John Richard Dendy Young, QC, SC (4 September 1907 – 11 July 1998) was a Cape Colony-born lawyer, politician, and judge. Born in

Cape Colony The Cape Colony ( nl, Kaapkolonie), also known as the Cape of Good Hope, was a British Empire, British colony in present-day South Africa named after the Cape of Good Hope, which existed from 1795 to 1802, and again from 1806 to 1910, when i ...

, Young joined the Public Service of

Southern Rhodesia Southern Rhodesia was a landlocked self-governing British Crown colony in southern Africa, established in 1923 and consisting of British South Africa Company (BSAC) territories lying south of the Zambezi River. The region was informally kn ...

, before practising at the South Rhodesian Bar. He was a member of the legislatures of Southern Rhodesia and of the

Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, also known as the Central African Federation or CAF, was a colonial federation that consisted of three southern African territories: the Self-governing colony, self-governing British colony of Southe ...

from 1948 until 1956, when he was appointed to the High Court of Southern Rhodesia. In 1968, he was one of the two justices of the High Court of Rhodesia to resign in protest against its rejection of the authority of 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 Augus ...

following

Rhodesia's Unilateral Declaration of Independence Rhodesia's Unilateral Declaration of Independence (UDI) was a statement adopted by the Cabinet of Rhodesia on 11 November 1965, announcing that Southern Rhodesia or simply Rhodesia, a British territory in southern Africa that had governed it ...

. Young subsequently became

Chief Justice of Botswana Botswana (, ), officially the Republic of Botswana ( tn, Lefatshe la Botswana, label=Setswana, ), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory being the Kalahar ...

from 1968 to 1971, before entering private practice in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

Early life and career

Born in Humansdorp District,

, Young joined the Public Service of

in 1926. Having obtained a BA and a

LLB Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the China, People's Republic ...

as an external student at the

University of South Africa The University of South Africa (UNISA), known colloquially as Unisa, is the largest university system in South Africa by enrollment. It attracts a third of all higher education students in South Africa. Through various colleges and affiliates, U ...

, he resigned from the public service in 1934 and became a barrister, practising at

Salisbury Salisbury ( ) is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers Avon, Nadder and Bourne. The city is approximately from Southampton and from Bath. Salisbury is in the southeast of Wil ...

. He joined the armed forces in 1940, served in North Africa, Sicily and Italy, and received a commission in the field. Returning to the Rhodesian Bar in 1945, he became a

King's Counsel In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel ( post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of a queen, is a lawyer (usually a barrister or ...

in 1949. In the

1934 Southern Rhodesian general election General elections were held in Southern Rhodesia on 7 November 1934, fourth elections since the colony of Southern Rhodesia was granted self-government. The elections were called only a year after the previous elections when the Prime Minister, ...

, Young unsuccessfully contested Salisbury North for the Reform Party. In the 1948 general election, he was elected for Avondale for the United Rhodesia Party. Young sat in the

Southern Rhodesian Legislative Assembly The Legislative Assembly of Rhodesia was the legislature of Southern Rhodesia and then Rhodesia from 1924 to 1970. Background In 1898, the Southern Rhodesian Legislative Council, Southern Rhodesia's first elected representative body, was found ...

until 1953, when he was elected to the Federal Assembly of the

for Sebakwe in that year's Federal election, becoming the

Confederate Party The Confederate Party was a political party in the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland. History The party was formed in 1953 as a successor to the Democratic Party by opponents of the Federation. In the 1953 federal elections the party contes ...

's only MP and the unofficial

leader of the opposition The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the opposition is typically se ...

in the Assembly.

High Court of Rhodesia and resignation

In 1956, Young stepped down from the Federal Assembly when he was appointed a judge of the General Division of the High Court of Southern Rhodesia. Along with his colleague

John Fieldsend Sir John Charles Rowell Fieldsend , QC (13 September 1921 – 22 February 2017) was a judge who served as the first Chief Justice of Zimbabwe. He also served as a judge in several British overseas territories. Early life Fieldsend was the son ...

