Richard Orme Wilberforce, Baron Wilberforce, (11 March 1907 – 15 February 2003) was a British judge. He was a

Lord of Appeal in Ordinary Lords of Appeal in Ordinary, commonly known as Law Lords, were judges appointed under the Appellate Jurisdiction Act 1876 to the British House of Lords, as a committee of the House, effectively to exercise the judicial functions of the House o ...

from 1964 to 1982.

Early life and career

Born in Jalandhar,

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

, Richard Wilberforce was the son of

Samuel Wilberforce Samuel Wilberforce, FRS (7 September 1805 – 19 July 1873) was an English bishop in the Church of England, and the third son of William Wilberforce. Known as "Soapy Sam", Wilberforce was one of the greatest public speakers of his day. Natural ...

, ICS, later a judge of the

Lahore High Court The Lahore High Court () is based in Lahore, Pakistan. It was established as a high court on 21 March 1882. The Lahore High Court has jurisdiction over Punjab (Pakistan). The High Court's principal seat is in Lahore, but there are benches in th ...

, and of Katherine Wilberforce, the daughter of John Sheepshanks,

Bishop of Norwich The Bishop of Norwich is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Norwich in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese covers most of the county of Norfolk and part of Suffolk. The bishop of Norwich is Graham Usher. The see is in t ...

. His grandfather was Reginald Wilberforce, who helped restore British order in Delhi, after the

Indian Rebellion of 1857 The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a major uprising in India in 1857–58 against the rule of the British East India Company, which functioned as a sovereign power on behalf of the British Crown. The rebellion began on 10 May 1857 in the for ...

. His great-grandfather was

Bishop of Winchester The Bishop of Winchester is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Winchester in the Church of England. The bishop's seat (''cathedra'') is at Winchester Cathedral in Hampshire. The Bishop of Winchester has always held ''ex officio'' (except ...

, and his great-great-grandfather was the

abolitionist Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people. The British ...

William Wilberforce William Wilberforce (24 August 175929 July 1833) was a British politician, philanthropist and leader of the movement to abolish the slave trade. A native of Kingston upon Hull, Yorkshire, he began his political career in 1780, eventually becom ...

, a connection which had much influence upon him. Wilberforce spent the first seven years of his life in India, before being sent to England in 1914 on the outbreak of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

. He attended five preparatory schools, the last being

Sandroyd School Sandroyd School is an independent co-educational preparatory school for day and boarding pupils aged 2 to 13 in the south of Wiltshire, England. The school's main building is Rushmore House, a 19th-century country house which is surrounded by the ...

. From Sandroyd he went to

Winchester College Winchester College is a public school (fee-charging independent day and boarding school) in Winchester, Hampshire, England. It was founded by William of Wykeham in 1382 and has existed in its present location ever since. It is the oldest of ...

in 1920 where Monty Rendall, the headmaster, convinced him to drop Mathematics, in which he excelled, in favour of Classics, in order to broaden his career options. Wilberforce excelled in his new subject, winning all four top college prizes. From Winchester Wilberforce entered

New College, Oxford New College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1379 by William of Wykeham in conjunction with Winchester College as its feeder school, New College is one of the oldest colleges at ...

, where he was a

scholar A scholar is a person who pursues academic and intellectual activities, particularly academics who apply their intellectualism into expertise in an area of study. A scholar can also be an academic, who works as a professor, teacher, or researche ...

, obtaining

firsts First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and reco ...

in both

Classical Moderations Honour Moderations (or ''Mods'') are a set of examinations at the University of Oxford at the end of the first part of some degree courses (e.g., Greats or '' Literae Humaniores''). Honour Moderations candidates have a class awarded (hence the ' ...

(1928) and '' Literae humaniores'' (1930). He won the Craven, Hertford, and Ireland scholarships in Classics, as well as the Eldon Law Scholarship. In 1932, on his third attempt, Wilberforce was elected a prize fellow of

All Souls College All Souls College (official name: College of the Souls of All the Faithful Departed) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Unique to All Souls, all of its members automatically become fellows (i.e., full members of ...

: the two other successful candidates that year were

Isaiah Berlin Sir Isaiah Berlin (6 June 1909 – 5 November 1997) was a Russian-British social and political theorist, philosopher, and historian of ideas. Although he became increasingly averse to writing for publication, his improvised lectures and talks ...

and Patrick Reilly. Wilberforce remained a fellow of the college until his death seventy years later. Moving to London, Wilberforce was called to the bar by the

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's I ...

in 1932. He was the pupil of the renowned Chancery junior Wilfred Hunt; a fellow pupil was H. L. A. Hart. Wilberforce joined the chambers of Andrew Clark (today called Wilberforce Chambers) and practised at the Chancery bar but, lacking family connections, his earnings were meagre, although they began to increase toward the end of the decade.

