ABSTRACT
The summer and late autumn of 1941 were a bad time for British affairs. The whole of Europe had turned into a fortress under Nazi domination. It was Lord Atkin's dissent, and particularly the terms in which it was couched, which ensured that the decision received national attention on the morning of Tuesday, November 4, 1941. The wartime newspapers gave it as much space as they could manage and several accompanied their reports with leading articles. Those who took part in the decision of the House of Lords in the case of Liversidge v. Anderson could wish for no better statement of the reasons which guided the House, in affirming the views of so many eminent judges. The original Regulation 18b conferred on the Home Secretary an absolute discretion to detain persons if he was 'satisfied' of certain things. The debate in the House of Commons resulted, as was to be expected, in a substantial victory for the Government.
