Frederick Alexander Mann,

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

, FBA, QC (Hon.) also known as Francis Mann (11 August 1907 – 16 September 1991) was a German-born British jurist. A solicitor in private practice for most of his career, he was nevertheless one of the most influential legal scholars of his generation, being a noted authority on international law and the law of money.

Biography

Mann was born in

Frankenthal Frankenthal (Pfalz) (; ) is a town in southwestern Germany, in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate. History Frankenthal was first mentioned in 772. In 1119 an Augustinians, Augustinian monastery was built here, the ruins of which — known, aft ...

, Rhenish Palatinate,

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, the son of a Jewish lawyer. He was educated at the

University of Geneva The University of Geneva (French: ''Université de Genève'') is a public university, public research university located in Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded in 1559 by French theologian John Calvin as a Theology, theological seminary. It rema ...

, the

University of Munich The Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (simply University of Munich, LMU or LMU Munich; ) is a public university, public research university in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. Originally established as the University of Ingolstadt in 1472 by Duke ...

, and the

University of Berlin The Humboldt University of Berlin (, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin, Germany. The university was established by Frederick William III on the initiative of Wilhelm von Humbol ...

, where he took a DrJur. In 1933, Mann and his wife, Eleanore Ehrlich, moved to the United Kingdom, in response to the

Nazis Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

' assumption of power. In the United Kingdom, Mann first worked as a consultant in German law. He also studied at the

London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), established in 1895, is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. The school specialises in the social sciences. Founded ...

, obtaining an LLM in 1936. He published, in 1938, ''The Legal Aspect of Money'', the first systematic study of the law of money in English, having first submitted it to the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...

for the LLD. The work was the first systematic study of the subject in English, in addition of being one of the first books by a living author to be quoted in court, tradition hitherto dictating that only works by deceased jurists could be used. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, was designated by the British as an

enemy alien In customary international law, an enemy alien is any alien native, citizen, denizen or subject of any foreign nation or government with which a domestic nation or government is in conflict and who is liable to be apprehended, restrained, secur ...

, although he was not interned because the local police force refused to do so. In 1946, he was

naturalized Naturalization (or naturalisation) is the legal act or process by which a non-national of a country acquires the nationality of that country after birth. The definition of naturalization by the International Organization for Migration of the ...

as a British subject. In the same year, he returned to Germany as a member of the Legal Division of the

Allied Control Council The Allied Control Council (ACC) or Allied Control Authority (), also referred to as the Four Powers (), was the governing body of the Allies of World War II, Allied Allied-occupied Germany, occupation zones in Germany (1945–1949/1991) and Al ...

. Having previously been unable to practice law because of his alien status, Mann became a solicitor in 1946, becoming a partner of the firm Hardman, Phillips and Mann, which merged with

Herbert Smith Herbert Smith LLP was a multinational law firm headquartered in London, United Kingdom. The firm was founded in the City of London in 1882 by Norman Herbert Smith and merged with the Australian law firm Freehills on 1 October 2012, forming Herb ...

in 1958. At the same time, he published extensively on

international law International law, also known as public international law and the law of nations, is the set of Rule of law, rules, norms, Customary law, legal customs and standards that State (polity), states and other actors feel an obligation to, and generall ...

, in addition to his work as a solicitor. Notably, he appeared as counsel for Belgium in the ''Barcelona Traction'' case. Mann was elected a

Fellow of the British Academy Fellowship of the British Academy (post-nominal letters FBA) is an award granted by the British Academy to leading academics for their distinction in the humanities and social sciences. The categories are: # Fellows – scholars resident in t ...

in 1974 and appointed

in 1980. He received the Great Cross of Merit of the

Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (, or , BVO) is the highest state decoration, federal decoration of the Federal Republic of Germany. It may be awarded for any field of endeavor. It was created by the first List of president ...

in 1977. In 1991, he became the first solicitor to be appointed an honorary

Queen'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 ...

. Of Mann,

Lord Denning Alfred Thompson Denning, Baron Denning, (23 January 1899 – 5 March 1999), was an English barrister and judge. He was called to the Bar of England and Wales in 1923 and became a King's Counsel in 1938. Denning became a judge in 1944 when he w ...

wrote that "Of all my learned friends, Francis Mann is the most learned of all".

Selected publications

* * ''Studies in International Law'' (1973) * ''Foreign Affairs in English Courts'' (1986) * ''Further Studies in International Law'' (1990)

References

External links

* * * Website of th
research project for Frederick Alexander Mann
at

Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin The Humboldt University of Berlin (, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin, Germany. The university was established by Frederick William III on the initiative of Wilhelm von Humboldt, ...

(funded by

Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft The German Research Foundation ( ; DFG ) is a German research funding organization, which functions as a self-governing institution for the promotion of science and research in the Federal Republic of Germany. In 2019, the DFG had a funding bu ...

) {{DEFAULTSORT:Mann, F. A. 1907 births 1991 deaths 20th-century King's Counsel British Jews British legal scholars British solicitors Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Fellows of the British Academy Honorary King's Counsel International law scholars Jewish emigrants from Nazi Germany to the United Kingdom Jewish legal scholars Knights Commander of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany People from Frankenthal