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39-581: In 1982, Glanville Williams said that Current Law Statutes Annotated was "useful" at the first appearance of an Act. It was not, however, regularly kept up to date by reissues or supplements. Williams said this was a "defect". In 1995, Downes called it "the most useful" collection of Acts published yearly. In 1989, the Law Library Journal said that the annotations in Current Law Statutes Annotated were "not helpful". In 1995, Downes said

78-477: A Doctorate of Letters honoris causa from Cambridge. During his lifetime it was widely rumoured that he had never been offered a knighthood because he had been staunchly pacifist before the Second World War, and during it a conscientious objector. The truth, however, is that he was offered one and declined it; partly from modesty, and partly because he thought it incongruous that a man who had refused to wield

117-442: A bayonet should theoretically bear a sword. The Jesus College, University of Cambridge Glanville Williams Society meets each year and is attended by over 600 leading English lawyers. In 1976, he was famously impersonated by Campbell McComas , an Australian comedian, at a hoax lecture at Monash University , Melbourne . Many people who knew Williams personally were reportedly fooled by the hoax. Hundreds and hundreds attended, and

156-648: A great socialiser outside the circle of his family. He was brought up in a pious Congregationalist family in South Wales, and much of his background stayed with him. Notwithstanding his great eminence, he remained to the end of his days a quiet-spoken, modest, gentle, serious-minded Welshman. Although an agnostic for most of his life he knew his Bible, and the use of biblical phrases was instinctive to him. "He smote him hip and thigh", he once said, describing an article an American had written criticising Sigmund Freud . Academic honours were heaped upon him, culminating in 1995 in

195-578: A new third edition of Williams' Textbook of Criminal Law , continuing the Socratic style of the originals. In The Sanctity of Life and the Criminal Law (1957), Williams criticised Christian, especially Roman Catholic, opposition to contraception, artificial insemination , sterilisation, abortion, suicide and euthanasia . His influential law book Learning the Law (1945), as of 2023 in its seventeenth edition,

234-550: A result of the trial, Bridge was added to the IRA's hit-list, and his house came under constant police protection. In a 1992 interview, Bridge said that he felt "unhappy", but not "guilty", about what had happened at the trial. Bridge became a Lord Justice of Appeal in 1975, and was sworn of the Privy Council . In the Court of Appeal he sometimes clashed with Lord Denning . He was mooted as

273-640: A scholarship. Disliking the school, he went to Europe, where he learned French and German. Returning to Britain, he worked as a journalist on regional newspapers in Lancashire, and wrote an unpublished novel. He volunteered to join the Fleet Air Arm before the Second World War broke out, but was rejected as being colour blind . He was instead conscripted into the British Army in 1940, and commissioned into

312-404: A standard textbook for judges, barristers, professors and students. Williams's influence in the highest courts was sustained and significant. One notable example is in R v Shivpuri [1986] A.C. 1, where the defendant imported harmless vegetable material akin to snuff believing he was importing drugs. The House of Lords held: "it was immaterial that the appellant was unsure of the exact nature of

351-559: A successor to Lord Widgery as Lord Chief Justice in 1979, and to Lord Denning as Master of the Rolls in 1982, but did not secure either position. He became a Lord of Appeal in Ordinary on 29 September 1980, and was created a life peer with the title Baron Bridge of Harwich , of Harwich , in the County of Essex . On his appointment, he was the only law lord without a university degree. He

390-589: A writer on criminal law, where his fame rests on four books, the influence of which has been enormous. First among these stands his Criminal Law: the General Part (1953), a 900-page text concerned, as he explained in the preface, "to search out the general rules of the criminal law, i.e. those applying to more than one crime". The Proof of Guilt (1955) is a comparative account of the rules by which criminal cases are tried in England and Wales, penetrating in its analysis of

429-689: Is a critically acclaimed and popular introductory text for legal undergraduates, dubbing itself "Guide, Philosopher and Friend". William was a Reader in English Law then Professor of Public Law and Quain Professor of Jurisprudence at the University of London from 1945 to 1955. He then moved to the University of Cambridge and was a Fellow of Jesus College, Cambridge , and a Reader in Law from 1957 to 1965, then Professor of English Law from 1966 to 1968. He then became

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468-607: Is also remembered for having presided over the Birmingham Six trial . Bridge was born in Codicote , Hertfordshire , the second son of Commander Cyprian Dunscomb Charles Bridge, Royal Navy , and of Gladys Bridge, née Steel, the daughter of a Lancashire cotton manufacturer. He never met his father, who had abandoned his mother shortly after his birth. He was the younger brother of Anthony Bridge , later Dean of Guildford . He followed his elder brother to Marlborough College , with

507-403: Is that the law should be clear, consistent and accessible. The second is that law should be humane. He was a convinced utilitarian, who held that punishment was an evil to be avoided unless there was a good reason for imposing it, and for whom "good reasons" meant the well-being of society, not the tenets of religious belief. Hence Leon Radzinowicz's celebrated bon mot about him: "Glanville Williams

