25 February 1941 – 30 June 2013
John Tiley was appointed to a lectureship in the Cambridge Law Faculty in 1967. He remained with the Faculty for the rest of his long and distinguished career. In 1990 he became the Faculty’s first ever Professor of the Law of Taxation, a position he held until his retirement in 2008. John was a pioneer of academic scholarship on tax law in the UK and his influence, both on other scholars and on tax practitioners, was immense. With support from the Chartered Institute of Taxation, the International Fiscal Association Congress Trustees and KPMG, in 2001 he founded the Faculty’s Centre for Tax Law to promote the study of the law of taxation as an intellectual as a well as a practical discipline. A Fellow of the British Academy, he was appointed CBE in 2003 for his services to tax law and policy.
As Chairman of the Faculty between 1992 and 1995, John oversaw the move to the new Law Faculty Building on the Sidgwick Site. John’s vision was that a Faculty Building would promote a more cohesive and intellectually vibrant community of scholars. John’s own hard work, determination and enthusiasm played a key part in the achievement of the physical goal. More importantly, John’s broader vision has also been realised. The Faculty Building has become the hub of intellectual life in the Faculty, not only for its teaching members and students but also for the many visitors from the UK and abroad, some of whom spend occasional hours or days here attending conferences, seminars and events, and some of whom come for more extended visits. John was always very supportive of and interested in the work of other teaching members of the Faculty, particularly those at the start of their career whom he nurtured and encouraged.
John was a dedicated teacher. Such was his passion for his subject and his enjoyment of interaction with students that he continued to teach for the Faculty after his retirement. He also remained a very committed Fellow of Queens’ College For over 46 years, he filled most of the major College Offices, including Senior Bursar and Vice-President. As Director of Studies in Law, and as a committed supervisor, he taught and mentored generations of Queens’ undergraduates, many of whom achieved distinction in their legal careers.
Image: Professor John Tiley with the HRH The Duke of Edinburgh at the opening of the Faculty of Law, 1995 (Malcolm Clarke)