Sir Donald Neil MacCormick (27 May 1941 – 5 April 2009) was a Scottish

legal philosopher Philosophy of law is a branch of philosophy that examines the nature of law and law's relationship to other systems of norms, especially ethics and political philosophy. It asks questions like "What is law?", "What are the criteria for legal val ...

and politician. He was Regius Professor of Public Law and the Law of Nature and Nations 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 1 ...

from 1972 until 2008. He was a

Member of the European Parliament A Member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament. When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the ECSC) first met in 1952, its ...

1999–2004, member of the

Convention on the Future of Europe The Convention on the Future of the European Union, also known as the European Convention, was a body established by the European Council in December 2001 as a result of the Laeken Declaration. Inspired by the Philadelphia Convention that led to ...

, and officer of the

Scottish National Party The Scottish National Party (SNP; sco, Scots National Pairty, gd, Pàrtaidh Nàiseanta na h-Alba ) is a Scottish nationalist and social democratic political party in Scotland. The SNP supports and campaigns for Scottish independence from th ...

Life and academic career

MacCormick was born in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popu ...

on 27 May 1941, the son of one of the SNP's founders,

John MacCormick John MacDonald MacCormick (20 November 1904 – 13 October 1961) was a Scottish lawyer, Scottish nationalist politician and advocate of Home Rule in Scotland. Early life MacCormick was born in Pollokshields, Glasgow, in 1904. His father was Dona ...

. He was educated at the High School of Glasgow. He graduated MA in philosophy and English literature at the

University of Glasgow , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

, before benefiting from a Snell Exhibition and taking the BA in jurisprudence at

Balliol College, Oxford Balliol College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. One of Oxford's oldest colleges, it was founded around 1263 by John I de Balliol, a landowner from Barnard Castle in County Durham, who provided the ...

. At Oxford, MacCormick came under the influence of Professor

H. L. A. Hart Herbert Lionel Adolphus Hart (18 July 190719 December 1992), known simply as H. L. A. Hart, was an English legal philosopher. He was Professor of Jurisprudence (University of Oxford), Professor of Jurisprudence at Oxford University an ...

, and developed an interest in legal philosophy. In 1982 he was awarded the research degree of LLD by the

. MacCormick was a lecturer in jurisprudence at the School of Law,

University of Dundee , mottoeng = "My soul doth magnify the Lord" , established = 1967 – gained independent university status by Royal Charter1897 – Constituent college of the University of St Andrews1881 – University College , ...

(which was attached to University of St Andrews at that time) from 1965 to 1967. Following this, he was a fellow and tutor in jurisprudence, Balliol College, Oxford 1968–1972, and thereafter held the Regius Chair of Public Law and the Law of Nature and Nations at the

. He was also Leverhulme Research Professor at Edinburgh from 1997 to 1999, and from 2004 to 2008. In addition, he held the position of Dean of Law Faculty between 1973–76 and was sometime Provost of the Faculty Group of Law and Social Science, and Vice-Principal for International Affairs. Professor MacCormick retired from the Regius Chair on 1 February 2008 after completing 36 years as professor (and later senior professor) at the University of Edinburgh. He was accorded with the honour of a series of lectures in his name by the university's

School of Law A law school (also known as a law centre or college of law) is an institution specializing in legal education, usually involved as part of a process for becoming a lawyer within a given jurisdiction. Law degrees Argentina In Argentina, l ...

and delivered the School of Law's opening Tercentenary Lecture, introduced by former Lord President Lord Cullen, on 18 January 2007. He gave his final lecture as Regius Professor, entitled 'Just Law', on Monday 28 January 2008. He continued thereafter in his role as President of the International Association for

Philosophy of Law Philosophy of law is a branch of philosophy that examines the nature of law and law's relationship to other systems of norms, especially ethics and political philosophy. It asks questions like "What is law?", "What are the criteria for legal val ...

and Social Philosophy. He was president of the

International Association for Philosophy of Law and Social Philosophy The International Association for the Philosophy of Law and Social Philosophy (IVR) is a learned society for science and was founded in 1909 as the "Internationale Vereinigung für Rechts- und Wirtschaftsphilosophie". It was renamed to "Internationa ...

. MacCormick was a member of the

Broadcasting Council for Scotland The Audience Council Scotland (ACS) is an organisation that helps the BBC Trust understand the needs, interests and concerns of audiences in Scotland. It was created upon establishment of the BBC Trust in January 2007. It replaced the Broadcastin ...

, of the

Economic and Social Research Council The Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), formerly the Social Science Research Council (SSRC), is part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). UKRI is a non-departmental public body (NDPB) funded by the UK government. ESRC provides fund ...

, of the Research Council of the

European University Institute The European University Institute (EUI) is an international postgraduate and post-doctoral teaching and research institute and an independent body of the European Union with juridical personality, established by the member states to contr ...

