The writer suggests that it is important to be reminded of the value of a Commonwealth of legal ideas in the light of the pressures by some Commonwealth governments towards local legal independence, as evidenced by moves to abolish appeal to the Privy Council in New Zealand and elsewhere. The article shows how New Zealand judges led by Lord Cooke of Thorndon recognised the relevance of Lord Wilberforce's contribution to their task of developing case-law and applying this to human situations. The article then highlights the nature of Wilberforce's influence by examining the Anns case. The article examines three key features of Wilberforce's influence on the New Zealand common law, namely, his intellectual influence, his reality-based judging and his restrained progressiveness. analysing the influence of one common law judge, Richard Wilberforce, on a particular Commonwealth jurisdiction, namely, New Zealand. This article shows the continuing value of a Commonwealth of legal ideas by. In particular, judges in common law jurisdictions can benefit from the wisdom of a large array of judges, schooled in a common tradition, who have dealt with analogous situations in the past. The Commonwealth of legal jurisdictions has the privilege of being able to draw upon a treasure house of intellectual capital.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |