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James Atkin, Baron Atkin

December 28, 2022

James Richard Atkin, Baron Atkin, PC, FBA (28 November 1867 – 25 June 1944), commonly known as Dick Atkin, was an Australian-born British judge, who served as a lord of appeal in ordinary from 1928 until his death in 1944. He is especially remembered as the judge giving the leading judgement in the case of Donoghue v Stevenson in 1932, in which he established the modern law of negligence in the UK, and indirectly in most of the common law world.

The Right Honourable
The Lord Atkin
PC, FBA
Lord of Appeal in Ordinary
In office
6 February 1928 – 25 June 1944
Lord Justice of Appeal
In office
7 March 1919 – 6 February 1928
Preceded bySir William Pickford
Succeeded bySir John Sankey
Justice of the High Court
In office
30 May 1913 – 7 March 1919
Preceded byNone
Succeeded bySir Arthur Greer
Personal details
Born
James Richard Atkin

Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Alma materMagdalen College, Oxford

Early life and practice

Atkin was the son of Robert Travers Atkin (1841–1872) and his wife, Mary Elizabeth née Ruck (1842–1920). Robert was from Kilgarriff, County Cork, Mary's father from Newington, Kent, and her mother from Merioneth, Wales. The couple married in 1864 and soon emigrated to Australia intending to take up sheep farming. However, little more than a year into their enterprise Robert was badly injured in a fall from a horse and the couple moved to Brisbane where Robert became a journalist and politician. He always thought of himself as a Queenslander, and was President of the London Welsh Trust from 1938 to 1944.[1]

James was born at Ellandale cottage, Tank Street, off North Quay, Brisbane,[2] the eldest of three sons but in 1871, his mother brought him and his siblings back to her own mother's house, "Pantlludw" on the River Dovey in Wales. His father died in Brisbane in the following year. James was much influenced by his grandmother and acquired from her an egalitarian instinct and a distaste for sanctimonious posturing.[1] His mother's sister, Amy, was the first wife of Francis Darwin, third son of Charles Darwin and his wife Emma: there is a thank-you letter extant to Charles Darwin from the eleven-year-old Dick.[3]

Atkin attended Friars School, Bangor,[4] and Christ College, Brecon, and won a demyship to Magdalen College, Oxford, where he read classics and literae humaniores, enjoying playing tennis in his leisure time. Atkin was called to the bar by Gray's Inn in 1891 and scoured the London law courts assessing the quality of the advocates so as to decide where to apply for pupillage. He was ultimately impressed by Thomas Scrutton and became his pupil, joining fellow pupils Frank MacKinnon, a future Lord Justice of Appeal, and Robert Wright, another future Law Lord.[1] He took chambers at 3 Pump Court but, as did most beginning barristers at the time, struggled to find work. He shared living accommodation with Arthur Hughes who later married Mary Vivian Hughes whose book A London Family 1870–1900 mentions Atkin.[5] He eventually established a practice in commercial law, in particular in work on behalf of the London Stock Exchange, and became known as a subtle advocate with no need to rely on theatrical effects.[1] His practice grew from about 1900 and made a favourable impression when appearing before the future Prime Minister of the United Kingdom H. H. Asquith who was sitting as an arbitrator. Asquith was so impressed that he secured a pupillage for his own son Raymond at Atkin's chambers. By 1906, The Times considered him probably the busiest junior at the Bar. In that year Atkin took silk. Once John Hamilton was made a judge in 1909 and Scrutton in 1910, Atkin dominated the commercial Bar.[6]

Judge

He became a judge of the King's Bench division of the High Court in 1913,[7] receiving a knighthood.[8] Work at the King's Bench involved him in criminal cases which had been outside his experience as a barrister but he established a high reputation as a criminal judge. Reputedly, Atkin enjoyed his six years at the King's Bench more than any others of his legal career. The following nine at the Court of Appeal he enjoyed the least.[9]

