Tracing the Modern Criticism of the Mistake of Law Bar

Abstract

This paper traces the origins of the criticisms of the mistake of law bar. The actual criticisms are well known and well rehearsed. What is less discussed is who first criticized the bar and how their arguments affected others and drove the increasing and then dominant view in England that the mistake of law bar had to be abolished. The paper argues that the most immediate influences came after the mid twentieth century with the publication of the first edition of Goff and Jones and the New Zealand Judicature (Amendment) Act 1958. The paper traces the influences on the book and the legislation and how the opposition to the bar then snowballed.

Keywords: Mistake of Law, Restitution, Modern Legal History

JEL Classification: K12