Sir Henry Erle Richards, (1861–1922), also Erle Richards or H. Erle Richards, was the

Chichele Professor of International Law and Diplomacy The Chichele Professorships are statutory professorships at the University of Oxford named in honour of Henry Chichele (also spelt Chicheley or Checheley, although the spelling of the academic position is consistently "Chichele"), an Archbishop of ...

Oxford University 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 ...

, the Legal Member of Council in British India. He was a fellow of

All Souls College, Oxford All Souls College (official name: College of the Souls of All the Faithful Departed) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Unique to All Souls, all of its members automatically become fellows (i.e., full members of t ...

. :wikisource:The Times/1922/Obituary/Obituary: A Great Jurist Anthropologist

Audrey Richards Audrey Isabel Richards, CBE, FRAI, FBA (8 July 1899 – 29 June 1984), was a pioneering British social anthropologist. She produced notable ethnographic studies. The most famous of which is ''Chisingu: A Girl's initiation ceremony among the B ...

was his daughter.

Early life and education

The eldest son of the Prebendary Richards, he was schooled at

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, C ...

, and studied at

New College, Oxford New College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1379 by William of Wykeham in conjunction with Winchester College as its feeder school, New College is one of the oldest colleges at th ...

. His great-grandfather was Richard Richards,

Chief Baron of the Exchequer The Chief Baron of the Exchequer was the first "baron" (meaning judge) of the English Exchequer of Pleas. "In the absence of both the Treasurer of the Exchequer or First Lord of the Treasury, and the Chancellor of the Exchequer, it was he who pre ...

, and his great uncle was

William Erle William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Eng ...

Chief Justice of the Common Pleas The chief justice of the Common Pleas was the head of the Court of Common Pleas, also known as the Common Bench or Common Place, which was the second-highest common law court in the English legal system until 1875, when it, along with the other ...

. In 1897 he married the eldest daughter of the late Spencer Perceval Butler, and was a brother-in-law of Sir

Harcourt Butler Sir Spencer Harcourt Butler (1 August 1869 – 2 March 1938) was an officer of the Indian Civil Service who was the leading British official in Burma for much of his career, serving as Lieutenant-Governor (1915–17 and 1922–23) and later Gov ...

, the Governor of the United Provinces of India.

Career

Richards was called to the Bar at

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional associations for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and Wal ...

in 1887. He joined the

Oxford Circuit The courts of assize, or assizes (), were periodic courts held around England and Wales until 1972, when together with the quarter sessions they were abolished by the Courts Act 1971 and replaced by a single permanent Crown Court. The assizes ex ...

, and worked with Robert Finlay on Government work. In late 1902, Finlay appointed him counsel to the Post office on the Oxford circuit. As junior counsel he represented Great Britain at the

Permanent Court of Arbitration The Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) is a non-UN intergovernmental organization located in The Hague, Netherlands. Unlike a judicial court in the traditional sense, the PCA provides services of arbitral tribunal to resolve disputes that arise ...

in the Samoan and Venezuelan arbitrations. In 1904 he was appointed Legal Member of the Governor-General's Council in British India, serving for five years.''Papers of Sir Henry Erle Richards as Legal Member of Governor-General's Council 1904-09''
UK National Archives During this time he revised the Code of Criminal Procedure. He became a KC in 1905, and on returning to England in 1909 was appointed counsel to the India Office, practising before the

Judicial Committee of the Privy Council The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (JCPC) is the highest court of appeal for the Crown Dependencies, the British Overseas Territories, some Commonwealth countries and a few institutions in the United Kingdom. Established on 14 Augus ...

. During this time he represented Newfoundland and Canada in the North Atlantic Coast Fisheries Arbitration at the

. He was appointed

at Oxford in 1911, until 1922, taking over from

Thomas Erskine Holland Sir Thomas Erskine Holland KC, FBA (17 July 183524 May 1926) was a British jurist. After school at Brighton College and studies at Oxford, he practiced law as a barrister from 1863 onwards. In 1874, he returned to Oxford, succeeding William B ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Richards, Henry Erle 1861 births 1922 deaths English King's Counsel Knights Commander of the Order of the Star of India 19th-century King's Counsel Fellows of All Souls College, Oxford Chichele Professors of Public International Law English legal scholars Members of the Council of the Governor General of India