Lord Denning : The Due Process of Law

Two central themes run through The Due Process of Law. The first is the workings of the various “measures authorised by the law so as to keep the streams of justice pure” - that is to say, contempt of court, judicial inquiries, and powers of arrest and search. The second is the recent development of family law, focusing particularly on Lord Denning’s contribution to the law of husband and wife. These broad themes are elaborated through a discussion of Lord Denning’s own judgments and opinions on a wide range of topics.

Lord Denning sums up in the preface the sort of case which he will describe in detail later in the book. “. . . topics of which 1 have most experience. 1 have chosen them also for their general interest . . . the law in which persons count. So I tell you about the cylinder of laughing gas; and the judge who talked too much; and the ship which sank without trace; and the wife who was deserted.” These are all linked together with a lively, yet thoughtful and thought provoking commentary, written in what Lord Hailsham has described as Lord Denning’s “own distinctive, staccato, but highly readable, prose style”.