Sir William Ivor Jennings: A Centennial Paper

Sir Ivor Jennings and the Malayan Constitution

“…Bradley, a former colleague at Cambridge, more recently noted in a centennial paper on Jennings: 'If there is a modest hall of fame reserved for writers on law and the British constitution during the last 150 years, there can be no doubt that Sir Ivor Jennings occupies one of the more exalted places by reason of the originality of his work during the 1930s and the influence this had had on succeeding lawyers.' 42 Jennings' work in Malaya is indicative of all these positive qualities. He had an extraordinary capacity for intellectual work and an enormous enthusiasm for drafting.…”

“…He moved to the London School of Economics in 1929. 35 Jennings' most productive period of scholarly work was between 1929 and 1940 when he taught law at the London School of Economics. According to his biographer, 'The mutual stimulus of colleagues such as Harold Laski, Hersch Lauterpacht and William Robson, with whom he was in close contact, undoubtedly acted as a ferment on them all.'…”

“…38 Herman Finer, in a review of Cabinet Government in 1936, remarked: 'As a result of Dr Jennings' work, there is a code available for Prime Minister and Ministers, the Crown and the people -a veritable treasury for constitutional lawyers and political scientists.' 39 The LSE was evacuated following the outbreak of the war and Jennings was paid to give a weekly lecture in Cambridge and an evening course in London. He felt under-employed and, while writing The British Constitution, applied for the position of principal at the University College in Ceylon.…”

‘The Oriental Jennings’: An Archival Investigation into Sir Ivor Jennings' Constitutional Legacy in South Asia

“…In 1928, Jennings was also called to the Bar of England and Wales; his practice as a barrister, while confined to opinion-writing work rather than advocacy (Bradley 2004: 723), acquired a particular relevance later on for his work and legacy in Pakistan. In 1938–1939, Jennings spent a year as Visiting Professor of Political Science at the University of British Columbia in Canada, where his interest in the laws and politics of the British colonies started to take shape as he published the book Constitutional Laws of the British Empire (1938).…”

“…In 1938–1939, Jennings spent a year as Visiting Professor of Political Science at the University of British Columbia in Canada, where his interest in the laws and politics of the British colonies started to take shape as he published the book Constitutional Laws of the British Empire (1938). In Canada he also developed a keen interest in political science and as Bradley (2004: 725–726) records, ‘[Jennings] wrote: ‘To be a good lawyer, one had to be a good political scientist’. Jennings' focus on the historical, social, and political context of legal institutions is what made his constitutional legacy in both Britain and abroad so distinctive and enduring.…”