Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Lord Wedderburn of Charlton: born 13 April 1927; died 9 March 2012

Lord Wedderburn, one of the great British labour law academics, has died aged 84.  Bill Wedderburn would have been well known to all labour lawyers. His work was immensely infuential particularly for those of us who were educated in labour law in the first decade or so when the subject was first formally recognised and taught in law schools.  His book, The Worker and the Law (1965), was a classic of labour law scholarship and one of the foundational texts of the subject. Bill's contribution was not only academic, at a level that most of us can only dream of achieving, but he also made major political and practical contributions to labour law. As with all the greatest labour lawyers his work reflected a strong sense of social justice.

Bill's achievements are best described by others but on a personal note I would mention that I met Bill several times. He was always hospitable and welcoming and prepared to assist to open the odd doorway in Britain.

A full obituary may be read at The Guardian

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