Sir John Leonard Knox (6 April 1925 – 28 May 2015) was a British High Court judge, sitting in 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 ...

Biography

Knox was the son of Capt. Leonard Needham Knox of an Ulster-Scots origin and Berthe Hélène Brel of

Lille Lille (, ; ; ; ; ) is a city in the northern part of France, within French Flanders. Positioned along the Deûle river, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, the Prefectures in F ...

. His paternal grandmother was the poet

Lucy Knox Lucy Knox (9 November 1845 – 10 May 1884), styled The Honourable from 1870 until her death, was an Anglo-Irish poet of the Victorian era. Biography Knox was born as Lucy Spring Rice in Hither Green, Lewisham, the second daughter of Stephen Sp ...

. He was the great-great-grandson of

Thomas Knox, 1st Earl of Ranfurly Thomas Knox, 1st Earl of Ranfurly (5 August 1754 – 26 April 1840), styled The Honourable Thomas Knox between 1781 and 1818 and known as The Viscount Northland between 1818 and 1831, was an Irish peer and politician. Early life Ranfurly was th ...

. He was educated at

Radley College Radley College, formally St Peter's College, Radley or the College of St. Peter at Radley, is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (independent boarding school) for boys near the village of Radley, in Oxfordshire, in the United Kingd ...

and

Worcester College, Oxford Worcester College ( ) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. The college was founded in 1714 by the benefaction of Sir Thomas Cookes, 2nd Baronet (1648–1701) of Norgrove, Worcestershire, whose coat of arms was ad ...

. He served 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 ...

from 1944–47. Prior to his elevation to the bench, Sir John practised 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 ...

from what is now termed Radcliffe Chambers. He was

Attorney-General of the Duchy of Lancaster The Attorney-General of the Duchy of Lancaster is the law officer of the Crown for matters arising in the Duchy of Lancaster. Attorneys-General *1478–1483: Richard Empson *1519–1522: John Hales *1522–1526: Edmund Knightley *1526–1531: ...

from 1984 to 1986. He was appointed on 26 July 1985, and retired on 30 September 1996. Whilst sitting he was styled as Mr Justice Knox or Knox J.

Personal life

Knox married firstly in 1953 Anne Jacqueline Mackintosh (died 1991), daughter of Herbert Mackintosh. They had one son and three daughters. He married secondly in 1993 Benedicta Eugénie, daughter of oboist

Léon Goossens Léon Jean Goossens, CBE, FRCM (12 June 1897 – 13 February 1988) was an English oboist. Career Goossens was born in Liverpool, Lancashire, and studied at Liverpool College of Music and the Royal College of Music. His father was violinist an ...

and widow of Robin Philip Cooksey.

Notable cases

Notable judicial decisions that Knox J was involved in included: * ''

Smith v Croft (No 2) ''Smith v Croft (No 2)'' 988Ch 114 is a UK company law case concerning derivative claims. Its principle that in allowing a derivative claim to continue the court will have regard to the majority of the minority's views has been codified in Compan ...

988 Year 988 ( CMLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * Fall – Emperor Basil II, supported by a contingent of 6,000 Varangians (the future Varangian Guard), organiz ...

Ch 114 relating to derivative claims. * ''

Re Produce Marketing Consortium Ltd (No 2) ''Re Produce Marketing Consortium Ltd (No 2)'' 9895 BCC 569 was the first UK company law or UK insolvency law case under the wrongful trading provision of s 214 Insolvency Act 1986. Facts Eric Peter David and Ronald William Murphy ran Produce Ma ...

989 Year 989 ( CMLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * Emperor Basil II uses his contingent of 6,000 Varangians to help him defeat Bardas Phokas (the Younger), who suffe ...

5 BCC 569 relating to

wrongful trading Wrongful trading is a type of civil wrong found in UK insolvency law, under Section 214 Insolvency Act 1986. It was introduced to enable contributions to be obtained for the benefit of creditors from those responsible for mismanagement of the inso ...

. * ''

Re New Bullas Trading Ltd ''Re New Bullas Trading Ltd'' 9941 BCLC 485 is a UK insolvency law case, concerning the definition of a floating charge. It held, somewhat controversially, that it was possible to separate a book debt from its proceeds, and that it was possible ...

994 Year 994 ( CMXCIV) was a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * September 15 – Battle of the Orontes: Fatimid forces, under Turkish general Manjutakin (also the governor ...

1 BCLC 485 at first instance, relating to

floating charge In finance, a floating charge is a security interest over a fund of changing assets of a company or other legal person. Unlike a fixed charge, which is created over ascertained and definite property, a floating charge is created over property of ...

s. Knox J's decision at first instance was reversed by the Court of Appeal, but that decision was later overruled by the House of Lords in , effectively validating Knox J's original decision. * ''

Re MC Bacon Ltd (No 1) ''Re MC Bacon Ltd'' 990BCLC 324 is a leading UK insolvency law case, concerning transactions at an undervalue (Insolvency Act 1986, s 238) and voidable preferences (Insolvency Act 1986, s 239). The court held that where a person granting secur ...

990 Year 990 ( CMXC) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Al-Mansur, Chancellor and effective ruler of Al-Andalus, conquers the Castle of Montemor-o-Velho (modern Portugal), expanding t ...

BCLC 324 at the preliminary strike-out stage, relating to

and

unfair preference An unfair preference (or "voidable preference") is a legal term arising in bankruptcy law where a person or company transfers assets or pays a debt to a creditor shortly before going into bankruptcy, that payment or transfer can be set aside on t ...

s. * ''

Re Curtain Dream plc ''Re Curtain Dream plc'' 990BCLC 925 is a judicial decision of the English courts in relation to recharacterisation. It held that where a transaction was documented in a certain way to mask the true nature of the transaction, the court could di ...

BCLC 925 in relation to

recharacterisation Recharacterisation in law (and sometimes in accountancy) means the treatment of a certain course of conduct in a different manner to which the participants describe it. The term is most important in the penal law of Continental legal systems. In s ...

Arms

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Knox, John Leonard 1925 births 2015 deaths Knights Bachelor Chancery Division judges Attorneys-general of the Duchy of Lancaster English King's Counsel 20th-century King's Counsel Knox family (Ulster-Scots aristocracy) People educated at Radley College Alumni of Worcester College, Oxford Royal Artillery personnel