Dr. Hon. Lord. A. Th. (Alfred) Denning
Honorary supervisor Prof. mr J.E.J.Th. Deelen - 1977 – Faculteit Rechtsgeleerdheid
Baron Alfred Thompson “Tom” Denning (Whitchurch, 1899–Winchester, 1999) was an English lawyer and judge. First, he studied Mathematics and then Law in Oxford, at Magdalen College.
Between 1944 and 1956, Denning was a member of the High Court based in the Royal Courts of Justice and, later, the influential Court of Appeal where he was president from 1962 to 1982.
The late Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher called Denning "probably the greatest English judge of modern times." He was known as a man with an eye for the rights of the "common man" and of underdogs in their legal battle with established companies. Divorced women, for example, could often count on his sympathy. He favored simple, understandable language. On the other hand, critics saw in him a conservative Christian who was especially popular with conservative Britons who were shocked by postwar crime and believed they were facing a general decline in morals and standards.
He was both influential and controversial, in part because his own moral compass sometimes seemed to outweigh strictly legal considerations. His views were often inconsistent with those of other judges on the Court of Appeals. Denning was long a proponent of the death penalty, but later reversed his opinion.
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