A Simple Common Lawyer: Essays in Honour of Michael Taggart ed. by David Dyzenhaus, Murray Hunt, Grant Huscroft (review)

I Introduction

In his 2002 essay on the Festschriften tradition, Mike Taggart lamented on the absence of bibliographic resources indexing the numerous and important contributions contained in those books, a situation that led observers to describe them as ‘graveyards of scholarship.’¹ I hope this review ensures that A Simple Common Lawyer – Essays in Honour of Michael Taggart is not consigned to oblivion.

The first reason for this is that it is an uncommon Festschrift. In principle, Festschriften have no ‘object’ to review, as the core of the book is the ‘subject’ it is meant to honour.² But A Simple Common Lawyer is unusual in this respect: thanks to the strong hands and vision of the editors David Dyzenhaus, Grant Huscroft, and Murray Hunt, the subject of the book becomes a way of creating its object. Indeed, during his academic career, Taggart looked into all the crucial themes of administrative law writ large: the requirement of justification for administrative action and the duty to give reasons, the relationship between administrative law and the law on human rights, the questions of deference and proportionality, the exploration and critical analysis of the ‘new public law’ associated with privatization and outsourcing, and the notion of the rule of law. On the methodological side, he was an example and an inspiration for the legal comparatist and the legal historian, and he insisted on the importance of context and authenticity. So by requiring every contributor to discuss one of Taggart’s manifold areas of interest, the editors offer a privileged outlook on all the critical stakes of public law for the period that spanned Taggart’s academic life (1980–2008). This is what gives a sense of unity to the book, not always easy to find in a Festschrift.

The second reason for keeping the book alive resides in the quality of its contribution to legal scholarship. Taggart was not only an acute observer of his time; he also had a vibrant instinct for suggesting directions and orientations. He sensed the way in which transformations on the local, national, and international levels were likely to shake public law and how those changes could be creatively tackled. This ability to both detect and face changes is what made his journey into administrative law scholarship so valuable. And it is this legacy that is apparent in the contributions to the volume: the authors all figure among the leading academics and judges in the field and they offer original, thought-provoking essays that not only shed light on the challenges that must be faced here and now but anticipate the stakes to come, making the Festschrift one of lasting relevance to anyone interested in the grand themes of public law.

There is another, rather different reason for reading A Simple Common Lawyer. The book as a whole is a lesson of humanity and generosity in academia, a moving tribute to a giant by admiring and heart-broken friends and colleagues, which leaves a profound impression on the reader. As in the case of any Festschrift, it is a particular event closely linked to the biography of the person honoured rather than an intellectual motive that has been determinative in the making of the book.³ In April 2008, Mike Taggart had to resign from his position of Professor of Law at the faculty of law of the University of Auckland after having been diagnosed with cancer. It is that dramatic situation that prompted the editors – Dyzenhaus, Hunt, and Huscroft – to gather prestigious contributors on very short notice. To anyone who has known Mike Taggart, the foreword from publisher Richard Hart and the introduction from the editors, all shocked by the brutality and injustice of destiny, give the measure of Taggart’s impact on everyone he touched during his lifetime. And for those who did not have the chance to meet him, the book is a spirited invitation to discover...