Sir Geoffrey Gould Briggs (6 May 1914 – 12 May 1993) was an English lawyer and judge. He was Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Hong Kong in the 1970s and of Brunei in the 1980s.

Biography

Early life

Briggs was born in 1914, the second son of Reverend C. E. Briggs of

Amersham Amersham ( ) is a market town and civil parish within the unitary authority of Buckinghamshire, England, in the Chiltern Hills, northwest of central London, from Aylesbury and from High Wycombe. Amersham is part of the London commuter belt. ...

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-ea ...

. He was educated at

Sherborne School (God and My Right) , established = 705 by Aldhelm, re-founded by King Edward VI 1550 , closed = , type = Public school Independent, boarding school , religion = Church of England , president = , chair_label = Chairman of the governors , ...

and

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church ( la, Ædes Christi, the temple or house, '' ædēs'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, the college is uniqu ...

where he took the degrees of

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

and Bachelor of Civil Law. He was called to the bar of

Gray's Inn The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister in England and Wale ...

in 1938. He served during

World War II 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 vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

as a Major in the County of London Yeomanry.

Legal career

In 1954, Briggs was appointed

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

of Eastern Nigeria. He was appointed a

Queen's Counsel In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of ...

for

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

in 1955. In 1958, he was appointed Puisne Judge of the Unified Judiciary of

Sarawak Sarawak (; ) is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia. The largest among the 13 states, with an area almost equal to that of Peninsular Malaysia, Sarawak is located in northwest Borneo Island, and is bordered by the M ...

North Borneo North Borneo (usually known as British North Borneo, also known as the State of North Borneo) was a British Protectorate, British protectorate in the northern part of the island of Borneo, which is present day Sabah. The territory of North Borneo ...

and

Brunei Brunei ( , ), formally Brunei Darussalam ( ms, Negara Brunei Darussalam, Jawi alphabet, Jawi: , ), is a country located on the north coast of the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia. Apart from its South China Sea coast, it is completely sur ...

. He served there until 1962 when he was appointed

Chief Judicial Commissioner for the Western Pacific The Chief Justice of the High Commissioner's Court, more commonly known as the Chief Judicial Commissioner for the Western Pacific, was the chief judicial officer throughout the British Western Pacific Territories from 1877 through 1976. This was ...

. In 1965, he was appointed Puisne Judge in Hong Kong and later promoted to Chief Justice of Hong Kong in 1973 upon the retirement of

Ivo Rigby Sir Ivo Charles Clayton Rigby (2 June 1911 – 19 April 1987) was a BritIsh lawyer and judge. He was Chief Justice of Hong Kong in the early 1970s. Early life Rigby was born on 2 June 1911 in Yarmouth, Norfolk. He was the only son of Jam ...

. In that position, he served concurrently as Chief Justice of

. He served as Chief Justice of Brunei and Hong Kong until 1979. He was knighted in the

1974 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1974 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. They were announced on 1 January 1974 to celebra ...

Later years

Briggs retired to England in 1979. He continued to serve in a number of judicial roles in retirement, including President of the Brunei Court of Appeals (1979–1988), Justice of Appeal,

Court of Appeal A court of appeals, also called a court of appeal, appellate court, appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal. In much of t ...

Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = " Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gib ...

(1983 to 1988) and President of the Pensions Appeal Tribunal for England and Wales (1980 to 1987). He died in

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

in 1993.''England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858-1995''

Honours

Order of Setia Negara Brunei (DSNB; 1973) – Dato Setia

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Briggs, Geoffrey 1914 births 1993 deaths Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford British Army personnel of World War II Chief Justices of the Supreme Court of Hong Kong British Hong Kong judges Knights Bachelor Members of Gray's Inn Lawyers awarded knighthoods People educated at Sherborne School 20th-century English judges Chief judicial commissioners for the Western Pacific British Borneo judges People from colonial Nigeria Sarawak, North Borneo and Brunei judges