William John Kenneth Diplock, Baron Diplock, (8 December 1907 – 14 October 1985) was a British barrister and judge who served as a lord of appeal in ordinary between 1968 and until his death in 1985. Appointed to the English High Court in 1956 and the Court of Appeal five years later, Diplock made important contributions to the development of constitutional and public law as well as many other legal fields. A frequent choice for governmental inquiries, he is also remembered for proposing the creation of the eponymous juryless

Diplock courts Diplock courts were criminal courts in Northern Ireland for non-jury trial of specified serious crimes ("scheduled offences"). They were introduced by the Northern Ireland (Emergency Provisions) Act 1973, used for political and terrorism-relat ...

. Of him, Lord Rawlinson of Ewell wrote that "to his generation Diplock was the quintessential man of the law".

Early life and legal career

Kenneth Diplock was born in

South Croydon South Croydon in south London is the area surrounding the valley south of central Croydon and running as far south as the former Red Deer public house on the Brighton Road. It is bounded by Waddon to the West and Selsdon and Sanderstead to the ...

, the son of solicitor William John Hubert Diplock and his wife Christine Joan Diplock, ''née'' Brooke. He was educated at

Whitgift School ("He who perseveres, conquers") , established = , closed = , type = Independent school , religious_affiliation = Church of England , president = , head_label = Head Master , head = Christopher Ramsey , c ...

Croydon Croydon is a large town in south London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a local government district of Greater London. It is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater London, with an extensi ...

and

University College, Oxford University College (in full The College of the Great Hall of the University of Oxford, colloquially referred to as "Univ") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. It has a claim to being the oldest college of the unive ...

, where he read chemistry and graduated with a second-class degree in 1929. He was Secretary of the

Oxford Union The Oxford Union Society, commonly referred to simply as the Oxford Union, is a debating society in the city of Oxford England, whose membership is drawn primarily from the University of Oxford. Founded in 1823, it is one of Britain's oldest ...

for a term in 1929. He later become an honorary fellow of University College in 1958. Diplock was called to the bar 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 exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn ...

in 1932. After two years in the chambers of Sir Valentine Holmes, KC, he transferred to the chambers of Sir Leslie Scott, KC. In 1939, he left legal practice for serve in the Second World War; in 1941, he joined the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

, in which he reached the rank of

squadron leader Squadron leader (Sqn Ldr in the RAF ; SQNLDR in the RAAF and RNZAF; formerly sometimes S/L in all services) is a commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence. It is als ...

. From 1939 to 1948, he was secretary to the

Master of the Rolls The Keeper or Master of the Rolls and Records of the Chancery of England, known as the Master of the Rolls, is the President of the Civil Division of the Court of Appeal of England and Wales and Head of Civil Justice. As a judge, the Master of ...

Lord Greene Wilfrid Arthur Greene, 1st Baron Greene,First name spelt Wilfred in some sources (30 December 1883 – 16 April 1952) was a British lawyer and judge, noted for creating two crucial principles of administrative law, the Wednesbury doctrine an ...

. Returning to the bar in 1945, Diplock was made a King's Counsel in 1948, at the early age of 41. He acquired a large practice in commercial work and in advisory work for Commonwealth governments. He was Recorder of Oxford from 1951 to 1956.

Judicial career

In 1956, Diplock was appointed to the

High Court of Justice 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 (Englan ...

, receiving the customary

knighthood A knight is a person granted an honorary title of 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. Knighthood finds origins in the ...

. Assigned to the

Queen's Bench Division The King's Bench Division (or Queen's Bench Division when the monarch is female) of the High Court of Justice deals with a wide range of common law cases and has supervisory responsibility over certain lower courts. It hears appeals on point ...

, he was appointed President of the

Restrictive Practices Court The Restrictive Trade Practices Act 1956 was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom intended to enforce competition, and provide an appropriate check on restrictive combines and practices. It required that any agreement between companies ...

in January 1961. He was promoted to be a lord justice of appeal in October 1961, and was sworn of the Privy Council. He became a Lord of Appeal in Ordinary on 30 September 1968 and was elevated as 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. In modern times, life peerages, always created at the rank of baron, are created under the Life Peerages ...

with the title Baron Diplock, ''of

Wansford Wansford may refer to the following places in England: * Wansford, Cambridgeshire ** Wansford railway station, headquarters of the Nene Valley Railway * Wansford, East Riding of Yorkshire {{Geodis ...

in the County of Huntingdon and Peterborough'' to the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the Bicameralism, upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by Life peer, appointment, Hereditary peer, heredity or Lords Spiritual, official function. Like the ...

