Robert Bannatyne Finlay, 1st Viscount Finlay, (11 July 1842 – 9 March 1929), known as Sir Robert Finlay from 1895 to 1916, was a British

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdiction (area), jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include arguing cases in courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, jurisprud ...

and

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

who was Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain from 1916 to 1919.

Background and education

Finlay was born at Cherry Bank in

Newhaven Newhaven is a port town in the Lewes district of East Sussex, England, lying at the mouth of the River Ouse. The town developed during the Middle Ages as the nearby port of Seaford began drying up, forcing a new port to be established. A ...

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 ...

, the son of William Finlay, a physician, and Ann, daughter of Robert Bannatyne. He was educated at the

Edinburgh Academy The Edinburgh Academy is a Private schools in the United Kingdom, private day school in Edinburgh, Scotland, which was opened in 1824. The original building, on Henderson Row in Stockbridge, Edinburgh, Stockbridge, is now part of the Senior Scho ...

and

Edinburgh University The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the town council under the authority of a royal charter from King James VI in 1582 and offi ...

, graduating in medicine in 1864.

Legal and political career

After entering

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court entitled to Call to the bar, call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple (with whi ...

as a student in 1865, Finlay 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 ...

two years later and built up a successful practice, becoming a

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 1882. Three years later he was elected Liberal Member of Parliament for the Inverness Burghs, but broke with

William Ewart Gladstone William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British politican, starting as Conservative MP for Newark and later becoming the leader of the Liberal Party (UK), Liberal Party. In a career lasting over 60 years, he ...

over

Irish Home Rule The Home Rule movement was a movement that campaigned for self-government (or "home rule") for Ireland within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. It was the dominant political movement of Irish nationalism from 1870 to the end of ...

and joined the

Liberal Unionists The Liberal Unionist Party was a British political party that was formed in 1886 by a faction that broke away from the Liberal Party. Led by Lord Hartington (later the Duke of Devonshire) and Joseph Chamberlain, the party established a political ...

in 1886. He lost his seat in 1892 but regained it three years later, the same year he was appointed

Solicitor-General A solicitor general is a government official who serves as the chief representative of the government in courtroom proceedings. In systems based on the English common law that have an attorney general or equivalent position, the solicitor general ...

and

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

. In 1900, Finlay became

Attorney-General for England His Majesty's Attorney General for England and Wales is the chief legal adviser to the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, sovereign and Government of the United Kingdom, Government in affairs pertaining to England and Wales as well as the highest ...

and also became President of the Edinburgh Sir Walter Scott Club, and gave the Toast to Sir Walter at the club's annual dinner. In November 1902 he was elected Lord Rector of Edinburgh University for three years, and the same month he was elected Treasurer of the

for the ensuing year. For his services in representing the

British Empire The British Empire comprised the dominions, Crown colony, colonies, protectorates, League of Nations mandate, mandates, and other Dependent territory, territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It bega ...

in a number of international legal arbitrations he was appointed

GCMG 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 1904, and the following year became a

Privy Counsellor The Privy Council, formally His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, is a formal body of advisers to the sovereign of the United Kingdom. Its members, known as privy counsellors, are mainly senior politicians who are current or former ...

. However, in the

1906 general election The following elections occurred in the year 1906. Asia * 1906 Persian legislative election Europe * 1906 Belgian general election * 1906 Croatian parliamentary election * Denmark ** 1906 Danish Folketing election ** 1906 Danish Landsting e ...

he again lost his seat, and it was four years before he returned to

Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

as member for Edinburgh and St Andrews Universities. One of his last official acts as Attorney General was to appoint his son, William Finlay, as the junior counsel to the Board of Inland Revenue, an appointment which provoked much negative comment.

Judicial career

On 19 December 1916, Finlay became

Lord Chancellor The Lord Chancellor, formally titled Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom. The lord chancellor is the minister of justice for England and Wales and the highest-ra ...

in Lloyd George's coalition government, being at the same time created Baron Finlay, of

Nairn Nairn (; ) is a town and former royal burgh in the Highland (council area), Highland Council council areas of Scotland, area of Scotland. It is an ancient fishing port and market town around east of Inverness, at the point where the River Nair ...

in the

County of Nairn The County of Nairn, or Nairnshire, () is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. The county was named after Nairn, its only town. The county was used for local government until 1975 when the area was redesignat ...

