Stephen Sedley practised at the English bar from 1964 to 1992 before serving as a judge of the Queen's Bench division of the High Court from 1992 to 1999 and as a Lord Justice of Appeal from 1999 to 2011. He has also sat as a judge ad hoc of the European Court of Human Rights and the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council. Over time, he specialised increasingly in the developing field of public law, and in his current role as visiting professor at the University of Oxford has prepared and delivered the series of lectures which form the basis of this book.
'Part I of this book enriched my understanding of the role of public law within our constitutional system and laid the foundation for Part II, which compellingly traces the influence and echoes of history in the constitutional issues facing us today.' Kate Stone, Socialist Lawyer