Geoffrey Marshall (22 April 1929 – 24 June 2003) was a leading
constitutional
A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed.
When these princip ...
theorist in the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
, best known for his work around the
British constitution
The constitution of the United Kingdom or British constitution comprises the written and unwritten arrangements that establish the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland as a political body. Unlike in most countries, no attempt ...
.
Early life
Marshall was born in
Chesterfield
Chesterfield may refer to:
Places Canada
* Rural Municipality of Chesterfield No. 261, Saskatchewan
* Chesterfield Inlet, Nunavut United Kingdom
* Chesterfield, Derbyshire, a market town in England
** Chesterfield (UK Parliament constitue ...
on 22 April 1929.
His family moved to
Blackpool
Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the North West England, northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the Borough of Blackpool, borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, betw ...
, and Marshall joined
Arnold School
Arnold School was an independent school in Blackpool, Lancashire, England, established on the Fylde coast in 1896 during the Victorian expansion of public boarding schools in England.
The school was in the United Church Schools Trust group o ...
on a county scholarship.
He turned down a place at
Balliol College
Balliol College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. One of Oxford's oldest colleges, it was founded around 1263 by John I de Balliol, a landowner from Barnard Castle in County Durham, who provided the f ...
,
Oxford
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
, on the grounds that the facilities' heating was not good enough.
Instead, in 1947 he joined
Manchester University
, mottoeng = Knowledge, Wisdom, Humanity
, established = 2004 – University of Manchester Predecessor institutions: 1956 – UMIST (as university college; university 1994) 1904 – Victoria University of Manchester 1880 – Victoria Univer ...
, reading Politics and Economics,
and graduated in 1950.
He attended lectures by
Harold Laski
Harold Joseph Laski (30 June 1893 – 24 March 1950) was an English political theorist and economist. He was active in politics and served as the chairman of the British Labour Party from 1945 to 1946 and was a professor at the London School of ...
and was asked to prepare them for publication, which he did under the title ''Reflections on the Constitution''.
Career
His first book, ''Parliamentary Sovereignty and the Commonwealth'', was published in 1957. He described "
sovereignty
Sovereignty is the defining authority within individual consciousness, social construct, or territory. Sovereignty entails hierarchy within the state, as well as external autonomy for states. In any state, sovereignty is assigned to the perso ...
" as "an institutional arrangement resting upon an idea, and the idea is one which has philosophical (and even theological) implications".
In 1959, his second book, co-authored by
Graeme Moodie, was entitled ''Some Problems of the Constitution'' and dealt with
ministerial responsibility
In Westminster-style governments, individual ministerial responsibility is a constitutional convention that a cabinet minister bears the ultimate responsibility for the actions of their ministry or department. Individual ministerial responsibili ...
. He examined the controls on government and the means of redress of the citizen against the state.
He was elected a
fellow
A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context.
In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements.
Within the context of higher education ...
and tutor in Politics at Queens's College, Oxford, in 1957, where he stayed until his retirement in 1999.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Marshall, Geoffrey
1929 births
2003 deaths
English constitutionalists
Alumni of the University of Manchester
Fellows of The Queen's College, Oxford
Provosts of The Queen's College, Oxford
Fellows of Nuffield College, Oxford