About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

17 Melb. U. L. Rev. 100 (1989-1990)
Commercial Law and Morality

handle is hein.journals/mulr17 and id is 118 raw text is: COMMERCIAL LAW AND MORALITY BY THE HONOURABLE SIR GERARD BRENNAN* When Professor Crommelin did me the honour of inviting me to attend this dinner at the end of a seminar on Commercial Law and Morality, I accepted with alacrity. I thought that it would be a comforting experience to be among those professional colleagues whose presence testified to their commitment to moral- ity. In the event, the experience has been far more rewarding. It has furnished a stimulating review of the proper role of law and of lawyers in commercial transactions. For me, Professor Finn's paper was an additional bonus. He illuminated what has been going on around me for eight years past! It is the role of the academic profession to be, in a sense, a final court of appeal - to examine the principles which judges state or imply, to identify other relevant principles and to evaluate critically the solutions adopted by the court. That is a demanding role which calls for familiarity with the literature in foreign as well as domestic jurisdictions, incisive and dispassionate analysis and an ability to place the law in its social context. We are indebted to Professor Finn for the stimulus of a paper of great intellectual sweep and vigour which, standing back from the workface of individual cases, essayed a description of the paths of legal development. If I do not agree with all that Professor Finn has said, I respectfully acknowledge the force of the argument he presents. I have come to repent my joyful acceptance of Professor Crommelin's invitation. At the time, the juxtaposition of the topics 'commercial law' and Imorality' had the charm of novelty but as the need to say something about their connection approached, the complexity of the problems inherent in the joint topics has become more manifest and the prospect of propounding a solution has become more elusive. At the outset, let me confess my remoteness from the topic. I last practised at the Bar in commercial law matters in 1976, and the intervening decade has seen not only a growth in commercial law but a transformation in the way in which it is practised. In the intervening years, the glimpses of the real world to be had from a judicial Arcady have been fleeting and fragmentary. As to morality, no doubt each of us treasures his or her own visions of the moral imperatives binding on everyone else whilst, for ourselves, we earnestly pray the prayer which St Augustine prayed in resisting conversion from the profligate life: 'Not yet, 0 Lord, not yet!' Without propounding a precise theory of morality for application to commercial law, I do not doubt that there is a moral standard to be observed. It would be too cynical to accept the truth of George Essex Evans' 'Ode to the Philistines': Six days shalt thou swindle and lie! On the seventh - tho it soundeth odd - In the odour of sanctity * High Court of Australia. Address to Seminar Dinner, Melbourne, 10 November 1988. 100

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Purchase Access

Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most