Sir Eric Leopold Otho Sachs, (23 July 1898 – 1 September 1979) was a British barrister and judge. He was a High Court judge from 1954 to 1966 and then a

Lord Justice of Appeal A Lord Justice of Appeal or Lady Justice of Appeal is a judge of the Court of Appeal of England and Wales, the court that hears appeals from the High Court of Justice, the Crown Court and other courts and tribunals. A Lord (or Lady) Just ...

until 1973.

Biography

Sachs was born in London. His father was an architect, and his grandfather had emigrated from Germany to England. Sachs was educated at

Charterhouse School Charterhouse is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English independent boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) in Godalming, Surrey, England. Founded by Thomas Sutton in 1611 on the site of the old Carthusian monastery in Charter ...

and served as a

gunnery officer The gunnery officer of a warship was the officer responsible for operation and maintenance of the ship's guns and for safe storage of the ship's ammunition inventory. Background The gunnery officer was usually the line officer next in rank to the ...

in 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 the First World War, from 1917 to 1919, receiving wounds to his left hand. After being

demobilised Demobilization or demobilisation (see American and British English spelling differences, spelling differences) is the process of standing down a nation's armed forces from combat-ready status. This may be as a result of victory in war, or becaus ...

, he read law at

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church (, the temple or house, ''wikt:aedes, ædes'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by Henry V ...

, graduating after five terms in 1920. He was called to the bar at the

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court entitled to Call to the bar, call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple (with whi ...

in 1921, and was a

pupil barrister A pupillage, in England and Wales, Northern Ireland, Kenya, Malaysia, Pakistan and Hong Kong, is the final, vocational stage of training for those wishing to become practising barristers. Pupillage is similar to an apprenticeship, during which ba ...

under

Wilfrid Lewis Sir Wilfrid Hubert Poyer Lewis, (9 February 1881 – 15 March 1950) was a British barrister, and ecclesiastical lawyer. He served as Junior Counsel to the Treasury (Common Law) (one of the British government's most senior lawyers) from 1930 to ...

. He practised on the

Oxford circuit The assizes (), or courts of assize, were periodic courts held around England and Wales until 1972, when together with the quarter sessions they were abolished by the Courts Act 1971 and replaced by a single permanent Crown Court. The assizes ex ...

and in London, and became a

King's Counsel A King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) is a senior lawyer appointed by the monarch (or their Viceroy, viceregal representative) of some Commonwealth realms as a "Counsel learned in the law". When the reigning monarc ...

in 1938. He was also appointed

Recorder Recorder or The Recorder may refer to: Newspapers * ''Indianapolis Recorder'', a weekly newspaper * ''The Recorder'' (Massachusetts newspaper), a daily newspaper published in Greenfield, Massachusetts, US * ''The Recorder'' (Port Pirie), a newsp ...

Dudley Dudley ( , ) is a market town in the West Midlands, England, southeast of Wolverhampton and northwest of Birmingham. Historically part of Worcestershire, the town is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley. In the ...

in 1938. He served in the staff of the adjutant-general in the

War Office The War Office has referred to several British government organisations throughout history, all relating to the army. It was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, at ...

in the Second World War, starting as a second lieutenant but rapidly promoted to brigadier. He was appointed MBE in 1941 for his war work. He transferred to political warfare - part of intelligence - in 1942 and was seconded to the

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 * United ...

to produce handbooks on the administration of the territories to be liberated by the Allies. Demobilised again in 1945, he returned to legal practice as a

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdiction (area), jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include arguing cases in courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, jurisprud ...

. He led a team of barristers who collaborated with

Sydney Littlewood Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

and other

solicitors A solicitor is a lawyer who traditionally deals with most of the legal matters in some jurisdictions. A person must have legally defined qualifications, which vary from one jurisdiction to another, to be described as a solicitor and enabled to p ...

from the Law Society in formulating the

legal aid Legal aid is the provision of assistance to people who are unable to afford legal representation and access to the court system. Legal aid is regarded as central in providing access to justice by ensuring equality before the law, the right ...

scheme created under the

Legal Aid and Advice Act 1949 The Legal Aid and Advice Act 1949 ( 12, 13 & 14 Geo. 6. c. 51) was a British act of Parliament which extended the welfare state so that those unable to pay for a solicitor were able to access free legal help. It set up the first ever state funde ...

