Sir Arwyn Lynn Ungoed-Thomas (29 June 1904 – 4 December 1972) was a
Welsh Labour Party politician and British judge.
Personal life
He was born on 29 June 1904, the son of Evan Ungoed-Thomas, minister of Tabernacle Welsh Baptist Church,
Carmarthen
Carmarthen (, RP: ; cy, Caerfyrddin , "Merlin's fort" or "Sea-town fort") is the county town of Carmarthenshire and a community in Wales, lying on the River Towy. north of its estuary in Carmarthen Bay. The population was 14,185 in 2011, ...
, for more than forty years. He was educated at
Queen Elizabeth Grammar School (Carmarthen),
Haileybury College Haileybury may refer to:
Australia
* Haileybury (Melbourne), a school in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
** Haileybury Rendall School, an offshoot in Berrimah, North Territory, Australia
China
* Haileybury International School, an internatio ...
and
Magdalen College, Oxford. He married on 19 April 1933 to Dorothy, the daughter of Jasper Travers Wolfe of county Cork. They had two sons and one daughter.
Ungoed-Thomas played
rugby union
Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...
for
Leicester Tigers in 1931, featuring in eight games between January and March and scoring two tries.
Career
Before his political career, he served in the army throughout
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
, where he became a major.
He was elected at the
1945 general election
The following elections occurred in the year 1945.
Africa
* 1945 South-West African legislative election
Asia
* 1945 Indian general election
Australia
* 1945 Fremantle by-election
Europe
* 1945 Albanian parliamentary election
* 1945 Bulgarian ...
as
Member of Parliament
A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...
(MP) for the
Welsh constituency of
Llandaff and Barry.
His seat was abolished for the
1950 general election, but shortly afterwards the Labour MP for the new
Leicester North East
Leicester North East was a borough constituency in the city of Leicester. It returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme le ...
constituency became a
High Court judge, and Ungoed-Thomas was returned to
Parliament
In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...
in the resulting
Leicester North East by-election.
Between April 1951 and October 1951, he served as
Solicitor General,
and received the customary
knighthood
A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the ...
.
He held the seat until he
resigned from the House of Commons in 1962,
when he became a
High Court judge, assigned to the
Chancery Division
The High Court of Justice in London, known properly as His Majesty's High Court of Justice in England, together with the Court of Appeal and the Crown Court, are the Senior Courts of England and Wales. Its name is abbreviated as EWHC (England ...
. He remained on the High Court until his death in 1972.
The European Convention on Human Rights
He was a member of the British delegation to the Council of Europe, where he argued strongly for the creation of the European Convention on Human Rights. However, he opposed the creation of a Court to oversee the implementation of the Convention and to provide the protections within it. He, along with Rolin of France, proposed on 6 September 1949 that the Legal Committee's recommendation of a Court be rejected.
[Janis, M.W., Kay, R.S., Bradley, A.W., 2010, European Human Rights Law: Text and Materials, Oxford, pg. 16, ] They believed that both a European Commission of Human Rights and a European Court of Human Rights were unnecessary. One of several objections they had was the proposal that individuals, not just states, could seek redress for alleged violations through the Court. Ungoed-Thomas opposed the right to individual petition because he felt that individuals could "bring one of the States to trial even after examination and with the authority of a 'sorting organization.
After two days of debate on the issue, on 8 September 1949, Rolin and Ungoed-Thomas' amendment rejecting a European Court of Human Rights was itself rejected.
Ungoed-Thomas then proposed that individuals not be allowed to petition the Commission.
"Personally I object to this right of individuals going to the Commission for this reason. I foresee shoals of applications being made by individuals who imagine that they have a complaint of one kind or another against the country ... In my opinion the objection to the Commission is as great as the objection to the Court."
[Janis, M.W., Kay, R.S., Bradley, A.W., 2010, European Human Rights Law: Text and Materials, Oxford, pg. 17, ]
He was supported in this objection by the likes of Sundt of Norway who felt that the right of individual petition would open a flood of claims against signatory States.
Ultimately, the right to individual petition became an optional clause, in part due to these objections raised, under the original Article 25 of the Convention. The right of individual petition has been mandatory since the adoption of a revised European Convention on Human Rights in 1998. (new Article 34).
[Janis, M.W., Kay, R.S., Bradley, A.W., 2010, European Human Rights Law: Text and Materials, Oxford, pg. 19, ]
Judicial career
As a judge he is remembered for his much-cited judgement in the tax case ''
Cheney v Conn'' (1968). Other notable decisions of his included:
*''
Butt v Kelson''
952
Year 952 ( CMLII) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
Events
By place Europe
* Summer – At the Reichstag in Augsburg (assembled by King Otto I), joined by German nob ...
Ch 197 (as counsel)
* ''
Re Golay's Will Trusts''
9651 WLR 969
*''
Cunliffe-Owen v Teather & Greenwood''
9671 WLR 1421, terms implied by custom
* ''
Mann v Goldstein''
968
Year 968 ( CMLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
Events
By place Byzantine Empire
* Emperor Nikephoros II receives a Bulgarian embassy led by Prince Boris (th ...
1 WLR 1091
*''
Selangor United Rubber Estates Ltd v Cradock (No 3)''
968
Year 968 ( CMLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
Events
By place Byzantine Empire
* Emperor Nikephoros II receives a Bulgarian embassy led by Prince Boris (th ...
1 WLR 1555
* ''
Bushell v Faith''
970
Year 970 ( CMLXX) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar, the 970th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' designations, the 970th year of the 1st millennium, the 70th yea ...
AC 1099 (at first instance)
* ''
Hodgson v Marks''
971
Year 971 ( CMLXXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
Events
By place
Byzantine Empire
* Battle of Dorostolon: A Byzantine expeditionary army (possibly 30–40,000 men) ...
Ch 892 (at first instance)
References
*
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ungoed-Thomas, Lynn
1904 births
1972 deaths
Welsh Labour Party MPs
Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Cardiff constituencies
Labour Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies
UK MPs 1945–1950
UK MPs 1950–1951
UK MPs 1951–1955
UK MPs 1955–1959
UK MPs 1959–1964
Solicitors General for England and Wales
Welsh socialists
Chancery Division judges
Knights Bachelor
People educated at Haileybury and Imperial Service College
Alumni of Magdalen College, Oxford
Ministers in the Attlee governments, 1945–1951
Leicester Tigers players