Dr Liron Shmilovits takes runner-up prize in prestigious book competition

Liron’s book, Legal Fictions in Private Law, published by Cambridge University Press in 2022, explores the history and theory of 'legal fictions', or falsehoods that the law knowingly relies on, and answers the questions of which fictions to accept and which to reject. 

“As a law student,” says Liron, “I kept coming across legal fictions and was perplexed: how could the law intentionally rely on falsehoods? As I read more about fictions, I realised that they were mostly a force for good, if an inelegant and unprincipled one. They allowed an inflexible rules-based system to do justice in hard cases. Justified or not, fictions were fascinating. I wrote my PhD dissertation about fictions and that became the basis of the book.”

Liron says the book took him seven years to write, including the doctoral degree. “It may not sound credible, but I enjoyed the whole writing process and never lost interest in the subject. I suppose I must really like research and writing!”

The Inner Temple Book Prize was inaugurated in 2008 to mark the Inn’s longstanding commitment to legal scholarship and the education of law students and of lawyers in practice. Attracting entries from across the globe, the Prize has become one of the highest honours that legal authorship can aspire to.

Liron was presented with his award by Princess Anne, at a ceremony in December at the Inner Temple, in London.

“I found the ceremony rather moving,” says Liron. “It was a singular honour to receive an award from Princess Anne. I didn’t know what to expect. In the event, the Princess Royal was very affable, stayed for a long time and asked us many questions. It was a day to remember.”

Photograph courtesy of Miranda Parry Photography courtesy of The Inner Temple