Sir John Rowlatt, KCB, KCIE, MC, QC (19 November 1898 – 4 July 1956) was a British lawyer who served as First Parliamentary Counsel.

Biography

John Rowlatt was the third son of Sidney Rowlatt, a High Court judge who presided over the a committee regarding British India. John was educated at Eton College from 1911, as a King's Scholar. He earned a number of medals and prizes: he was Newcastle Scholar in 1915, and School Captain, Newcastle Medallist and Alfred Lyttelton Scholar in 1917, his final year before going up to

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church ( la, Ædes Christi, the temple or house, '' ædēs'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, the college is uniqu ...

. He served in the Coldstream Guards in the First World War between 1917 and 1918,"Sir J. Rowlatt", ''The Times'', 5 July 1956, p. 14. lost a leg, and was awarded the Military Cross. After the war, he returned to Christ Church, graduating with a BA in

classics Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Classics ...

in 1921. He then qualified as a lawyer, being

called to the bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

in 1922. He went into practice in the commercial and common law courts, until joining the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel in 1929. He became a Parliamentary Counsel in 1937, and was promoted to Second Parliamentary Counsel ten years later, and then appointed First Parliamentary Counsel in 1953, serving until his death."Rowlatt, Sir John"
''Who Was Who'' (online edition, Oxford University Press, December 2007). Retrieved 27 January 2019. He devilled (trained under) Sir Maurice Gwyer while he was drafting the

Government of India Act 1935 The Government of India Act, 1935 was an Act adapted from the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It originally received royal assent in August 1935. It was the longest Act of (British) Parliament ever enacted until the Greater London Authority ...

, and then travelled to India two years later to help with the establishment of the federation under the Act. On his return, he drafted (as a Parliamentary Counsel he could now draft alone) acts concerning British India from then on. After succeeding John Stainton as Second Parliamentary Counsel (which coincided with India's independence from the British Empire), Rowlatt took over responsibility for the Finance Bills, and also drafted the Transport Act 1947. As head of the OPC, he drafted the

Income Tax Act 1952 The Income Tax Act 1952 (15 & 16 Geo. 6 & 1 Eliz. 2. c. 10) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, concerning income tax. The whole Act was repealed by section 538(1) of, and Schedule 16 to, the Income and Corporation Taxes Act 1970 ...

. Rowlatt was appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire in 1947, and of the Order of the Bath in 1954. He was appointed a Queen's Counsel in 1954. He died after collapsing at

Westminster underground station Westminster is a London Underground station in the City of Westminster. It is served by the Circle, District and Jubilee lines. On the Circle and District lines, the station is between St James's Park and Embankment, and on the Jubilee lin ...

on 4 July 1956. The Lord Chancellor,

Lord Kilmuir David Patrick Maxwell Fyfe, 1st Earl of Kilmuir, (29 May 1900 – 27 January 1967), known as Sir David Maxwell Fyfe from 1942 to 1954 and as Viscount Kilmuir from 1954 to 1962, was a British Conservative politician, lawyer and judge who combine ...

, wrote a letter to '' The Times'' paying tribute to Rowlatt: "the form and lucidity of his drafting was as remarkable as the speed with which he drew his Bills ... uthis exceptional gifts made it inevitable that his counsel should be sought on many matters of the highest importance and confidence, not necessarily connected with legislative projects".Lord Kilmuir, "Sir John Rowlatt", ''The Times'', 10 July 1956, p. 13.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rowlatt, John 1898 births 1956 deaths People educated at Eton College Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford 20th-century British lawyers English barristers English King's Counsel 20th-century King's Counsel Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Knights Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire Recipients of the Military Cross Coldstream Guards officers British Army personnel of World War I