Sir David Alexander Ogilvy Edward (born 14 November 1934) is a Scottish

lawyer A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters. The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as w ...

and

academic An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

, and former

Judge A judge is a person who wiktionary:preside, presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a judicial panel. In an adversarial system, the judge hears all the witnesses and any other Evidence (law), evidence presented by the barris ...

of the Court of Justice of the European Communities. Sir David is an Honorary Fellow of University College, Oxford; Honorary Professor of the University of Edinburgh and Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. He is also an Honorary Sheriff of the

Sheriffdom A sheriffdom is a judicial district in Scotland, led by a sheriff principal. Since 1 January 1975, there have been six sheriffdoms. Each sheriffdom is divided into a series of sheriff court districts, and each sheriff court is presided over by a r ...

of Tayside, Central and Fife at

Perth, Scotland Perth (; ) is a centrally located Cities of Scotland, Scottish city, on the banks of the River Tay. It is the administrative centre of Perth and Kinross council area and is the historic county town of Perthshire. It had a population of about ...

Early life and marriage

Born in 1934 at

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

, Edward was educated at Perth Academy, Clifton Hall School and

Sedbergh School Sedbergh School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English Private schools in the United Kingdom, private boarding school, boarding and day school, day school) in the town of Sedbergh in Cumbria, North West England. It comprise ...

. He then went up to read Classics at

University College, Oxford University College, formally The Master and Fellows of the College of the Great Hall of the University commonly called University College in the University of Oxford and colloquially referred to as "Univ", is a Colleges of the University of Oxf ...

, taking a break midway to become commissioned in the Royal Navy for

National Service National service is a system of compulsory or voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act ...

(HMS Hornet, 1956–57), and Law at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

. He married Elizabeth McSherry in 1962; they have 2 daughters and 2 sons.

Early career – advocate and academic

Edward was called to the Bar in 1962 and appointed

Queen's Counsel A King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) is a senior lawyer appointed by the monarch (or their Viceroy, viceregal representative) of some Commonwealth realms as a "Counsel learned in the law". When the reigning monarc ...

in 1974. He subsequently served as Clerk and then Treasurer of the Faculty, and represented the Faculty at the Consultative Committee of the Bars and Law Societies of the European Community, of which he served as President between 1978–80. He was Salvesen Professor of European Institutions and Director of the Europa Institute at the School of Law of the

from 1985 to 1989, during which time he served on three occasions as Specialist Adviser to the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

Select Committee on the

European Communities The European Communities (EC) were three international organizations that were governed by the same set of Institutions of the European Union, institutions. These were the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC), the European Atomic Energy Co ...

. Edward served as a Director of The Harris Tweed Authority from 1984–89.

European Court of Justice

In 1989, Edward was appointed one of the inaugural Judges of the newly created European

Court of First Instance A trial court or court of first instance is a court having original jurisdiction, in which trials take place. Appeals from the decisions of trial courts are usually heard by higher courts with the power of appellate review (appellate courts). ...

, and in 1992 was appointed Judge of the

European Court of Justice The European Court of Justice (ECJ), officially the Court of Justice (), is the supreme court of the European Union in matters of European Union law. As a part of the Court of Justice of the European Union, it is tasked with interpreting ...

, a position from which he retired in 2004. "A True European", a collection of essays for Sir David Edward, was published on his retirement, including "Tales from the Tartan Chambers".

Retirement and later career

Edward sat as a temporary judge of the

Court of Session The Court of Session is the highest national court of Scotland in relation to Civil law (common law), civil cases. The court was established in 1532 to take on the judicial functions of the royal council. Its jurisdiction overlapped with othe ...

in Scotland, hearing civil appeals, until 2009. He was promoted Knight Commander of the

Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince of Wales (the future King George IV), while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III ...

in 2004, having been appointed Companion of that Order in 1981, and in December 2005 was sworn of the Privy Council. He is the Chairman of the Carnegie Trust for the Universities of Scotland and was Chairman of the Scottish Council of Independent Schools from 2005 to 2010. He is an Honorary Fellow of

and an Honorary

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 c ...

