . In 1957 he was appointed to a Law Lord as Lord of Appeal in Ordinary , Judge in the House of Lords and thus automatically raised to a Life Peer as Baron Denning , of Whitchurch in the County of Southampton . Five years later he returned to the Court of Appeal as President ( Master of the Rolls ), where he remained until the end of his judicial service in 1982. In 1979 he was elected an honorary member of the British Academy .

Denning was the last judge in Great Britain not to have a statutory retirement age. However, at the age of 83, he was pressured to retire in 1982 after making comments in a book he wrote about the suitability of jurors that were interpreted as racist. Denning apologized for the wording he had chosen and resigned from his judicial office.

As a judge at the Court of Appeal, Denning was able to significantly shape legal developments in Great Britain. His judgments, which are often praised for their clear style, made him a national celebrity, also well beyond specialist circles. He did not shy away from interpreting the law very broadly in his grounds for judgment, for which he received praise and admiration, but also clear criticism, especially since, in the opinion of many critics, some of his reasons seemed colored by prejudice.

His reasoning for the rejection of a retrial of the terrorist accused Birmingham Six was one of these cases: " If the six win the case, that would mean that the police were guilty of perjury, that they were guilty of violence and the threat, that the confessions were involuntary and the judgments a mistake ”But this is“ such a terrifying prospect ”that it is better not to bring the case up.

Nevertheless, he became a national icon and a living legend during his lifetime.

Even after his retirement, Denning continued to devote himself to law. In numerous publications and interviews as well as through his work in the parliamentary part of the House of Lords , to which he was still a member, he knew how to make his opinion heard.

Denning died in a Winchester hospital six weeks after his hundredth birthday.

The British Crown awarded him the Order of Merit .

literature

  • Michael Stolleis: Lawyers. A biographical lexicon. Beck, Munich 2001, p. 174.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Deceased Fellows. British Academy, accessed May 20, 2020 .
  2. ↑ Frankfurter Rundschau of January 30, 1988

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Denning, Alfred
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Denning, Alfred Thompson (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British judge
DATE OF BIRTH January 23, 1899
PLACE OF BIRTH Whitchurch (Hampshire) , Hampshire, England
DATE OF DEATH March 5, 1999
Place of death Winchester , England