. He became a

bencher A bencher or Master of the Bench is a senior member of an Inn of Court in England and Wales or the Inns of Court in Northern Ireland, or the Honorable Society of King's Inns in Ireland. Benchers hold office for life once elected. A bencher c ...

at Middle Temple in 1947 and served as Treasurer in 1967, reforming the inn's governance and finances. He was

Gresham Professor of Law The Professor of Law at Gresham College, London, gives free educational lectures to the general public. The college was founded for this purpose in 1597, when it created seven professorships; this was later increased to ten. Law is one of the orig ...

from 1946 to 1950. In addition to his legal practice, he continued with part-time judicial office, serving as a

Commissioner of Assize The assizes (), or courts of assize, were periodic courts held around England and Wales until 1972, when together with the quarter sessions they were abolished by the Courts Act 1971 and replaced by a single permanent Crown Court. The assizes ex ...

and investigating allegations of corruption in the Gold Coast in 1946. He was Recorder of Stoke-on-Trent from 1943 to 1954, and leader of the Oxford circuit in 1953 and 1954. He was appointed to the High Court bench in 1954 and received the customary knighthood, joining the

Probate, Divorce and Admiralty 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 ...

. He was transferred to the

Queen's Bench Division The King's Bench Division (or Queen's Bench Division when the monarch is female) of the High Court of Justice deals with a wide range of common law cases and has supervisory responsibility over certain lower courts. It hears appeals on point ...

in 1960, and was promoted to the

Court of Appeal An appellate court, commonly called a court of appeal(s), appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to Hearing (law), hear a Legal case, case upon appeal from a trial court or other ...

in 1966, also joining the Privy Council. Amongst other cases, he heard and dismissed the appeal of the students convicted after the Garden House riot in 1970. He became increasingly deaf in his later years and retired in 1973, but continued to sit as a judge occasionally. Among his later cases were ''Evans Marshall and Co Ltd v Bertola SA'' and '' British Crane Hire Corporation Ltd v Ipswich Plant Hire Ltd'', both ruled in 1973, and ''

Lloyds Bank Ltd v Bundy ''Lloyds Bank Ltd v Bundy'' is a decision of the English Court of Appeal in English contract law, dealing with undue influence. One of the three judges hearing the case, Lord Denning MR, advanced the argument that under English law, all impairmen ...

'' in 1974. In ''Evans Marshall'' he recast the issue of determining whether

damages At common law, damages are a remedy in the form of a monetary award to be paid to a claimant as compensation for loss or injury. To warrant the award, the claimant must show that a breach of duty has caused foreseeable loss. To be recognized at ...

would offer an adequate remedy in commercial cases, where the court refused to grant an

injunction An injunction is an equitable remedy in the form of a special court order compelling a party to do or refrain from doing certain acts. It was developed by the English courts of equity but its origins go back to Roman law and the equitable rem ...

, into an alternative format: In 1934, Sachs married Janet Margaret Goddard (d.2005), daughter of Rayner Goddard, later Baron Goddard, who was

Lord Chief Justice of England The Lord or Lady Chief Justice of England and Wales is the head of the judiciary of England and Wales and the president of the courts of England and Wales. Until 2005 the lord chief justice was the second-most senior judge of the English an ...

from 1946 to 1958. He retired to East Sussex, and died at home in

Wadhurst Wadhurst is a market town in East Sussex, England. It is the centre of the civil parish of Wadhurst, which also includes the hamlets of Cousley Wood and Tidebrook. Wadhurst is twinned with Aubers in France. Geography Wadhurst is situated o ...

after an operation. He was survived by his wife, and their son and daughter.

References

General references

* Obituary of Lady Sachs, ''The Times'', 31 December 2005 * Roskill, ‘Sachs, Sir Eric Leopold Otho (1898–1979)’, rev. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 200
accessed 9 July 2012

Sir Eric Leopold Otho Sachs
National Portrait Gallery * Obituary of Sir Eric Sachs, ''The Times'', 16 November 1979; pg. VII; Issue 60476; col D {{DEFAULTSORT:Sachs, Eric British King's Counsel 20th-century English judges Knights Bachelor Probate, Divorce and Admiralty Division judges Queen's Bench Division judges Lord justices of appeal Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Members of the Order of the British Empire Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford Members of the Middle Temple People educated at Charterhouse School Royal Artillery officers Academics of Gresham College 1898 births Lawyers from London 1979 deaths