Wartime service

Fearing that war was inevitable, Wilberforce joined the Army reserves after

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and ...

in 1938. At the outbreak of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

in 1939 Wilberforce volunteered for service in the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurkha ...

, though he was advised against it, and was commissioned into the

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

. In 1940 he was aide-de-camp to Major-General Bernard Paget, who led the British expeditionary force during the Norwegian Campaign. After Norway, Wilberforce held various staff appointments, before being posted to the

War Office The War Office was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the new Ministry of Defence (MoD). This article contains text from ...

where, as a

lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colon ...

, he was put in charge of Army entertainments. In 1944 he was attached to the

Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF; ) was the headquarters of the Commander of Allied forces in north west Europe, from late 1943 until the end of World War II. U.S. General Dwight D. Eisenhower was the commander in SHAEF ...

. In 1945, he drafted the

German Instrument of Surrender The German Instrument of Surrender (german: Bedingungslose Kapitulation der Wehrmacht, lit=Unconditional Capitulation of the " Wehrmacht"; russian: Акт о капитуляции Германии, Akt o kapitulyatsii Germanii, lit=Act of capi ...

which Field Marshal Wilhelm Keitel and others signed in Berlin on 8 May. After the German surrender Wilberforce, by then a

brigadier Brigadier is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several thousand soldiers. ...

, headed the British legal section of the

Allied Control Council The Allied Control Council or Allied Control Authority (german: Alliierter Kontrollrat) and also referred to as the Four Powers (), was the governing body of the Allied Occupation Zones in Germany and Allied-occupied Austria after the end of ...

. In 1946–7 he returned to London to serve as Under-Secretary at the Control Office for Germany and Austria. For his wartime service, Wilberforce was appointed an OBE and received the American

Bronze Star The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious achievement, or meritorious service in a combat zone. W ...

. He retained the rank of honorary brigadier. While in Berlin, Wilberforce met Yvette Marie Lenoan, a captain in the

French Army History Early history The first permanent army, paid with regular wages, instead of feudal levies, was established under Charles VII of France, Charles VII in the 1420 to 1430s. The Kings of France needed reliable troops during and after the ...

and the daughter of Roger Lenoan, a judge of the ''

Cour de Cassation A court of cassation is a high-instance court that exists in some judicial systems. Courts of cassation do not re-examine the facts of a case, they only interpret the relevant law. In this they are appellate courts of the highest instance. In t ...

'' posted to Berlin: they married in 1947.

Return to the bar

Wilberforce returned to the bar in 1947 when the Control Office for Germany and Austria was abolished. His old set of chambers had disappeared, forcing him to find new accommodation. His practice was at first very small, and he considered leaving the bar. He acted for Prince Ernest Augustus of Hanover to be recognized as a British subject under the

Sophia Naturalization Act 1705 The Act for the Naturalization of the Most Excellent Princess Sophia, Electress and Duchess Dowager of Hanover, and the Issue of her Body was an Act of the Parliament of England (4 & 5 Ann. c. 16.) in 1705. It followed the Act of Settlement 1701 ...

. He became a member of the Bar Council in 1951 and was appointed a

Queen's Counsel In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel (post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of a queen, is a lawyer (usually a barrister o ...

in 1954. He participated in several

Foreign Office Foreign may refer to: Government * Foreign policy, how a country interacts with other countries * Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in many countries ** Foreign Office, a department of the UK government ** Foreign office and foreign minister * Unit ...

cases, including Corfu Channel case and the Norwegian Fisheries case in the

International Court of Justice The International Court of Justice (ICJ; french: Cour internationale de justice, links=no; ), sometimes known as the World Court, is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN). It settles disputes between states in accordan ...

. He was also appointed as the British legal member of the

International Civil Aviation Organization The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO, ) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that coordinates the principles and techniques of international air navigation, and fosters the planning and development of international a ...

. He was appointed a

Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George IV, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III. It is named in honour ...

for services in relation to the

Warsaw Convention The Convention for the Unification of certain rules relating to international carriage by air, commonly known as the Warsaw Convention, is an international convention which regulates liability for international carriage of persons, luggage, or ...

in 1956. In the 1950 election, he stood for Kingston upon Hull Central as the

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

candidate, in the city formerly represented by his ancestor William Wilberforce, but lost to the incumbent Labour MP

Mark Hewitson Captain Mark Hewitson (15 December 1897 – 27 February 1973) was a British trade union official and Labour Party politician. He was chosen at the last minute to stand for Parliament, and eventually served as a Member of Parliament (MP) for nine ...

