Arthur Geoffrey Neale Cross, Baron Cross of Chelsea, PC (1 December 1904 – 4 August 1989) was a British barrister and judge who served as 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 ...

between 1971 and 1975.

Early life and career

Geoffrey Cross was born in London, the elder child of Arthur George Cross, a quantity surveyor, and of Mary Elizabeth Cross, ''

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

'' Dalton. His younger brother,

Rupert Cross Sir Alfred Rupert Neale Cross (15 June 1912 in Chelsea, London – 12 September 1980, Oxford) was an English legal scholar. He was the second of two sons of Arthur George Cross, an architect in Hastings,H. L. A. Hart, 'Arthur Rupert Neale Cr ...

, later became a prominent academic lawyer. Cross was educated at

Westminster School Westminster School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Westminster, London, England, in the precincts of Westminster Abbey. It descends from a charity school founded by Westminster Benedictines before the Norman Conquest, as do ...

, where he was a

scholar A scholar is a person who is a researcher or has expertise in an academic discipline. A scholar can also be an academic, who works as a professor, teacher, or researcher at a university. An academic usually holds an advanced degree or a termina ...

, and

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...

, where he took

Firsts First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...

in both parts of the

Classics Classics, also classical studies or Ancient Greek and Roman studies, is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, ''classics'' traditionally refers to the study of Ancient Greek literature, Ancient Greek and Roman literature and ...

tripos, as well as winning the Craven Scholarship in 1925. He was a fellow of Trinity College from 1927 to 1931, where he authored a notable work on

Epirus Epirus () is a Region#Geographical regions, geographical and historical region, historical region in southeastern Europe, now shared between Greece and Albania. It lies between the Pindus Mountains and the Ionian Sea, stretching from the Bay ...

. Though "he might have aspired to be a successor to

Richard Porson Richard Porson (25 December 1759 – 25 September 1808) was an English classical scholar. He was the discoverer of Porson's Law. The Greek typeface '' Porson'' was based on his handwriting. Early life Richard Porson was born at East Ruston, ne ...

or Sir Richard Jebb", Cross switched to law "for no discernible reason". He was

called to the bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

by the

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court entitled to Call to the bar, call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple (with whi ...

in 1930 and practiced at the Chancery bar. He developed a large junior practice, especially in the field of

estate duty International tax law distinguishes between an estate tax and an inheritance tax. An inheritance tax is a tax paid by a person who inherits money or property of a person who has died, whereas an estate tax is a levy on the estate (money and prop ...

. He

took silk A King's Counsel ( post-nominal initials KC) is a senior lawyer appointed by the monarch (or their viceregal representative) of some Commonwealth realms as a "Counsel learned in the law". When the reigning monarch is a woman, the title is Qu ...

in 1949. He appeared as leading counsel for the

Bank of England The Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom and the model on which most modern central banks have been based. Established in 1694 to act as the Kingdom of England, English Government's banker and debt manager, and still one ...

before the bank rate leak inquiry in 1956, and for many years acted for

Calouste Gulbenkian Calouste Sarkis Gulbenkian (; ; 23 March 1869 – 20 July 1955) was an Ottoman-born British Armenian businessman and philanthropist. He played a major role in making the petroleum reserves of the Middle East available to Western development a ...

and his family. He was Chancellor of Durham between 1959 and 1960.

Judicial career

In 1960, after nine years without new appointments to 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 ...

, Cross was appointed a Justice of the High Court, assigned to the Chancery Division, and received 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 ...

. He was appointed 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 ...

in 1969, and was sworn of the Privy Council. Two years later, on 12 March 1971, he was appointed

and was created 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. Life peers are appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister. With the exception of the D ...

with the title Baron Cross of Chelsea, of the

Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea (often known by its initialism as RBKC) is an Inner London, Inner London borough with Royal borough, royal status. It is the List of English districts by area, smallest borough in London and the secon ...

