James William Rant CB QC (16 April 1936 – 25 May 2003) was a British judge and the Judge Advocate General from 1991 until his death in 2003.

Early life and education

Rant was born on 16 April 1936 in the Romford district of Essex and was educated at the Stowe School and

Selwyn College, Cambridge Selwyn College, Cambridge (formally Selwyn College in the University of Cambridge) is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1882 by the Selwyn Memorial Committee in memory of George Augustus Selwyn (18 ...

. He graduated from Selwyn College in 1958 and was called to the bar by

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 ...

in 1961.

Career

Rant practised general law until 1970, when he began to specialise in criminal law. He became a QC in 1980 and by 1984 had become a circuit judge, sitting at the Old Bailey from 1986. In 1991, he was appointed the Judge Advocate General, the first for a long time without a background or connection to the military. He made reforms to the court-martial system, including a centralised administration system for Army and Royal Air Force courts-martial and the introduction of judge advocates. He further reformed the system to reflect the introduction of the Human Rights Act including the creation of summary appeal courts. Rant was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath in the 1995 Birthday Honours.

Personal life

Rant married in 1963 and had two daughters and two sons. He died on 25 May 2003, aged 67.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rant, James 1936 births 2003 deaths 21st-century English judges English King's Counsel People educated at Stowe School Alumni of Selwyn College, Cambridge Companions of the Order of the Bath 20th-century English judges