Gray's Inn The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister in England and Wale ...

. He is Professor Emeritus of the School of Law of the

, and Chairman of its Europa Institute. Elected a Fellow of the

Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE) is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was establis ...

, in 2005 he received the Society's Royal Gold Medal. In 2011, he was appointed as the Honorary President of the Scottish Arbitration Centre. Edward is a Member of the Panel of Arbitrators, International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes and member of the Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution Distinguished Panel of Third-Party Neutrals. Edward was awarded the Distinguished Cross First Class of the Order of St. Raymond of Peñafort by the newly-restored Kingdom of Spain in 1979, and in 2012 the Republic of France appointed him Officer of the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

(Officier de la Légion d'honneur) and Knight (Chevalier) of the

Ordre des Arts et des Lettres The Order of Arts and Letters () is an order of France established on 2 May 1957 by the Minister of Culture. Its supplementary status to the was confirmed by President Charles de Gaulle in 1963. Its purpose is the recognition of significant ...

. Edward was a member of the Commission on Scottish Devolution chaired by Professor Sir Kenneth Calman,

Chancellor Chancellor () is a title of various official positions in the governments of many countries. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the (lattice work screens) of a basilica (court hall), which separa ...

of the

University of Glasgow The University of Glasgow (abbreviated as ''Glas.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals; ) is a Public university, public research university in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded by papal bull in , it is the List of oldest universities in continuous ...

. He was a member of the UK Commission on a Bill of Rights, 2011–12. Edward published an influential analysis of the position in

European Union law European Union law is a system of Supranational union, supranational Law, laws operating within the 27 member states of the European Union (EU). It has grown over time since the 1952 founding of the European Coal and Steel Community, to promote ...

if there were a vote in favour of Scottish independence in the

2014 Scottish independence referendum A independence referendum, referendum on Scottish independence from the United Kingdom was held in Scotland on 18 September 2014. The referendum question was "Should Scotland be an independent country?", which voters answered with "Yes" or ...

as well as an opinion on Scotland's position in the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

in a 2013/14 memorial to fellow jurist, Lord Rodger of Earlsferry, and a 2014 lecture on the "Constitutional Implications of the Independence Referendum" to the Centre for Global Constitutionalism at the

University of St Andrews The University of St Andrews (, ; abbreviated as St And in post-nominals) is a public university in St Andrews, Scotland. It is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, oldest of the four ancient universities of Scotland and, f ...

.. On 8 March 2013, Sir David delivered the Europa Institute/ UACES Lecture, at the

, on "The Moral Case for Europe". Since 2016 he has spoken and written about the negative impact of UK withdrawal from the EU on legal standards,

human Humans (''Homo sapiens'') or modern humans are the most common and widespread species of primate, and the last surviving species of the genus ''Homo''. They are Hominidae, great apes characterized by their Prehistory of nakedness and clothing ...

and

employment Employment is a relationship between two party (law), parties Regulation, regulating the provision of paid Labour (human activity), labour services. Usually based on a employment contract, contract, one party, the employer, which might be a cor ...

rights, and

Scots law Scots law () is the List of country legal systems, legal system of Scotland. It is a hybrid or mixed legal system containing Civil law (legal system), civil law and common law elements, that traces its roots to a number of different histori ...

References

External links

Professor Sir David Edward, Edinburgh Law School

University of Denver, Sir David Edward Oral History site
*
University of Denver Biography of Sir David Edward
{{DEFAULTSORT:Edward, David Alexander Ogilvy 1934 births Living people Scottish legal scholars People from Perth, Scotland People educated at Perth Academy People educated at Clifton Hall School People educated at Sedbergh School Alumni of University College, Oxford Alumni of the University of Edinburgh School of Law Academics of the University of Edinburgh Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh 20th-century Scottish judges Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George Members of the Faculty of Advocates European Court of Justice judges Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Scottish King's Counsel 20th-century King's Counsel European Union law scholars 21st-century Scottish judges British judges of international courts and tribunals Chevaliers of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres Officers of the Legion of Honour Lawyers awarded knighthoods