Judicial career

Wilberforce was appointed to the High Court in 1961 and assigned to the

Chancery Division The High Court of Justice in London, known properly as His Majesty's High Court of Justice in England, together with the Court of Appeal and the Crown Court, are the Senior Courts of England and Wales. Its name is abbreviated as EWHC (England ...

, receiving the customary

knighthood A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the ...

. On 1 October 1964, after only three years' service, he was elevated to the House of Lords as a

, and was made a

life peer In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. In modern times, life peerages, always created at the rank of baron, are created under the Life Peerages ...

as Baron Wilberforce, ''of the City and County of Kingston-upon-Hull''; he was also sworn of the

Privy Council A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mo ...

. He is the only English judge in recent times to have been appointed to the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminst ...

straight from the High Court, without first serving in the

Court of Appeal A court of appeals, also called a court of appeal, appellate court, appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal. In much ...

. Wilberforce served as a law lord for 18 years, during which he heard 465 appeals, often giving the leading judgment. He was the Senior Law Lord from 1975 to his retirement in 1982. His decisions were highly regarded and covered large areas of the law. He was president of the Anti-Slavery Society from 1971. In the early 1970s he chaired two inquiries. The first was into power workers' pay in 1971, and found in the workers' favour. The second was set up during the

miners' strike Miners' strikes are when miners conduct strike actions. See also *List of strikes References {{Reflist Miners A miner is a person who extracts ore, coal, chalk, clay, or other minerals from the earth through mining. There are two s ...

of 1972; thanks to Wiberforce's high work rate, it reported within a week, and recommended pay increases of between £4.50 and £6 to miners. Wilberforce was

Chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...

of the

University of Hull , mottoeng = Bearing the Torch f learning, established = 1927 – University College Hull1954 – university status , type = Public , endowment = £18.8 million (2016) , budget = £190 million ...

between 1978 and 1994, High Steward of the University of Oxford from 1967 to 1990, Visitor of Wolfson College from 1974 to 1990 and Visitor of Linacre College from 1983 to 1990.

Famous judgments

Wilberforce gave many important and prescient judgments, including in the following cases:

High Court

*'' Eastham v Newcastle United FC'' 964Ch 413 *'' Boardman v Phipps'' 9641 WLR 993 — duty of loyalty and

conflict of interest A conflict of interest (COI) is a situation in which a person or organization is involved in multiple interests, financial or otherwise, and serving one interest could involve working against another. Typically, this relates to situations i ...

House of Lords and Privy Council

*'' National Provincial Bank Ltd v Ainsworth''

965 Year 965 ( CMLXV) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * Arab–Byzantine War: Emperor Nikephoros II conquers the fortress cities of Ta ...

AC 1175 *''

Barclays Bank Ltd v Quistclose Investments Ltd (sub nom ''Quistclose Investments Ltd v Rolls Razor Ltd'') is a leading property, unjust enrichment and trusts case, which invented a new species of proprietary interest in English law. A "Quistclose trust" arises when an asset is given to some ...

970 Year 970 ( CMLXX) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar, the 970th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' designations, the 970th year of the 1st millennium, the 70th year ...

AC 567 *''

Boys v Chaplin ''Boys v Chaplin'' 971AC 356 is a leading conflict of laws case decided by the House of Lords. Facts The plaintiff, a passenger on a motorcycle, was injured through the negligence of the defendant whose car had hit the motorcycle. The plaintif ...

971 Year 971 ( CMLXXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * Battle of Dorostolon: A Byzantine expeditionary army (possibly 30–40,000 men ...

AC 356 —

conflict of laws Conflict of laws (also called private international law) is the set of rules or laws a jurisdiction applies to a case, transaction, or other occurrence that has connections to more than one jurisdiction. This body of law deals with three broad ...

*'' McPhail v Doulton''

AC 424 *'' Prenn v Simmonds''

1 WLR 1381 *''British Railways Board v Herrington'' 972AC 877 *''

Ebrahimi v Westbourne Galleries Ltd ''Ebrahimi v Westbourne Galleries Ltd''

973 Year 973 ( CMLXXIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * Spring – The Byzantine army, led by General Melias (Domestic of the S ...