. He retired from the House of Lords in 1975, upon reaching fifteen years of judicial service. After his retirement, Cross served as the Chairman of the Appeal Committee of the Panel on Takeovers and Mergers between 1976 and 1981. From 1976 to 1977 he chaired a commission on the organization of the accountancy profession. Cross was elected a

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 ...

of the Middle Temple in 1958 and an honorary fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge in 1972.

Family

In 1952 Cross married Joan Davies, ''née'' Wilmot, daughter of Lieutenant-Colonel Theodore Eardley Wilmot, DSO, and widow of Thomas Walton Davies; they had one daughter. Lady Cross of Chelsea died in 2011.

Selected judgments

Court of Appeal

*'' Harbutt's "Plasticine" Ltd v Wayne Tank and Pump Co Ltd''

970 Year 970 ( CMLXX) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar, the 970th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' designations, the 970th year of the 1st millennium, the 70th year of the 10th century, and the 1st year ...

1 QB 447 *'' Cuckmere Brick Co Ltd v Mutual Finance Ltd''

971 Year 971 ( CMLXXI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * Battle of Dorostolon: A Byzantine expeditionary army (possibly 30–40,000 men) attacks the Bulgarian frontier, perso ...

Ch 949

House of Lords and Privy Council

*''

National Westminster Bank Ltd v Halesowen Presswork & Assemblies Ltd ''National Westminster Bank Ltd v Halesowen Presswork & Assemblies Ltd'' 972AC 785 is a decision of the House of Lords in relation to a banker's right to combine accounts under English law. It is the leading English case and a banker's right ...

972 Year 972 ( CMLXXII) was a leap year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * Spring – Emperor John I Tzimiskes divides the Bulgarian territories, recently held by the Kievan Rus', into six ...

AC 785 *'' Norwich Pharmacal Co v Customs and Excise Comrs''

974 Year 974 ( CMLXXIV) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Battle of Danevirke: Emperor Otto II defeats the rebel forces of King Harald I, who has invaded Nordalbingia (modern-day Ho ...

AC 133 *'' British Eagle International Air Lines Ltd v Cie Nationale Air France''

975 Year 975 ( CMLXXV) was a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * Arab–Byzantine War: Emperor John I raids Mesopotamia and invades Syria, using the Byzantine base at Antioch to pres ...

1 WLR 758 *''

Barton v Armstrong ''Barton v Armstrong'' is a Privy Council decision heard on appeal from the Court of Appeal of New South Wales,. relating to duress and pertinent to case law under Australian and English contract law. The Privy Council held that a person who ag ...

976 Year 976 ( CMLXXVI) was a leap year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * January 10 – Emperor John I Tzimiskes dies at Constantinople, after returning from a second campaign against ...

AC 104 *'' DPP v Morgan''

AC 182 *''

Oppenheimer v Cattermole ''Oppenheimer v Cattermole''

AC 249 is a judicial decision of the English courts relating to whether English law should refuse to recognise Racial policy of Nazi Germany, Nazi era laws relating to the appropriation of Jewish property. Th ...

AC 249 *''

Universe Tankships Inc of Monrovia v International Transport Workers' Federation ''Universe Tankships Inc. of Monrovia v International Transport Workers' Federation'' 9822 All ER 67 is an English contract law case relating to duress. Facts The International Transport Workers' Federation black listed a Universe Tankship Inc. s ...

983 Year 983 ( CMLXXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Summer – Diet of Verona: Emperor Otto II (the Red) declares war against the Byzantine Empire and the Emirate of Sicily ...

1 AC 366

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cross Of Chelsea, Geoffrey Cross, Baron Law lords Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom 1904 births 1989 deaths Members of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council English King's Counsel Knights Bachelor Chancery Division judges People educated at Westminster School, London Lawyers from London Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Fellows of Trinity College, Cambridge Lord justices of appeal Members of the Middle Temple English classical scholars English barristers 20th-century King's Counsel 20th-century English lawyers