James Fergusson (1769–1842) was a Scottish judge and legal writer.
Biography
Fergusson was born in 1769. He was the eldest son of James Fergusson (1735–1816) of Bank, (afterwards of Monkwood,
Ayrshire) and Margaret Hutchison (1746–1821). He studied 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 ...
, becoming a member of the
Speculative Society
The Speculative Society is a Scottish Enlightenment society dedicated to public speaking and literary composition, founded in 1764. It was mainly, but not exclusively, an Edinburgh University student organisation. The formal purpose of the Societ ...
on 9 December 1788, and was admitted 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 constit ...
1791.
Fergusson was appointed an
advocate-depute in 1809. Two years later on 4 March 1811 he appointed one of the four judges of the
Consistorial Court. He held that office for a quarter of a century until, on 5 June 1826, he was appointed one of the
principal clerks of session and four years later he added the post of keeper of the
general record of entails for Scotland. He sold the estate of Monkwood to his brother, John H. Fergusson of Trochraigue. He died at home, 40 Heriot Row, Edinburgh, on 3 May 1842, and was buried seven days later at the new church,
Greyfriars, Edinburgh.
Bibliography
Fergusson wrote:
# ''Letters upon the Establishment of the Volunteer Corps and Domestic Military Arrangement of Great Britain'', Edinburgh, 1806.
# ''Observations upon the proposed Reform in the Administration of Civil Justice in Scotland'', Edinburgh, 1807 (regarding the introduction of trial by jury).
# ''Reports of some recent Decisions by the Consistorial Courts of Scotland in Actions of Divorce'', Edinburgh, 1817. These decisions illustrated the power of the Scottish court to dissolve marriage for adultery, which power the English court did not then possess, and the ''alarming collision between the respective jurisdictions of the two countries in the same island and state' which had arisen therefrom.
# ''Observations upon the Provisions of the Bill presented to Parliament relative to the trial in a separate tribunal of issues of fact arising in actions instituted before the Supreme Civil Court of Scotland'', Edinburgh, 1824.
# ''A Treatise on the present state of the Consistorial Law in Scotland, with reports of decided cases'', Edinburgh, 1829.
# ''Observations on Entails and Entries of Heir-Apparent, ''
cum beneficio inventarii'', with an index of the registers of
tailzie
In Scots law, tailzie () is a feudal concept of the inheritance of immovable property according to an arbitrary course that has been laid out, such as in a document known as a "deed of tailzie". It was codified by the Entail Act 1685.
Tailzie i ...
s from AD 1685 to 1830'', Edinburgh, 1830.
# ''Additional Observations on Entails'', Edinburgh, 1831.
His writings detailing his interest in the differences between the possibility of
divorce under Scottish law but not under
English law, ''Reports of some recent Decisions...'' (1817) and ''A treatise on the present state ...'' (1830), exerted a considerable influence on the
American Supreme Court judge and legal scholar
Joseph Story
Joseph Story (September 18, 1779 – September 10, 1845) was an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, serving from 1812 to 1845. He is most remembered for his opinions in ''Martin v. Hunter's Lessee'' and '' United States ...
. Story wrote, and published in 1834, the first major treatise in English written on this topic called ''Commentaries on the Conflict of Laws''.
Family
On 1 November 1806, Fergusson married Mary (d. 1845), daughter of
John Home of Bassendean
John is a common English name and surname:
* John (given name)
* John (surname)
John may also refer to:
New Testament
Works
* Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John
* First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John
* Second ...
. They had two daughters.
Notes
References
*
;Attribution
* Endnotes:
**Paterson's ''Hist. of the County of Ayr, volume ii. part iv. page 371 (Edinburgh, 1852)
**Hist. of the Speculative Society, page 187 (Edinburgh, 1845)
**Anderson's Scottish Nation, ii. 196
**Catalogue of Advocates' Library
**British Museum Catalogue
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fergusson, James
1769 births
1842 deaths
Scottish legal writers
18th-century Scottish lawyers
19th-century Scottish judges
Alumni of the University of Edinburgh
People of the Scottish Enlightenment
Members of the Faculty of Advocates
Burials at Greyfriars Kirkyard
Principal Clerks of Session and Justiciary
19th-century British civil servants
18th-century Scottish writers
19th-century Scottish writers