James Stratford, PC (19 July 1869 – 17 January 1952) was a South African judge who briefly served as the Chief Justice of the Union of South Africa between 1938 and 1939.

Background

Born in

Port Elizabeth Gqeberha (), formerly Port Elizabeth and colloquially often referred to as P.E., is a major seaport and the most populous city in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is the seat of the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality, Sou ...

, Stratford was educated at St Aiden's College, Grahamstown, then qualified as a surveyor before proceeding to Exeter College, Oxford, where he obtained a BA in Jurisprudence in 1897 and a BCL in 1898. He was called to the English bar by the Inner Temple in 1898 and read in the chambers of George Cave (later the Viscount Cave), who was then a junior barrister at the Chancery bar. He returned to South Africa in 1901 and was admitted to the Cape bar, but transferred to Johannesburg in 1902. He was made

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 1912. In 1921, Stratford was appointed a judge of the Transvaal Provincial Division of the

Supreme Court of South Africa The Supreme Court of South Africa was a superior court of law in South Africa from 1910 to 1997. It was made up of various provincial and local divisions with jurisdiction over specific geographical areas, and an Appellate Division which was t ...

. In 1927 he was elevated to the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court. In 1938 he was appointed Chief Justice of the Union of South Africa and 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 ...

, and retired the following year upon reaching the age of seventy.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stratford, James 1869 births 1952 deaths People from Port Elizabeth Alumni of Exeter College, Oxford Members of the Inner Temple South African barristers South African Queen's Counsel South African judges Chief justices of South Africa Cape Colony people