Gerald Ritchie Upjohn, Baron Upjohn,

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

, PC, DL (25 February 1903 – 27 January 1971) was a British soldier and judge.

Biography

The younger son of William Henry Upjohn KC, he served in the

Welsh Guards The Welsh Guards (WG; cy, Gwarchodlu Cymreig), part of the Guards Division, is one of the Foot Guards regiments of the British Army. It was founded in 1915 as a single-battalion regiment, during the First World War, by Royal Warrant of George V. ...

during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, reaching the rank of

brigadier Brigadier is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several thousand soldiers. In ...

. In 1948, he sat with Sir George Lynskey and Sir

Godfrey Vick Sir Godfrey Russell Vick QC (24 December 1892 – 27 September 1958)''Who Was Who 1897-2006'' (2007) was an English lawyer, judge and Liberal Party politician. Background Vick was born at Strathmore House, West Hartlepool, the youngest son of R ...

on the

Lynskey tribunal The Lynskey tribunal was a British government inquiry, set up in October 1948 to investigate rumours of possible corruption in the Board of Trade. Under the chairmanship of a High Court judge, Sir George Lynskey, it sat in November and Decemb ...

. Appointed to the Privy Council in 1960, he was

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) Justice ...

from 1960 to 1963. On 26 November 1963 he became a

Lord of Appeal in Ordinary Lords of Appeal in Ordinary, commonly known as Law Lords, were judges appointed under the Appellate Jurisdiction Act 1876 to the British House of Lords, as a committee of the House, effectively to exercise the judicial functions of the House of ...

and was made additionally a

life peer In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. In modern times, life peerages, always created at the rank of baron, are created under the Life Peerages ...

by the style title Baron Upjohn, of Little Tey in the County of

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

. While a

he contributed to a number of significant cases. Three cases of particular importance are Boardman v Phipps

967 Year 967 ( CMLXVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Spring – Emperor Otto I (the Great) calls for a council at Rome, to present the n ...

2 AC 46 (giving a powerful dissent), Vandervell v IRC

2 AC 291 (where he gave a majority speech) and In re Gulbenkian's Settlements

970 Year 970 (Roman numerals, CMLXX) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar, the 970th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' designations, the 970th year of the 1st millennium, ...

AC 508. An interesting problem arose on Lord Upjohn's death. The Judicial Committee of the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster ...

would ideally sit with an odd number of judges, to ensure a clear decision. Lord Upjohn's death raised the problem of an equally divided Appellate Committee. '' Kennedy v Spratt''

972 Year 972 ( CMLXXII) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * Spring – Emperor John I Tzimiskes divides the Bulgarian territories, recent ...

AC 83 remained on the docket and Lord Upjohn had already prepared a speech, intending to vote with Lord Reid and

Lord Diplock William John Kenneth Diplock, Baron Diplock, (8 December 1907 – 14 October 1985) was a British barrister and judge who served as a lord of appeal in ordinary between 1968 and until his death in 1985. Appointed to the English High Court in 1 ...

, dismissing the appeal. Lord Reid read Lord Upjohn's speech as a part of his own and in accordance with the presumption in favour of the status quo (semper pracsumitur pro negante), the appeal was dismissed. It has been pointed out that, 'had Lord Upjohn been in favour of allowing the appeal, the application of the principle would have produced a disgruntled appellant whose victory had been snatched from under his nose: it may well be that such manifest injustice would have led to the case being reargued before a reconstituted court.'

Notable cases

As Counsel

* Eaves v. Eaves

939 Year 939 ( CMXXXIX) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Hugh the Great, count of Paris, rebels against King Louis IV ("d'Outremer") and gains s ...

Ch. 1000 *

Re Diplock ''Re Diplock'' or ''Ministry of Health v Simpson'' 951AC 251 is an English trusts law and unjust enrichment case, concerning tracing and an action for money had and received. Facts Various charities, including the Royal Sailors Orphans Girls� ...

