Neil John Downie Kennedy, Lord Kennedy, (1854 – 12 February 1918) was a Scottish

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, ...

, legal academic and judge. He was a Professor of Law at the University of Aberdeen, and served from 1912 to 1918 as the first chairman of the Scottish Land Court.

Early life and education

Kennedy was born in 1854 at

Rosehall Rosehall is a remote hamlet in the Parish of Creich near the confluence of the River Cassley and the River Oykel, 1 mile northwest of Altass, in Sutherland, Scottish Highlands and is in the Scotland, Scottish council area of Highland Council area, ...

in Sutherland, the son of Rev John Downie Kennedy (1811-1873) and his wife Catherine Mackay. His father had been minister of Rosehall for the Church of Scotland since 1836 but at the Disruption of 1843 joined the

Free Church of Scotland Free Church of Scotland may refer to: * Free Church of Scotland (1843–1900), seceded in 1843 from the Church of Scotland. The majority merged in 1900 into the United Free Church of Scotland; historical * Free Church of Scotland (since 1900), rema ...

. Neil was educated at

Inverness Inverness (; from the gd, Inbhir Nis , meaning "Mouth of the River Ness"; sco, Innerness) is a city in the Scottish Highlands. It is the administrative centre for The Highland Council and is regarded as the capital of the Highlands. Histori ...

and then at the University of Aberdeen, where he was awarded an MA in 1876. He later received an

LL.D Legum Doctor (Latin: “teacher of the laws”) (LL.D.) or, in English, Doctor of Laws, is a doctorate-level academic degree in law or an honorary degree, depending on the jurisdiction. The double “L” in the abbreviation refers to the earl ...

from the University of Edinburgh, in 1903.

Career

He was called to the Scottish Bar in 1874 or 1877, and in 1898 he was appointed as lecturer on private international law at the University of Edinburgh. From 1901 to 1907 he was Professor of Civil and Scots Law at the University of Aberdeen. His interest in the plight of

crofters A croft is a fenced or enclosed area of land, usually small and arable, and usually, but not always, with a crofter's dwelling thereon. A crofter is one who has tenure and use of the land, typically as a tenant farmer, especially in rural area ...

led him to be the Liberal Party candidate for Inverness-shire at the 1895 general election. He achieved a

swing Swing or swinging may refer to: Apparatus * Swing (seat), a hanging seat that swings back and forth * Pendulum, an object that swings * Russian swing, a swing-like circus apparatus * Sex swing, a type of harness for sexual intercourse * Swing rid ...

of 4.8% from the Conservatives, but fell 100 votes short of defeating the sitting Conservative MP

James Evan Bruce Baillie James Evan Bruce Baillie, MVO, JP, DL (1859 – 6 May 1931) was Unionist MP for Inverness-shire. He was elected at a by-election in 1895, was re-elected in the general election later that year, but stood down in 1900 Baillie was the son of Evan ...

. He was a member of the Congested Districts Board, and in May 1906 he was appointed to the Royal Commission On Registration Of Title In Scotland. Kennedy became a

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 October 1906. In January 1907, he became Sheriff of Renfrew and Bute. In April 1908 he was appointed as a chairman of the

Crofters' Commission The Crofting Commission ( gd, Coimisean na Croitearachd) took the place of the Crofters Commission ( gd, Coimisean nan Croitearan) on 1 April 2012 as the statutory regulator for crofting in Scotland. Based in Inverness, it is an executive non- ...

, to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Sir David Brand.

Land Court

In March 1912, Kennedy was appointed as the first chairman of the Scottish Land Court, with the rank of a Lord of Session and the judicial title of Lord Kennedy. The Land Court was established under the Small Landholders (Scotland) Act 1911. Some of its duties had been transferred from the Crofters Commission. The court regarded with great suspicion by landowners, because the 1911 Act had extended of security of tenure to tenant farmers in all of Scotland. This right had previously existed only in the seven

crofting counties A croft is a Agricultural fencing, fenced or Enclosure, enclosed area of land, usually small and arable land, arable, and usually, but not always, with a crofter's dwelling thereon. A crofter is one who has Land tenure, tenure and use of the lan ...

Shetland Shetland, also called the Shetland Islands and formerly Zetland, is a subarctic archipelago in Scotland lying between Orkney, the Faroe Islands and Norway. It is the northernmost region of the United Kingdom. The islands lie about to the no ...

Orkney Orkney (; sco, Orkney; on, Orkneyjar; nrn, Orknøjar), also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago in the Northern Isles of Scotland, situated off the north coast of the island of Great Britain. Orkney is 10 miles (16 km) north ...

Caithness Caithness ( gd, Gallaibh ; sco, Caitnes; non, Katanes) is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. Caithness has a land boundary with the historic county of Sutherland to the west and is otherwise bounded by ...

Sutherland Sutherland ( gd, Cataibh) is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area in the Highlands of Scotland. Its county town is Dornoch. Sutherland borders Caithness and Moray Firth to the east, Ross-shire and Cromartyshire (later ...

, Ross-shire, Inverness-shire and Argyll, where it was created by the Crofters' Holdings (Scotland) Act 1886. The landowners' hostility was reflected in the newspapers. In 1914 '' The Scotsman'' called it "the new tyrants of the countryside", and '' Blackwood's Magazine'' labelled it as the "Agrarian

Star Chamber The Star Chamber (Latin: ''Camera stellata'') was an English court that sat at the royal Palace of Westminster, from the late to the mid-17th century (c. 1641), and was composed of Privy Counsellors and common-law judges, to supplement the judic ...

". The Court was also criticised by the

Court of Session The Court of Session is the supreme civil court of Scotland and constitutes part of the College of Justice; the supreme criminal court of Scotland is the High Court of Justiciary. The Court of Session sits in Parliament House in Edinburgh ...

when it heard appeals, reproaching Kennedy's "rhetorical indulgence". In March 1914, the Conservative MP

John Pretyman Newman Lieutenant-Colonel Sir John Robert Pretyman Newman (born John Robert Bramston Newman; 22 August 1871 – 12 March 1947) was an Irish-born British Army officer and Conservative politician. He was the eldest son of John Adam Richard Newman of Newb ...

was rebuked by the Speaker for asking in the House of Commons "Does Lord Kennedy act in his judicial capacity, or is he merely a tool of the Radical party?"

Personal life

In April 1902, Kennedy married his cousin Hilda Stevenson at

St Mary's Church, Hendon St Mary's Church is the oldest (and Church of England) parish church in Hendon in the London Borough of Barnet. The mother church of Christ Church, Brent Street, the two form one parish in the Diocese of London. History The church may date to A ...

in Middlesex.

Death

Kennedy died on 12 February 1918, at his home at 22 Ainslie Place on the

Moray Estate The Moray Estate in Edinburgh was an exclusive early 19th century building venture attaching the west side of Edinburgh's New Town. Built on an awkward and steeply sloping site, it has been described as a masterpiece of urban planning. Backg ...

in west Edinburgh.Edinburgh Post Office Directory 1911 He was 63 years old. His funeral was held in Edinburgh on 15 February, at the

United Free Church The United Free Church of Scotland (UF Church; gd, An Eaglais Shaor Aonaichte, sco, The Unitit Free Kirk o Scotland) is a Scottish Presbyterian denomination formed in 1900 by the union of the United Presbyterian Church of Scotland (or UP) and ...

in Queen Street. His body was then taken to Glasgow for cremation. He was described by '' The Scotsman'' as "one of the most brilliant and learned men of his generation at the bar".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kennedy, Neil 1854 births 1918 deaths

Kennedy Kennedy may refer to: People * John F. Kennedy (1917–1963), 35th president of the United States * John Kennedy (Louisiana politician), (born 1951), US Senator from Louisiana * Kennedy (surname), a family name (including a list of persons with t ...

People from Sutherland Scottish legal scholars Members of the Faculty of Advocates Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Alumni of the University of Aberdeen Academics of the University of Edinburgh Academics of the University of Aberdeen Scottish Liberal Party politicians International law scholars Scottish sheriffs Scottish King's Counsel 20th-century King's Counsel Liberal Party (UK) parliamentary candidates 20th-century Scottish judges