Sir Duncan Wallace McMullin (1 May 1927 – 26 June 2017) was a New Zealand jurist. He was a judge of the

Court of Appeal of New Zealand The Court of Appeal of New Zealand is the principal intermediate appellate court of New Zealand. It is also the final appellate court for a number of matters. In practice, most appeals are resolved at this intermediate appellate level, rather t ...

, Court of Appeal of Fiji and

Cook Islands Court of Appeal The Court of Appeal of the Cook Islands is the superior court of record for the Cook Islands. It hears appeals from the High Court of the Cook Islands and was established by Article 56 of the Constitution of the Cook Islands. Composition an ...

Early life and family

Born in the

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

suburb of

Mount Eden Mount Eden is a suburb in Auckland, New Zealand whose name honours George Eden, 1st Earl of Auckland. It is south of the Central Business District (CBD). Mt Eden Road winds its way around the side of Mount Eden Domain and continues to weave ba ...

on 1 May 1927, McMullin was the son of Charles James McMullin and Kathleen Annie McMullin (née Shout). He was educated at

Auckland Grammar School Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about I ...

from 1940, and went on to study at

Auckland University College , mottoeng = By natural ability and hard work , established = 1883; years ago , endowment = NZD $293 million (31 December 2021) , budget = NZD $1.281 billion (31 December 2021) , chancellor = Cecilia Tarrant , vice_chancellor = Dawn F ...

, from where he graduated

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 People's Republic of Chi ...

in 1950. He married Isobel Margaret Atkinson in about 1954, and they had four children.

Career

Following his graduation, McMullin practised as a barrister and solicitor before serving as a judge of the

Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

(now the High Court) and the

Court of Appeal A court of appeals, also called a court of appeal, appellate court, appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal. In much of t ...

. He chaired the

Royal Commission on Contraception, Sterilisation and Abortion __NOTOC__ The Royal Commission on Contraception, Sterilisation and Abortion was carried out in New Zealand from 1975 to 1977, shortly after the 1975 general election. The members of the Royal Commission were M. D. Matich, Barbara J. Thomson, Dame ...

between 1975 and 1977, and also served as chair of the Wanganui Computer Centre policy committee, the

New Zealand Conservation Authority The New Zealand Conservation Authority / Te Pou Atawhai Taiao O Aotearoa is an independent statutory body that advises the Minister of Conservation and Director-General of Conservation on conservation issues of national importance. Role Its st ...

, and the Market Surveillance Committee for the New Zealand Electricity Market. McMullin was appointed as a member 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 ...

on 21 May 1980. Other roles included chairing the judicial commission of the

Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand The Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand (PCANZ) is a major Christian denomination in New Zealand. A part of the Reformed tradition, it is the largest Presbyterian denomination in New Zealand, and known for its relatively progressive stanc ...

, and membership of the

New Zealand Stock Exchange New Zealand's Exchange (), known commonly as the NZX, is the national stock exchange for New Zealand and a publicly owned company. NZX is the parent company of Smartshares, and Wealth Technologies. On 30 August 2020, the NZX had a total of 1 ...

standing committee.

Honours

In the

1987 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1987 were appointments by most of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries, and honorary ones to citizens of other countries ...

, McMullin was appointed a

Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised orders of chivalry; it is a part of the British honours system. Knights Bachelor are the ...

, in recognition of his role as a judge of the Court of Appeal. He was conferred with his knighthood at

Buckingham Palace Buckingham Palace () is a London royal residence and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and royal hospitality. It ...

on 22 July 1987.

Death

McMullin died on 26 June 2017.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McMullin, Duncan 1927 births 2017 deaths People from Auckland People educated at Auckland Grammar School University of Auckland alumni High Court of New Zealand judges Court of Appeal of New Zealand judges Members of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council New Zealand Knights Bachelor New Zealand Presbyterians New Zealand judges on the courts of Fiji New Zealand judges on the courts of the Cook Islands New Zealand members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom