Lord Neuberger discusses European influence on the common law

The Supreme Court has published a quartet of lectures delivered by Lord Neuberger in Singapore.

The first, delivered at the National University of Singapore, is entitled “Has the identity of the English Common Law been eroded by EU Laws and the European Convention on Human Rights?”

He disagrees with Lord Denning that the common law has lost its purity as a result of European influence, saying: “Despite the fact that Lord Denning was one of the three or four most influential common law judges of the 20th century, it seems to me that that notion, like his memorable image of the common law being submerged by an inexorable tide of European law, rests, I suggest, on a misunderstanding.”

The second, delivered at the Singapore Management University, is on “Express and Implied Terms in Contracts”.

Lord Neuberger’s third address, at the “Singapore Conference on Protecting Business and Economic Interests”, looks at “Some Thoughts on Principles Governing the Law of Torts”.

His fourth is entitled “The Role of the Judge: Umpire in a Contest, Seeker of the Truth or Something in Between?” and was given at the “Singapore Panel on Judicial Ethics and Dilemmas on the Bench”.