Walter Ian Reid Fraser, Baron Fraser of Tullybelton, (3 February 1911 – 17 February 1989) was a British judge.

Life and career

Ian Fraser was born in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

on 3 February 1911, the only child of Alexander Reid Fraser, a Glasgow fur merchant, and his wife Margaret Russell MacFarlane. He was educated at

Sandroyd School Sandroyd School is an independent co-educational preparatory school for day and boarding pupils aged 2 to 13 in the south of Wiltshire, England. The school's main building is Rushmore House, a 19th-century country house which is surrounded by the ...

Repton School Repton School is a 13–18 co-educational, independent, day and boarding school in the English public school tradition, in Repton, Derbyshire, England. Sir John Port of Etwall, on his death in 1557, left funds to create a grammar school whi ...

and later studied Philosophy, Politics and Economics at Balliol College, Oxford, graduating in 1932 with First Class Honours. He finished his studies at 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 , ...

with a

Bachelor of Laws 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 Ch ...

in 1935. The following year he was admitted to the Scottish

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 constit ...

, where he soon earned a reputation as an excellent jurist. At the same time he held a teaching post at the University of Glasgow and from 1948 at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

. His 1936 work "Outline of Constitutional Law" (2nd edition 1948) was soon regarded as the standard work on

British constitutional law The constitution of the United Kingdom or British constitution comprises the written and unwritten arrangements that establish the United Kingdom, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland as a political body. Unlike in most count ...

. During the war he served first as a sergeant in an anti-aircraft battery of the Territorial Army. Later he transferred to the

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

, was promoted to the rank of major and served in the theatre of war in

Burma Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...

. In 1945 he was appointed Advocate Depute and eventually rose to be the Home Depute in the

Crown Office The Crown Office, also known (especially in official papers) as the Crown Office in Chancery, is a section of the Ministry of Justice (formerly the Lord Chancellor's Department). It has custody of the Great Seal of the Realm, and has certain a ...

. In 1953 he was appointed QC. In 1954 he served on the

Scottish Law Reform Committee Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English * Scottish national identity, the Scottish id ...

and from 1960 to 1962 on the Royal Commission on the Police. From 1959 to 1964 he served as

Dean of the Faculty of Advocates The Dean of the Faculty of Advocates, also known as the Dean of Faculty, is the head of the Faculty of Advocates, the independent body for advocates in Scotland. The Dean is elected by the whole membership. List of deans of Faculty * 1582 to ??? ...

. From 1964 to 1974, he was a Senator of the College of Justice and had the courtesy title of Lord Fraser. In 1974 he was appointed to the Privy Council, and on 13 January 1975 was created a life peer with the title Baron Fraser of Tullybelton, of Bankfoot in the

County of Perth Perthshire ( locally: ; gd, Siorrachd Pheairt), officially the County of Perth, is a historic county and registration county in central Scotland. Geographically it extends from Strathmore in the east, to the Pass of Drumochter in the nort ...

, and took the office of Lord of Appeal in Ordinary. Fraser was a very active member of the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminste ...

and dealt primarily with issues of further development of the administration of justice. Even in his retirement, he was a chairman of the University Commission on the reform of higher education. He died on 17 February 1989 in a car crash on the

M90 motorway The M90 is a motorway in Scotland. It runs from Junction 1A of the M9 motorway, south of the Queensferry Crossing, to Perth. It is the northernmost motorway in the United Kingdom. The northern point goes to the western suburbs of Perth at ...

between Perth and Edinburgh during a snow storm.

Awards and honours

Fraser was a member of the

Royal Company of Archers The Royal Company of Archers, The King's Bodyguard for Scotland is a ceremonial unit that serves as the Sovereign's bodyguard in Scotland—a role it has performed since 1822 during the reign of King George IV when the company provided a per ...

. In 1975 he was appointed honorary chairman of the administrative committee of

Gray's Inn The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister in England and W ...

, where he was an Honorary Bencher. In 1981 he was made an Honorary Fellow of Balliol College. He was awarded honorary doctorates (Legum Doctor) at the University of Glasgow in 1970 and at the University of Edinburgh in 1978.

Family

On 8 November 1943 Fraser married Mary Ursula Cynthia Gwendolen Macdonnell, daughter of Colonel Ian Harrison Macdonnell, with whom he had a son,

Andrew Andrew is the English form of a given name common in many countries. In the 1990s, it was among the top ten most popular names given to boys in List of countries where English is an official language, English-speaking countries. "Andrew" is freq ...

Judgments

Lord Fraser overturned, along with

Lord Edmund-Davies Herbert Edmund Edmund-Davies, Baron Edmund-Davies, Privy Council of the United Kingdom, PC (15 July 1906 – 26 December 1992) was a British judge. Early life and career Born Herbert Edmund Davies at Mountain Ash, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Mountain ...

, Lord Roskill,

Lord Brandon Henry Vivian Brandon, Baron Brandon of Oakbrook, Military Cross, MC, Privy Council of the United Kingdom, PC (3 June 1920 – 24 March 1999) was a British judge. Early life and career Brandon was born in Worthing, Sussex, the younger son ...

, and

Lord Templeman Sydney William Templeman, Baron Templeman, MBE, PC (3 March 1920 – 4 June 2014) was a British judge. He served as a Lord of Appeal in Ordinary from 1982 to 1995. Early life and career Templeman was born on 3 March 1920, the son of Herbert ...

, the Mandla v Dowell-Lee judgment by

Lord Denning Alfred Thompson "Tom" Denning, Baron Denning (23 January 1899 – 5 March 1999) was an English lawyer and judge. He was called to the bar of England and Wales in 1923 and became a King's Counsel in 1938. Denning became a judge in 1944 wh ...

in the

, where he held the following with respect to the

Race Relations Act 1976 The Race Relations Act 1976 was established by the Parliament of the United Kingdom to prevent discrimination on the grounds of race. The scope of the legislation included discrimination on the grounds of race, colour, nationality, ethnic and n ...

:hrcr.org: "Mandla and another v Dowell Lee and another - HOUSE OF LORDS"

983 Year 983 ( CMLXXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Summer – Diet of Verona: Emperor Otto II (the Red) declares war against the Byza ...

2 AC 548,

1 All ER 1062,

2 WLR 620,

IC R 385,

IRLR 209, (46 MLR 759, 100 LQR 120,

984 Year 984 ( CMLXXXIV) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Spring – German boy-king Otto III (4-years old) is seized by the deposed Henry II ...

CLJ 219) He went on to approve the test set out by Richardson, J. in the County Court, which held that Sikhs were a

racial A race is a categorization of humans based on shared physical or social qualities into groups generally viewed as distinct within a given society. The term came into common usage during the 1500s, when it was used to refer to groups of variou ...

or ethnic group:

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fraser, Ian Baron Fraser of Tullybelton 1911 births 1989 deaths Fraser of Tullybelton, Ian Fraser, Baron People educated at Sandroyd School People educated at Repton School Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford Alumni of the University of Glasgow Academics of the University of Glasgow Academics of the University of Edinburgh Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Members of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council Senior Lords of Appeal in Ordinary Members of the Royal Company of Archers Royal Artillery officers

Fraser Fraser may refer to: Places Antarctica * Fraser Point, South Orkney Islands Australia * Fraser, Australian Capital Territory, a suburb in the Canberra district of Belconnen * Division of Fraser (Australian Capital Territory), a former federal e ...

Deans of the Faculty of Advocates British Army personnel of World War II British Army soldiers Road incident deaths in Scotland