James Young

The School is sorry to announce the passing of Mr James Young, a former member of staff.

James was known to generations of Cardiff students and had been a popular personal tutor. James joined what was then the Law Department of the University of Wales, Institute of Science and Technology in 1973, having completed his BA in Jurisprudence at Pembroke College, Oxford. He was at the time of joining Cardiff completing his BCL. James was schooled at Magdalen College  School, Brackley, then a boys' grammar school.

Joining UWIST in the very early days of the establishment of its Law Department (University Wales College, Cardiff had set up its Law Department in 1970) meant James was able to get to know well each and every student he taught. It was a time he recalled fondly later in his career. At UWIST, James made many life-long friends. With two Law Departments in one building, cooperation between them was inevitable and James was the first member of UWIST staff to join the editorial board of the Journal of Law and Society, which had been established by colleagues in UWCC. Shortly thereafter the two institutions merged and Cardiff Law School (now the School of Law and Politics) emerged. James was an active member of the School until his retirement some years ago but could still occasionally be seen in the corridors until recently.

James published widely including in leading journals such as Modern Law Review, British Yearbook of International Law, Legal Studies, Journal of Law and Society and Public Law. James was for many years responsible for the Erasmus mobility programme with Charles University in Prague and, later, Warsaw University in Poland. At Charles University, James set up a very popular module, Introduction to the Legal System in England and Wales, which was taught by a number of colleagues from Cardiff during the 1990s. He also co-organised conferences bringing together scholars from Charles University and Cardiff University in the 1990s and 2000s. He collaborated with academics and legal experts in the Czech Republic and co-edited several academically influential books, such as The Rule of Law in Central Europe (with Jiří Přibáň, published by Ashgate in 1999) and Systems of Justice in Transition (with Jiří Přibáň and Pauline Roberts, published by Ashgate in 2003). The Journal of Law and Society became a central focus of James’ academic ventures and allowed him to read extensively in the field. James was an insightful and passionate follower of cricket, both the English county game as well as test matches. A gentle and kind man, he will be sorely missed by many.

Professor Urfan Khaliq
Head of School
Cardiff School of Law and Politics