Sir Jack Beatson, (born 1948), was 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 ...

from January 2013 to February 2018 when he became a full-time arbitrator at 24 Lincoln's Inn Fields. He was previously a High Court judge in 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 ...

, a Law Commissioner and

Rouse Ball Professor of English Law The Rouse Ball Professorship of English Law is a senior professorship in English law at the University of Cambridge, established in 1927 by a bequest from the mathematician W. W. Rouse Ball. In establishing the office, Rouse Ball expresse ...

at the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

Career

Beatson was called to the Bar at the

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional association for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practice as a barrister in England and Wa ...

in 1972, becoming a member of the governing council in 1993 as an honorary

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 ...

. He was Law Commissioner for England and Wales for five years from July 1989 to 1994, working on contract and commercial law, civil evidence, damages, administrative law, and financial services. He rejoined

Essex Court Chambers Essex Court Chambers is a set of commercial barristers in Lincoln's Inn Fields, central London. It has 110 tenants, of whom 55 are King's Counsel, also known as Silks. It is considered by legal commentators to be one of the ' Magic Circle' of Londo ...

in 1994, and appointed a

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 ...

in 1998.

Academic career

He was a law lecturer at the

University of Bristol The University of Bristol is a public university, public research university in Bristol, England. It received its royal charter in 1909, although it can trace its roots to a Merchant Venturers' school founded in 1595 and University College, Br ...

1972–73, then became a law tutor at

Merton College, Oxford Merton College (in full: The House or College of Scholars of Merton in the University of Oxford) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Its foundation can be traced back to the 126 ...

until 1994. He was the founding director of the Centre for Public Law (1997–2001) and is an Honorary Fellow of

St John's College, Cambridge St John's College, formally the College of St John the Evangelist in the University of Cambridge, is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge, founded by the House of Tudor, Tudor matriarch L ...

. He was

at the

from 1993 to 2003.

Lord Falconer Charles Leslie Falconer, Baron Falconer of Thoroton, (born 19 November 1951) is a British Labour politician, peer and barrister who served as Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice under Prime Minister Tony Blair from 2003 to 20 ...

called him an "outstanding academic lawyer". In July 2001 he became 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 ...

and he was President of the British Academy of Forensic Sciences 2007–09. In 2012 Beatson was a member of the advisory group that produced '' A Restatement of the English Law of Unjust Enrichment''.

Judicial career

Beatson was a

Crown Court The Crown Court is the criminal trial court, court of first instance in England and Wales responsible for hearing all indictable offences, some Hybrid offence, either way offences and appeals of the decisions of magistrates' courts. It is ...

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 ...

in 1994 and a Deputy High Court Judge in 1999. He was appointed to the High Court on 29 April 2003, receiving the customary

knighthood A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a 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. The concept of a knighthood ...

, and was assigned to the

. On 26 July 2012, it was announced he would be appointed a

to fill a forthcoming vacancy, which he took up in January 2014. He was sworn in as a member of

Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council The Privy Council, formally His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, is a privy council, formal body of advisers to the sovereign of the United Kingdom. Its members, known as privy counsellors, are mainly senior politicians who are curre ...

on 5 February 2013. In 2018, Beatson became a full-time arbitrator at 24 Lincoln's Inn Fields. He has also been appointed to part-time positions as a Justice of the Court of Appeal at the

Astana International Financial Centre The Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC) is a financial hub in Astana, Kazakhstan that officially launched on July 5, 2018. The Constitutional Statute "On the Astana International Financial Centre" approved on 7 December 2015 provides a ...

Astana Astana is the capital city of Kazakhstan. With a population of 1,423,726 within the city limits, it is the second-largest in the country after Almaty, which had been the capital until 1997. The city lies on the banks of the Ishim (river), Ishim ...

, Kazakhstan. and the Cayman Islands Court of Appeal.

Books

* Administrative Law: Cases and Materials (2nd edition, 1989, with M. Matthews) * Anson's Law of Contract (27th edition 1998, 28th edition, 2002) * Chitty on Contract (wrote chapters on The Crown, Public Authorities and the EC, Restitution in the 29th edition, 1999, editor of the 25th, 26th and 27th editions) * Freedom of Expression and Freedom of Information: Essays in Honour of Sir David Williams, Oxford University Press (2000, with Yvonne Cripps) * Good faith and fault in contract law, Clarendon Press (1997, editor with Daniel Friedmann) * Human Rights: The 1998 Act and the European Convention (2000, with S. Grosz and P. Duffy) * Jurists Uprooted: German-Speaking Émigré Lawyers in Twentieth Century Britain (2004, editor with Reinhard Zimmermann) * New Directions in European Public Law, Hart Publishing (1998, editor with

Takis Tridimas Takis Tridimas (complete name Panagiotis Takis Tridimas, in Greek Παναγιωτης Τακης Τριδημας) is a professor of European Law in King's College London and a former professor in Queen Mary University of London. He is a member ...

)

Personal life

He attended Whittingehame College, Brighton, then studied law at

Brasenose College Brasenose College (BNC) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It began as Brasenose Hall in the 13th century, before being founded as a college in 1509. The library and chapel were added in the m ...

, Oxford. He is married and has a daughter and a deceased son.

References

External links

Speeches at Judiciary.gov.uk
{{DEFAULTSORT:Beatson, Jack 1948 births Living people Alumni of Brasenose College, Oxford 21st-century English judges English King's Counsel Knights Bachelor Lord justices of appeal Members of the Inner Temple Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Queen's Bench Division judges Academics of the University of Bristol Fellows of Merton College, Oxford Fellows of the British Academy Rouse Ball Professors of English Law Legal scholars of the University of Oxford