Cork Materials from Professor Muir Hunter QC's collection - now at Kingston Law School

Professor Muir Hunter QC's entire collection of Cork Report materials is now being catalogued at Kingston Law School (KLS). This material joins the Poulson Bankruptcy Archive materials and Sithole Trial papers, which are already at the KLS. The Cork Report tranche of materials includes, inter alia:
  • all of the minutes of every meeting of the committee (they had at least 51 as far as I can currently work out),
  • the position papers (at least 156 of these summaries), including one (ILRC 61ST MTG) on the rights of spouses which is entitled: "The Gay Brigade." It notes, "Not only are spouses today treated as for practically all purposes equal, but persons (of different and even of the sasme sex) living together are beginning to be treated by the legislature and by the courts as "quasi-spouses.""
  • notes to members from Commander Traynor and others,
  • the views of the "Chancery Judges" on Romalpa clauses (with a cover letter from Sir Robert Megarry, VC),
  • EEC Bankruptcy Convention advisory committee materials,
  • EEC draft conventions and papers on the drivers for reform,
  • Department of Trade press releases and other documents and correspondence,
  • radio interview transcripts,
  • press cuttings,
  • annotated drafts of chapter proofs,
  • Justice committee materials
  • statistics
  • correspondence between members of the committee,
  • correspondence between Ministers of State, MPs and other interested politicians to the committee,
  • submissions from interested parties,
  • committee member papers, and many other species of document.
It is a scholastic goldmine! One "Verbatim recording of the Review committee's fifth Meeting" contains the following statement by Sir Kenneth Cork (pictured) on Deeds of Arrangement:
"Alfred [Goldman], I'm always arguing with you and I'm going to argue at this moment. There may be only 128 but I reckon that in individual insolvency it probably takes 60 or 70% of the total assets."
...
"Alfred, I agree with you but only thing which worries me is that you say get rid of Deeds. I was rather hoping that you got rid of bankruptcies and that we have in fact a Deed, a kind of bankruptcy which is for good people which is similar to a Deed but with the same powers as
bankruptcy...So we are with you on this absolutely, that we have a sort of voluntary bankruptcy without a stigma, or less stigma anyway"
This exchange occured in 1977. Sound familiar?! I will add up more gems on to the blog as the catalogue is constructed. If any scholars would like access to the archives please email me.

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