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

from 1998 to 2004.

Biography

Hobhouse was born in Mossley Hill,

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

, the son of the shipowner Sir John Richard Hobhouse, and grandson of Henry Hobhouse, the MP. He was educated at

Eton College Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...

. After working abroad in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

and

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

on a sheep farm, Hobhouse returned to

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church (, the temple or house, ''wikt:aedes, ædes'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by Henry V ...

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 association for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practice as a barrister in England and Wa ...

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 c ...

. 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 The Northern Circuit is a circuit of the General Council of the Bar and English judiciary. The Northern Circuit stretches from Carlisle in Cumberland at its northernmost point, running through Lakeland to the port of Whitehaven in the West, ...

. At the bar he specialised in admiralty law. He was appointed a

Queen's Counsel A King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) is a senior lawyer appointed by the monarch (or their Viceroy, viceregal representative) of some Commonwealth realms as a "Counsel learned in the law". When the reigning monarc ...

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 a 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. The concept of a knighthood ...

, 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) Just ...

in 1993, when he was also sworn of the Privy Council. On 1 October 1998 he was appointed as a

, 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. Life peers are appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister. With the exception of the D ...

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

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated to Wilts) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It borders Gloucestershire to the north, Oxfordshire to the north-east, Berkshire to the east, Hampshire to the south-east, Dorset to the south, and Somerset to ...

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 (archivist), Henry ...

Reputation

Lord Justice Bean has criticised Lord Hobhouse for his perceived lack of human empathy. He said, "Hobhouse was a desiccated calculating machine, unsuited to trying cases involving human beings."

Notable cases

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

Hazell v Hammersmith and Fulham LBC ''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 J ...

) * ''

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) * ''

R (Factortame Ltd) v Secretary of State for Transport ''R (Factortame Ltd) v Secretary of State for Transport'' was a judicial review case taken against the United Kingdom government by a company of Spanish fishermen who claimed that the United Kingdom had breached European Union law (then Comm ...

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

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

R v Hinks 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''. The lette ...

'' (House of Lords) * '' Lange v Atkinson'' (Privy Council) * '' Auckland Harbour Board v Commissioner of Inland Revenue'' (Privy Council) * '' Royal Bank of Scotland plc v Etridge (No 2)'' (House of Lords) * '' Dextra Bank & Trust Co Ltd v Bank of Jamaica'' (Privy Council) * '' Mirvahedy v Henley'' (House of Lords) * '' B v Attorney General'' (Privy Council) * '' Tomlinson v Congleton BC'' (House of Lords) * '' Shogun Finance Ltd v Hudson'' (House of Lords) * '' 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 E ...

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