David Hoffman

Human Rights in the UK: An Introduction to the Human Rights Act 1998
David Hoffman and John Rowe QC (Pearson, 4th edition 2013).

“The authors have combined meticulous scholarship with an enviable ability to express matters, however complex, in clear and understandable terms” (Lord Saville of Newdigate, Foreword to 2nd Edition)

Contents includes an introduction to the theory of human rights,  the background of the Act and how it came to be passed and the constitutional context  so that the discussion is accessible to the student starting on their legal study or the non-lawyer. The book then examines the way in which the Act works in practice, and remedies available under it. The book goes  on to discuss the particular rights embodied in the Act, giving each right separate and detailed consideration, drawing upon case law from both the UK and Europe. Finally, the issue of terrorism is considered in more detail bringing current and controversial debate to the fore.

The Impact of the UK Human Rights Act on Private Law
(editor; published: Cambridge 2011)

‘The chief glory of [the book] lies in its 12 substantive chapters on specific aspects of private law … David Hoffman gives himself three modest pages at the end to reflect on the book’s contents, expressing the hope as he says ‘that the discussion’ in it ‘can assist’ in the effective reception of the HRA into private law … He should be proud of what he has achieved here: a superb partnership between academics and practitioners, a volume very well presented by Cambridge – and an important contribution to legal understanding of the HRA.’ Conor Gearty, Public Law.

Contents includes a full discussion of the theory and debate on horizontal effect and considers how theory matches up with case law; the limits of the Act for private law; and its impact on key areas including privacy, defamation, negligence, nuisance, property, commercial law and employment. Contains  a practical critique of the areas discussed, which will be of academic interest to theorists and of practical benefit to lawyers and judges who wish to understand how the academic debates can be brought to bear in particular cases.
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Arbitration Appeals
chapter co-written with Clive Freedman QC in ‘Civil Appeals’ edited by Michael Burton J, (Sweet & Maxwell, 2nd edition 2013)
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‘Current Law’ annotations for
Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001- co-authored, responsible for material on regimes for nuclear security and security for dangerous substances
Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005
Racial and Religious Hatred Act 2006 and Terrorism Act 2006

Journal of Professional Negligence Bloomsbury Professional JPN (2018) vol 34 p. 52.

David has been published in the new issue of the Journal of Professional Negligence with a book review of Professor Jane Wright’s “Tort Law and Human Rights” (2nd edition).