Atkin became a Lord Justice of Appeal in 1919.[1] In the 1920 case of Meering v Graham-White Aviation Co Ltd[10] Atkin showed his disapproval of unjustified restriction on civil liberties by holding (obiter) that a person could sue for false imprisonment even under circumstances where he had been unaware of his imprisonment at the time.[11][12] Again in 1920, in Everett v Griffiths[13] Atkin held that Everett was owed a duty of care by a Board of Guardians who had detained him as insane on inadequate grounds. However, Lord Justices Scrutton and Bankes held otherwise and their majority prevailed over Atkin's dissenting judgment.[14]

From 1928 until his death he was a Lord of Appeal in Ordinary under the title Baron Atkin, of Aberdovey, in the County of Merioneth.[15]

An Anglican, Atkin was strongly motivated by his Christian faith and relied on testing the law against the demands of common sense and the interests of the ordinary working man. He came to a settled view early on in hearing a case and, as a Law Lord, his colleagues often found him indefatigable in his opinions and difficult to persuade as to the merits of alternative views.[1]

Donoghue v Stevenson

Main article: Donoghue v Stevenson

In 1932, as a member of the House of Lords, he delivered the leading judgment in the landmark case of Donoghue v. Stevenson concerning the alleged adverse effects from an alleged snail in a bottle of ginger beer served in a café in Paisley. The case established the modern law of negligence in the UK and, indirectly, in most of the rest of the common law world, with the major exception of the United States.[1]

Liversidge v. Anderson

Main article: Liversidge v Anderson

He is also remembered for his dissenting judgment in Liversidge v Anderson, in which he unsuccessfully asserted the courts' right to question the wide discretionary powers of the World War II security services to detain aliens.

Commercial law

He also gave the leading judgment in Bell v. Lever Brothers Ltd., as of 2012, still the leading authority on common mistake under English law.[citation needed]

Gray's Inn

The Inn had been at a low ebb when Atkin joined. It was impoverished, its dinners and functions poorly attended and its benchers lacking professional prestige. It was largely through Atkin's efforts, and those of F.E. Smith, that the Inn's prestige was restored. Atkin was himself three times Treasurer, Master of the Library and Master of Moots.[16]

Personal life

Lucy Elizabeth (Lizzie) Hemmant (1867–1939) was the daughter of William Hemmant, a friend of Atkin's father from Brisbane. She had been born within 12 days and within 100 yards (91 m) of Atkin. William also subsequently moved to London and was important in helping Atkin to establish his stock exchange contacts. Atkin married Lizzie Hemmant in 1893 after five years' engagement.[1]

The couple had six daughters and two sons, the elder son being killed in World War I. Atkin's daughter Rosaline became a barrister of Gray's Inn.[1] The fourth daughter, Nancy, to her father's delight, became an actress. Nancy made her debut in Liverpool and was discovered and brought to London by Charles Hawtrey and A. A. Milne.[17] Atkin's grandson, by his daughter Lucy Atkin, was the politician and business leader Sir Toby Low, 1st Baron Aldington.[citation needed]

Atkin enjoyed the music hall and in particular the humour of George Robey and Marie Lloyd. He and his wife were fond of entertaining at their succession of town homes in Kensington with musical evenings.[17] In 1912 Atkin realised his ambition of buying a house Craig-y-Don in Aberdovey and from that time, he spent every summer there with his family. At Aberdovey, Atkin enjoyed tennis, golf and bridge. He was an enthusiast for the literary works of Edgar Wallace.[18] Atkin was President of the London Welsh Trust, which runs the London Welsh Centre, Gray's Inn Road, from 1938 until 1944.[19] Atkin was popular with the community in Aberdovey and was paraded into the village on a hand-drawn cab on his appointment to the High Court. When possible, he sat as a Justice of the Peace in Towyn and Machynlleth, and eventually chaired Merionethshire Quarter Sessions.[20]

He died of bronchitis in Aberdyfi where he was buried.[1]

Honours

A plaque was erected in 2012 at the Harry Gibbs Commonwealth Law Courts Building – built upon the land where Ellandale cottage once stood – commemorating the birthplace of Lord Atkin, placed on the 145th anniversary of his birth and the 80th anniversary of his judgement Donoghue v Stevenson.[2] It was arranged by the TC Beirne School of Law, University of Queensland and the Federal Court of Australia.

