Paul O'Higgins (5 October 1927 – 13 March 2008) was a noted Irish scholar of human rights and labour law. ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' (f ...

'' credits O'Higgins as "one of the founding fathers of the academic study of labour law and social security law" in Britain. According to Professor

Keith Ewing Keith David Ewing (born 29 March 1955) is professor of public law at King's College London and recognised as a leading scholar in public law, constitutional law, law of democracy, labour law and human rights. Ewing's work has been considered ...

, O'Higgins "was at the forefront of an innovation in legal teaching and scholarship, which encouraged lawyers to appreciate how law worked in practice, and to reflect on the social context of the legal rules they examined." According to Professor Suttvinder Juss, O'Higgins was "a mentor of unfathomable talent and achievements, who left his mark on all who came under his guidance." O'Higgins was educated at

Coláiste Iognáid Coláiste Iognáid SJ ( en, link=yes, Ignatius College), a bilingual secondary school, is located on Sea Road in Galway, Ireland. It was founded in 1645 and has had numerous locations over the years before its current home. The college is a co- ...

in Galway., retrieved 12 November 2018 He studied medicine at

Trinity College Dublin , name_Latin = Collegium Sanctae et Individuae Trinitatis Reginae Elizabethae juxta Dublin , motto = ''Perpetuis futuris temporibus duraturam'' (Latin) , motto_lang = la , motto_English = It will last i ...

, but later switched to law, being called to the bars in both England and Ireland, and completing a PhD at the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a public collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world's third oldest surviving university and one of its most pr ...

. O'Higgins' PhD thesis has been described as "one of the most exceptional works in English legal literature". In 1959, O'Higgins became a fellow of Christ's College, Cambridge and subsequently a lecturer, teaching constitutional law, administrative law, civil liberties and public international law. When promoted to Reader, O'Higgins chose to take the title of "Reader in Labour Law", to signify the special relevance of the subject. In 1970, O'Higgins was denied the prestigious Regius Professor Chair at Trinity College Dublin, due to his left-wing views and past opposition to flying the

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. However, he was eventually appointed to the position, in 1984. In 1987, King's College London appointed O'Higgins as a chair professor, which he held for five years until his retirement. O'Higgins later returned to Cambridge, where he served as Vice-Master of Christ's College. Apart from significant contributions to the field of labour law, O'Higgins wrote an important book on freedom of speech, ''Censorship in Britain'', published in 1972.

References

1927 births 2008 deaths Irish human rights activists Alumni of Trinity College Dublin Academics of Trinity College Dublin Academics of King's College London People educated at Coláiste Iognáid Activists from County Galway Scholars and academics from County Galway Lawyers from County Galway {{Ireland-activist-stub