John Duncan Martin Derrett (more usually J Duncan M Derrett) (born 30 August 1922) was Professor of Oriental Laws in the University of London

University of London

-20th century:Shortly after 6 Burlington Gardens was vacated, the University went through a period of rapid expansion. Bedford College, Royal Holloway and the London School of Economics all joined in 1900, Regent's Park College, which had affiliated in 1841 became an official divinity school of the...

, from 1965 to 1982, and is now Emeritus Professor.

Derrett was educated at Emanuel School

Emanuel School

Emanuel School is a co-educational independent school in Battersea, south-west London. The school was founded by Lady Dacre and Elizabeth I in 1594. Today it has some 710 pupils, aged between ten and eighteen.-History:...

, London, Jesus College, Oxford

Jesus College, Oxford

Jesus College is one of the colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It is in the centre of the city, on a site between Turl Street, Ship Street, Cornmarket Street and Market Street...

 and the School of Oriental and African Studies

School of Oriental and African Studies

The School of Oriental and African Studies is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and a constituent college of the University of London...

, London and was called to the bar by Gray's Inn

Gray's Inn

The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court in London. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and Wales, an individual must belong to one of these Inns...

 in 1953. He is the author of a number of works on law

Law

Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...

 and the history of systems of law, India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

, religion

Religion

Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to...

 (particularly Christianity

Christianity

Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...

) and comparative religion

Comparative religion

Comparative religion is a field of religious studies that analyzes the similarities and differences of themes, myths, rituals and concepts among the world's religions...

, latterly particularly of comparisons of Christianity with Buddhism

Buddhism

Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...

. Derrett has also translated works by others into English.

Derrett appeared briefly in Dr Robert Beckford

Robert Beckford

Robert Beckford is a British academic theologian and a reader in black theology and popular culture at Oxford Brookes University, whose documentaries for both the BBC and Channel 4 have caused controversy and debate among the Christian and British religious community.-Biography:Beckford was born...

's television documentary The Hidden Story of Jesus (premiered on Channel 4

Channel 4

Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...

 on 25 December 2007) discussing similarities between some Christian and Buddhist teachings and possible historical reasons for those similarities.

Books

• The Hoysalas (1957)
• Introduction to Modern Hindu Law (1963)
• Studies in the Laws of Succession in Nigeria (1965)
• Oriental Lawyer Looks at the Trial of Jesus and the Doctrine of the Redemption (Inaugural Lectures) (1966)
• An introduction to legal systems (1968)
• Religion, Law and the State in India (Law in India) (1968, 1999)
• Law in the New Testament (1970)
• Jesus' Audience: The social and psychological environment in which He worked; prolegomena to a restatement of the teaching of Jesus. Lectures at Newquay (1972)
• Henry Swinburne (? 1551-1624), Civil Lawyer of York (Borthwick Papers) (1973)
• Dharmasastra and juridical literature (A History of Indian literature. Vol. 4, Scientific and technical literature) (1973)
• Essays in Classical and Modern Hindu Law: Dharmasastra and Related Ideas v. 1 (Asian Studies) (1976)
• Studies in the New Testament: Glimpses of the Legal and Social Presuppositions of the Authors v. 1 (1977)
• Essays in Classical and Modern Hindu Law: Consequences of the Intellectual Exchange with the Foreign Powers (1977)
• Essays in Classical and Modern Hindu Law: Anglo-Hindu Legal Problems (1977)
• Essays in Classical and Modern Hindu Law: Current Problems and the Legacy of the Past (1978)
• Studies in the New Testament: Midrash in Action and as a Literary Device v. 2 (1978)
• Beiträge zu indischem Rechtsdenken (Studien zu nichteuropäischen Rechtstheorien) (1979)
• Dr. St. John: A civil lawyer in the Indies (1980)
• Anastasis, The: Resurrection of Jesus as an Historical Event (1982)
• Making of Mark: Scriptural Bases of the Earliest Gospel (1985)
• Studies in the New Testament: Midrash, Haggadah and the Character of the Community v. 3 (1985)
• Studies in the New Testament: Midrash, the Composition of Gospels and Discipline v. 4 (Biblical Studies) (1986)
• New Resolutions of Old Conundrums: Fresh Insight into Luke's Gospel (1987)
• Studies in the New Testament: The Sea-change of the Old Testament in the New v. 5 (Studies in the New Testament) (1989)
• The Ascetic Discourse: An Explanation of the Sermon on the Mount (1989)
• The Victim : The Johannine Passion Narrative Reexamined (1993)
• Sermon on the Mount: A Manual for Living (1994)
• Prophecy in the Cotswolds 1803-1947: Joanna Southcott and Spiritual Reform (1994)
• Studies in Hindu law: Law and religion in ancient India : family law in ancient India (with an account of modern developments) (Pubblicazioni di "Indologica taurienensia" : collana di letture) (1994)
• Studies in the New Testament: Jesus Among Biblical Exegetes v. 6 (Studies in the New Testament) (1995)
• Two Masters: Buddha and Jesus (1995)
• Some Telltale Words in the New Testament (1997)
• Law and Morality (1998)
• The Bible and the Buddhists (Bibbia e Oriente. Supplementum) (2000)

Translations

• The Classical Law of India by Robert Lingat
  Robert Lingat
  Robert Lingat , was a French professor and academic scholar most known for writing a very important book on the history of Indian Law.- Life :...
  
  (1967, in French), English translation by J Duncan M Derrett (1973)