The Unity of Law

Sir Rabinder Singh has been one of the leading lights in the recent development of the common law, most notably in the field of human rights and the law of privacy. Here, for the first time, he reflects on the defining themes of his career as advocate and judge.

Combining his trademark originality of thought and impeccable scholarship, he selects previously published and unpublished writings to track the evolution of his approach to the common law. A substantial introduction gives context to the book, while opening introductions to each piece reflect on their relevance to contemporary legal thought.

The essays explore themes as diverse as judicial review, equality, and privacy and personal autonomy. Insightful, erudite, and thought-provoking, this collection is a must read for all those interested in the law and its role in society.

Auteur

Sir Rabinder Singh is a Lord Justice of Appeal (a judge of the Court of Appeal of England and Wales) and President of the Investigatory Powers Tribunal.

Contenu

Introduction

The Common Law

1. The Unity of law - or the dangers of over-specialisation (2013) [Society of Legal Scholars Centenary lecture at the University of Birmingham]
2. Law as a system of values (2013) [Jan Grodecki lecture at the University of Leicester]
3. First impressions of a new Court of Appeal judge (2018) [talk at Trinity College, Oxford]
4. Keynote speech to the Criminal Bar Association (2017)
5. Common law, common heritage? (2018) [Talk to Waynesburg Law School summer conference at Jesus College, Cambridge]
6. Antigone's law (2019) [talk to Lawyers for Classics]

Public law

7. Judicial review and the rule of law (2017) [South West Administrative Law Association annual lecture]
8. Divided by a common language: constitutional law in the UK and the US (2017) * [Sir David Williams lecture at the University of Cambridge] Published in [2018] Judicial Review
9. Interpreting Bills of Rights (2007) [Statute Law Review annual lecture] * Published in [2007] Statute Law Review
10. Tribute to memory of Lord Steyn (2017) * published in [2018] Judicial Review

Human Rights

11. The development of human rights thought from Magna Carta to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (2015) * [lecture at conference on Magna Carta] Published in book edited by Robin Griffith-Jones and Mark Hill.
12. The moral force of the United Kingdom's Human Rights Act (2011) [lecture at Victoria University, Wellington]* Published in [2013] New Zealand Journal of Public and International Law
13. The place of the Human Rights Act in a democratic society (2000) * Published in a book edited by Jonathan Cooper
14. What is a democratic society? (2018) * [Chevrette-Marx lecture at the University of Montreal] Published by the University of Montreal in a freestanding pamphlet

Equality

15. Equality: The Neglected Virtue (2003) [Administrative Law Bar Association annual lecture]* Published in [2004] European Human Rights Law Review
16. Racial Equality and the Law (2018) [Sir Mota Singh memorial lecture at Lincoln's Inn] Published in [2019] European Human Rights Law Review
    *17. Religion and the law (2008) Published in JUSTICE journal [2008] Issue 1, p.33*

Privacy and national security

18. Privacy and Personal Autonomy (2000) * [essay published in collection, Common Law, Common Values, Common Rights by American Bar Association]
19. Privacy and the Media after the Human Rights Act (1998) * Published in [1998] European Human Rights Law Review
20. Holding the balance: National Security, Civil Liberties and the Role of the Investigatory Powers Tribunal (2019) [Kay Everett memorial lecture at the School of Oriental and African Studies]
21. Fairness and national security (2020) [John Foster and Miriam Rothschild lecture]

International law

22. The Use of International Law in the domestic courts of the United Kingdom (2005) [The McDermott lecture] * published in [2005] Northern Ireland Law Quarterly
23. "We have it in our power to begin the world over again": the contribution of Lauterpacht and Jackson to the post-war legal order [lecture to University of Bristol, 30 March 2021]

Epilogue
The Nature of the Judicial Process 100 years on