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Harvey McGregor
CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
QC (25 February 1926 – 27 June 2015) was a British barrister and was Warden of New College, Oxford, from 1985 to 1996.


Early life

The son of William Guthrie Robertson McGregor and Agnes McGregor ( née Reid), McGregor was educated at
Inverurie Academy Inverurie Academy is a secondary school in Inverurie, Aberdeenshire. The school is one of the 42 secondary schools run by Aberdeenshire Council. Inverurie Academy is located on Jackson Street, Inverurie. History Built in the Victorian Period, the ...
, Scarborough High School, and
Queen's College, Oxford The Queen's College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford, England. The college was founded in 1341 by Robert de Eglesfield in honour of Philippa of Hainault. It is distinguished by its predominantly neoclassical architecture, ...
, where he held the Hastings Scholarship and graduated BA in 1951, BCL in 1952, MA in 1955, and DCL in 1983. Before going up to Oxford, McGregor served as a Flying Officer in the
Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...
for two years, from 1946 to 1948.


Career

McGregor was called to the bar from the
Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional associations for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and ...
in 1955 and became a
Bencher A bencher or Master of the Bench is a senior member of an Inn of Court in England and Wales or the Inns of Court in Northern Ireland, or the Honorable Society of King's Inns in Ireland. Benchers hold office for life once elected. A bencher ca ...
in 1985. He was admitted to the
Faculty of Advocates The Faculty of Advocates is an independent body of lawyers who have been admitted to practise as advocates before the courts of Scotland, especially the Court of Session and the High Court of Justiciary. The Faculty of Advocates is a constit ...
in 1995.McGREGOR, Harvey
, in ''Who's Who 2008'', A & C Black, 2008, online edition by Oxford University Press, December 2007, accessed 26 August 2008
He was Bigelow teaching Fellow in the
University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chic ...
, 1950–1951, Visiting Professor at
New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, th ...
and
Rutgers University Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College, and was ...
at various times between 1963 and 1969 and at the
University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...
from 1998. He was a consultant to the Law Commission, 1966–1973. President, Harvard Law School Association of the UK, 1981–2001, and Member of the Academy of European Private Lawyers, from 1994. Independent Chairman, London Theatre Council and The Theatre Council (formerly Provincial Theatre Council), from 1992 (and Deputy Chairman, 1971–1992). President, Oxford Stage Company, from 1992, and Trustee of the
Oxford Union Society The Oxford Union Society, commonly referred to simply as the Oxford Union, is a debating society in the city of Oxford England, whose membership is drawn primarily from the University of Oxford. Founded in 1823, it is one of Britain's oldest ...
, 1977 to 2004 (Chairman of Trustees, 1994–2004), a Fellow of
Winchester College Winchester College is a public school (fee-charging independent day and boarding school) in Winchester, Hampshire, England. It was founded by William of Wykeham in 1382 and has existed in its present location ever since. It is the oldest of ...
, 1985 to 1996, and a Trustee of the Migraine Trust since 1999. McGregor was appointed
Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...
(CBE) in the 2014 New Year Honours for services to law and education. He died at the age of 89 on 27 June 2015.


Selected publications

*''McGregor on Damages'' (12th Edition published 1961 to 20th Edition Published 2017) *''Contract Code'' (1993) *contributor to ''International Encyclopedia of Comparative Law'' (1972) At the ''
Modern Law Review The ''Modern Law Review'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal published by John Wiley & Sons on behalf of Modern Law Review Ltd. and which has traditionally maintained close academic ties with the Law Department of the London School of Economics. ...
'', McGregor was a member of the editorial board since 1986 and was previously a member of the Editorial Committee from 1967. The
Law Commission A law commission, law reform commission, or law revision commission is an independent body set up by a government to conduct law reform; that is, to consider the state of laws in a jurisdiction and make recommendations or proposals for legal chang ...
, together with the Scots Law Commission, asked McGregor to produce a proposal for the codification and union of the contract law of England and Scotland, which are based in
Common Law In law, common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law created by judges and similar quasi-judicial tribunals by virtue of being stated in written opinions."The common law is not a brooding omnipres ...
. He did so in ''Contract Code'' (1993). This work was not adopted by either Law Commission, so McGregor got it published by an Italian University. His proposals include, ''inter alia'', the abandonment of the English doctrine of consideration. Shortly after publication, the European Commission expressed an interest in the "Contract Code" as the basis for an EU-wide law of contract, but eventually chose not to adopt it. Instead, the EU has looked more kindly on a document, " Principles of European Contract Law", created by the self-styled Commission on European Contract Law (a group of leading contract law academics). In the meantime, the EU passed the
Rome I Regulation The Rome I Regulation (Regulation (EC) No 593/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 June 2008 on the law applicable to contractual obligations) is a regulation which governs the choice of law in the European Union. It is based ...
,
Rome II Regulation The Rome II Regulation (EC) N864/2007is a European Union Regulation regarding the conflict of laws on the law applicable to non-contractual obligations. From 11 January 2009, the Rome II Regulation created a harmonised set of rules within the Euro ...
and the
Rome III Regulation The European Union Divorce Law Pact or Rome III Regulation, formally Council Regulation (EU) No. 1259/2010 of 20 December 2010 implementing enhanced cooperation in the area of the law applicable to divorce and legal separation is a regulation co ...
, all of which have had a mixed reception in English legal circles.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McGregor, Harvey 1926 births 2015 deaths People educated at Inverurie Academy Alumni of The Queen's College, Oxford Wardens of New College, Oxford Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Royal Air Force officers British barristers Members of the Faculty of Advocates Academics of the University of Edinburgh People from Argyll and Bute Members of the Inner Temple University of Chicago faculty New York University faculty Rutgers University faculty People educated at Scarborough High School for Boys