John Aneurin Grey Griffith, (14 October 1918 – 8 May 2010) was a Welsh legal scholar who spent much of his academic career within the Faculty of Law of the London School of Economics and Political Science. ''The Guardian'' described Griffith as "one of the leading public law scholars of the 20th century

Early life and education

He was born in

Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...

to a Baptist family, Rev. B. Grey Griffith and Bertha. He was educated at

Taunton School Taunton School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school, now co-educational, in the county town of Taunton in Somerset in South West England. It serves boarding and day-school pupils from the ages of 13 to 18. The current headmaster i ...

in Somerset, where he became a pacifist. He graduated with a first-class

LLB A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...

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 ...

in 1940.Martin Loughlin,
John Griffith obituary
, ''The Guardian'' (25 May 2010), retrieved 23 July 2019. He was called to the

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. He was a member of the

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and initially registered as a

conscientious objector A conscientious objector is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of conscience or religion. The term has also been extended to objecting to working for the military–indu ...

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 ...

, serving two years in the

Royal Army Medical Corps The Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) was a specialist corps in the British Army which provided medical services to all Army personnel and their families, in war and in peace. On 15 November 2024, the corps was amalgamated with the Royal Army De ...

. He unregistered as conscientious objector and began officer training in the Indian Army, serving a further two years and left in 1946 as a major.

Career

After the War he lectured at the

University College of Wales Aberystwyth University () is a Public university, public Research university, research university in Aberystwyth, Wales. Aberystwyth was a founding member institution of the former federal University of Wales. The university has over 8,000 stude ...

from 1946 to 1948 and concurrently completed an

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at the LSE. He returned to the LSE in 1948 as a lecturer in law, becoming a Reader in

English law English law is the common law list of national legal systems, legal system of England and Wales, comprising mainly English criminal law, criminal law and Civil law (common law), civil law, each branch having its own Courts of England and Wales, ...

in 1954. Griffith subsequently became

Professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

of English Law 1959 to 1970; then he was Professor of Public law from 1970 until he retired in 1984, becoming Emeritus Professor of Public Law. He held a Visiting Professorship at

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

in 1966 and at

York University, Toronto York University (), also known as YorkU or simply YU), is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's third-largest university, and it has approximately 53,500 students, 7,000 faculty and staff, and over 375,000 al ...

in 1985. Post-retirement, he was elected as Chancellor of the

University of Manchester The University of Manchester is a public university, public research university in Manchester, England. The main campus is south of Manchester city centre, Manchester City Centre on Wilmslow Road, Oxford Road. The University of Manchester is c ...

, a post he held for seven years. He was elected a Fellow of the

British Academy The British Academy for the Promotion of Historical, Philosophical and Philological Studies is the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and the social sciences. It was established in 1902 and received its royal charter in the sa ...

in 1977. Griffith's legal works, according to Martin Loughlin, "subverted the self-satisfied liberal-democratic view about the nature and functioning of the constitution, replacing it with a more realistic “what actually happens” account...his more explicitly political analyses tended to highlight the authoritarian nature of government and in particular the close political, social and class linkages of the elites in power". Griffith also "advanced a radical critique of the role of the judiciary, especially when it strayed into the field of politics". Griffith believed that the idea of "the

rule of law The essence of the rule of law is that all people and institutions within a Body politic, political body are subject to the same laws. This concept is sometimes stated simply as "no one is above the law" or "all are equal before the law". Acco ...

" was "a fantasy invented by Liberals of the old school in the late-19th century and patented by the Tories to throw a protective sanctity around certain legal and political institutions and principles which they wish to preserve at any cost". In its review of Griffith's 1977 work ''The Politics of the Judiciary'', the ''

Times Literary Supplement ''The Times Literary Supplement'' (''TLS'') is a weekly literary review published in London by News UK, a subsidiary of News Corp. History The ''TLS'' first appeared in 1902 as a supplement to ''The Times'' but became a separate publication ...

'' claimed that Griffith's "ends up aligned with the Baader–Meinhof gang in believing that every criminal trial is categorically unjust". The book subsequently became a bestseller and

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 ...

later complained: "The youngsters believe that we come from a narrow background—it's nonsense—they get it from that man Griffith".Anthony Sampson, ''The Changing Anatomy of Britain'' (London: Hodder and Staughton, 1982), p. 159.

Personal life

He married Barbara Eirene Garnet, with whom he had two sons and one daughter. In his ''

Who's Who A Who's Who (or Who Is Who) is a reference work consisting of biographical entries of notable people in a particular field. The oldest and best-known is the annual publication ''Who's Who (UK), Who's Who'', a reference work on contemporary promin ...

'' entry, he listed his recreations as "Drinking beer, writing bad verse". He served as a

councillor A councillor, alternatively councilman, councilwoman, councilperson, or council member, is someone who sits on, votes in, or is a member of, a council. This is typically an elected representative of an electoral district in a municipal or re ...

on Marlow council from 1950 to 1955, and Buckinghamshire city council from 1955 to 1961.

Works

*(with Harry Street), ''Principles of Administrative Law'' (1952). *(with Harry Street), ''A Casebook of Administrative Law'' (1964). *''Central Departments and Local Authorities'' (1966). *''Parliamentary Scrutiny of Government Bills'' (1974). *(with Trevor Hartley), ''Government and Law'' (1975). *''The Politics of the Judiciary'' (1977). *(with

Harriet Harman Harriet Ruth Harman, Baroness Harman, (born 30 July 1950), is a British politician and solicitor who served as Deputy Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Deputy Leader of the Labour Party and Chair of the Labour Party (UK), Chair of the Labour Pa ...

), ''Justice Deserted'' (1979). *''Socialism in a Cold Climate'' (1983). *(with Michael Ryle), ''Parliament: Functions, Practice and Procedures'' (1989). *''Judicial Politics since 1920: A Chronicle'' (1993).

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Griffiths, John 1918 births 2010 deaths People educated at Taunton School Alumni of the London School of Economics Academics of the London School of Economics Welsh legal scholars Fellows of the British Academy Welsh conscientious objectors British Army personnel of World War II Royal Army Medical Corps soldiers Indian Army personnel of World War II British Indian Army officers Welsh legal writers Labour Party (UK) councillors