Charles Eliot Jauncey, Baron Jauncey of Tullichettle, PC (8 May 1925 – 18 July 2007) was a British judge and advocate. He was often praised as one of the finest legal minds of his generation in Scotland, and his legal opinions - both as a practising advocate and as a judge - commanded immense respect.

Early life and career

Jauncey was the son of

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

John Henry Jauncey, who came out of retirement to command destroyers in the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, and Muriel Dundas, daughter of Admiral Sir Charles Dundas. He was educated at

Radley College Radley College, formally St Peter's College, Radley or the College of St. Peter at Radley, is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (independent boarding school) for boys near the village of Radley, in Oxfordshire, in the United Kingd ...

, leaving in 1943 to join the

Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family or royalty Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Roya ...

. He served in Egypt and India in the

, from 1943 to 1946, reaching the rank of Sub-Lieutenant. He contracted

polio Poliomyelitis ( ), commonly shortened to polio, is an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus. Approximately 75% of cases are asymptomatic; mild symptoms which can occur include sore throat and fever; in a proportion of cases more severe ...

in Ceylon and was invalided home, being left with a slight limp for the rest of his life. He read law at

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church (, the temple or house, ''wikt:aedes, ædes'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by Henry V ...

, graduating with a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degree in

jurisprudence Jurisprudence, also known as theory of law or philosophy of law, is the examination in a general perspective of what law is and what it ought to be. It investigates issues such as the definition of law; legal validity; legal norms and values ...

in 1947, and at 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 ...

, where he received a

Bachelor of Laws 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 ...

degree in 1949. He became an

advocate An advocate is a professional in the field of law. List of country legal systems, Different countries and legal systems use the term with somewhat differing meanings. The broad equivalent in many English law–based jurisdictions could be a ba ...

of the Scottish Bar in 1949, joining 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 ...

. He undertook a wide range of civil legal work, but his practice concentrated mostly on wills, trusts and estates. He became a standing junior counsel to the Ministry of Works in Scotland in 1953, and standing junior counsel to

the Admiralty The Admiralty was a department of the Government of the United Kingdom that was responsible for the command of the Royal Navy. Historically, its titular head was the Lord High Admiral – one of the Great Officers of State. For much of its h ...

in 1954. Supporting Ian Fraser QC (later Lord Fraser of Tullybelton), he was junior counsel to Margaret Campbell, Duchess of Argyll, from 1959 to 1963 in the notorious divorce action brought by her husband, Ian Campbell, 11th Duke of Argyll, alleging her

adultery Adultery is extramarital sex that is considered objectionable on social, religious, moral, or legal grounds. Although the sexual activities that constitute adultery vary, as well as the social, religious, and legal consequences, the concept ...

, which broke new ground in the law of

confidentiality Confidentiality involves a set of rules or a promise sometimes executed through confidentiality agreements that limits the access to or places restrictions on the distribution of certain types of information. Legal confidentiality By law, la ...

. He took silk 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 ...

for

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

in 1963. He was part-time Sheriff Principal of Fife and Kinross from 1971 to 1974, resigning to continue his legal practice when the position became full-time. He was a Judge of the Courts of Appeal of

Jersey Jersey ( ; ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey, is an autonomous and self-governing island territory of the British Islands. Although as a British Crown Dependency it is not a sovereign state, it has its own distinguishing civil and gov ...

and

Guernsey Guernsey ( ; Guernésiais: ''Guernési''; ) is the second-largest island in the Channel Islands, located west of the Cotentin Peninsula, Normandy. It is the largest island in the Bailiwick of Guernsey, which includes five other inhabited isl ...

from 1972 to 1979.

Judicial career

He became a

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 ...

in Scotland in 1979, taking the

judicial courtesy title A courtesy title is a form of address and/or reference in the British system of nobility used for children, former wives and other close relatives of a peer, as well as certain officials such as some judges and members of the Scottish gentry. Thes ...

Lord Jauncey. Amongst other cases, he sat in two particularly long-running cases: ''McColl v. Strathclyde Regional Council''

983 Year 983 ( CMLXXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Summer – Diet of Verona: Emperor Otto II (the Red) declares war against the Byzantine Empire and the Emirate of Sicily ...

SC 225, a 203-day hearing contesting the mandatory fluoridation of the water supply in Glasgow, and ''Santa Fe v. Heerama'', a patent infringement case relating to semi-submersible drilling platforms in the North Sea which settled after 191 days in court. He held this post until 1988, when he became a

Lord of Appeal in Ordinary Lords of Appeal in Ordinary, commonly known as Law Lords, were judges appointed under the Appellate Jurisdiction Act 1876 to the British House of Lords, as a committee of the House, effectively to exercise the judicial functions of the House of ...