Cases

High Court
Court of Appeal
House of Lords and Privy Council

Notes

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Lewis (2004)
  2. ^ a b "Lord Atkin of Aberdovey". Monument Australia. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
  3. ^ "Darwin Correspondence Project – Letter 12185 – Atkin, J. R., to Darwin, C. R., 7 August [1879]". Retrieved 9 July 2020.
  4. ^ Lewis (1983) p.24
  5. ^ Lewis (1983) p.8
  6. ^ Lewis (1983) p.15
  7. ^ "No. 28723". The London Gazette. 30 May 1913. p. 3832.
  8. ^ "No. 28733". The London Gazette. 1 July 1913. p. 4637.
  9. ^ Lewis (1983), pp. 16–18.
  10. ^ (1920) 122 LT 44
  11. ^ Giliker, P.; Beckwith, S. (2004). Tort (2nd ed.). p. p.331. ISBN 0-421-85980-6.
  12. ^ Lunney, M.; Oliphant, K. (2003). Tort Law:Text and Materials (2nd ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. pp150–151. ISBN 0-19-926055-9.
  13. ^ [1920] 3 KB 163, CA
  14. ^ Lewis (1983) pp36–37
  15. ^ "No. 33356". The London Gazette. 14 February 1928. p. 1045.
  16. ^ Lewis (1983) pp7–8
  17. ^ a b Lewis (1983) pp 11–12
  18. ^ Lewis (1983) p.13
  19. ^ . London Welsh Centre website. London Welsh Centre. 2010. Archived from the original on 20 July 2011. Retrieved 4 February 2011.
  20. ^ Lewis (1983) p.14
  21. ^ "Book of Members, 1780–2010: Chapter A" (PDF). American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Retrieved 27 April 2011.
Secondary sources
  • J.R. Atkin (1922). "Law for laymen". John O'London's Weekly.
  • Atkin, J.R. (1922). "When witnesses fail". The Detective Magazine.
  • Atkin, J.R. (1929). Appeals in English Law.
  • Harding, R.W. (1964). "Lord Atkin's judicial attitudes and their illustration in commercial law and contract". Modern Law Review. 27 (4): 434–446. doi:10.1111/j.1468-2230.1964.tb01038.x.
  • G. Lewis (1983). Lord Atkin. London: Butterworths. ISBN 1-84113-057-5.
  • Lewis, Geoffrey (2004). "Atkin, James Richard, Baron Atkin (1867–1944)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford: Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/30492. Retrieved 17 December 2007. (subscription or UK public library membership required)

External links

  • Parliamentary Archives, Papers of James Richard Atkin, Baron Atkin of Aberdovey (1867–1944)

