Lord Atkin

(Hardback)

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One of the greatest of all English common lawyers, it was Lord Atkin who asked the question in the case of "Donoghue versus Stevenson", "Who then in law is my neighbour", which became the foundation of the whole modern law of negligence. His courageous dissent in the wartime detention case of "Liversidge versus Anderson" is now recognized as a historic stand on principle. This book contains accounts of the background to these two cases, as well as an assessment of their significance in the legal history of the 20th century. This legal biography studies the principal themes of Lord Atkin's decisions and illuminates some less-known aspects of his work including the critical series of Canadian constitutional appeals in 1936. In showing the strong influence on his thinking of Lord Atkin's home life and upbringing in the Welsh countryside, this study confirms Lord Wright's conclusion that it was a liberal spirit which animated Atkin's work.

Reviews

...informative and compelling -- Elizabeth Smith, Dept. of Justice, Edmonton, AB, Canadian Law Libraries

Author Bio

Geoffrey Lewis is a former Senior Partner at Herbert Smith,solicitors, and a well known legal biographer.