Background
Glanville Williams was born on February 15, 1911 in Bridgend, Glamorgan, Wales, United Kingdom.
(For more than half a century, Learning the Law by Glanvil...)
For more than half a century, Learning the Law by Glanville Williams has made compulsory reading for every undergraduate law student in the common law world. Now under the editorship of Professor Smith, the 12th edition has been fully updated whilst retaining the distinctive features and individual style underpinning the success of previous editions. This new edition takes account of the changes in the English legal system, study methods and legal careers since the last edition in 1982. It introduces legal problems and describes how to tackle them, how to look up points of law and how to make best use of the time available to study.
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Glanville Williams was born on February 15, 1911 in Bridgend, Glamorgan, Wales, United Kingdom.
Williams did his undergraduate studies in Law at the University College of Wales and completed his Doctor of Philosophy in Law at St John's College, University of Cambridge.
He had a Doctorate of Letters Honoris Causa from Cambridge in 1955.
Among legal issues, Williams devoted his career to teaching, first at Cambridge University beginning in 1936, then at the University of London starting in 1945. He rejoined Cambridge in 1957 as a reader, then became a professor of law in 1966. Named a fellow of the school’s Jesus College in 1955, he also became Rouse Ball Professor of English Law in 1968, holding that position for 10 years. His other teaching stints included Hebrew University of Jerusalem, University of Colorado, New York University, and University of Washington.
Williams served about twenty-one years as a member of the Standing Committee on Criminal Law Revision. He was a one-time president of the Abortion Law Reform Association and served as vice president of Voluntary Euthanasia. He was also very active in the campaign to legalise voluntary euthanasia, which has so far largely failed. Williams took a major part in the campaign to liberalise the law on abortion, which largely succeeded with the Abortion Act of 1967.
He was well-regarded for his books of law, including The Sanctity of Life and the Criminal Law, Criminal Law: The General Part, Learning the Law, Joint Torts and Contributory Negligence, and Liability for Animals.
In the 1950s he was among the first to draw public attention to the problems children face when giving evidence in sex cases – and was still campaigning on the subject in the 1980s.
In 1960 he was the first person publicly to advocate the tape-recording of interviews with suspects in police stations; initially condemned as a silly and impractical idea, 25 years later this became almost universal practice.
Williams was a dedicated and inspiring teacher. His writings were prodigious in their quantity, quality and range.
Nowadays Williams is mostly known as a writer on criminal law, where his fame rests on four books, the influence of which has been enormous.
Williams was among the first to draw public attention to the problems children face when giving evidence in sex cases.
Also, he was the first to advocate the tape-recording of interviews with suspects in police stations - it became almost universal practice 25 years later.
Perhaps his greatest triumph was in 1986, when a well-timed article persuaded the House of Lords to rule that a person can be guilty of attempt even where the crime in question was impossible of completion: so overruling their decision the other way the year before, and expressly overruling, for the first time ever, their previous decision in a criminal case.
In addition, The Jesus College, University of Cambridge Glanville Williams Society meets each year and is attended by 600 plus leading English lawyers.
(For more than half a century, Learning the Law by Glanvil...)
Although an agnostic for most of his life Williams knew his Bible, and the use of biblical phrases was instinctive to him.
Williams served on a range of official committees. He was both president of the Abortion Law Reform Association, and a vice-president of the Voluntary Euthanasia Society.
Williams was a kind man, rather shy, and not a great socialiser outside the circle of his family. He was quiet-spoken, modest, gentle, serious-minded Welshman.
Williams married Loma M. Lawfield in 1939.
