Sir Duncan Wallace McMullin (1 May 1927 – 26 June 2017) was a New Zealand jurist. He was a judge of the

Court of Appeal of New Zealand The Court of Appeal of New Zealand () is the principal intermediate appellate court of New Zealand. It is also the final appellate court for a number of matters. In practice, most appeals are resolved at this intermediate appellate level, rathe ...

Court of Appeal of Fiji The Court of Appeal of Fiji is one of three courts that were established by Chapter 9 of the 1997 Constitution, the others being the High Court and the Supreme Court. The Court of Appeal was a new institution established when the 1997 Constitut ...

and Cook Islands Court of Appeal.

Early life and family

Born in the

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

suburb of

Mount Eden Mount Eden is a suburb in Auckland, New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Z ...

on 1 May 1927, McMullin was the son of Charles James McMullin and Kathleen Annie McMullin (née Shout). He was educated at

Auckland Grammar School Auckland Grammar School (often simplified to Auckland Grammar, or Grammar), established in 1869, is a State school, state, Day school, day and Boarding school, boarding secondary school for Single-sex education, boys in Auckland, New Zealand. ...

from 1940, and went on to study at

Auckland University College The University of Auckland (; Māori: ''Waipapa Taumata Rau'') is a public research university based in Auckland, New Zealand. The institution was established in 1883 as a constituent college of the University of New Zealand. Initially loca ...

, from where he graduated LLB in 1950. He married Isobel Margaret Atkinson in about 1954, and they had four children.

Career

Following his graduation, McMullin practised as a barrister and solicitor before serving as a judge of the

Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

(now the High Court) and the

Court of Appeal An appellate court, commonly called a court of appeal(s), appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to Hearing (law), hear a Legal case, case upon appeal from a trial court or other ...

. He chaired the Royal Commission on Contraception, Sterilisation and Abortion between 1975 and 1977, and also served as chair of the Wanganui Computer Centre policy committee, the

New Zealand Conservation Authority The New Zealand Conservation Authority / Te Pou Atawhai Taiao O Aotearoa is an independent statutory body that advises the Minister of Conservation and Director-General of Conservation on conservation issues of national importance. Role Its ...

, and the Market Surveillance Committee for the New Zealand Electricity Market. McMullin was appointed as a member of 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 August ...

on 21 May 1980. Other roles included chairing the judicial commission of the

Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand The Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand (PCANZ) is a major Christian denomination in New Zealand. A part of the Reformed tradition, it is the largest Presbyterian denomination in New Zealand, and known for its relatively progressive stan ...

, and membership of the

New Zealand Stock Exchange New Zealand's Exchange (), known commonly as the NZX, is the national stock exchange for New Zealand and a publicly owned company. NZX is the parent company of Smartshares, and Wealth Technologies. , the NZX had a total of 179 listed securiti ...

standing committee.

Honours

In the 1987 New Year Honours, McMullin was appointed a

Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised Order of chivalry, orders of chivalry; it is a part of the Orders, decorations, and medals ...

, in recognition of his role as a judge of the Court of Appeal. He was conferred with his knighthood at

Buckingham Palace Buckingham Palace () is a royal official residence, residence in London, and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and r ...

on 22 July 1987.

Death

McMullin died on 26 June 2017. His wife, Isobel, Lady McMullin, died in 2023.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McMullin, Duncan 1927 births 2017 deaths Lawyers from Auckland People educated at Auckland Grammar School University of Auckland alumni High Court of New Zealand judges Court of Appeal of New Zealand judges Members of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council New Zealand Knights Bachelor New Zealand Presbyterians New Zealand judges on the courts of Fiji New Zealand judges on the courts of the Cook Islands New Zealand members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom