Inns of Court

Inns of Court
Name	Inns of Court
Type	Legal societies
Established	Middle Ages
Location	London, England
Notable	Sir Edward Coke, William Blackstone, Lord Mansfield, Oliver Cromwell, Thomas More

Inns of Court The Inns of Court are the four historic legal societies in London that have long regulated the admission and conduct of barristers, housed in the legal quarter near Temple Church, Royal Courts of Justice, Strand, London, Fleet Street, and Chancery Lane. Originating in the medieval period, they shaped English common law through associations with jurists, judges, and statesmen linked to events such as the Wars of the Roses, the English Reformation, the Glorious Revolution, the Act of Settlement 1701, and the development of statutes like the Bill of Rights 1689. Their members have included figures associated with landmark rulings and writings such as Sir Edward Coke, William Blackstone, Lord Mansfield, John Selden, and connections to institutions like Gray's Inn, Lincoln's Inn, Middle Temple, and Inner Temple.

History

The Inns trace roots to the 13th and 14th centuries when legal practitioners clustered near Old Bailey, Westminster Hall, Temple Church, and the royal courts during the reigns of Edward I, Edward III, and Henry V. Early patrons and litigators included litigants in cases recorded during the Hundred Years' War and advisers present at events like the Council of Trent for European comparison; prominent legal scholars such as Fitzherbert, Serjeants-at-Law, and judges who sat in the Court of King's Bench and Court of Common Pleas shaped their emergence. The development of canonical and civil law influence from figures associated with Pope Innocent III and contacts with Universities of Bologna and Paris informed procedures later formalized by jurists like Sir Edward Coke and commentators such as William Blackstone. Political upheavals—English Civil War, Restoration of Charles II, and reforms following the Judicature Acts—affected the Inns' governance and privileges, including rights of audience in the House of Lords and practice before courts presided over by judges like Lord Denning.

Organization and Membership

Each Inn—Lincoln's Inn, Gray's Inn, Middle Temple, Inner Temple—functions as a professional association with governing Benchers, including senior members such as retired judges from the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom, King's Counsel who served in cases before the European Court of Human Rights, and legal academics from University of Oxford, University of Cambridge, London School of Economics, and King's College London. Membership pathways historically required admission as a student and progression to call to the bar by Benchers like Lord Chief Justice, with traditions involving readers and treasurers similar to offices held by practitioners who later served in offices such as Attorney General for England and Wales or as Lord Chancellor. The Inns maintain disciplinary tribunals and committees that interact with statutory regulators such as the Bar Standards Board and entities like the Bar Council and engage with international bodies including the International Bar Association.

Role in Legal Education and Training

The Inns have long provided vocational training, combining moot courts, dining qualifications, and advocacy exercises with lectures by practitioners associated with cases heard at the European Court of Justice and scholars who write for journals such as the Law Quarterly Review and texts like Commentaries on the Laws of England. Historically, pupils studied under serjeants and judges whose opinions were reported in law reports compiled by reporters like Plowden and Coke Reports; later integration with university legal education involved collaborations with faculties at Oxford, Cambridge, and University College London. Professional qualification reforms, apprenticeships, pupillages, and pupillage supervisors often reference precedents from decisions in the House of Lords and submissions before international tribunals where members represented parties in cases like those concerning the European Convention on Human Rights.

Traditions, Customs, and Culture

Customs include collegiate dining, called "commons" or "dining terms", ceremonies presided over by Benchers, and gowns and wigs worn on occasions associated with hearings at the Royal Courts of Justice and ceremonial sittings reminiscent of processions recorded at Westminster Abbey and St Paul's Cathedral for state events. Celebrated alumni such as Francis Bacon, Oliver Cromwell, William Shakespeare (connected via patrons and contemporaries), and jurists like Edward Coke have contributed to legal oratory traditions emulated in moots and lectures, while patrons and guest speakers have included politicians and judges who sat in the Privy Council or served at the International Court of Justice. Rituals linked to admittance and call to the bar reference ancient charters granted by monarchs including Henry VIII and royal instruments during the reign of Elizabeth I.

Buildings and Architecture

The Inns’ complexes contain halls, libraries, gardens, and chambers built and rebuilt after events such as the Great Fire of London and wartime damage during the London Blitz. Architecturally notable elements include timber-framed Tudor buildings, Jacobean halls, Gothic features near Temple Church, and neoclassical additions influenced by architects like Inigo Jones and later restorations reflecting styles employed by Sir Christopher Wren and Victorian architects involved with the Royal Courts of Justice. Libraries hold manuscripts, early law reports, and rare volumes alongside portraits of figures like Lord Mansfield and William Blackstone, and their gardens and squares recall historic waterside layouts close to the River Thames.

Notable Inns and Influence Abroad

The four principal societies—Lincoln's Inn, Gray's Inn, Middle Temple, Inner Temple—have produced alumni who became judges, legislators, and colonial administrators serving in institutions such as the Privy Council of the United Kingdom, colonial judiciaries in India, Australia, Canada, and offices in the British Empire linked to legal transplantation of common law; notable bar members influenced constitutions and codes in jurisdictions referencing English precedent like those that adopted principles from Common Law traditions. Their alumni network includes figures who later shaped international law before bodies such as the Permanent Court of International Justice and the International Criminal Court, and their model inspired societies and Inns in former colonies and common law systems including associations in Hong Kong, New Zealand, South Africa, and Nigeria.

Category:Legal history of England