James Reid, Baron Reid
Encyclopedia
James Scott Cumberland Reid, Baron Reid, CH
, KC FRSE (30 July 1890, Drem
, East Lothian
– 29 March 1975) was a Scottish Unionist politician and judge. His reputation is as one of the most outstanding judges of the 20th century.
Educated at Edinburgh Academy
and Jesus College, Cambridge
, he was admitted as an advocate
in 1914. He was commissioned into the 8th Royal Scots in World War I
and was seconded to the Machine Gun Corps
in 1916, reaching the rank of Major
. He resigned his commission in 1921. He was appointed a King's Counsel in 1932.
He was Member of Parliament
(MP) for Stirling and Falkirk
from October 1931 until his defeat in November 1935, and for Glasgow Hillhead
from June 1937 until September 1948.
He served as Solicitor General for Scotland
from June 1936 until June 1941, and as Lord Advocate
from June 1941 until July 1945, and was appointed a Privy Counsellor
in 1941. From 1945 to 1948 he was Dean of the Faculty of Advocates
. In 1948 he was appointed as a Lord of Appeal in Ordinary
and received a Law Life Peerage as Baron Reid, of Drem
in East Lothian
. He sat as a Lord of Appeal in Ordinary until 1975. He was one of very few men to be appointed a Law Lord straight from the Bar, without any intervening judicial experience.
Reid was appointed a Companion of Honour in 1967.
Order of the Companions of Honour
The Order of the Companions of Honour is an order of the Commonwealth realms. It was founded by King George V in June 1917, as a reward for outstanding achievements in the arts, literature, music, science, politics, industry or religion....
, KC FRSE (30 July 1890, Drem
Drem
Drem is a small village in East Lothian, Scotland. It is approximately 20 miles east of Edinburgh and is close to Haddington , North Berwick , Dirleton and Gullane ....
, East Lothian
East Lothian
East Lothian is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, and a lieutenancy Area. It borders the City of Edinburgh, Scottish Borders and Midlothian. Its administrative centre is Haddington, although its largest town is Musselburgh....
– 29 March 1975) was a Scottish Unionist politician and judge. His reputation is as one of the most outstanding judges of the 20th century.
Educated at Edinburgh Academy
Edinburgh Academy
The Edinburgh Academy is an independent school which was opened in 1824. The original building, in Henderson Row on the northern fringe of the New Town of Edinburgh, Scotland, is now part of the Senior School...
and Jesus College, Cambridge
Jesus College, Cambridge
Jesus College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England.The College was founded in 1496 on the site of a Benedictine nunnery by John Alcock, then Bishop of Ely...
, he was admitted as an advocate
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...
in 1914. He was commissioned into the 8th Royal Scots in World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
and was seconded to the Machine Gun Corps
Machine Gun Corps
The Machine Gun Corps was a corps of the British Army, formed in October 1915 in response to the need for more effective use of machine guns on the Western Front in World War I. The Heavy Branch of the MGC was the first to use tanks in combat, and the branch was subsequently turned into the Tank...
in 1916, reaching the rank of Major
Major
Major is a rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every military in the world.When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of an Army captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...
. He resigned his commission in 1921. He was appointed a King's Counsel in 1932.
He was Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
(MP) for Stirling and Falkirk
Stirling and Falkirk (UK Parliament constituency)
Stirling and Falkirk Burghs was a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1918, comprising the burghs of Stirling, Falkirk and Grangemouth. It ceased to be a District of Burghs in 1950, but a constituency of the same name covering...
from October 1931 until his defeat in November 1935, and for Glasgow Hillhead
Glasgow Hillhead (UK Parliament constituency)
Glasgow Hillhead was a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1918 until 1997...
from June 1937 until September 1948.
He served as Solicitor General for Scotland
Solicitor General for Scotland
Her Majesty's Solicitor General for Scotland is one of the Law Officers of the Crown, and the deputy of the Lord Advocate, whose duty is to advise the Crown and the Scottish Government on Scots Law...
from June 1936 until June 1941, and as Lord Advocate
Lord Advocate
Her Majesty's Advocate , known as the Lord Advocate , is the chief legal officer of the Scottish Government and the Crown in Scotland for both civil and criminal matters that fall within the devolved powers of the Scottish Parliament...
from June 1941 until July 1945, and was appointed a Privy Counsellor
Privy Council of the United Kingdom
Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, usually known simply as the Privy Council, is a formal body of advisers to the Sovereign in the United Kingdom...
in 1941. From 1945 to 1948 he was Dean of the Faculty of Advocates
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...
. In 1948 he was appointed as a Lord of Appeal in Ordinary
Lord of Appeal in Ordinary
Lords of Appeal in Ordinary, commonly known as Law Lords, were appointed under the Appellate Jurisdiction Act 1876 to the House of Lords of the United Kingdom in order to exercise its judicial functions, which included acting as the highest court of appeal for most domestic matters...
and received a Law Life Peerage as Baron Reid, of Drem
Drem
Drem is a small village in East Lothian, Scotland. It is approximately 20 miles east of Edinburgh and is close to Haddington , North Berwick , Dirleton and Gullane ....
in East Lothian
East Lothian
East Lothian is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, and a lieutenancy Area. It borders the City of Edinburgh, Scottish Borders and Midlothian. Its administrative centre is Haddington, although its largest town is Musselburgh....
. He sat as a Lord of Appeal in Ordinary until 1975. He was one of very few men to be appointed a Law Lord straight from the Bar, without any intervening judicial experience.
Reid was appointed a Companion of Honour in 1967.
Cases decided
- Bonnington Castings Ltd v Wardlaw [1956] AC 613, [1956] 2 WLR 707, [1956] 1 All ER 615
- Beswick v Beswick [1968] AC 58
- Dorset Yacht Co Ltd v Home Office [1970] AC 1004
- McGhee v National Coal Board [1972] 3 All ER 1008
- Norwich Pharmacal Co. v Customs and Excise CommissionersNorwich Pharmacal Co. v Customs and Excise CommissionersNorwich Pharmacal Co. & Others v Customs and Excise Commissioners [1974] AC 133 was a case involving the owner and exclusive licensee of a patent for an antibacterial called furazolidone. Between 1960 and 1970 unlicensed shipments of the chemical were imported into Britain, but Norwich Pharmacal...
[1974] AC 133