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 Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'' 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 has been described as "one of ...

, 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 (), 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-educational, non-fee-paying sec ...

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

Trinity College Dublin Trinity College Dublin (), officially titled The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, and legally incorporated as Trinity College, the University of Dublin (TCD), is the sole constituent college of the Unive ...

, 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 university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

. 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 Christ's College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college includes the Master, the Fellows of the College, and about 450 undergraduate and 250 graduate students. The c ...

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 King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public university, public research university in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV ...

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