The Lord Diplock | |
|---|---|
| Lord of Appeal in Ordinary | |
| In office 30 September 1968 – 14 October 1985 | |
| Lord Justice of Appeal | |
| In office 1961 – 30 September 1968 | |
| Justice of the High Court | |
| In office 1956–1961 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | William John Kenneth Diplock (1907-12-08)8 December 1907 |
| Died | 14 October 1985(1985-10-14) (aged 77) |
William John Kenneth Diplock, Baron Diplock,PC (8 December 1907 – 14 October 1985) was anEnglish barrister and judge who served as alord of appeal in ordinary between 1968 and until his death in 1985. Appointed to theHigh Court of Justice in 1956 and theCourt of Appeal five years later, Diplock made important contributions to the development of constitutional and public law as well as many other legal fields. A frequent choice for governmental inquiries, he is also remembered for proposing the creation of the eponymous jurylessDiplock courts. Of him,Lord Rawlinson of Ewell wrote that "to his generation Diplock was the quintessential man of the law".
Kenneth Diplock was born inSouth Croydon, the son of solicitor William John Hubert Diplock and his wife Christine Joan (nee Brooke). He was educated atWhitgift School inCroydon andUniversity College, Oxford, where he read chemistry, taking aSecond in 1929.[1][2] He was Secretary of theOxford Union for a term in 1929. He later become an honorary fellow of University College in 1958.[3]
Diplock wascalled to the bar by theMiddle Temple in 1932. After two years in the chambers ofSir Valentine Holmes, KC, he transferred to the chambers ofSir Leslie Scott, KC. In 1939, he left legal practice for service in the Second World War; in 1941, he joined theRoyal Air Force, in which he reached the rank ofsquadron leader. From 1939 to 1948, he was secretary to theMaster of the Rolls,Lord Greene.[1]
Returning to the bar in 1945, Diplock was made aKing's Counsel in 1948, at the early age of 41.[4] He acquired a large practice in commercial work and in advisory work for Commonwealth governments. He was Recorder of Oxford from 1951 to 1956, and served on theLaw Reform Committee.[2]
In 1956, Diplock was appointed to theHigh Court of Justice, receiving the customaryknighthood. Assigned to theQueen's Bench Division, he was appointed President of theRestrictive Practices Court in January 1961. He was promoted toLord Justice of Appeal in October 1961, and was sworn of thePrivy Council. He was chairman of theSecurity Commission from 1971 to 1982.[2]
He became aLord of Appeal in Ordinary on 30 September 1968[2] and was elevated as alife peer with the titleBaron Diplock,ofWansford in the County ofHuntingdon and Peterborough to theHouse of Lords.[5][3]
He became thesenior Law Lord upon the retirement ofLord Wilberforce in 1982.[2] He resigned his seniority in October 1984 but remained a Law Lord until his death the following year.
As Lord Diplock, he chaired a commission set up in 1972 to consider legal measures againstterrorism in Northern Ireland, which led to the establishment of the jurylessDiplock courts with which his name is now often associated.[6]
In September 1985, Lord Diplock sat as a judge for the last time, in a special sitting of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council during the Long Vacation for an urgent civil case from Trinidad and Tobago. Severely ill from emphysema, Diplock came to court from the hospital in a wheelchair and with an oxygen cylinder.
At the time of his death, Lord Diplock was the longest serving law lord as well as the last serving superior judge to not be covered by the mandatory retirement age of 75 introduced by the Judicial Pensions Act 1959.[2]
He married Margaret Sarah Atcheson in 1938; they had no children.[7][1]
He made many contributions to legal thought and pushed the law in new and unique directions, not least UK courts without juries ('Diplock courts)'.[8] His rulings, especially those on administrative law, are often considered as authoritative not only in England but across theCommonwealth and even in the United States, where he has been cited by theSupreme Court.[9][10]
Examples includeCouncil of Civil Service Unions v Minister for the Civil Service [1984] UKHL 9 orR (National Federation of Self-Employed and Small Businesses Ltd) v Inland Revenue Commissioners [1982] AC 617, ongrounds of review andlocus standi respectively.
He also made important contributions to contract law.[2]
The current typology of grounds for judicial review is owing to Lord Diplock.
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