George Farwell (judge)

Farwell caricatured by FTD for Vanity Fair, 1900

Sir George Farwell (22 December 1845, Codsall, Staffordshire - 30 December 1915, Dunster, Som.) was an English judge, noted for presiding over the Taff Vale Railway Co v Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants case.

Biography

He was educated at Rugby School and Balliol College, Oxford, where he took his degree in 1866. He was called to the bar in 1871. In 1891 he became a Q.C. and in 1895 a bencher of Lincoln's Inn, while in 1899 he was raised to the bench. In 1900 he came into prominence over the case known as the Taff Vale judgment. His decision, though reversed by the court of appeal, was upheld in 1901 by the House of Lords, and ultimately led to the passing of the Trade Disputes Act (1906). In 1906 Farwell was made a Lord of Appeal, but resigned this position in 1913. He published Concise Treatise on the Law of Powers (1874).

Notable Cases

• Borland’s Trustee v Steel Brothers & Co Ltd [1901] 1 Ch 279

Notes

References

•  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1922). "Farwell, Sir George". Encyclopædia Britannica (12th ed.). London & New York.