546-509: Is the illegitimate child of Jeremy Bentham". These utilitarian beliefs also underlay Williams's efforts as a law reformer, an activity in which he managed to play two roles at once. The first was the "establishment man". He devoted many hours over several decades to serving on a range of official committees, in particular the Criminal Law Revision Committee , of which he was a member from 1959 to 1980. In this capacity he shares

585-416: Is this all. For taking notes, he invented and patented a new form of shorthand (Speedhand Shorthand, 1952). And with Learning the Law (1945), now in its 11th edition, he wrote a little introductory book about law studies which was, and still remains, indispensable reading for any would-be law student. Williams's voluminous and sometimes complicated writings are inspired by two big and simple notions. The first

624-670: The McLoughlin v O'Brian case on recovery of damages for nervous shock . He was elected an honorary fellow of Wolfson College , Cambridge in 1989. He served as Chairman of the Ecclesiastical Committee in Parliament. Bridge retired from the bench on reaching the compulsory retirement age of 75 in 1992. He was chairman of the Church of England Synodical Government Review from 1993–97. In retirement, he studied mathematics with

663-499: The King's Royal Rifle Corps , serving in Italy, north-west Europe, and Germany. He was demobilised in 1946 with the rank of captain . Shortly after he was commissioned, and without any previous experience, he successfully defended a soldier on a charge of desertion at a court-martial . He then became much in demand as a defending officer, giving him a taste for advocacy. Bridge was called to

702-726: The Queen's Bench Division , he was presiding Judge of the Western Circuit from 1972–74. In 1975, Bridge was the presiding judge at the trial of the Birmingham Six , who were accused of bombings in Birmingham in November 1974. It was his last case before he joined the Court of Appeal. The trial was marred by Bridge's health: at various points it was interrupted to allow him to see a dentist, for treatment for acute gastritis , and for lunchtime naps on his doctor's orders. He lost his voice during

741-519: The Rouse Ball Professor of English Law from 1968 to 1978. He was elected a Fellow of the British Academy in 1957. He covered an even wider range of topics in the huge number of articles which, astonishingly, he also found the time to write. It is difficult, indeed, to think of any important legal subject on which at some time he did not have something original and interesting to say. Nor

780-405: The 1983 volume. It is a magisterial book written in Socratic style. Williams published article after article in top refereed journals, even in his eighties. He was arguably the greatest legal thinker of the twentieth century. His groundbreaking Criminal Law: The General Part (Steven & Sons, London, 1961) is a classic still widely read and cited. Similarly, his Textbook of Criminal Law , remains

819-413: The Professor of Public Law and Quain Professor of Jurisprudence at University College, London , from 1945 to 1955. Williams's Textbook of Criminal Law (London: Steven & Sons, 1983) is on a United States list of the most cited legal books. The Textbook of Criminal Law , was arguably his best work, as he drew on 50 years of expertise in the area. Williams was well into his seventies when he wrote

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858-588: The annual volumes of Current Law Statutes Annotated and bound separately. Volumes of reprints include: Glanville Williams Glanville Llewelyn Williams QC (Hon) FBA (15 February 1911 – 10 April 1997) was a Welsh legal scholar who was the Rouse Ball Professor of English Law at the University of Cambridge from 1968 to 1978 and the Quain Professor of Jurisprudence at University College, London , from 1945 to 1955. He has been described as Britain's foremost scholar of criminal law. Williams

897-536: The bar at Inner Temple in 1947, having achieved the first place in that year's bar exams. After pupillage under Martin Jukes, he joined a set of chambers specializing in personal injury cases, before joining John Widgery's chambers at 3 Temple Gardens in 1950, where he specialized in local government and planning law. From 1964 to 1968, he was Junior Counsel to the Treasury (Common Law) , commonly known as Treasury Devil. He

936-661: The campaign to liberalise the law on abortion, which largely succeeded with the Abortion Act 1967 . He was also very active in the campaign to legalise voluntary euthanasia, which has so far largely failed. He was both president of the Abortion Law Reform Association , and a vice-president of the Voluntary Euthanasia Society. In the 1950s he was among the first to draw public attention to the problems children face when giving evidence in sex cases – and

975-554: The commentary on important legislation was "comprehensive". Publication of Current Law Statutes began in 1948. Irish Current Law Statutes Annotated is published by Sweet & Maxwell at Dublin. Publication began in 1984. It contains copies of Acts of the Oireachtas proclaimed since the beginning of 1984, in their English dress. Current Law Statutes Annotated Reprints (sometimes called Current Law Statutes Reprints ) are annotated texts of individual Acts of Parliament reprinted from

1014-408: The credit for a number of reports which led, among other things, to the decriminalisation of suicide in 1961 and the radical reform and codification of the law of theft in 1968. His second role was that of "radical outsider". Working sometimes with others, sometimes on his own, he was adept at stirring up public opinion over matters where official interest in reform was lacking. He took a major part in

