John Stewart Hobhouse, Baron Hobhouse of Woodborough, PC (31 January 1932 – 15 March 2004) was a British judge and

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 of ...

. Hobhouse was born in

Mossley Hill Mossley Hill is a suburb of Liverpool and a Liverpool City Council ward. Located to the south of the city, it is bordered by Aigburth, Allerton, Childwall, and Wavertree. At the 2001 Census, the population was 12,650, increasing to 13,816 at t ...

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

, the son of the shipowner Sir John Richard Hobhouse, and grandson of

Henry Hobhouse Henry Hobhouse may refer to: * Henry Hobhouse (archivist) (1776–1854), English archivist * Henry Hobhouse (East Somerset MP) Henry Hobhouse (1 March 1854 – 25 June 1937) was an English landowner and Liberal, and from 1886 Liberal Unionis ...

, the MP. He was educated 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 ...

. After working abroad in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

and

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

on a sheep farm, Hobhouse returned to

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 ...

in 1951, where he read Jurisprudence. He was called to the bar by

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 1955, of which he later became 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 can ...

. Following a pupillage with Michael Kerr, Hobhouse became a tenant at 7 King's Bench Walk, the chambers of Henry Brandon, and joined the

Northern Circuit {{Use dmy dates, date=November 2019 The Northern Circuit is a court circuit in England. It dates from 1176 when Henry II sent his judges on circuit to do justice in his name. The Circuit encompassed the whole of the North of England but in 1876 i ...

. At the bar he specialised in admiralty law. 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 ...

in 1973. Hobhouse was made a High Court judge in 1982, 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 Gr ...

, and was assigned to the Queen's Bench Division. He was made 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) Justice ...

in 1993, when he was also sworn of the

Privy Council A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...

. On 1 October 1998 he was appointed 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 ...

, becoming 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 ...

as Baron Hobhouse of Woodborough, of Woodborough in the County of

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...

Family

Lord Hobhouse was married to Susannah Roskill, the daughter of Sir Ashton Roskill QC. They had two sons and one daughter. His grandfather Henry was the nephew and ward of

Arthur Hobhouse, 1st Baron Hobhouse Arthur Hobhouse, 1st Baron Hobhouse, (10 November 18196 December 1904) was an English lawyer and judge. Background and education Born at Hadspen House, Somerset, Hobhouse was the fourth and youngest son of Henry Hobhouse, permanent under-s ...

Notable cases

Notable judicial decisions in which Lord Hobhouse participated included: * ''

R (Factortame Ltd) v Secretary of State for Transport R, or r, is the eighteenth letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''ar'' (pronounced ), plural ''ars'', or in Irelan ...

'' ("Factortame IV", Divisional Court) * ''

R v Hinks ''R v Hinks'' House of Lords on appeal from the Court of Appeal of England and Wales. The case concerned the interpretation of the word "appropriates" in the Theft Act 1968. The relevant statute is as follows: * Section 1 provides: "(1) A person ...

'' (House of Lords) * ''

Berezovsky v Michaels ''Berezovsky v Michaels''
Berezovsky v Michaels, House of Lords, 10 May 2000 is an

Mirvahedy v Henley'' (House of Lords) * ''

Lange v Atkinson ''Lange v Atkinson''

997 Year 997 (Roman numerals, CMXCVII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Japan * 1 February: Empress Teishi gives birth to Princess Shushi - she is the first ...

2 NZLR 22 (HC),

998 Year 998 ( CMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Spring – Otto III retakes Rome and restores power in the papal city. Crescenti ...

3 NZLR 424 (CA),

000 Triple zero, Triple Zero, Zero Zero Zero, Triple 0, Triple-0, 000, or 0-0-0 may refer to: * 000 (emergency telephone number), the Australian emergency telephone number * "Triple Zero", a song by AFI (band), AFI from ''Shut Your Mouth and Open Your ...

1 NZLR 257 (PC),

3 NZLR 385 is a cited case in New Zealand regarding defamation claims in tort. Background Joe Atkinson, a political columnist, wrote an article cr ...

'' (Privy Council) * '' B v Attorney General'' (Privy Council) * ''

Auckland Harbour Board v Commissioner of Inland Revenue Auckland Harbour Board v Commissioner of Inland Revenue 999 999 or triple nine most often refers to: * 999 (emergency telephone number), a telephone number for the emergency services in several countries * 999 (number), an integer * AD 999, a yea ...

'' (Privy Council) * '' Dextra Bank & Trust Co Ltd v Bank of Jamaica'' (Privy Council) * ''

Shogun Finance Ltd v Hudson ''Shogun Finance Ltd v Hudson'' 003UKHL 62is an English contract law case decided in the House of Lords, on the subject of mistaken identity as a basis for rescission of a contract. The case has been the subject of much criticism in failing to e ...

'' (House of Lords) * ''

Attorney General v Blake is a leading English contract law case on damages for breach of contract. It established that in some circumstances, where ordinary remedies are inadequate, restitutionary damages may be awarded. Facts George Blake was a member of the Secret ...

'' (House of Lords) * '' Tomlinson v Congleton BC'' (House of Lords) * '' Royal Bank of Scotland plc v Etridge (No 2)'' (House of Lords) * ''

Westdeutsche Landesbank Girozentrale v Islington LBC is a leading English trusts law case concerning the circumstances under which a resulting trust arises. It held that such a trust must be intended, or must be able to be presumed to have been intended. In the view of the majority of the House o ...

'' (at first instance) * ''

Hazell v Hammersmith and Fulham LBC O ''Hazell v Hammersmith and Fulham LBC'' 9922 AC 1 is an English administrative law case, which declared that local authorities had no power to engage in interest rate swap agreements because they were beyond the council's borrowing powers, and ...

'' (at first instance) * '' Morgan Grenfell & Co Ltd v Welwyn Hatfield DC'' (Divisional Court - key test case in the

local authorities swaps litigation The local authorities swaps litigation (sometimes called simply the swaps cases) refers to a series of cases during the 1990s under English law relating to interest rate swap transactions entered into between banks and local authorities. The ...

) * '' R v Bow Street Stipendiary Magistrate, ex parte United States Government'' (House of Lords)

References

* * 1932 births 2004 deaths Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford Hobhouse of Woodborough Hobhouse of Woodborough Members of the Inner Temple Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom People educated at Eton College Queen's Bench Division judges Members of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council Hobhouse of Woodborough Knights Bachelor

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...

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