ABSTRACT
Lord Denning did not take an analytical approach to identifying questions of law, any more than Katharine took an analytical approach to identifying the moon. The distinction between law and fact can be important in a variety of legal contexts: mistakes of fact and mistakes of law may be treated differently in criminal law, and mistakes or misrepresentations of fact and of law may be treated differently in contract law. Rules of pleading typically require a party to plead facts, and prohibit the pleading of law. One of several tools that Lord Denning has devised is to ask whether "the correct conclusion to be drawn from the primary facts requires, for its correctness, determination by a trained lawyer". Like "mixed question of fact and law", this is a baffling turn of phrase. But at least its effect is clear: calling a question a "question of fact and degree" always implies that a tribunal's judgment is protected.
