Charles Eliot Jauncey, Baron Jauncey of Tullichettle, PC (8 May 1925 – 18 July 2007) was a British judge and advocate. He was often praised as one of the finest legal minds of his generation in Scotland, and his legal opinions - both as a practising advocate and as a judge - commanded immense respect.

Early life and career

Jauncey was the son of

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

John Henry Jauncey, who came out of retirement to command destroyers in the Second World War, and Muriel Dundas, daughter of Admiral Sir Charles Dundas. He was educated at Radley College, leaving in 1943 to join the

Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a cit ...

. He served in Egypt and India in the Second World War, from 1943 to 1946, reaching the rank of

Sub-Lieutenant Sub-lieutenant is usually a junior officer rank, used in armies, navies and air forces. In most armies, sub-lieutenant is the lowest officer rank. However, in Brazil, it is the highest non-commissioned rank, and in Spain, it is the second high ...

. He contracted polio in Ceylon and was invalided home, being left with a slight limp for the rest of his life. He read law at

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 ...

, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree in jurisprudence in 1947, and at the University of Glasgow, where he received a Bachelor of Laws degree in 1949. He became an

advocate An advocate is a professional in the field of law. Different countries' legal systems use the term with somewhat differing meanings. The broad equivalent in many English law–based jurisdictions could be a barrister or a solicitor. However, ...

of the Scottish Bar in 1949, joining the Faculty of Advocates. He undertook a wide range of civil legal work, but his practice concentrated mostly on wills, trusts and estates. He became a standing junior counsel to the Ministry of Works in Scotland in 1953, and standing junior counsel to the Admiralty in 1954. Supporting Ian Fraser QC (later Lord Fraser of Tullybelton), he was junior counsel to Margaret Campbell, Duchess of Argyll, from 1959 to 1963 in the notorious divorce action brought by her husband, Ian Campbell, 11th Duke of Argyll, alleging her adultery, which broke new ground in the law of confidentiality. He took silk becoming a Queen's Counsel for Scotland in 1963. He was part-time Sheriff Principal of Fife and Kinross from 1971 to 1974, resigning to continue his legal practice when the position became full-time. He was a Judge of the

Courts of Appeal A court of appeals, also called a court of appeal, appellate court, appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal. In much of ...

of Jersey and

Guernsey Guernsey (; Guernésiais: ''Guernési''; french: Guernesey) is an island in the English Channel off the coast of Normandy that is part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey, a British Crown Dependency. It is the second largest of the Channel Islands ...

from 1972 to 1979.

Judicial career

He became a

Senator of the College of Justice The senators of the College of Justice are judges of the College of Justice, a set of legal institutions involved in the administration of justice in Scotland. There are three types of senator: Lords of Session (judges of the Court of Session); ...

in Scotland in 1979. Amongst other cases, he sat in two particularly long-running cases: ''McColl v. Strathclyde Regional Council'' 983SC 225, a 203-day hearing contesting the mandatory fluoridation of the water supply in Glasgow, and ''Santa Fe v. Heerama'', a patent infringement case relating to semi-submersible drilling platforms in the North Sea which settled after 191 days in court. He held this post until 1988, when he became a

Lord of Appeal in Ordinary Lords of Appeal in Ordinary, commonly known as Law Lords, were judges appointed under the Appellate Jurisdiction Act 1876 to the British House of Lords, as a committee of the House, effectively to exercise the judicial functions of the House of ...

. He was appointed to 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 was created a

life peer In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. In modern times, life peerages, always created at the rank of baron, are created under the Life Peerages ...

with the title Baron Jauncey of Tullichettle, of Comrie in the District of

Perth and Kinross Perth and Kinross ( sco, Pairth an Kinross; gd, Peairt agus Ceann Rois) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland and a Lieutenancy Area. It borders onto the Aberdeenshire, Angus, Argyll and Bute, Clackmannanshire, Dundee, Fife, Highland and S ...

. He also sat on the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council. He retired in 1996, but the Queen appointed him a special commissioner and arbitrator in 1998 to determine a dispute between the Dean of Westminster Abbey and its dismissed organist, Dr Martin Neary and Mrs Neary. He was chairman of the House of Lords Committee in 2001-2 that investigated the crash of the RAF Chinook helicopter ZD576 in the Mull of Kintyre in 1994 that killed all 29 on board. He continued to be active in the House of Lords after his retirement, until a stroke in November 2004. He twice caught MRSA while recuperating at Perth Royal Infirmary. Outside the law, Jauncey became a member of the Royal Company of Archers in 1951. His interest in genealogy led to his appointment as Kintyre Pursuivant of Arms from 1955 to 1971. He was also a member of the Historic Buildings Council for Scotland from 1972 to 1992 and he was chairman of the influential Edinburgh conservation body the Cockburn Association from 1975 to 1978. He enjoyed fishing in the rivers of Perthsire. He lived in Tullichettle, near

Comrie Comrie may refer to: Places *Comrie (crater), a lunar crater *Comrie, Fife, a village in Fife, Scotland *Comrie, Perth and Kinross, a village and parish in Strathearn, Scotland People with the surname *Aaron Comrie (born 1997), Scottish footballer ...

in Perthshire, for 60 years, and was a member of his local

Episcopal Episcopal may refer to: *Of or relating to a bishop, an overseer in the Christian church *Episcopate, the see of a bishop – a diocese *Episcopal Church (disambiguation), any church with "Episcopal" in its name ** Episcopal Church (United State ...

church. He died in Comrie.

Personal life

He married three times. He first married Jean Cunninghame Graham, daughter of Admiral Sir Angus Cunninghame Graham, in 1948. They had two sons, Jamie and Simon, and a daughter, Arabella. After their divorce in 1969, he married Elizabeth Ballingal, widow of Major John Ballingal, in 1973. After a second divorce in 1977, he married a third time, to Camilla Cathcart, daughter of Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Cathcart, later that year. They had one daughter, Cressida.

Arms

References

*
''The Daily Telegraph'' Obituary, 21 July 2007

''The Independent'' Obituary, 23 July 2007

''The Times'' Obituary, 24 July 2007

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jauncey, Charles 1925 births 2007 deaths Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford Alumni of the University of Glasgow Jauncey of Tullichettle Members of the Faculty of Advocates Members of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Members of the Royal Company of Archers People educated at Radley College 20th-century King's Counsel Royal Navy officers Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve personnel of World War II Jauncey of Tullichettle Scottish officers of arms Scottish King's Counsel Scottish sheriffs