, and of the

European Science Foundation The European Science Foundation (ESF) is an association of 11 member organizations devoted to scientific research in 8 European countries. ESF is an independent, non-governmental, non-profit organisation that promotes the highest quality science ...

, as well as of various government departmental committees inquiring into matters of public concern.

Political career

MacCormick stood for the SNP in the Edinburgh Pentlands constituency in

1983 The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning ...

and

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, ...

, coming in fourth place both times. He stood for

Argyll and Bute Argyll and Bute ( sco, Argyll an Buit; gd, Earra-Ghàidheal agus Bòd, ) is one of 32 unitary authority council areas in Scotland and a lieutenancy area. The current lord-lieutenant for Argyll and Bute is Jane Margaret MacLeod (14 July 2020) ...

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; '' Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of ...

and came second. In September 1998 he was selected by delegates at the SNP's conference as a candidate for the 1999 European Parliament elections. He was elected a

, taking a leave of absence from the University of Edinburgh. Professor MacCormick was a member of the

from 2002 to 2003, drafting the proposed

Constitutional Treaty for the European Union The Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe (TCE; commonly referred to as the European Constitution or as the Constitutional Treaty) was an un ratified international treaty intended to create a consolidated constitution for the European ...

. He was voted Scottish Euro MP of the Year in 2001, 2002 and 2003 at the

Scottish Politician of the Year Scottish Politician of the Year is an annual award established in 1999. It is held by '' The Herald'' newspaper in Prestonfield House, Edinburgh. Although the awards ceremony has been held once at the Royal Museum, Prestonfield House Hotel is co ...

Awards, and retired from elected office in 2004 to complete his Leverhulme Research Professorship at Edinburgh. He was elected vice president of the SNP in 1999 and remained in the position until 2004. In 2007 MacCormick was appointed as a special advisor on Europe to the newly elected SNP-led Scottish Government.

Academic works

MacCormick wrote numerous journal articles and books, concentrating both on Law in a European context and the philosophy of law. Works such as ''Legal Right and Social Democracy: Essays in Legal and Political Philosophy'' (1984), ''Legal Reasoning and Legal Theory'' (1978), ''Rhetoric and The Rule of Law'' (2005) and ''Institutions of Law'' (2007) all convey his particular brand of legal philosophy. ''Legal Reasoning and Legal Theory'' answers many of the Dworkinian critiques of the

Hart Hart often refers to: * Hart (deer) Hart may also refer to: Organizations * Hart Racing Engines, a former Formula One engine manufacturer * Hart Skis, US ski manufacturer * Hart Stores, a Canadian chain of department stores * Hart's Reptile Wo ...

ian conception of law, and it is seen by some as showing a middle ground between the two. His final book was ''Practical Reason in Law and Morality'' (2008)

Honours and awards

In 1999, MacCormick was appointed

Queen's Counsel In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel (post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of a queen, is a lawyer (usually a barrister o ...

'honoris causa', and was knighted in the

Queen's Birthday Honours The Birthday Honours, in some Commonwealth realms, mark the King's Official Birthday, reigning British monarch's official birthday by granting various individuals appointment into Order (honour), national or Dynastic order of knighthood, dynastic ...

in 2001 in recognition of services to scholarship in Law. In 2004 he was a recipient of the Royal Society of Edinburgh's Royal Gold Medal for Outstanding Achievement. He was an honorary fellow of

and the recipient of honorary degrees from Queen's University (Canada),

Uppsala University Uppsala University ( sv, Uppsala universitet) is a public research university in Uppsala, Sweden. Founded in 1477, it is the oldest university in Sweden and the Nordic countries still in operation. The university rose to significance during ...

(Sweden), University of Macerata (Italy) and Saarland University (Germany), as well as from Glasgow University,

Queen Margaret University Queen Margaret University is a university, founded in 1875 and located in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is named after the Scottish Queen Saint Margaret. History The university was founded in 1875, as ''The Edinburgh School of Cookery and Domestic ...

and the University of Edinburgh.

Illness and death

Just after retiring from his chair at the University of Edinburgh in 2008, MacCormick was diagnosed with inoperable cancer. Professor MacCormick died on 5 April 2009.

Podcast Recording

"Scottish Politics Today" audio recording / podcast. Recorded on 12 October 2005, in the office of Professor Neil MacCormick at Edinburgh University.

References

External links

Professor Neil Walker's eulogy to Neil MacCormick
at www.law.ed.ac.uk
Edinburgh Legal Theory Research Group, Law School, University of Edinburgh

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Daily Telegraph Daily or The Daily may refer to: Journalism * Daily newspaper, newspaper issued on five to seven day of most weeks * ''The Daily'' (podcast), a podcast by ''The New York Times'' * ''The Daily'' (News Corporation), a defunct US-based iPad new ...

'', 6 April 2009
Obituary
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The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' ( ...