AC 360 is a United Kingdom company law case on the rights of minority shareholders. The case was decided in the Judicial functions of the House of Lords, House of Lords. Facts Mr Ebrahimi and Mr Naz ...

AC 360 *''

Howard Smith Ltd v Ampol Petroleum Ltd ''Howard Smith Ltd v Ampol Petroleum Ltd'' is a leading company law case, concerning the duty of directors to act only for "proper purposes". This duty has been codified into the Companies Act 2006 section 171, and arises particularly in cases i ...

'' 974AC 821 *''DPP for Northern Ireland v Lynch'' 975AC 653 — defence of duress *'' The Diana Prosperity'' 9761 WLR 989 — interpretation of contracts *''

Anns v Merton London Borough Council was a decision of the House of Lords. It established a broad test for determining the existence of a duty of care in the tort of negligence called the Anns test or sometimes the two-stage test for true third-party negligence. This case was over ...

'' 978AC 728 *''

Johnson v Agnew ''Johnson v Agnew'' 980AC 367 is a landmark English contract law case on the date for assessing damages. Lord Wilberforce decided that the date appropriate is the date of breach, ''or'' when a contracting party could reasonably be aware of a brea ...

'' 9791 All ER 883 — assessment of damages *''

Photo Production Ltd v Securicor Transport Ltd is an English contract law case decided by the House of Lords on construction of a contract and the doctrine of fundamental breach. Facts Photo Productions Ltd engaged Securicor to guard their premises at night. A night-watchman, Mr Musgrove, ...

980 Year 980 ( CMLXXX) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Peace is concluded between Emperor Otto II (the Red) and King Lothair III (or Lothair IV) a ...

AC 827 *Midland Bank Trust Co Ltd v Green (No 1)

UKHL 7 (11 December 1980) *'' College of Nursing of the United Kingdom v Department of Health and Social Security (1981)'' *'' Williams & Glyn's Bank v Boland''

981 Year 981 ( CMLXXXI) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events Births * Abu'l-Qasim al-Husayn ibn Ali al-Maghribi, Arab statesman (d. 1027) * Giovanni Orseolo, Venetian ...

AC 487 —

overriding interest Overriding interest is an English land law concept. The general rule in registered conveyancing is that all interests and rights over a piece of land have to be written on the HM Land Registry, register entry for that land. Otherwise, when anyone b ...

*''

Ramsay v IRC "Ramsay principle" is the shorthand name given to the decision of the Judicial functions of the House of Lords, House of Lords in two important case law, cases in the field of United Kingdom, UK tax, reported in 1982: * ''Ramsay v. IRC'', the ful ...

982 Year 982 ( CMLXXXII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Summer – Emperor Otto II (the Red) assembles an imperial expeditionary force at Tar ...

AC 300 — the ''Ramsay'' principle *'' MPC v Caldwell''

AC 341 *'' Brinkibon Ltd v Stahag Stahl und Stahlwarenhandelsgesellschaft mbH'' 9832 AC 34 *'' McLoughlin v O'Brian'' 9831 AC 410 — recovery of damages from

nervous shock In English law, a nervous shock is a psychiatric / mental illness or injury inflicted upon a person by intentional or negligent actions or omissions of another. Often it is a psychiatric disorder triggered by witnessing an accident, for example a ...

*'' Frazer v Walker and Radomski'' *'' R v Inland Revenue Commissioners, ex parte National Federation of Self-Employed & Small Business Ltd''

Publications

*with Alan Campbell and Neil Elles, ''The Law of Restrictive Practices and Monopolies'' (2nd edn London, Sweet and Maxwell 1966) *''Law and economics: Being the presidential address of the Rt. Hon. Lord Wilberforce'' (Holdsworth Club 1966)

Arms

References

External links

''The Guardian'' obituary
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilberforce, Richard 1907 births 2003 deaths 20th-century English judges Fellows of All Souls College, Oxford People educated at Norwich School People educated at Sandroyd School People educated at Winchester College Alumni of New College, Oxford Law lords People associated with the University of Hull Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Chancery Division judges Members of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council Crossbench life peers Senior Lords of Appeal in Ordinary

Richard Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Old Frankish and is a compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'stro ...

Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Officers of the Order of the British Empire Royal Artillery officers Members of the Permanent Court of Arbitration English King's Counsel 20th-century King's Counsel Knights Bachelor British judges of international courts and tribunals Conservative Party (UK) parliamentary candidates British Army personnel of World War II British Army brigadiers War Office personnel in World War II Military personnel of British India