Sir Alan Abraham Mocatta, OBE (27 June 1907 – 1 November 1990) was a British judge, an expert on restrictive practices and a leader of the

Spanish and Portuguese Jews Spanish and Portuguese Jews, also called Western Sephardim, Iberian Jews, or Peninsular Jews, are a distinctive sub-group of Sephardic Jews who are largely descended from Jews who lived as New Christians in the Iberian Peninsula during the i ...

of Britain.

Legal and military career

After attending

Clifton College ''The spirit nourishes within'' , established = 160 years ago , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent boarding and day school , religion = Christian , president = , head_label = Head of College , head ...

and

New College, Oxford New College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1379 by William of Wykeham in conjunction with Winchester College as its feeder school, New College is one of the oldest colleges at th ...

, he 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 ...

at the

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional associations for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and Wal ...

in 1930. In

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

he first served as

2nd Lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

in 12 LAA Regiment, RA, TA, 1939, and was promoted to

brigade major A brigade major was the chief of staff of a brigade in the British Army. They most commonly held the rank of major, although the appointment was also held by captains, and was head of the brigade's "G - Operations and Intelligence" section direct ...

, 56 AA Brigade, 1940–41; to GSO (2) AA HQ BTNI, 1941–42; and finally to

Lieutenant-Colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...

General Staff A military staff or general staff (also referred to as army staff, navy staff, or air staff within the individual services) is a group of officers, enlisted and civilian staff who serve the commander of a division or other large military un ...

, Army Council Secretariat,

War Office The War Office was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the new Ministry of Defence (MoD). This article contains text from ...

, 1942-45. He was awarded the OBE in 1944. Returning to his legal career after the end of the war, he was appointed QC in 1951. He was elected a

Bencher A bencher or Master of the Bench is a senior member of an Inn of Court in England and Wales or the Inns of Court in Northern Ireland, or the Honorable Society of King's Inns in Ireland. Benchers hold office for life once elected. A bencher can ...

of his Inn in 1960. He served as a Judge of the

High Court of Justice The High Court of Justice in London, known properly as His Majesty's High Court of Justice in England, together with the Court of Appeal of England and Wales, Court of Appeal and the Crown Court, are the Courts of England and Wales, Senior Cou ...

(

Queen's Bench Division The King's Bench Division (or Queen's Bench Division when the monarch is female) of the High Court of Justice deals with a wide range of common law cases and has supervisory responsibility over certain lower courts. It hears appeals on point ...

) from 1961 (the year in which he received his

knighthood A knight is a person granted an honorary title of 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. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...

) to 1981. Also from 1961 to 1981 he was a Member of the

Restrictive Practices Court The Restrictive Trade Practices Act 1956 was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom intended to enforce competition, and provide an appropriate check on restrictive combines and practices. It required that any agreement between companies ...

, of which he was President from 1970. In 1982 he served as Treasurer of the Inner Temple. He contributed also to legal literature as joint editor on the 14th-19th editions of "Scrutton on Charter Parties"; editor on the 3rd edition of "Rowlatt on Principal and Surety"; and as a member of the Advisory Panel for the 4th edition of "

Halsbury's Laws of England ''Halsbury's Laws of England'' is a uniquely comprehensive encyclopaedia of law, and provides the only complete narrative statement of law in England and Wales. It has an alphabetised title scheme covering all areas of law, drawing on authorit ...

". From 1955 to 1956 he was Chairman of the Treasury Committee on Cheque Endorsement. At the 1962 Winter Assizes in

Carmarthen Carmarthen (, RP: ; cy, Caerfyrddin , "Merlin's fort" or "Sea-town fort") is the county town of Carmarthenshire and a community in Wales, lying on the River Towy. north of its estuary in Carmarthen Bay. The population was 14,185 in 2011, ...

, he presided over what was then the longest criminal trial in British legal history, sitting for 55 court days in what became known as 'The West Wales (or Black Mountains) Lime Fraud enquiry'.Metropolitan Police, Assistant Commissioner's Report, 21 September 1962. Ref: 236/59/18. He was also Chairman of the Council of

Jews' College The London School of Jewish Studies (commonly known as LSJS, originally founded as Jews' College) is a London-based organisation providing adult educational courses and training to the wider Jewish community. Since 2012 LSJS also offers rabbinic ...

, 1945–61 and Vice-President of the Board of Elders of the Spanish and Portuguese Jews' Congregation, London, from 1961 to 1967, and President from 1967 to 1982.

References

* ''Who's Who'', 1989 Knights Bachelor English barristers Members of the Inner Temple 20th-century English judges Officers of the Order of the British Empire People educated at Clifton College Alumni of New College, Oxford English people of Spanish-Jewish descent Queen's Bench Division judges British Army personnel of World War II 1907 births 1990 deaths

Alan Alan may refer to: People *Alan (surname), an English and Turkish surname * Alan (given name), an English given name **List of people with given name Alan ''Following are people commonly referred to solely by "Alan" or by a homonymous name.'' *A ...

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