Robert Wright, Baron Wright

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Robert Alderson Wright, Baron Wright GCMG Kt PC KC (* 15. October 1869 in South Shields , Tyne and Wear ; † 27. June 1964 ) was a British lawyer who most recently as Lord of Appeal in Ordinary , due to the Appellate Jurisdiction Act 1876 as Life Peer was also a member of the House of Lords . In the meantime he held between 1935 and 1937 as Master of the Rolls one of the highest judicial offices in the English legal system.

Life

Attorney and judge in the High Court of Justice

After schooling completed Wright studying law at Trinity College of the University of Cambridge and received in 1900 his legal approval to the Bar Association ( Inns of Court ) from Inner Temple . He then worked as a barrister and, under the influence of Thomas Edward Scrutton , dealt in particular with commercial law . For his services as a lawyer he was first crown attorney ( King's Counsel ) in 1917 and in 1923 so-called "Bencher" of the Inner Temple Bar Association.

In 1925 Wright was judge of the Chamber for Civil Matters ( King's Bench Division ) at the High Court of Justice responsible for England and Wales and held this judge's office until 1932. At the same time he was promoted to Knight Bachelor in 1925 and has since been named "Sir".

Lord Judge, House of Lords and Master of the Rolls

By a Letters Patent of April 11, 1932 Wright was as a life peer with the title because of the Appellate Jurisdiction Act 1876 Baron Wright , of Durley in the County of Wiltshire to the House of Lords member in the nobility appointed and worked initially until 1935 Lord Judge ( Lord of Appeal in Ordinary ). In addition, he was appointed Privy Councilor in 1932 and was a member of the University Committee of the Privy Council in 1934.

On October 7, 1935, Lord Wright succeeded Ernest Pollock, 1st Viscount Hanworth Master of the Rolls and thus chairman of the Civil Matters Chamber at the Court of Appeal. He remained in this high judicial office until 1937 and at the same time between 1935 and 1937 he was also chairman of the Historical Manuscripts Commission , from which today's National Archives emerged . In this capacity he also served as chairman of a committee for legal reforms ( Law Revision Committee ) and between 1936 and 1952 as deputy high steward as deputy representative of the Chancellor of the University of Cambridge,

On April 27, 1937 he was succeeded by Wilfred Greene, 1st Baron Greene as Master of the Rolls, while he himself was reappointed Lord of Appeal in Ordinary. This time he held the office of Law Lord for almost ten years until April 23, 1947. During this time he was in 1944 and 1946 Reader Treasurer of the Bar Association of the Inner Temple and was part of the end of World War II as the representative of Australia to the UN -Commission for war crimes at. In 1948 he was awarded the Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St. Michael and St. George .

Significant judgments as Lord Judge

As a judge and lord judge, Wright wrote numerous significant judgments on important cases and has been recognized by lawyers as thoughtful and forward-looking. He helped develop the concept of employers' duty to establish a safe working environment for their employees. Unlike many of his fellow judges, he did not oppose the overhaul of his earlier judgments by the case law of the House of Lords. He also took a liberal stand on constitutional issues. During his tenure as Lord Judge, he participated in a number of decisions such as:

  • Hillas & Co Ltd v Arcos Ltd (1932): In these proceedings from the Contract Law , a decision of principle was made , as the Lord Judges for the first time did not undertake a strict, literal interpretation of a contract , but instead interpreted the contract against the background of the contract.
  • Southern Foundries (1926) Ltd v Shirlaw (1940): In this case from contract law and company law , Lord Wright wrote a partially dissenting opinion on the judgment of the Lord Judges James Atkin, Baron Atkin , Frederic Maugham, 1st Viscount Maugham , Mark Romer, Baron Romer and Samuel Porter, Baron Porter .
  • Liversidge v Anderson (1942): In this case a decision of principle was made regarding the relations between the judiciary and the executive branch in general and in particular regarding the support of the executive branch by the judiciary branch in times of social emergency.
  • Crofter Hand Woven Harris Tweed Co Ltd v Veitch (1942): In these labor law proceedings , a fundamental decision was made to include it in a collective agreement and the workers' previous right to strike in order to achieve inclusion in this collective agreement.
  • Muir v Glasgow Corporation (1943): In this case from the Tort Law , the Lord Judges dealt in particular with questions relating to negligence .
  • Fibrosa Spolka Akcyjna v Fairbairn Lawson Combe Barbour Ltd (1943): This procedure from the Contract Law dealt mainly with the subject of so-called "frustration of purpose", a kind of defense to achieve the purpose of the contract, as well as questions of unjust enrichment .

Memberships

In 1938 Wright was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences . Since 1940 he was a member ( fellow ) of the British Academy .

Sources and web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Members of the American Academy. Listed by election year, 1900-1949 ( PDF ). Retrieved September 27, 2015
  2. ^ Fellows: Lord Robert Wright. British Academy, accessed August 24, 2020 .
personal data
SURNAME Wright, Robert, Baron Wright
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Wright, Robert Alderson, Baron Wright (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British lawyer
DATE OF BIRTH October 15, 1869
PLACE OF BIRTH South Shields , Tyne and Wear
DATE OF DEATH June 27, 1964