THE UNIVERSITY OF BUCKINGHAM


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EDITORIAL INTRODUCTION 
 

Many Law schools publish their own law journals. In the United Kingdom, 

these are often edited by faculty staff. At the University of Buckingham, the Law 

School staff edit and publish an annual journal – The Denning Law Journal 

(external link). It is named after the most famous and influential judicial figure of 

the century 20th Century, Lord Denning (1899 – 1999). He was a made a judge at 

45 years of age and was promoted to the Court of Appeal [a mere] four years 

later. His judgments were always lucid. Simple words were the tools of his trade, 

communication and persuasion, in simple speech and not flamboyant gestures. In 

his book The Discipline of Law he said, “To succeed in the profession of the law, 

you must seek to cultivate command of language. Words are the lawyer‟s tools of 

trade. When you are called upon to address a judge, it is your words which count 

most” (Butterworths 1979, p 5). He had a unique style of judgment writing, a 

master of evocative story telling. „It was bluebell time in Kent‟ formed part of the 

opening of his judgment in a case of death and personal injury witnessed by Mrs 

Hinz (Hinz v Berry [1970] 2 QB 40).When he died in 1999 the then Lord 

Chancellor, Lord Irvine of Lairg, said: “The name Denning was a byword for the 

law itself. His judgments were models of simple English which ordinary people 

understood.” He stood for the interests of fairness and justice.  

Lord Denning was an enthusiastic supporter of the fledgling university at 

Buckingham. It seemed natural when the Journal was founded in 1986 to name it 

after him. We were greatly honoured when he consented to the use of his name. 

 When he celebrated his 100th birthday in January 1999, more than 170 lawyers 

and judges gathered at the University of Buckingham for the Denning Centenary 

Symposium. 

The Denning Law Journal is a refereed journal. The aim is to provide a forum 

for the widest discussion of issues arising in the common law world and to 

embrace the wider global and international issues of contemporary concern, both 

of which Lord Denning would have approved. He also recognised the importance 

of:- 

 

 developing the common law  

 the need for judicial and community recognition of the urgency of reform 
and modernisation of law  

 the need to preserve the traditions of judicial independence, integrity and 
creativity  

 reflecting upon the interplay between law and morality  

 the role to be played by the law in the defence of the individual in the 
modern state.  

http://www.denninglawjournal.com/


THE DENNING LAW JOURNAL 

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As Lord Denning said, “If we never do anything which has not been done 

before, we shall never get anywhere. The law will stand still whilst the rest of the 

world goes on; and that will be bad for both” (Packer v Packer [1954] P. 15 at 

22). 

 

Susan Edwards 

Editor