Lord Kerr, defender of rights
The Judicial Mind: A Festschrift for Lord Kerr of Tonaghmore
Edited by Brice Dickson and Conor McCormick
£85, Hart Publishing
★★★★✩
This essay collection highlights Lord Kerr’s (pictured) steadfast commitment to rights, justice and humanitarianism. He was unafraid to stand alone to defend his values, ‘protect the most vulnerable in society and ensure that the rights enshrined within the ECHR were not encroached upon by the state’. His commitment to liberal values made him inspirational and forward-thinking.
In her chapter on the rights and interests of women and children, Lady Hale highlights that Lord Kerr was her feminist judging ‘ally’. On the subject of abortion, Lord Kerr stated: ‘A woman’s right to respect for her private life, her right to exercise autonomy over her own body, her entitlement to make decisions as to her own welfare and happiness lie at the very centre of her existence.’
While this book will naturally prove more useful for the academic lawyer and those who practise in the core areas discussed – family, human rights and public law – a better understanding of the judicial mindset is beneficial to all practitioners. Many of the particular constitutional and social issues explored are of broad interest, especially given the contemporary relevance of constitutional and human rights law. As may be expected, for a tribute to the former lord chief justice of Northern Ireland, there are contributions on the Northern Irish constitution, judiciary, and executive power, which also have present-day significance in our post-Brexit hinterland.
This book reminds us of the extraordinary life that Lord Kerr lived, and the great loss to the Supreme Court and the country. Lord Kerr died unexpectedly only two months into the very full retirement he had planned, leaving the book without a concluding chapter. We can be comforted by remembering the great contribution Lord Kerr made to the law and world around him. He was, as Lord Reed writes, ‘an outstanding judge and a remarkable man’.
Jodie Satterley is a Dulverton intern at Justice and a University of Law bar student
Unlawful Killings: Life, Love and Murder: Trials at the Old Bailey
Wendy Joseph QC
£20, Doubleday
It is a sad indictment of the slow rate of progress in the criminal justice system that when HHJ Wendy Joseph QC became a judge at the Old Bailey in 2012 she was the only woman among 16 judges. Ten years later, and now in retirement, she has turned her experience and expertise to writing, bringing to life different issues in the court process through the dramatisation of six very different trials with which she was involved.
We are introduced to, among others: children on trial for murder arising out of gang violence; a former solider suffering from PTSD who is accused of killing his wife; and a young woman accused of infanticide who is revealed as both offender and victim. The stories are absorbing and well-crafted. The reader also gets a glimpse of what goes on behind the scenes as we are taken to the judge’s room.
The book is clearly written with different audiences in mind. In the appendices, for example, the routes to verdict and sentencing guidelines are set out. In addition to the compelling narrative of the trials, the book also grapples with some of the overarching questions about the trial process and what lessons, if any, can be learned. This is a thought-provoking read for those who work in the system and for those who don’t.
Hugh French is a criminal barrister at Red Lion Chambers
No comments yet