The Gazette 1980

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GAZETTE DECEMBER 1980
Denning's Critics
Denning has his critics. He is accused of so reconciling
the words of statutes with their desirable meaning that he
ignores rules of statutory interpretation and so damages
the law. But central to his approach is 'whenever there is
a right, the law should give a remedy — 'ubi ius ibi
remedium'. In Magor and St. Mellons Rural District
Council v Newport Corporation,29 Denning, L. J. (as he
then was), said:
" . . . I have no patience with an ultra-legalistic
interpretation which would deprive (the appellants)
of their rights altogether . . . We sit here to find out
the intention of Parliament and of Ministers and
carry it out, and we do this better by filling in the
gaps and making sense of the enactment than by
opening it up to destructive analysis".
The House of Lords rejected that proposition.
Viscount Simonds sharply disapproved and dogmatically
stated:
"It appears to me to be a naked usurpation of the
legislative function under the thin disguise of
interpretation".
In another context, Denning acknowledges that he
received a "crushing rebuff" from the House of Lords.
His efforts were described30 as a "one man crusade" to
free the Court of Appeal from the shackles of stare decisis
— the doctrine of precedent.
Denning is not against the doctrine of precedent.
UP TO B . —
4 Q1% INTEREST
"I treat (the doctrine of precedent) as you would a
path through the woods. You must follow it
certainly so as to reach your end. But you must not
let the path become too overgrown. You must cut
out the dead wood and trim off the side branches,
else you will find yourself lost in thickets and
brambles. My plea is simply to keep the path to
justice clear of obstructions which would impede
it".
In support of Denning's plea, one is reminded of the
observation of Walsh J., in State (Quinn) v Ryan.31
"The advantages of stare decisis are many and
obvious so long as it is remembered that it is a
policy and not a binding unalterable rule".
Duty
Denning never flinched his duty. In June 1963 he was
asked by the Prime Minister, Mr. Harold Macmillan to
undertake an inquiry. The Secretary of State for War,
The Rt. Hon. John Profumo, O.B.E., had resigned during
the Whitsun recess. It was the start of the 'Christine
Keeler Affair' Denning describes the atmosphere at the
time:
"Rumours spread like wildfire. Not only about Mr.
Profumo and the Russian Naval Attache, but many
other Ministers also. Their morale was shaken to
the core. The security of the realm was said to be
endangered. Nothing like it has been seen since
Titus Oates spread his lies in 1678, when Macaulay
tells us 'The capital and the whole nation was mad
with hatred and fear' . . .".
The inquiry was not an easy task because of the
political overtones. Although the inquiry report was
praised in the House of Commons, it was later made clear
that there never ought to be an inquiry like it again.
Thirst for Justice
Denning's judgments have been part of the Irish Law
student's "tools of the trade" for the last quarter of a
century. Writing in "The Times",32 Sir Leslie Scarman
stated:
"The past 25 years will not be forgotten in our legal
history. They are the age of legal aid, law reform and
Lord Denning".
A reviewer, in another context, recently wrote that
some scholarly writings groan heavily on bookshelves.
Denning's books and his judgments — although
scholarly — are not of that genre. Denning's voice — his
eloquence, his single-mindedness, his thirst for justice as
expressed in his judgments, will grace our law reports for
years to come. Finally, the question may be posed: Is
Denning one of the great helmsmen of the Common Law?
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