Date: Wed, 20 Aug 2008 17:45

From: Gerard McMeel

Subject: Obligations Facebook groups

In the (English) official law reports Lord Goff always appears as Robert Goff J or LJ, which was his correct judicial title.

The Chancery judge was (Reginald) Goff (L)J. No need for the forename as he was (initially at least) more senior.

I have heard many judges (at least on the QBD side) observe: "it's the wrong Goff (L)J" when the Chancery judge is cited.

Gerard McMeel

On Wed, August 20, 2008 5:15 pm, Lionel Smith wrote:

Facebook also has a Lord Goff of Chieveley Tribute Society. The main page lists some of his most important judgments. It used to list the Romalpa decision in which Goff L.J. participated; and I pointed out to the Society that this was a mistake, since there have been two English judges named Robert Goff. R.L. Goff became Lord Goff. R.W. Goff was appointed to the HC in about 1967 and to the CA in 1975. Although they have the same name, they were not (or perhaps only very briefly) judges of the same court at the same time, because R.W. Goff was appointed to the CA in the same year (1975) that R.L. Goff was appointed to the HC; and R.W. Goff died in office on 17 January 1981 (see [1981] 1 Ch. 422) shortly before R.L. Goff was appointed to the C.A. So it’s confusing because both are simply called Goff J. or Goff L.J. in the law reports, without first initials. R.W. Goff decided a number of important cases (rightly or wrongly, is a different question).

For pointing this out, I was offered the post of Tracer in Chief of the Lord Goff of Chieveley Tribute Society, a post which I accepted with quiet dignity and which I believe I retain to this day. (Other officers include the Changer of Positions and the Head of Proprietary Remedies.)

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