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Law & Justice

Edmund Plowden Trust

 

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THE EDMUND PLOWDEN TRUST

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(Charity No: 313580)

 

The Objects of the Edmund Plowden Trust

  1. To assist in and promote the study and understanding of the law of this country (UK) and its legal system in themselves and by comparing them with the laws and systems of other countries and by considering them in the light of Christian sources such as The Declaration of Religious Freedom (of the Second Vatican Council), International Law, Canon Law, the Law of Nature amd ethics and morals and for this purpose (inter alia);
  2. To publish and contribute to the publication of legal and other publications dealing with such matters;
  3. To research and exchange information with learned bodies;
  4. To arrange lectures, broadcasts, conferences and the like.

 

 

 

In addition to publishing "Law & Justice" the Trust

holds the Richard O'Sullivan Memorial Lecture,

when a distinguished lawyer speaks on a topic concerned with

Law and Christian values.

 

 

 

 


THE RICHARD O’SULLIVAN MEMORIAL LECTURE

Edmund Plowden was a great Elizabethan lawyer. He was born in 1518, became a member of Middle Temple in about 1538, and confined himself to the practice of the law and the compilation of his Commentaries, until the accession of Queen Mary in 1553. He then undertook a number of public posts, including being a Member of Parliament, but, with the accession of Elizabeth, public life was closed to him, for he was a Roman Catholic.

For the remainder of his life, he continued in practice, acting for all who wished to engage his considerable legal ability, producing his Commentaries and other legal notes and reports and looking after the interests of his beloved Middle Temple, of which he was Treasurer for six years. He was highly regarded by Coke and other leading jurists of the day, with the tag "The case is altered quoth Plowden" being attributed to him. He avoided conformity with the Church of England and persecution for his faith, and on his death in 1585 was buried in the Temple Church.

Richard O’Sullivan KC, KSG, (1888-1963) was born in Cork, served in the Royal Artillery during the 1914-1918 War, and then joined the chambers of the future Mr Justice McCardie. He had a substantial practice from the middle twenties, but at the same time began to develop and expound his ideas on the Christian origin of the Common Law of England. He brought out its theological roots in the work of men who were both priests and lawyers like Bracton. A whole generation learnt from what he had himself imbibed, from Maitland pre-eminently, of the central place which English law in its formative centuries made for the liber et legalis homo, the free and lawful man, responsible and fit for responsibilities. He was a great enthusiast for Thomas More, another champion of the Common Law, and founded the Thomas More Society. Like Plowden, he was a member of the Middle Temple and also held the office of Treasurer.

It is in honour of Richard O’Sullivan that the Edmund Plowden Trust has named its lectures, and we are happy to have had Lord Nolan, himself a distinguished member and Bencher of Middle Temple, to join previous speakers who have included Lord Scarman, Lord Hailsham, Simon Lee, Anthony Allott and Gareth Jones.

Lord Nolan, then a Lord of Appeal in Ordinary, was appointed by the then Prime Minister, John Major, in October 1994, to be chairman of a Committee on Standards in Public Life. The Committee reported in May 1995, and its recommendations were swiftly accepted and acted on. The Seven Principles of Public Life which prefaced the Report were set out as Selflessness, Integrity, Objectivity, Accountability, Openness, Honesty and Leadership, and these principles apply to all who serve the public in any way.

Since then Lord Nolan has chaired the Committee on Child Protection in the Catholic Church, and the first report has been warmly endorsed by the Catholic Bishops of England and Wales.

Lord Nolan gave the Eighth Richard O'Sullivan Memorial Lecture entitled "Law and Justice in the New Millenium" on 21st September 2001 Copies are available from the Administrator.

 

 

Welcome

Law & Justice

Edmund Plowden Trust