The common law and finance: perspectives from the bench

Lectures given in the special series The Common Law and Finance: Perspectives from the Bench have been published.

The series, which ran in the 2018-2019 academic year, featured lectures by senior judges from four common law jurisdictions: Geoffrey Ma (Chief Justice, Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal); Justice James Edelman (High Court of Australia); Lord Briggs (Supreme Court of the United Kingdom); and Judge Frank Easterbrook (United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit).

The lectures are prefaced by an introduction by Joshua Getzler and Kristin van Zwieten (the convenors of the series) that explains the motivation for the series, provides a synopsis of the lectures, highlights some common themes, and identifies areas that could usefully be the subject of further research. Also included in the issue are comments made by John Armour in response to Judge Easterbrook’s lecture on securities fraud and legal origins.

Funding for the series was generously provided by the Bapsybanoo Marchioness of Winchester Trust, the Travers Smith Fund, and the Commercial Law Centre at Harris Manchester College, Oxford.