.He became the

senior Law Lord 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 o ...

upon the retirement of

Lord Wilberforce Richard Orme Wilberforce, Baron Wilberforce, (11 March 1907 – 15 February 2003) was a British judge. He was a Lord of Appeal in Ordinary from 1964 to 1982. Early life and career Born in Jalandhar, India, Richard Wilberforce was the son of ...

in 1982. He resigned his seniority in October 1984 but remained a Law Lord until his death the following year. He was chairman of the

Security Commission The Security Commission, sometimes known as the Standing Security Commission,Geoffrey Philip Wilson, "Cases and materials on constitutional and administrative law", Cambridge University Press, 1976 p. 98. was a UK non-departmental public body or ...

from 1971 to 1982. As Lord Diplock, he chaired a commission set up in 1972 to consider legal measures against

terrorism Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...

in Northern Ireland, which led to the establishment of the juryless

with which his name is now often associated. In September 1985, Lord Diplock sat as a judge for the last time, in a special sitting of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council during the Long Vacation for an urgent civil case from Trinidad and Tobago. Severely ill from emphysema, Diplock came to court from the hospital in a wheelchair and with an oxygen cylinder. At the time of his death, Lord Diplock was the longest serving law lord as well as the last serving superior judge to not be covered the mandatory retirement age of 75 introduced by the Judicial Pensions Act 1959.

Personal life

He married Maraget Sarah Atcheson in 1938; they had no children.

Contributions to legal thought

He made many contributions to legal thought and pushed the law in new and unique directions, not least UK courts without juries ('

)'.Report of the Commission to Consider Legal Procedures to deal with Terrorist Activities in Northern Ireland
( Cmmd. 5185); full text of the Diplock Report His rulings, especially those on administrative law, are often considered as authoritative not only in England but across the Commonwealth and even in the United States, where he has been cited by the Supreme Court. Examples include ''

Council of Civil Service Unions v Minister for the Civil Service ''Council of Civil Service Unions v Minister for the Civil Service'' , or the GCHQ case, is a United Kingdom constitutional law and UK labour law case that held the royal prerogative was subject to judicial review. In 1984, by issuing an Order in ...

984 Year 984 ( CMLXXXIV) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Spring – German boy-king Otto III (4-years old) is seized by the deposed Henry II ...

UKHL 9 or '' R (National Federation of Self-Employed and Small Businesses Ltd) v Inland Revenue Commissioners''

982 Year 982 ( CMLXXXII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Summer – Emperor Otto II (the Red) assembles an imperial expeditionary force at Tar ...

A.C. 617, on grounds of review and

locus standi Locus (plural loci) is Latin for "place". It may refer to: Entertainment * Locus (comics), a Marvel Comics mutant villainess, a member of the Mutant Liberation Front * ''Locus'' (magazine), science fiction and fantasy magazine ** ''Locus Award' ...

respectively. He also made important contributions to contract law. The current typology of grounds for judicial review is owing to Lord Diplock. *Procedural impropriety *'' Nemo judex'' (Bias rule) *''

Audi alteram partem (or ) is a Latin phrase meaning "listen to the other side", or "let the other side be heard as well". It is the principle that no person should be judged without a fair hearing in which each party is given the opportunity to respond to the evide ...

'' (Hearing rule) *Illegality *''

Ultra vires ('beyond the powers') is a Latin phrase used in law to describe an act which requires legal authority but is done without it. Its opposite, an act done under proper authority, is ('within the powers'). Acts that are may equivalently be termed ...

'' *Simple ''ultra vires'' *Extended ''ultra vires'' *Procedural ''ultra vires'' *Fettering *Irrationality *

Wednesbury irrationality ''Associated Provincial Picture Houses Ltd. v Wednesbury Corporation'' 9481 KB 223 is an English law case that sets out the standard of unreasonableness of public-body decisions that would make them liable to be quashed on judicial review, known ...

*Lack of proportionality * Innominate Terms * Primary and Secondary ObligationsMoschi v. Lep AirServices Ltd.

973 Year 973 ( CMLXXIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * Spring – The Byzantine army, led by General Melias (Domestic of the S ...

A.C. 331 per Lord Diplock, confirmed in Photo Production Ltd. v Securior Transport Ltd. 980UKHL 2 at per Lord Wilberforce

Notable judgments

High Court

* '' Silkin v Beaverbrook Newspapers Ltd''

958 Year 958 ( CMLVIII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * October / November – Battle of Raban: The Byzantines under John Tzimiskes ...

1 WLR 743

Court of Appeal

* ''

Hong Kong Fir Shipping Co Ltd v Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha Ltd ''Hong Kong Fir Shipping Co Ltd v Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha Ltd'' 9622 QB 26 is a landmark English contract law case. It introduced the concept of innominate terms, a category between "warranties" and "conditions". Under the English sale of go ...

962 Year 962 ( CMLXII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * December – Arab–Byzantine wars – Sack of Aleppo: A Byzantine e ...

2 QB 26 * ''

Boulting v Association of Cinematograph, Television and Allied Technicians ''Boulting v Association of Cinematograph, Television and Allied Technicians'' 9632 QB 606 is a UK labour law and UK company law The United Kingdom company law regulates corporations formed under the Companies Act 2006. Also governed by the ...

963 Year 963 ( CMLXIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * March 15 – Emperor Romanos II dies at age 25, probably of poison admini ...

