HOW DID THE CAREER OF BLACKSTONE INFLUENCE

THE ENGLISH LAW?

GEORGE P. KYPRIANIDES Barrister-At-Law [Inner Temple]LLB(Hons), LLM (Distinction),Advocate-Legal Consultant

“BLACKSTONE A “PROPHET” OF THE ENGLISH LAW OR AN

ECCENTRIC PERSONALITY? HOW DID THE CAREER OF W.

BLACKSTONE INFLUENCE THE ENGLISH LAW REFORM”.

DISCUSS.

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Why did I choose this title for my dissertation?1. Blackstone was an intriguing figure.

2. Major influence in the direction of the Common Law.3. Popular Exam Question.

Sir William Blackstone, an influential personality.

Different Places I visited for my dissertation (LLB).

• University of Reading Library.• Public Library at Reading.• British Library –London. Inns of Court Library- Inner Temple. Royal Court of Justice. The Supreme Court.

Can I please use the Supreme Court’s Library for my dissertation? It could help.

At the Supreme Court UK London.

Moment of wisdom at British Library (LONDON)

Royal Court of Justice

General Outline of my Dissertation.

Attempted to provide a sense of the period at the time throughout the essay.

Background to Blackstone’s lecture, writings, and reforms. Are Blackstone’s commentaries good? What can be found

in the commentaries? The underlying philosophy of Blackstone’s depiction of the

law. Did Blackstone’s role lead to an improvement in legal

education? Blackstone’s lectures are significant, but why didn’t they

continue after his death? Added “Discuss”, in order to provide a detail discussion

about the subject matter, provide arguments for and against, give a balanced conclusion.

Some of the Isues. I realized that there were various ways to answer this

question. X could be For or Against it and find numerous arguments. E.g. the way you see the Commentaries : map of law Vs inaccuracy.

Don’t create a ‘big messy salad’ be selective, more reflective than any other time.

Since my endeavor was to give a balanced set of arguments I had to keep my mind focused on the ‘Big Picture’.

Talent Vs Character. Passion for order and efficiency Vs Hostility. Ambition Vs Purpose. The main disadvantages of B, lack of 2 imperative qualities:

“natural diffidence” and No powerful legal connections. UK Vs USA Blackstone’s reputation e.g. USA Supreme Court

still cites Commentaries around a dozen times each year compared to Shannon v Shannon were Lord Redesdale said he was always sorry to hear lawyers citing the Commentaries as an authority. Judges never use them as authority.

Background to Blackstone’s lectures, writings and reforms

My endeavor was to provide a sense of the period e.g. lack of knowledge of he law amongst the general population. So the need to improve the general understanding of the law was a key element within the lectures Blackstone conducted as Vinerian Professor in Oxford.

The era was one where there was a general background of the need for reform e.g. Milsom says that in the 18th c no text books it was only a “great body of intricate substantive rules for which Blackstone’s task was indeed to summarize and simplify.”

Commentaries Followed Blackstone’s previous work the Analysis of the

Laws of England, build upon ideas from Hale. W.Prest described the Analysis as being a landmark in the introduction of English law.

Structure of the Commentaries: divided into 4 separate sections each dealing with the elucidation of different aspects of the law such as the rights of persons, the rights of things, private wrongs, and public wrongs. Their historical development is evident through a series of subdivisions and explanations.

The paradox. The main aim of B was to create a map of law and

increase knowledge. A balance between historical and contemporaneous

was a central element within the Commentaries.

What was the long- term inheritance of Blackstone in the sphere of legal reform?

Mixed one. On the one hand, B created novel

approaches to law, e.g. lectures, Commentaries were elegantly written provided a “map” of the law.

Barrister, Judge, Tory MP, writer, 1st Vinerian Professor of Law at Oxford. All these have to be seen in the light of an overall contribution.

On the contrary. The approach taken by B in his commentaries was rendered

paradoxical by the very nature of English common law and its heavy reliance on precedent. E.g. the Monarch can not err without being led astray by malicious advisers.

This of course was due to the conservative nature of B’s view which had the effect of making him hugely significant in the USA. Boorstin’s view:

“ In the history of American institutions, no other book- except the Bible- has played so great role” and “In the first century of the American Independence, the Commentaries were not merely an approach to the study of law; for most lawyers they constituted all there was of the law.”

Holdsworth, and Abraham Lincoln. Thus there were a lot of paradoxes in terms of the work of B

and also the way it was understood by others.

Blackstone’s lectures although novel, did not persist after his death why?

Character. Very antagonistic, arrogant, hostile, conflicts with leading figures such as Bentham and T.Randolph.

His approach, was arguably, fundamentally academic.

The period was one of constant state of evolution thus the work of B needed to be updated by interpreters of the law in order to adapt to the transitions.

What did I gain from this experience?

Knowledge on Blackstone and English Law Reform.

Better appreciation of Common law system. Research skills. Got out of my “comfort zone”. Confidence: Learned to expect difficulties

and overcome them. Visited a lot of new places e.g. Supreme

Court, British Library, Royal Court of Justice, Inns of Court. All of these contributed towards the development of my personality.

So indeed… “Knowledge is of two kinds. We either

know a subject ourselves. Or we know where to find it.”

Thank you.