, Young resigned from the High Court of Rhodesia in 1968 in protest against the Court's rejection of the authority of the

Privy Council A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...

after

: at the time, he was the senior judge of the General Division. In a statement to a crowded courthouse in Bulawayo, Young said that:

The High Court has hitherto functioned as a court of the lawful sovereign under the 1961 Constitution. The rebel regime has actively acquiesced in this mode of functioning by acknowledging the validity of the High Court Orders and by carrying them into execution. The judgment of the Privy Council, which is the Supreme appellate tribunal of the High Court under the 1961 Constitution, becomes the judgment of the High Court. If, then, the authority of the Privy Council is not acknowledged in this country, that is equivalent to a rejection of the authority of the High Court and in my view the only course open to a judge of the High Court is to withdraw from the bench. It is a matter of conscience... There can be no suggestion that my resignation or that of any other judge must lead to a breakdown of law and order. On the contrary, for a judge appointed under the 1961 Constitution to enforce a law that subverts that Constitution is, in my judgment, to overthrow the law of the country. If order is to be maintained under some new system of law then it must be done by judges appointed by those responsible for the creation of the new system.

Later career and death

Young was sworn in as the

in 1968, four days after his resignation from the Rhodesian bench, serving until 1971. He then practised as the Cape Province Bar, becoming a South African Senior Counsel in 1979. The same year, he was appointed a judge of the Courts of Appeal of Botswana, Lesotho and Swaziland. Young lost his Rhodesian pension entitlements upon his resignation and was not given a pension by the British government, which forced him to practise at the Bar until he was 85. In his final years, his health was weakened by an assault on returning to his home from work. He died in

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

in 1998.

Assessment

In 1978,

Sydney Kentridge Sir Sydney Woolf Kentridge (born 5 November 1922) is a South African-born lawyer, judge and member of the Bar of England and Wales. He practised law in South Africa and the United Kingdom from the 1940s until his retirement in 2013. In South Af ...

QC told New Zealand lawyers that:

Two judges in Rhodesia, and two alone, thought that their oaths meant exactly what they said and they, and they alone, thought that these high-sounding principles which I have referred to were not intended merely to be quoted at Bar dinners but actually to be acted on by judges. Let me mention their names: Mr Justice
John Fieldsend Sir John Charles Rowell Fieldsend , QC (13 September 1921 – 22 February 2017) was a judge who served as the first Chief Justice of Zimbabwe. He also served as a judge in several British overseas territories. Early life Fieldsend was the son ...
and Mr Justice Dendy Young — names which, I think, should be honoured wherever English-speaking lawyers gather.

According to Jeremy Gauntlett SC, Chairperson of the Cape Bar:

Dendy Young paid a great personal price. Departing unmourned by one government and forgotten by another, he found himself obliged after interim service as
Chief Justice of Botswana Botswana (, ), officially the Republic of Botswana ( tn, Lefatshe la Botswana, label=Setswana, ), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory being the Kalahar ...
to make what was for him a third or fourth career at the Cape Bar in 1971... to use
Alan Paton Alan Stewart Paton (11 January 1903 – 12 April 1988) was a South African writer and anti-apartheid activist. His works include the novels ''Cry, the Beloved Country'' and '' Too Late the Phalarope''. Family Paton was born in Pietermaritzbu ...
's phrase, Dendy Young had a commitment to the rule of law, a high ideal of the worth and dignity of people, and a repugnance to authoritarianism.

References

* The Late Hon John Richard Dendy Young' (1999) 116 S African LJ 152 {{DEFAULTSORT:Young, Dendy Expatriate judges on the courts of Eswatini 1998 deaths People from Humansdorp University of South Africa alumni Members of the Legislative Assembly of Southern Rhodesia Members of the Rhodesia and Nyasaland Federal Assembly 20th-century South African judges Rhodesian Queen's Counsel 20th-century King's Counsel South African Senior Counsel Rhodesian judges Botswana judges Expatriate judges on the courts of Botswana Expatriate judges on the courts of Lesotho Southern Rhodesian military personnel of World War II Rhodesian politicians Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland people 1907 births South African emigrants to Rhodesia