. He was appointed to the Privy Council and was created a

life peer In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. Life peers are appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister. With the exception of the D ...

with the title Baron Jauncey of Tullichettle, of Comrie in the District of

Perth and Kinross Perth and Kinross (; ) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, and a Lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area. It is bordered by Highland (council area), Highland and Aberdeenshire to the north, Angus, Scotland, Angus, Dundee, and F ...

. He also sat on the

Judicial Committee of the Privy Council The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (JCPC) is the highest court of appeal for the Crown Dependencies, the British Overseas Territories, some Commonwealth countries and a few institutions in the United Kingdom. Established on 14 August ...

. He retired in 1996, but the Queen appointed him a special commissioner and arbitrator in 1998 to determine a dispute between the Dean of

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an Anglican church in the City of Westminster, London, England. Since 1066, it has been the location of the coronations of 40 English and British m ...

and its dismissed organist, Dr Martin Neary and Mrs Neary. He was chairman of the House of Lords Committee in 2001-2 that investigated the crash of the RAF

Chinook helicopter The Boeing CH-47 Chinook is a tandem-rotor helicopter originally developed by American rotorcraft company Piasecki Helicopter, Vertol and now manufactured by Boeing Defense, Space & Security. The Chinook is a Military transport helicopter, heav ...

ZD576 in the

Mull of Kintyre The Mull of Kintyre is the southwesternmost tip of the Kintyre Peninsula (formerly ''Cantyre'') in southwest Scotland. From here, the Antrim coast of Northern Ireland is visible on a calm and clear day, and a historic lighthouse, the second ...

in 1994 that killed all 29 on board. He continued to be active in the House of Lords after his retirement, until a stroke in November 2004. He twice caught

MRSA Methicillin-resistant ''Staphylococcus aureus'' (MRSA) is a group of gram-positive bacteria that are genetically distinct from other strains of ''Staphylococcus aureus''. MRSA is responsible for several difficult-to-treat infections in humans. ...

while recuperating at Perth Royal Infirmary. Outside the law, Jauncey became a member of the Royal Company of Archers in 1951. His interest in genealogy led to his appointment as Kintyre Pursuivant of Arms from 1955 to 1971. He was also a member of the Historic Buildings Council for Scotland from 1972 to 1992 and he was chairman of the influential Edinburgh conservation body the

Cockburn Association The Cockburn Association, often subtitled Edinburgh Civic Trust, is an architectural, conservation, and urban planning monitoring organisation in the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom. The Cockburn Association, founded in 1875, is one o ...

from 1975 to 1978. He enjoyed fishing in the rivers of Perthsire. He lived in Tullichettle, near Comrie in Perthshire, for 60 years, and was a member of his local Episcopal church. He died in Comrie.

Personal life

He married three times. He first married Jean Cunninghame Graham, daughter of Admiral Sir

Angus Cunninghame Graham Admiral (Royal Navy), Admiral Sir Angus Edward Malise Bontine Cunninghame Graham of Gartmore and Ardoch (16 February 1893 – 14 February 1981) was a Royal Navy officer who became Flag Officer Scotland, Northern England, Northern Ireland, Flag O ...

, in 1948. They had two sons, Jamie and Simon, and a daughter, Arabella. After their divorce in 1969, he married Elizabeth Ballingal, widow of Major John Ballingal, in 1973. After a second divorce in 1977, he married a third time, to Camilla Cathcart, daughter of Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Cathcart, later that year. They had one daughter, Cressida.

In popular culture

In the 2021 mini-series '' A Very British Scandal'', Jauncey was played by Richard Goulding.

Arms

References

*
''The Daily Telegraph'' Obituary, 21 July 2007

''The Independent'' Obituary, 23 July 2007

''The Times'' Obituary, 24 July 2007

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jauncey, Charles 1925 births 2007 deaths Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford Alumni of the University of Glasgow Jauncey of Tullichettle Members of the Faculty of Advocates Members of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Members of the Royal Company of Archers People educated at Radley College 20th-century King's Counsel Royal Navy officers of World War II Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve personnel of World War II Jauncey of Tullichettle Scottish officers of arms Scottish King's Counsel Scottish sheriffs Crossbench life peers Life peers created by Elizabeth II