December 28, 2022
james, atkin, baron, atkin, james, richard, atkin, baron, atkin, november, 1867, june, 1944, commonly, known, dick, atkin, australian, born, british, judge, served, lord, appeal, ordinary, from, 1928, until, death, 1944, especially, remembered, judge, giving, . James Richard Atkin Baron Atkin PC FBA 28 November 1867 25 June 1944 commonly known as Dick Atkin was an Australian born British judge who served as a lord of appeal in ordinary from 1928 until his death in 1944 He is especially remembered as the judge giving the leading judgement in the case of Donoghue v Stevenson in 1932 in which he established the modern law of negligence in the UK and indirectly in most of the common law world The Right HonourableThe Lord AtkinPC FBALord of Appeal in OrdinaryIn office 6 February 1928 25 June 1944Lord Justice of AppealIn office 7 March 1919 6 February 1928Preceded bySir William PickfordSucceeded bySir John SankeyJustice of the High CourtIn office 30 May 1913 7 March 1919Preceded byNoneSucceeded bySir Arthur GreerPersonal detailsBornJames Richard AtkinBrisbane Queensland AustraliaAlma materMagdalen College Oxford Contents 1 Early life and practice 2 Judge 2 1 Donoghue v Stevenson 2 2 Liversidge v Anderson 2 3 Commercial law 3 Gray s Inn 4 Personal life 5 Honours 6 Cases 7 Notes 8 External linksEarly life and practice EditAtkin was the son of Robert Travers Atkin 1841 1872 and his wife Mary Elizabeth nee Ruck 1842 1920 Robert was from Kilgarriff County Cork Mary s father from Newington Kent and her mother from Merioneth Wales The couple married in 1864 and soon emigrated to Australia intending to take up sheep farming However little more than a year into their enterprise Robert was badly injured in a fall from a horse and the couple moved to Brisbane where Robert became a journalist and politician He always thought of himself as a Queenslander and was President of the London Welsh Trust from 1938 to 1944 1 James was born at Ellandale cottage Tank Street off North Quay Brisbane 2 the eldest of three sons but in 1871 his mother brought him and his siblings back to her own mother s house Pantlludw on the River Dovey in Wales His father died in Brisbane in the following year James was much influenced by his grandmother and acquired from her an egalitarian instinct and a distaste for sanctimonious posturing 1 His mother s sister Amy was the first wife of Francis Darwin third son of Charles Darwin and his wife Emma there is a thank you letter extant to Charles Darwin from the eleven year old Dick 3 Atkin attended Friars School Bangor 4 and Christ College Brecon and won a demyship to Magdalen College Oxford where he read classics and literae humaniores enjoying playing tennis in his leisure time Atkin was called to the bar by Gray s Inn in 1891 and scoured the London law courts assessing the quality of the advocates so as to decide where to apply for pupillage He was ultimately impressed by Thomas Scrutton and became his pupil joining fellow pupils Frank MacKinnon a future Lord Justice of Appeal and Robert Wright another future Law Lord 1 He took chambers at 3 Pump Court but as did most beginning barristers at the time struggled to find work He shared living accommodation with Arthur Hughes who later married Mary Vivian Hughes whose book A London Family 1870 1900 mentions Atkin 5 He eventually established a practice in commercial law in particular in work on behalf of the London Stock Exchange and became known as a subtle advocate with no need to rely on theatrical effects 1 His practice grew from about 1900 and made a favourable impression when appearing before the future Prime Minister of the United Kingdom H H Asquith who was sitting as an arbitrator Asquith was so impressed that he secured a pupillage for his own son Raymond at Atkin s chambers By 1906 The Times considered him probably the busiest junior at the Bar In that year Atkin took silk Once John Hamilton was made a judge in 1909 and Scrutton in 1910 Atkin dominated the commercial Bar 6 Judge EditHe became a judge of the King s Bench division of the High Court in 1913 7 receiving a knighthood 8 Work at the King s Bench involved him in criminal cases which had been outside his experience as a barrister but he established a high reputation as a criminal judge Reputedly Atkin enjoyed his six years at the King s Bench more than any others of his legal career The following nine at the Court