2 QB 606 * ''

BBC v Johns ''BBC v Johns'' 965Ch 32 is a case in UK administrative law. Facts The BBC argued that it was exempt from income tax, claiming to be a monopoly established by royal prerogative. Judgment The court disagreed, ruling that is not possible to cr ...

'' 965Ch 32 * ''

Letang v Cooper is an English Court of Appeal judgment, by which it was decided that negligently caused personal injury cannot be recovered under the trespass to the person, but the tort of negligence must be tried instead. Facts Mr Cooper (the defendant) ...

'' 9651 QB 232 * '' United Dominions Trust Ltd v Kirkwood'' 9662 QB 431

House of Lords

* '' Pettitt v Pettitt''

970 Year 970 ( CMLXX) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) 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 yea ...

AC 777 * ''

Dorset Yacht Co Ltd v Home Office is a leading case in English tort law. It is a House of Lords decision on negligence and marked the start of a rapid expansion in the scope of negligence in the United Kingdom by widening the circumstances in which a court was likely to find a d ...

AC 1004 * '' Gissing v Gissing''

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

AC 886 * '' Re Vandervell Trustees Ltd''

AC 912 * ''

American Cyanamid Co v Ethicon Ltd ''American Cyanamid Co v Ethicon Ltd'' 975UKHL 1is an English civil procedure case, concerning when an interim injunction may be obtained. Facts The claimant and appellant in this case was American Cyanamid, an American company that ''inter ali ...

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

AC 396 * '' Ayerst (Inspector of Taxes) v C&K (Construction) Ltd''

976 Year 976 ( CMLXXVI) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * January 10 – Emperor John I Tzimiskes dies at Constantinople, after re ...

AC 167 * '' Erven Warnink BV v J Townend & Sons (Hull) Ltd''

979 Year 979 ( CMLXXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * March 24 – Second Battle of Pankaleia: An Ibero-Byzantine expeditionary ...

AC 731 * ''

Gibson v Manchester City Council is an English contract law case in which the House of Lords strongly reasserted that agreement only exists when there is a clear offer mirrored by a clear acceptance. Facts Manchester City Council was being run by the Conservative Party, which ...

1 WLR 294
''Whitehouse v Lemon; Whitehouse v Gay News Ltd''

2 WLR 281 * '' IRC v Burmah Oil Co. Ltd'' 1982 SC (HL) 114 * '' Catnic Components Ltd v Hill & Smith Ltd''

RPC 183 * '' Universe Tankships Inc. of Monrovia v. International Transport Workers' Federation''

983 Year 983 ( CMLXXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Summer – Diet of Verona: Emperor Otto II (the Red) declares war against the Byza ...

1 AC 366 * ''

R v Miller ''R v Miller'' ( case citation: 982UKHL 6; 9832 AC 161) is an English criminal law case demonstrating how actus reus can be interpreted to be not only an act, but a failure to act. Facts James Miller, a vagrant, was squatting at 9 Grantham Roa ...

2 AC 161 * '' Cheall v APEX''

2 AC 180 * ''

O'Reilly v Mackman ''O'Reilly v Mackman'' 983UKHL 1is a UK constitutional law case, concerning judicial review. Facts Convicted prisoners claimed that a decision that they lost remission of their sentences, after a riot in Hull prison, was null and void because o ...

2 AC 237 * '' R v Sullivan''

AC 156 * ''

985 Year 985 ( CMLXXXV) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Summer – Henry II (the Wrangler) is restored as duke of Bavaria by Empress Theoph ...

AC 374 * '' Harvela Investments Ltd v Royal Trust of Canada (CI) Ltd''

986 Year 986 ( CMLXXXVI) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * August 17 – Battle of the Gates of Trajan: Emperor Basil II leads a Byz ...

AC 207

Judicial Committee of the Privy Council

* ''

Ong Ah Chuan v Public Prosecutor ''Ong Ah Chuan v Public Prosecutor'' is a landmark decision delivered in 1980 by the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council on appeal from Singapore which deals with the constitutionality of section 15 of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1973 (No. 5 of ...

981 Year 981 ( CMLXXXI) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events Births * Abu'l-Qasim al-Husayn ibn Ali al-Maghribi, Arab statesman (d. 1027) * Giovanni Orseolo, Venetian ...

AC 648 * ''

Mitchell v DPP ''Mitchell v DPP'' is a 1985 Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (JCPC) case in which it was reaffirmed that a Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth state has the power to unilaterally abolish appeals to the JCPC. Following the 1979 coup by th ...

AC 73

Arms

References

External links

Report of the Commission to Consider Legal Procedures to deal with Terrorist Activities in Northern Ireland

Parliamentary Archives, Papers of William, Lord Diplock
{{DEFAULTSORT:Diplock, Kenneth Baron Diplock 1907 births 1985 deaths 20th-century English judges Law lords Alumni of University College, Oxford People educated at Whitgift School Members of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council People from Croydon Members of the Middle Temple 20th-century King's Counsel Senior Lords of Appeal in Ordinary Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Lords Justices of Appeal Knights Bachelor Queen's Bench Division judges