. It is generally thought that Finlay was a temporary appointment: Lloyd George excluded him from the War Cabinet and insisted that he forgo the £5,000 pension given to retired lord chancellors. He sat on the

Woolsack The Woolsack is the seat of the Lord Speaker in the House of Lords, the Upper House of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Before 2006, it was the seat of the Lord Chancellor, who presided as the presiding officer of the House. The Woolsack� ...

for three years, and in 1919, on his retirement, was created Viscount Finlay, of Nairn in the County of Nairn on 27 March. The following year he was appointed a British member of the Court of Arbitration at

The Hague The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...

, and in 1921 was elected a Judge of the

Permanent Court of International Justice The Permanent Court of International Justice, often called the World Court, existed from 1922 to 1946. It was an international court attached to the League of Nations. Created in 1920 (although the idea of an international court was several cent ...

established by the

League of Nations The League of Nations (LN or LoN; , SdN) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920), Paris Peace ...

. As a judge of the Permanent Court, he participated in the celebrated '' Lotus'' case in 1927, where the Court, by a bare majority, laid down the "Lotus principle" that States may exercise

extraterritorial jurisdiction Extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ) is the legal ability of a government to exercise authority beyond its normal boundaries. Any authority can claim ETJ over any external territory they wish. However, for the claim to be effective in the external ...

i.e. they may apply their national laws beyond their own borders, in any case where this is not explicitly prohibited. Finlay himself dissented from the majority decision. Finlay received the

freedom Freedom is the power or right to speak, act, and change as one wants without hindrance or restraint. Freedom is often associated with liberty and autonomy in the sense of "giving oneself one's own laws". In one definition, something is "free" i ...

of the Royal burgh of

on 1 October 1902.

Family

Lord Finlay married Mary, daughter of

Cosmo Innes Cosmo Nelson Innes FRSE (9 September 1798 – 31 July 1874) was a Scottish advocate, judge, historian and antiquary. He served as Advocate-Depute, Sheriff of Elginshire, and Principal Clerk of Session. He was a skilled decipherer of ancient ...

, in 1874. She died in June 1911. Lord Finlay died in March 1929, aged 86, at his home in

Kensington Kensington is an area of London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, around west of Central London. The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up by Kensingt ...

, London, and was buried at Nairn. He was succeeded in his titles by his son, William Finlay, later a

Lord Justice of Appeal A Lord Justice of Appeal or Lady Justice of Appeal is a judge of the Court of Appeal of England and Wales, the court that hears appeals from the High Court of Justice, the Crown Court and other courts and tribunals. A Lord (or Lady) Just ...

Cases

* ''

Cotman v Brougham ''Cotman v Brougham'' 918AC 514 is UK company law case concerning the objects clause of a company, and the problems involving the ''ultra vires'' doctrine. It held that a clause stipulating the courts should not read long lists of objects as sub ...

918 __NOTOC__ Year 918 (Roman numerals, CMXVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * December 23 – King Conrad I of Germany, Conrad I, injured at one of his battles with Arnulf, D ...

AC 514 * ''

Lotus case The ''Lotus'' case was an international legal case involving French Third Republic, France and Turkey in front of the Permanent Court of International Justice. The case is known for establishing the so-called "''Lotus'' principle" in internatio ...

'' 1927 PCIJ series A No.9

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Finlay, Robert Finlay, 1st Viscount 1842 births 1929 deaths Lawyers from Edinburgh Politicians from Edinburgh Nobility from Edinburgh People educated at Edinburgh Academy Lord chancellors of Great Britain Members of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Highland constituencies Scottish Liberal Party MPs Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Viscounts in the Peerage of the United Kingdom Solicitors general for England and Wales Attorneys general for England and Wales Rectors of the University of Edinburgh UK MPs 1885–1886 UK MPs 1886–1892 UK MPs 1895–1900 UK MPs 1900–1906 UK MPs 1910 UK MPs 1910–1918 UK MPs who were granted peerages 19th-century Scottish politicians 20th-century Scottish politicians Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Edinburgh and St Andrews Universities Permanent Court of International Justice judges Members of the Permanent Court of Arbitration Liberal Unionist Party MPs for Scottish constituencies Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George British judges of international courts and tribunals Conservative Party (UK) life peers Unionist Party (Scotland) MPs Barons created by George V Viscounts created by George V