This article explores the varying approaches of Sir John Salmond as government adviser, judicial office, and legal theorist, to the State and the circumstances under which it might act under "necessity" in disregard of law. An epilogue provides the writer's own attempt in formal advice to delineate the boundaries of the doctrine in modern jurisprudence.
A Lecture delivered for the Stout Centre's "Eminent Victorians" Centennial Series in the Council Chamber, Hunter Building at Victoria University on 31 March 1999. The author pays tribute to the late Sir John Salmond by discussing the role of "fiction" in law and in the thought of Sir John. The author notes the nature of fiction as a formidable force, as it facilitates provisional escape from the tyranny of apparent fact and forget about the suspensory nature of fiction. There are three types of "fictions" in the legal world: legislative fictions, whereby the world is refashioned in accordance with the legislator's desires; constitutional fictions, which places fictional boundaries on government rule; and corporate fiction, which creates a fictional corporate personality for companies. The author concludes that it is purpose that keeps fiction honest, and that the relationship between fiction and purpose is just as important as that between hypothesis and fact.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.