1053-417: The crime in question was impossible of completion: so over-ruling their decision the other way the year before, and expressly over-ruling, for the first time ever, their previous decision in a criminal case. Glanville Williams was a respected and innovative teacher. He was also very supportive throughout their careers to a number of his junior colleagues. Although a kind man, however, he was rather shy, and not

1092-458: The decision in Anderton v Ryan is not conspicuous for its moderation, but it would be foolish, on that account, not to recognise the force of the criticism and churlish not to acknowledge the assistance I have derived from it. I would answer the certified question in the affirmative and dismiss the appeal. John Spencer, summed up his massive contribution in 1997: Nowadays Williams is best known as

1131-461: The lecture ended with the words: "thank you for having me, but you have been had." Books Notable articles (post-1978) Notable articles (pre-1978) Published lectures Notice i Nigel Bridge, Baron Bridge of Harwich Nigel Cyprian Bridge, Baron Bridge of Harwich , PC (26 February 1917 − 20 November 2007) was a British judge, who served as Lord of Appeal in Ordinary between 1980 and 1992. A leading appellate judge, Bridge

1170-447: The merits of our system as well as its defects. The Sanctity of Life and the Criminal Law (1958) examines the philosophical basis for laws against contraception, sterilisation, artificial insemination, abortion, suicide and euthanasia; when it appeared it was very controversial. The fourth book is his 1,000-page Textbook of Criminal Law (1978). This was a successful student textbook, and would be one still if he had ever managed to finish

1209-513: The substance in his possession in that in any event he believed that he was dealing with either heroin or cannabis the importation of which was prohibited." Lord Bridge of Harwich stated: I cannot conclude this opinion without disclosing that I have had the advantage, since the conclusion of the argument in this appeal, of reading an article by Professor Glanville Williams entitled "The Lords and Impossible Attempts, or Quis Custodiet Ipsos Custodes ?" [1986] CLJ 33. The language in which he criticises

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1248-445: The summing up, which was criticised as being biased against the defendants. He also admitted into evidence the defendants' confessions, despite the defence arguing that they were beaten out of them. During sentencing, he said that there was "the clearest and most overwhelming evidence I have ever heard in a case of murder". The convictions were quashed by the Court of Appeal in 1991, after the defendants had served 16 years in prison. As

1287-585: The third edition, on which he had been labouring for 14 years at the time of his death. In fact, his range as a writer went far beyond the criminal law. Before turning to the criminal law, Williams had already written what are still the definitive books on a range of other important legal subjects: Liability for Animals (1939), The Law Reform (Frustrated Contracts) Acts (1943) (1945), Crown Proceedings (1948), Joint Obligations (1949), and Joint Torts and Contributory Negligence (1950). In 1947 he had edited Salmond's Jurisprudence . In 2012, Dennis Baker edited

1326-553: Was a member of the Security Commission from 1977 and 1985, serving as chairman from 1982. In that capacity, he reported on the Geoffrey Prime and Michael Bettaney spying cases; he also led a review in vetting arrangements for Buckingham Palace staff. In 1985, Bridge was tasked with reviewing telephone tapping by MI5 ; after he examined 6,129 instances of phone tapping in three days and found all of them to be justified, he

1365-555: Was attacked by Roy Jenkins in The Times as "the poodle of the executive". However, he joined Lord Oliver of Aylmerton in dissenting from the majority decision in the Spycatcher case, criticising the government's case to prevent publication of the contents of Peter Wright 's book as "ridiculous". He supported the majority decision in the Gillick case on medical consent in 1985, and in

1404-560: Was born on 15 February 1911 in Bridgend , Wales. He attended Cowbridge Grammar School (founded in 1608 by Sir Edward Stradling of St. Donat's Castle, Glamorgan ) from 1923 to 1927. He obtained a First in law at University College of Wales . He was called to the Bar and became a member of Middle Temple in 1935. He was a Research Fellow from 1936 to 1942 and completed his Doctor of Philosophy degree in law at St John's College, Cambridge , where he

1443-533: Was examined by the Vinerian Professor of English Law at Oxford , Sir William Searle Holdsworth , who was at the time, a Fellow of St John's College, Oxford . Holdsworth famously asked whether it had been submitted for an LLD as opposed to a DPhil, as the quality and rigour of the thesis was so great. Throughout his lifetime he also served as an Honorary and Emeritus Fellow of Jesus College, Cambridge , and Honorary Bencher of Middle Temple ; and served as

1482-480: Was still campaigning on the subject in the 1980s. In 1960 he was the first person publicly to advocate the tape-recording of interviews with suspects in police stations; initially condemned as a silly and impractical idea, 25 years later this became almost universal practice. Perhaps his greatest triumph was in 1986, when a well-timed article persuaded the House of Lords to rule that a person can be guilty of attempt even where

1521-514: Was the last Treasury Devil to try a case from private practice while in office. He was made a bencher at Inner Temple in 1964, Reader in 1985 and Treasurer in 1986. By tradition Treasury Devils were appointed to the High Court after their term, and after four years as Treasury Devil Bridge was appointed a Justice of the High Court of Justice in 1968, receiving the customary knighthood . Assigned to

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