James William Rant CB QC (16 April 1936 – 25 May 2003) was a British judge and the Judge Advocate General from 1991 until his death in 2003.

Early life and education

Rant was born on 16 April 1936 in the Romford district of Essex and was educated at

Stowe School The Stowe School is a public school (English private boarding school) for pupils aged 13–18 in the countryside of Stowe, England. It was opened on 11 May, 1923 at Stowe House, a Grade I Heritage Estate belonging to the British Crown. ...

and

Selwyn College, Cambridge Selwyn College, Cambridge is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1882 by the Selwyn Memorial Committee in memory of George Selwyn (bishop of Lichfield), Georg ...

. He graduated from Selwyn College in 1958 and was

called to the Bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

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 ...

in 1961.

Career

Rant practised general law until 1970, when he began to specialise in criminal law. He became a QC in 1980 and by 1984 had become a circuit judge, sitting at the Old Bailey from 1986. In 1991, he was appointed the Judge Advocate General, the first for a long time without a background or connection to the military. He made reforms to the court-martial system, including a centralised administration system for Army and Royal Air Force courts-martial and the introduction of judge advocates. He further reformed the system to reflect the introduction of the Human Rights Act including the creation of summary appeal courts. Rant was appointed a

Companion of the Order of the Bath Companion may refer to: Relationships Currently * Any of several interpersonal relationships such as friend or acquaintance * A domestic partner, akin to a spouse * Sober companion, an addiction treatment coach * Companion (caregiving), a caregi ...

in the

1995 Birthday Honours The Queen's Birthday Honours 1995 were appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours are awarded as part of the Queen's Of ...

Personal life

Rant married in 1963 and had two daughters and two sons. He died on 25 May 2003, aged 67.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rant, James 1936 births 2003 deaths 21st-century English judges English King's Counsel People educated at Stowe School Alumni of Selwyn College, Cambridge Companions of the Order of the Bath 20th-century English judges