header-logo header-logo

The big question

19 December 2014 / Jon Holbrook
Issue: 7635 / Categories: Opinion
printer mail-detail

Jon Holbrook reflects on why John Stuart Mill is a better guide to “liberty” than judicial precedent

Writing in The Guardian Simon Jenkins observed how issues of social policy often call for a philosopher yet “all we get are bloody lawyers” (“Our addiction to criminalising human behaviour makes a mockery of private responsibility”, 6 November 2014). His point being that deep thinking about social issues is often curtailed by the lawyer’s resort to judicial precedent.

This criticism cannot be levelled at Mr Justice Mostyn who ruled in November on whether the caring arrangement for Katherine, a woman who lacked the mental capacity to make decisions for herself, amounted to a deprivation of her liberty (Rochdale MBC v KW [2014] EWCOP 45, [2014] All ER (D) 200 (Nov)). Mostyn J observed “that the first question I have to answer is what is ‘liberty’ for Katherine?” This, he noted, “is obviously a big question”. And he proceeded to answer it with citations from John Stuart Mill’s essay “On liberty”.

By approaching this

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

DWF—19 appointments

DWF—19 appointments

Belfast team bolstered by three senior hires and 16 further appointments

Cadwalader—Andro Atlaga

Cadwalader—Andro Atlaga

Firm strengthens leveraged finance team with London partner hire

Knights—Ella Dodgson & Rebecca Laffan

Knights—Ella Dodgson & Rebecca Laffan

Double hire marks launch of family team in Leeds

NEWS
The Supreme Court issued a landmark judgment in July that overturned the convictions of Tom Hayes and Carlo Palombo, once poster boys of the Libor and Euribor scandal. In NLJ this week, Neil Swift of Peters & Peters considers what the ruling means for financial law enforcement
Bea Rossetto of the National Pro Bono Centre makes the case for ‘General Practice Pro Bono’—using core legal skills to deliver life-changing support, without the need for niche expertise—in this week's NLJ
In this week's NLJ, Steven Ball of Red Lion Chambers unpacks how advances in forensic science finally unmasked Ryland Headley, jailed in 2025 for the 1967 rape and murder of 75-year-old Louisa Dunne. Preserved swabs and palm prints lay dormant for decades until DNA-17 profiling produced a billion-to-one match
Small law firms want to embrace technology but feel lost in a maze of jargon, costs and compliance fears, writes Aisling O’Connell of the Solicitors Regulation Authority in this week's NLJ
Charlie Mercer and Astrid Gillam of Stewarts crunch the numbers on civil fraud claims in the English courts, in this week's NLJ. New data shows civil fraud claims rising steadily since 2014, with the King’s Bench Division overtaking the Commercial Court as the forum of choice for lower-value disputes
back-to-top-scroll