The story of a Royal Naval cadet at Osborne House, George Arthur Shee commenced in 1908 and became an English xourt “cause célèbre” in 1909.
The bare facts were that George (aged 13) was alleged to have stolen a postal order for five shillings, forged another student’s name and cashed the order, all of which he vehemently denied. The case was brought to Court by the boy’s father because he believed in the boy, who was legally too young to commence a case on his own account.. However, four days into the trial the Admiralty withdrew all charges.
So, what was all the fuss about?
There were several elements involved:
1. The boy was summarily dismissed from the school;
2. He was not accorded a fair trial to which every British subject of the King is entitled;
3. There was no prior official communication with the father;
4. The boy denied the charges.
George’s father brought about the case by a direct Petition to the King, making use of a very old legal right. Note particularly that His Majesty signed the Petition and added the words “LET RIGHT BE DONE”. It should be noted that he did not say “LET JUSTICE BE DONE”. Justice is a relatively straightforward concept. The English Courts deliver verdicts which are generally accepted as representing the achievemnet of Justice. It may be relatively easy to achieve “JUSTICE” through the Courts but it can be very hard TO DO RIGHT, but right can be done and that was what formed the basis of the case.
At the same time, it was acknowledged that private rights may be sacrificed for the public good. So, what has all that got to do with Northern Rock?
In the Court cases involving Northern Rock, Governments created new Law concerning that Bank which had been designed to achieve their objective, which was to demonstrate that Northern Rock shares had no value. Governments of the day acheived that objective. There can be no other interpretation of their actions because that objective was not undertaken “for the public good”.
