So – who was Lord Denning?

To me, when I first started studying Law, Denning’s name was the first ‘big name’ judge I knew anything about. It wasn’t THAT long ago, but the Denning tapes as I recall were part of material we had for teaching – remember that this was before the ‘internet revolution’! Denning was (still is) regarded as a little bit ‘maverick’ because his ideas were really quite ‘grounded’ by comparison to some we came across as students. What has been surprising for some people is the longevity of that approach he has to consider implications and society, particularly in family law.

For me, that is his enduring appeal as a judge and commentator. Listening to some selections of the Denning-Cretney video (and Cretney really does draw out issues of importance even now) has been fascinating and educational – it will stimulate you, too, to think, so watch the accompanying discussion and remarks and no doubt you’ll have something more to contribute.

Regards

Professor Penny Booth