Sir James William Colvile (12 January 1810 – 6 December 1880) was a British lawyer, civil servant and then judge in India, and a judge on the

Judicial Committee of the Privy Council The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (JCPC) is the highest court of appeal for the Crown Dependencies, the British Overseas Territories, some Commonwealth countries and a few institutions in the United Kingdom. Established on 14 Aug ...

, the

court of last resort A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

for the British colonies.

Life

He was born the eldest son of Andrew Wedderburn Colvile of Ochiltree and Crombie, Fife and educated at

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, ...

and

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge or Oxford. ...

, where he graduated MA in 1834. He trained as a barrister and was called to the bar in 1835. He practised at Lincoln's Inn for ten years before being appointed Advocate General to the

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and South ...

in 1845. He went to Calcutta and was appointed

Puisne Judge A puisne judge or puisne justice (; from french: puisné or ; , 'since, later' + , 'born', i.e. 'junior') is a dated term for an ordinary judge or a judge of lesser rank of a particular court. Use The term is used almost exclusively in common law ...

to the Supreme Court of Bengal in 1848 and Chief Justice of Bengal in 1855. He was knighted in 1848. He was the first Vice Chancellor of the

University of Calcutta The University of Calcutta (informally known as Calcutta University; CU) is a public collegiate state university in India, located in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. Considered one of best state research university all over India every year, ...

. He served in this office for two years, from 24 January 1857 to 24 January 1859. He was president of

The Asiatic Society The Asiatic Society is a government of India organisation founded during the Company rule in India to enhance and further the cause of "Oriental research", in this case, research into India and the surrounding regions. It was founded by the p ...

. He retired and returned to England in 1859. He was made a Privy Councillor, initially as an Assessor to the Judicial Committee of the Council of India appeals, and eventually as a full member of the

. He gave the decision of the Judicial Committee in two constitutional cases from Canada dealing with federal jurisdiction over railways: ''

Dow v. Black Dow v Black is a Canadian constitutional law decision. It was one of the first major cases examining in detail the division of powers between the federal Parliament and the provincial Legislatures, set out in the ''Constitution Act, 1867'' ( ...

'' (1875), and '' Bourgoin v La Compagnie du Chemin de Fer de Montréal, Ottawa & Occidental, and Ross'' (1880). In April, 1875 he was elected a

fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural knowledge, including mathemat ...

. He died in London, of heart failure on 6 December 1880.

Family

He married in 1857 Frances Elinor, daughter of Sir

John Peter Grant Sir John Peter Grant, GCMG, KCB, (28 November 1807 – 6 January 1893), was a British colonial administrator who served as Lieutenant-Governor of Bengal (1859–1862) and as Governor of Jamaica. Life John Peter Grant was born in London on 28 ...

, K.C.B., G.C.M.G., of Rothiemurchus, lieutenant-governor of Lower Bengal. They had one son, Andrew John Wedderburn, born in 1859, who died in 1876.

References

;Attribution

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Colvile, James William 1810 births 1880 deaths People educated at Eton College Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge 19th-century English judges Members of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council Vice Chancellors of the University of Calcutta Fellows of the Royal Society Presidents of The Asiatic Society Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom