Iain Duncan Macphail, Lord Macphail (24 January 1938 – 21 October 2009) was a Scottish lawyer and

Senator of the College of Justice The senators of the College of Justice in Scotland are judges of the College of Justice, a set of legal institutions involved in the administration of justice in Scotland. There are three types of senator: Lords of Session (judges of the Court ...

, a judge of the country's Supreme Courts.

Early life

Macphail was educated at the

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

George Watson’s College,

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

, and studied 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 ...

( M.A. (Hons.) History 1959), and at the

School of Law A law school (also known as a law centre/center, college of law, or faculty of law) is an institution, professional school, or department of a college or university specializing in legal education, usually involved as part of a process for bec ...

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 ...

(

LL.B. A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...

1962). 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 const ...

in 1963. Between 1963 and 1965, he held a Faulds Fellowship in Law at Glasgow, and was succeeded in this position by Robin McEwan (later Lord McEwan). From 1968 to 1969, he was a lecturer in Evidence and Procedure at the

of the

University of Strathclyde The University of Strathclyde () is a public research university located in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded in 1796 as the Andersonian Institute, it is Glasgow's second-oldest university, having received its royal charter in 1964 as the first techn ...

, and from 1969 to 1972, held the same position at the

of the

Legal career

From 1971 to 1973, Macphail served as Standing Junior Counsel to Scottish Home and Health Department and the

Department of Health and Social Security The Department of Health and Social Security (commonly known as the DHSS) was a Ministry (government department), ministry of the Her Majesty's Government, British government in existence for twenty years from 1968 until 1988, and was headed b ...

. In 1973, he served briefly as an Extra Advocate-Depute, and the same year was appointed a

Sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland, the , which is common ...

of Lanarkshire (later Glasgow and Strathkelvin), based in

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

. From 1978 to 1981, he was Chairman of the Scottish Association for the Study of Delinquency. In 1981, he moved to 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, based at

Alloa Alloa (Received Pronunciation ; Scottish pronunciation /ˈaloʊa/; , possibly meaning "rock plain") is a town in Clackmannanshire in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. It is on the north bank of the Forth at the spot where some say it ceases to ...

, and in 1982 to Lothian and Borders, based at

Linlithgow Linlithgow ( ; ; ) is a town in West Lothian, Scotland. It was historically West Lothian's county town, reflected in the county's historical name of Linlithgowshire. An ancient town, it lies in the Central Belt on a historic route between Edi ...

. He served there until 1989, when he took up office as a Law Commissioner, and was 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 1990. Following completion of his term in 1994, he returned to the shrieval bench at Linlithgow in 1995, and was appointed

Sheriff Principal of Lothian and Borders The Sheriff Principal of Lothian and Borders is the head of the judicial system of the sheriffdom of Lothian and Borders, one of the six sheriffdoms covering the whole of Scotland. The sheriffdom employs a number of legally qualified sheriffs who ...

, and Sheriff of Chancery, in 2002. From 2001 to 2002, he was Arthur Goodhart Visiting Professor in Legal Science at the

Faculty of Law A faculty is a division within a university or college comprising one subject area or a group of related subject areas, possibly also delimited by level (e.g. undergraduate). In North America, academic divisions are sometimes titled colleges, sc ...

of the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

, and from 2003 to 2005, was a member of the Judicial Studies Committee and Chairman of the Sheriff Court Rules Council. He was a member of the editorial board of the Criminal Law Review from 2001 until his death. In 2005, he was appointed a

, a 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 ...

and

High Court of Justiciary The High Court of Justiciary () is the supreme criminal court in Scotland. The High Court is both a trial court and a court of appeal. As a trial court, the High Court sits on circuit at Parliament House or in the adjacent former Sheriff C ...

, the

Supreme Courts of Scotland The College of Justice () includes the Supreme Courts of Scotland, and its associated bodies. The constituent bodies of the national supreme courts are the Court of Session, the High Court of Justiciary, the Office of the Accountant of Court, ...

Publications

*''Evidence'', 1987 (Law Society of Scotland) *''Sheriff Court Practice'', 1988 (W. Green) *''The Laws of Scotland: Stair Memorial Encyclopaedia'', 1990 (Law Society of Scotland), Vol. 10, Title on Evidence

Personal life

Lord Macphail married Rosslyn Graham Lillias in 1970, with whom he had a son and a daughter. He was a Commissioner of the

Northern Lighthouse Board The Northern Lighthouse Board (NLB) is the general lighthouse authority for Scotland and the Isle of Man. It is a non-departmental public body responsible for ocean, marine navigation aids around coastal areas. History The NLB was formed by ...

between 2002 and 2005. He received an honorary

LL.D. A Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) is a doctoral degree in legal studies. The abbreviation LL.D. stands for ''Legum Doctor'', with the double “L” in the abbreviation referring to the early practice in the University of Cambridge to teach both canon law ...

from the

in 1992. He was a member of the

New Club The New Club is a private social club in the New Town, Edinburgh, New Town area of Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded in 1787, it is Scotland's oldest club. The club occupied premises on St Andrew Square from 1809 until 1837, when it moved to purpo ...

. Lord Macphail died after a long illness on 21 October 2009.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Macphail, Iain Duncan 1938 births 2009 deaths People educated at George Watson's College Academics of the University of Edinburgh Academics of the University of Glasgow Academics of the University of Strathclyde Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Alumni of the University of Glasgow Scottish King's Counsel 20th-century King's Counsel Macphail Members of the Faculty of Advocates

Early life

Legal career

Publications

Personal life

See also

References