Fergus Dunlop Morton, Baron Morton of Henryton, MC, PC (17 October 1887 – 18 July 1973) was a British barrister and judge who was 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 ...

from 1947 to 1959. The son of a Scottish stockbroker, Morton was educated in Scotland and England, before being called to the English bar. After serving with the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

in the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, during which he won the

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level pre-1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth countries. The MC i ...

, he developed a successful Chancery practice. He was appointed to the High Court in 1938, promoted to the Court of Appeal in 1944, and to the House of Lords in 1947, retiring from judicial service in 1959.

Background and education

Born in Glasgow, Morton was the youngest child of George Morton and Janet, ''née'' Wilson.Dod (1954), p. 168 His father, from a farming family, left school aged thirteen and acquired a considerable fortune as a stockbroker. He was educated at

Kelvinside Academy Kelvinside Academy is an independent day school in Glasgow, Scotland, founded in 1878. It has a capacity of over 600 pupils and spans two years of Nursery, six years of Junior School (primary school), a transition year of Senior Preparatory, and ...

and then went to

St John's College, Cambridge St John's College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge founded by the House of Tudor, Tudor matriarch Lady Margaret Beaufort. In constitutional terms, the college is a charitable corpo ...

with an open scholarship in classics. Morton narrowly missed

first class honours The British undergraduate degree classification system is a grading structure for undergraduate degrees or bachelor's degrees and integrated master's degrees in the United Kingdom. The system has been applied (sometimes with significant variati ...

in part one of the classical

tripos At the University of Cambridge, a Tripos (, plural 'Triposes') is any of the examinations that qualify an undergraduate for a bachelor's degree or the courses taken by a student to prepare for these. For example, an undergraduate studying mathe ...

in 1909 owing to illness, before taking first class honours in part two of the law tripos in 1910, topping the class list.

Legal career

After a year with a firm of solicitors, Morton was called to the English bar by 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 1912, also joining Lincoln's Inn in 1914. He was first the pupil of the conveyancer A. L. Ellis, then of leading Chancery junior Dighton Pollock. On the outbreak of the

in 1914, he was commissioned as lieutenant into the

Highland Light Infantry The Highland Light Infantry (HLI) was a light infantry regiment of the British Army formed in 1881. It took part in the First and Second World Wars, until it was amalgamated with the Royal Scots Fusiliers in 1959 to form the Royal Highland Fusi ...

. He saw action in German East Africa, and was promoted to captain in 1915. In July 1918, he was awarded the

. Both of his brothers were killed in the war. From 1918–19, Morton was attached to the

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 ...

, before resuming his career at the Chancery bar.Cretney (2003), p. 801 His practice grew rapidly, and 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 1929. In 1932 he was elected a bencher of Lincoln's Inn (serving as treasurer in 1953).

Judicial career

Morton was appointed to 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 ...

in 1938, receiving the customary knighthood, and was assigned to the Chancery Division. From 1941, he chaired the Black List Committee for the following five years.Who's Who (1963), p. 2171 He was appointed a

Lord Justice of Appeal A Lord Justice of Appeal or Lady Justice of Appeal is a judge of the Court of Appeal of England and Wales, the court that hears appeals from the High Court of Justice, the Crown Court and other courts and tribunals. A Lord (or Lady) Justice ...

in 1944 and on this occasion was sworn 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 ...

.Dod (1949), p. 158 Three years thereafter the number of the

Lords 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 ...

was increased to nine and one of the new seats was assigned to Morton. He obtained the traditional

life peer In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. In modern times, life peerages, always created at the rank of baron, are created under the Life Peerages ...

age, taking the title Baron Morton of Henryton, of Henryton, in the County of Ayr. Morton joined the

Council of Legal Education The Council of Legal Education (CLE) was an English supervisory body established by the four Inns of Court to regulate and improve the legal education of barristers within England and Wales. History The Council was established in 1852 by the Inns ...

in 1949, which he left after four years. In 1950 he sat in the Committee on the Law of Intestate Succession (named the Morton Committee) and in the subsequent year he became chairman of the Royal Commission on Marriage and Divorce (named the Morton Commission). Lincoln's Inn selected him its treasurer in 1953. He retired as Lord of Appeal in 1959.

Honours

In 1940, he was nominated an honorary fellow by his former college and in 1951 received Honorary Doctorates of Law by the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

as well as the

University of Glasgow , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

. Cambridge's Senate elected Morton a Deputy High Steward in 1954. Two years later, the

University of St Andrews (Aien aristeuein) , motto_lang = grc , mottoeng = Ever to ExcelorEver to be the Best , established = , type = Public research university Ancient university , endowment ...

and in 1957 the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...

conferred additional doctorates upon him. Both the

American Bar Association The American Bar Association (ABA) is a voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students, which is not specific to any jurisdiction in the United States. Founded in 1878, the ABA's most important stated activities are the setting of acad ...

and the

Canadian Bar Association The Canadian Bar Association (CBA), or Association du barreau canadien (ABC) in Canadian French, French, represents over 37,000 lawyers, judges, notaries, law teachers and law students from across Canada. History The Association's first Annu ...

made Morton honorary members. He became also an honorary member of 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 constitu ...

Notable decisions

*''

Margarine Reference ''Reference Re Validity of Section 5(a) of the Dairy Industry Act'' (1949), also known as the ''Margarine Reference'' or as ''Canadian Federation of Agriculture v Quebec (AG)'', is a leading ruling of the Supreme Court of Canada, upheld on appeal ...

951 Year 951 ( CMLI) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * King Berengar II of Italy seizes Liguria, with help from the feudal lord Oberto I. He re ...

AC 179 – Canadian federalism *'' Paris v Stepney Borough Council''

AC 367 – standard of care *''

Canada Steamship Lines Ltd v R ''Canada Steamship Lines Ltd v R'' , also referred to as Canada Steamship Lines Ltd v The King,Wyatt, D.Applying Canada Steamship principles on interpretation of exclusion clauses ''Lexology'', published 27 November 2012, accessed 27 February 202 ...

952 Year 952 ( CMLII) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Summer – At the Reichstag in Augsburg (assembled by King Otto I), joined by German nob ...

AC 192 – unfair terms ''

contra proferentem ''Contra proferentem'' (Latin: "against heofferor"), also known as "interpretation against the draftsman", is a doctrine of contractual interpretation providing that, where a promise, agreement or term is ambiguous, the preferred meaning shou ...

'' *''

Lister v Romford Ice and Cold Storage Co Ltd is an important English tort law, contract law and labour law, which concerns vicarious liability and an ostensible duty of an employee to compensate the employer for torts he commits in the course of employment. Facts Martin Lister and his fat ...

'' 957AC 555 – vicarious liability

Family

Morton married Margaret Greenlees, elder daughter of James Begg; they had a daughter. He died aged 85 in 1973.

Arms

Notes

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Morton, Fergus 1887 births 1973 deaths Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge Knights Bachelor Morton of Henryton Members of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Recipients of the Military Cross Chancery Division judges People educated at Kelvinside Academy Lawyers from Glasgow Highland Light Infantry officers Members of Lincoln's Inn Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Orange-Nassau Recipients of the Medal of Freedom Lords Justices of Appeal Life peers created by George VI