of Appeal he enjoyed the least 9 Atkin became a Lord Justice of Appeal in 1919 1 In the 1920 case of Meering v Graham White Aviation Co Ltd 10 Atkin showed his disapproval of unjustified restriction on civil liberties by holding obiter that a person could sue for false imprisonment even under circumstances where he had been unaware of his imprisonment at the time 11 12 Again in 1920 in Everett v Griffiths 13 Atkin held that Everett was owed a duty of care by a Board of Guardians who had detained him as insane on inadequate grounds However Lord Justices Scrutton and Bankes held otherwise and their majority prevailed over Atkin s dissenting judgment 14 From 1928 until his death he was a Lord of Appeal in Ordinary under the title Baron Atkin of Aberdovey in the County of Merioneth 15 An Anglican Atkin was strongly motivated by his Christian faith and relied on testing the law against the demands of common sense and the interests of the ordinary working man He came to a settled view early on in hearing a case and as a Law Lord his colleagues often found him indefatigable in his opinions and difficult to persuade as to the merits of alternative views 1 Donoghue v Stevenson Edit Main article Donoghue v Stevenson In 1932 as a member of the House of Lords he delivered the leading judgment in the landmark case of Donoghue v Stevenson concerning the alleged adverse effects from an alleged snail in a bottle of ginger beer served in a cafe in Paisley The case established the modern law of negligence in the UK and indirectly in most of the rest of the common law world with the major exception of the United States 1 Liversidge v Anderson Edit Main article Liversidge v Anderson He is also remembered for his dissenting judgment in Liversidge v Anderson in which he unsuccessfully asserted the courts right to question the wide discretionary powers of the World War II security services to detain aliens Commercial law Edit He also gave the leading judgment in Bell v Lever Brothers Ltd as of 2012 update still the leading authority on common mistake under English law citation needed Gray s Inn EditThe Inn had been at a low ebb when Atkin joined It was impoverished its dinners and functions poorly attended and its benchers lacking professional prestige It was largely through Atkin s efforts and those of F E Smith that the Inn s prestige was restored Atkin was himself three times Treasurer Master of the Library and Master of Moots 16 Personal life EditLucy Elizabeth Lizzie Hemmant 1867 1939 was the daughter of William Hemmant a friend of Atkin s father from Brisbane She had been born within 12 days and within 100 yards 91 m of Atkin William also subsequently moved to London and was important in helping Atkin to establish his stock exchange contacts Atkin married Lizzie Hemmant in 1893 after five years engagement 1 The couple had six daughters and two sons the elder son being killed in World War I Atkin s daughter Rosaline became a barrister of Gray s Inn 1 The fourth daughter Nancy to her father s delight became an actress Nancy made her debut in Liverpool and was discovered and brought to London by Charles Hawtrey and A A Milne 17 Atkin s grandson by his daughter Lucy Atkin was the politician and business leader Sir Toby Low 1st Baron Aldington citation needed Atkin enjoyed the music hall and in particular the humour of George Robey and Marie Lloyd He and his wife were fond of entertaining at their succession of town homes in Kensington with musical evenings 17 In 1912 Atkin realised his ambition of buying a house Craig y Don in Aberdovey and from that time he spent every summer there with his family At Aberdovey Atkin enjoyed tennis golf and bridge He was an enthusiast for the literary works of Edgar Wallace 18 Atkin was President of the London Welsh Trust which runs the London Welsh Centre Gray s Inn Road from 1938 until 1944 19 Atkin was popular with the community in Aberdovey and was paraded into the village on a hand drawn cab on his appointment to the High Court When possible he sat as a Justice of the Peace in Towyn and Machynlleth and eventually chaired Merionethshire Quarter Sessions 20 He died of bronchitis in Aberdyfi where he was buried 1 Honours EditHonorary fellowship of Magdalen College Oxford 1924 Fellow of the British Academy 1938 Foreign Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences 1939 21 Honorary degrees University of Oxford 1931 University of Cambridge 1936 University of Reading 1938 and University of London 1939 1 A plaque was erected in 2012 at the Harry Gibbs Commonwealth Law Courts Building built upon the land where Ellandale cottage once stood commemorating the birthplace of Lord Atkin placed on the 145th anniversary of his birth and the 80th anniversary of his judgement Donoghue v Stevenson 2 It was arranged by the TC Beirne School of Law University of Queensland and the Federal Court of Australia Cases EditHigh CourtBarron v Potter 1915 3 KB 593 small company deadlockCourt of AppealBalfour v Balfour 1919 2 KB 571 Meering v Graham White Aviation Co Ltd 1920 122 LT 44 Everett v Griffiths 1920 3 KB 163 Rose amp Frank Co v JR Crompton amp Bros Ltd 1923 2 KB 261 intention to create legal relations in commerce R v Secretary of State for Home Affairs ex parte O Brien 1923 2 KB 361 internment of Irish Russian Commercial and Industrial Bank v Comptoir d Estcompte de Mulhouse 1923 2 KB 630 compensation for nationalisation by Russia of banks Rowland v Divall 1923 2 KB 500 failure of consideration National Provincial Bank v Charnley 1924 1 KB 431 meaning of a security interest Glassbrook Bros v Glamorgan County Council 1925 AC 270 dissenting in the Court of Appeal liability of employer to pay for police protection Tournier v National Provincial and Union Bank of England 1924 1 KB 461House of Lords and Privy CouncilFrance v James Coombes amp Co 1929 AC 496 definition of employee and inequality of bargaining power under section 8 of the Trade Boards Act 1909 Bell v Lever Brothers Ltd 1932 AC 161 common mistake Donoghue v Stevenson 1932 AC 562 negligence Maritime National Fish Ltd v Ocean Trawlers Ltd 1935 UKPC 1 frustration Woolmington v DPP 1935 UKHL 1 presumption of innocence Way v Latilla 1937 3 All ER 759 Wilsons and Clyde Coal Ltd v English 1937 UKHL 2 Labour Conventions Reference 1937 AC 326 Canadian federalism Reference re Alberta Statutes 1938 UKPC 46 striking down Alberta laws on social credit Vita Food Products Inc v Unus Shipping Co Ltd 1939 UKPC 7 Nokes v Doncaster Amalgamated Collieries Ltd 1940 AC 1014 no transfer of employment contract without the employee s consent Southern Foundries 1926 Ltd v Shirlaw 1940 AC 701 implied terms United Australia Ltd v Barclays Bank Ltd 1941 AC 1 administrative law Fibrosa Spolka Akcyjna v Fairbairn Lawson Combe Barbour Ltd 1942 UKHL 4 frustration and failure of consideration Liversidge v Anderson 1942 AC 206Notes Edit a b c d e f g h i j k Lewis 2004 a b Lord Atkin of Aberdovey Monument Australia Retrieved 4 July 2020 Darwin Correspondence Project Letter 12185 Atkin J R to Darwin C R 7 August 1879 Retrieved 9 July 2020 Lewis 1983 p 24 Lewis 1983 p 8 Lewis 1983 p 15 No 28723 The London Gazette 30 May 1913 p 3832 No 28733 The London Gazette 1 July 1913 p 4637 Lewis 1983 pp 16 18 1920 122 LT 44 Giliker P Beckwith S 2004 Tort 2nd ed p p 331 ISBN 0 421 85980 6 Lunney M Oliphant K 2003 Tort Law Text and Materials 2nd ed Oxford Oxford University Press pp pp150 151 ISBN 0 19 926055 9 1920 3 KB 163 CA Lewis 1983 pp36 37 No 33356 The London Gazette 14 February 1928 p 1045 Lewis 1983 pp7 8 a b Lewis 1983 pp 11 12 Lewis 1983 p 13 Our Former Presidents London Welsh Centre London Welsh Centre website London Welsh Centre 2010 Archived from the original on 20 July 2011 Retrieved 4 February 2011 Lewis 1983 p 14 Book of Members 1780 2010 Chapter A PDF American Academy of Arts and Sciences Retrieved 27 April 2011 Secondary sourcesJ R Atkin 1922 Law for laymen John O London s Weekly Atkin J R 1922 When witnesses fail The Detective Magazine Atkin J R 1929 Appeals in English Law Harding R W 1964 Lord Atkin s judicial attitudes and their illustration in commercial law and contract Modern Law Review 27 4 434 446 doi 10 1111 j 1468 2230 1964 tb01038 x G Lewis 1983 Lord Atkin London Butterworths ISBN 1 84113 057 5 Lewis Geoffrey 2004 Atkin James Richard Baron Atkin 1867 1944 Oxford Dictionary of National Biography Oxford Oxford University Press doi 10 1093 ref odnb 30492 Retrieved 17 December 2007 subscription or UK public library membership required External links EditParliamentary Archives Papers of James Richard Atkin Baron Atkin of Aberdovey 1867 1944 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title James Atkin Baron Atkin amp oldid 1129519375, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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