Richard Wilberforce, Baron Wilberforce
| The Right Honourable The Lord Wilberforce QC PC | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Lord of Appeal in Ordinary | |
|
In office 1964–1982 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 11 March 1907 |
| Died | 15 February 2003 (aged 95) |
| Nationality | English |
| Alma mater | New College, Oxford |
| Profession | Barrister, Judge |
Richard Orme Wilberforce, Baron Wilberforce, QC, PC (11 March 1907 – 15 February 2003), was a Lord of Appeal in Ordinary in the House of Lords from 1964 to 1982.
Life
Richard Wilberforce was a great-great-grandson of the famous abolitionist William Wilberforce, and son of Samuel, a judge of the Lahore High Court, India.[lower-alpha 1] His mother Katherine was the daughter of Bishop John Sheepshanks. He was born in India and attended Norwich School, Sandroyd School, Winchester College and New College, Oxford, and was later elected a Fellow of All Souls College.[1] He was called to the Bar in 1932 and became a Queen's Counsel in 1954.
He was first appointed to the bench in 1961 as a Chancery judge. Then in 1964 he was appointed to the House of Lords as a Lord Appeal in Ordinary, skipping over the Court of Appeal, and was made a life peer as Baron Wilberforce, of the City and County of Kingston-upon-Hull. He is the only England and Wales judge in recent times to have been appointed to the House of Lords straight from the High Court Bench, without serving in the Court of Appeal. His decisions were known for being reserved and cautious. He served as a Law Lord for 18 years.
Wilberforce was Chancellor of the University of Hull between 1978 and 1994.
Famous judgments
Wilberforce gave many important and prescient judgments, including in the following cases:
- Eastham v Newcastle United FC [1964] Ch 413
- National Provincial Bank Ltd v Ainsworth [1965] AC 1175
- Boardman v Phipps [1967] 2 AC 46
- Boys v Chaplin [1969] 2 All ER 1085
- Barclays Bank Ltd v Quistclose Investments Ltd [1970] AC 567
- McPhail v Doulton [1971] AC 424
- Prenn v Simmonds [1971] 1 WLR 1381
- Ebrahimi v Westbourne Galleries Ltd [1973] AC 360
- Howard Smith Ltd v Ampol Petroleum Ltd [1974] AC 821
- Anns v Merton London Borough Council [1978] AC 728
- Johnson v Agnew [1979] 1 All ER 883
- Photo Production Ltd v Securicor Transport Ltd [1980] AC 827
- Williams & Glyn's Bank v Boland [1980] UKHL 4
- Midland Bank Trust Co Ltd v Green (No 1) [1980] UKHL 7 (11 December 1980)
- College of Nursing of the United Kingdom v Department of Health and Social Security (1981)
- Ramsay v IRC [1982] AC 300
- MPC v Caldwell [1982] AC 341 House of Lords
- Brinkibon Ltd v Stahag Stahl und Stahlwarenhandelsgesellschaft mbH [1983] 2 AC 34
- McLoughlin v O'Brian [1983] 1 AC 410
- Frazer v Walker and Radomski
- R v Inland Revenue Commissioners, ex parte National Federation of Self-Employed & Small Business Ltd
- The Diana Prosperity [1976] 1 WLR 989
Publications
- with Alan Campbell and Neil Elles, The Law of Restrictive Practices and Monopolies (2nd edn London, Sweet and Maxwell 1966) LCCN 66-70116
- Law and economics: Being the presidential address of the Rt. Hon. Lord Wilberforce (Holdsworth Club 1966)
Notes
- ↑ Samuel was himself a grandson of Samuel Wilberforce through his second son Reginald.
References
- ↑ Richard Orme Wilberforce (2003). Reflections on My Life. Roundtuit Publishing. pp. 10–22. ISBN 1-904499-03-1.