Otto Kahn-Freund
Encyclopedia
Sir Otto Kahn-Freund was professor of comparative law, University of Oxford
, and a path breaking scholar in labour law
.
. He became an assistant lecturer in law there in 1936 and professor in 1951. He was called to the bar (Middle Temple
) in 1936. He became a British citizen in 1940.
He was appointed professor of comparative law, University of Oxford, and fellow of Brasenose College, Oxford
in 1964 and elected FBA in 1965. He became an honorary bencher of the Middle Temple in 1969 and a QC
in 1972. He was knighted in 1976.
He played an important part in the establishment of labour law as an independent area of legal study, and is credited as the doyen of British Labour Law
.
He laid the groundwork of a philosophical approach toward Labour Law in British scholarship, which had hitherto been characterised by empiricism
. In particular, his concept of "collective laisser-faire" or collective laissez-faire was both a description of the British model of Industrial Relations in the 1960s and a normative model of how industrial relations should be. Industrial relations is conceived as tripartite, with Employers, Employees (through Trade Unions) and the State all engaged as actors. “The relation between an employer and an isolated employee or worker is typically a relation between a bearer of power and one who is not a bearer of power. In its inception it is an act of submission, in its operation it is a condition of subordination.” The concept of collective laisser-faire sets out the idea that the law (and the State) are (and in his earlier work should be) abstentionist, meaning, in this context, that the state should allow capital and collective labour to negotiate freely, without extensive legislative interference unless collective representation is unlikely to yield industrial justice or stability. Philosophically, this can be contrasted with the "market individualism" approach or the "floor-of rights" approach.
He was a member of the Royal Commission on Reform of Trade Unions and Employers' Associations 1965. This became known as the Donovan Commission, and reported in 1968. Otto Kahn-Freund, as the senior lawyer on the commission is widely regarded as having substantially written the Donovan Report published in 1968. The Donovan Report's significance in British Labour Law is hard to overstate, forming the intellectual underpinnings of both the Industrial Relations Act 1971
and the Trade Union and Labour Relations Act 1974
.
Otto Kahn-Freund had a substantial and extensive influence on a generation of British Labour Lawyers, many of whom themselves passed on his influence in their own academic work, such as Bill Wedderburn, Paul Davies, Mark Freedland, Roy Lewis and Jon Clarke.
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
, and a path breaking scholar in labour law
Labour law
Labour law is the body of laws, administrative rulings, and precedents which address the legal rights of, and restrictions on, working people and their organizations. As such, it mediates many aspects of the relationship between trade unions, employers and employees...
.
Biography
Kahn-Freund was born in Frankfurt am Main of Jewish parents and educated at the Goethe-Gymnasium there and Frankfurt University. He became judge of the Berlin labour court, 1929. Dismissed by the Nazis in 1933, he fled to London and became a student at the London School of EconomicsLondon School of Economics
The London School of Economics and Political Science is a public research university specialised in the social sciences located in London, United Kingdom, and a constituent college of the federal University of London...
. He became an assistant lecturer in law there in 1936 and professor in 1951. He was called to the bar (Middle Temple
Middle Temple
The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers; the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn and Lincoln's Inn...
) in 1936. He became a British citizen in 1940.
He was appointed professor of comparative law, University of Oxford, and fellow of Brasenose College, Oxford
Brasenose College, Oxford
Brasenose College, originally Brazen Nose College , is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. As of 2006, it has an estimated financial endowment of £98m...
in 1964 and elected FBA in 1965. He became an honorary bencher of the Middle Temple in 1969 and a QC
Queen's Counsel
Queen's Counsel , known as King's Counsel during the reign of a male sovereign, are lawyers appointed by letters patent to be one of Her [or His] Majesty's Counsel learned in the law...
in 1972. He was knighted in 1976.
He played an important part in the establishment of labour law as an independent area of legal study, and is credited as the doyen of British Labour Law
British labour law
United Kingdom labour law involves the legal relationship between workers, employers and trade unions. People at work in the UK benefit from a minimum charter of employment rights...
.
He laid the groundwork of a philosophical approach toward Labour Law in British scholarship, which had hitherto been characterised by empiricism
Empiricism
Empiricism is a theory of knowledge that asserts that knowledge comes only or primarily via sensory experience. One of several views of epistemology, the study of human knowledge, along with rationalism, idealism and historicism, empiricism emphasizes the role of experience and evidence,...
. In particular, his concept of "collective laisser-faire" or collective laissez-faire was both a description of the British model of Industrial Relations in the 1960s and a normative model of how industrial relations should be. Industrial relations is conceived as tripartite, with Employers, Employees (through Trade Unions) and the State all engaged as actors. “The relation between an employer and an isolated employee or worker is typically a relation between a bearer of power and one who is not a bearer of power. In its inception it is an act of submission, in its operation it is a condition of subordination.” The concept of collective laisser-faire sets out the idea that the law (and the State) are (and in his earlier work should be) abstentionist, meaning, in this context, that the state should allow capital and collective labour to negotiate freely, without extensive legislative interference unless collective representation is unlikely to yield industrial justice or stability. Philosophically, this can be contrasted with the "market individualism" approach or the "floor-of rights" approach.
He was a member of the Royal Commission on Reform of Trade Unions and Employers' Associations 1965. This became known as the Donovan Commission, and reported in 1968. Otto Kahn-Freund, as the senior lawyer on the commission is widely regarded as having substantially written the Donovan Report published in 1968. The Donovan Report's significance in British Labour Law is hard to overstate, forming the intellectual underpinnings of both the Industrial Relations Act 1971
Industrial Relations Act 1971
The Industrial Relations Act 1971 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, since repealed. It was largely based on proposals outlined in the governing Conservative Party's manifesto for the 1970 general election...
and the Trade Union and Labour Relations Act 1974
Trade Union and Labour Relations Act 1974
The Trade Union and Labour Relations Act 1974 was a UK Act of Parliament, now replaced by the Trade Union and Labour Relations Act 1992. The 1974 Act was introduced by the Labour Government, and both repealed and replaced the Conservatives' Industrial Relations Act 1971...
.
Otto Kahn-Freund had a substantial and extensive influence on a generation of British Labour Lawyers, many of whom themselves passed on his influence in their own academic work, such as Bill Wedderburn, Paul Davies, Mark Freedland, Roy Lewis and Jon Clarke.
Publications
- Das soziale Ideal des Reichsarbeitsgerichts (Bensheimer, Mannheim, Berlin, Leipzig 1931)
- The law of carriage by inland transport (Stevens, London 1939)
- Beiträge zum Neuaufbau des deutschen Arbeitsrechts (Renaissance Publ., Welwyn Garden City 1944)
- The Growth of Internationalism in English Private International Law (1960)
- Die Rechtsinstitute des Privatrechts und ihre soziale Funktion (Fischer, Stuttgart 1965) with Karl Renner, translation by Elisabeth Kahn-Freund
- Delictual Liability and the Conflict of Laws (1968)
- Parallelen und Gegensätze im englischen und amerikanischen Privatrecht (Hanstein, Bonn 1970) with Viktor Weidner
- General Problems of Private International Law (1975)
- Labour and the Law (Hamlyn Trust 1972) ISBN 978-0-420-43850-8, (2nd edn Stevens 1977) ISBN: 0420452109
- Arbeit und Recht (Bund, Köln, Frankfurt am Main 1979) translation by Franz Mestitz.
- Kahn-Freund's Labour and the Law (3rd edn Stevens & Sons 1983) introduction by PL Davies and M Freedland
- Arbeitsbeziehungen (Nomos, Baden-Baden 1981)