948Ch. 465 *

Ministry of Health v Simpson ''Re Diplock'' or ''Ministry of Health v Simpson'' 951AC 251 is an English trusts law and unjust enrichment case, concerning tracing and an action for money had and received. Facts Various charities, including the Royal Sailors Orphans Girls� ...

951A.C. 251

As Upjohn J

* Copeland v Greenhalf 952Ch 488 * Thompson (WL) Ltd v Robinson (Gunmakers) Ltd,

955 Year 955 ( CMLV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * August 10 – Battle of Lechfeld: King Otto I ("the Great") defeats the Hungarians (also ...

Ch 177 * Merricks v. Heathcote Amory

Ch. 567

In the Court of Appeal

* ''

Hong Kong Fir v Kawasaki Hong may refer to: Places *Høng, a town in Denmark * Hong Kong, a city and a special administrative region in China *Hong, Nigeria *Hong River in China and Vietnam *Lake Hong in China Surnames *Hong (Chinese name) *Hong (Korean name) Organi ...

962 Year 962 ( CMLXII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * December – Arab–Byzantine wars – Sack of Aleppo: A Byzantine e ...

2 QB 26; * '' In Re Pauling's Settlement Trusts''

964 Year 964 ( CMLXIV) was a leap year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events Byzantine Empire * Arab–Byzantine War: Emperor Nikephoros II continues the reconquest of south-eastern Anatol ...

Ch. 303 * '' Car and Universal Finance Co Ltd v Caldwell''

965 Year 965 (Roman numerals, CMLXV) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * Arab–Byzantine wars#Byzantine resurgence, 863–11th century, Ar ...

1 QB 525 * ''

Boulting v Association of Cinematograph, Television and Allied Technicians ''Boulting v Association of Cinematograph, Television and Allied Technicians'' 9632 QB 606 is a UK labour law and UK company law case from the Court of Appeal. It covers the issue of what it means to act in the best interests of the company, rel ...

963 Year 963 ( CMLXIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * March 15 – Emperor Romanos II dies at age 25, probably of poison admini ...

2 QB 606

In the Privy Council

* Paradise Beach and Transportation Co Ltd v Price-Robinson

968 Year 968 ( CMLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * Emperor Nikephoros II receives a Bulgarian embassy led by Prince Boris (the ...

AC 1072

In the House of Lords

Practice Statement (Judicial Precedent) The Practice Statement 9663 All ER 77 was a statement made in the House of Lords by Lord Gardiner LC on 26 July 1966 on behalf of himself and the Lords of Appeal in Ordinary, that they would depart from precedent in the Lords in order to achieve ...

966 Year 966 ( CMLXVI) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * 23 June - Byzantine-Arab War: A prisoner exchange occurs at the border between ...

1 WLR 1234 * Suisse Atlantique Societe d'Armament SA v NV Rotterdamsche Kolen Centrale

1 A.C. 361 * Boardman v Phipps

2 AC 46 * Vandervell v IRC

2 AC 291 *

Beswick v Beswick was a landmark English contract law case on privity of contract and specific performance. The Lords, overruling the decision of Lord Denning in the Court of Appeal, ruled that a person who was not party to a contract had no independent standi ...

AC 58 * C Czarnikow Ltd v Koufos or The Heron II 9691 AC 350 * In re Gulbenkian's Settlements

AC 508 * Pettitt v. Pettitt

A.C. 777 * Redland Bricks Ltd. v. Morris

A.C. 652 * ''

Bushell v Faith ''Bushell v Faith'' 970AC 1099 is a UK company law case, concerning the possibility of weighting votes, and the relationship to section 184 of Companies Act 1948 (the predecessor of s 168 of the Companies Act 2006) which mandates that director ...

AC 1099

Arms

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Upjohn, Gerald 1903 births 1971 deaths Welsh Guards officers British Army personnel of World War II Commanders of the Order of the British Empire

Upjohn The Upjohn Company was a pharmaceutical manufacturing firm founded in 1886 in Hastings, Michigan, by Dr. William E. Upjohn who was an 1875 graduate of the University of Michigan medical school. The company was originally formed to make ''friabl ...

Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Members of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council Knights Bachelor