Arnold Duncan McNair, 1st Baron McNair (4 March 1885 – 22 May 1975) was a British jurist and judge of the

International Court of Justice The International Court of Justice (ICJ; french: Cour internationale de justice, links=no; ), sometimes known as the World Court, is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN). It settles disputes between states in accordan ...

and later the first president of the

European Court of Human Rights The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR or ECtHR), also known as the Strasbourg Court, is an international court of the Council of Europe which interprets the European Convention on Human Rights. The court hears applications alleging that ...

Early life and education

McNair was born in

Highbury Fields Highbury Fields is an open space in Highbury, in the London Borough of Islington. At 11.75 hectares (29 acres), it is the largest open space in the borough. It extends north from Highbury Corner almost as far as Highbury Barn. As well as parkl ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. The eldest son of John McNair and Jeannie Ballantyne; his mother was a teacher and his father a member of Lloyd's. McNair was educated at Aldenham School. He left school at 17 to join his sick uncle who was a solicitor; he took his solicitor exams and qualified as a solicitor in 1906. After four years, his uncle's health improved and McNair applied to the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

. He was accepted and won a classical scholarship for

Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge Gonville and Caius College, often referred to simply as Caius ( ), is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1348, it is the fourth-oldest of the University of Cambridge's 31 colleges and one of t ...

; he took the law

tripos At the University of Cambridge, a Tripos (, plural 'Triposes') is any of the examinations that qualify an undergraduate for a bachelor's degree or the courses taken by a student to prepare for these. For example, an undergraduate studying mat ...

in 1907 and 1908. While at Cambridge, he developed a close relationship with W. W. Buckland. He achieved a double first in both parts of the law

. From Cambridge, he took an LLB in 1909, an LLM in 1913, an MA in 1919 and an

LLD 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 early ...

in 1925. From 1907 to 1908 he was Secretary of

Cambridge University Liberal Club Cambridge University Liberal Association (CULA) is the student branch of the Liberal Democrats for students at Cambridge University. It is the successor to the Cambridge Student Liberal Democrats, which in turn was formed from the merger of Cam ...

, and in 1909 he was President of the Cambridge Union.

Career

McNair moved to London to practise as a

solicitor A solicitor is a legal practitioner who traditionally deals with most of the legal matters in some jurisdictions. A person must have legally-defined qualifications, which vary from one jurisdiction to another, to be described as a solicitor and ...

. However, Buckland went to London to offer McNair a lectureship and

fellow A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

ship at Caius College in 1912, which was accepted. He later became senior tutor. During the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, he worked under the coal controller, serving as secretary to the Sankey Commission in 1919. In 1917, he was

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 ...

Gray's Inn The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister in England and W ...

. He was reader in international law at the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degr ...

from 1926 to 1927. He was appointed Tagore Professor at the

University of Calcutta The University of Calcutta (informally known as Calcutta University; CU) is a public collegiate state university in India, located in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. Considered one of best state research university all over India every yea ...

in 1931. In 1935 he was appointed Whewell Professor of International Law at Cambridge. However, he left the chair in 1937 to become Vice-Chancellor of

Liverpool University , mottoeng = These days of peace foster learning , established = 1881 – University College Liverpool1884 – affiliated to the federal Victoria Universityhttp://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/2004/4 University of Manchester Act 200 ...

where he remained until 1945. when he returned to Cambridge to take up the position of professor of

comparative law Comparative law is the study of differences and similarities between the law (legal systems) of different countries. More specifically, it involves the study of the different legal "systems" (or "families") in existence in the world, including the ...

. He was offered the position of

master Master or masters may refer to: Ranks or titles * Ascended master, a term used in the Theosophical religious tradition to refer to spiritually enlightened beings who in past incarnations were ordinary humans *Grandmaster (chess), National Master ...

of Caius, but declined it in favour of joining the

. His interest was in the

common law In law, common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law created by judges and similar quasi-judicial tribunals by virtue of being stated in written opinions."The common law is not a brooding omniprese ...

and he lectured on

contract A contract is a legally enforceable agreement between two or more parties that creates, defines, and governs mutual rights and obligations between them. A contract typically involves the transfer of goods, services, money, or a promise to tr ...

at Cambridge, though he was most notable as an international law expert. R. Y. Jennings said McNair was of the opinion that international lawyers must first become experts in private law in order to ensure legal actions are founded in "hard law" rather than speculation.

International court appointments

McNair was elected a judge of the

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital o ...

in 1945, a post he held until 1955; he was also president of the Court from 1952 to 1955. He later served as the first President of the

Strasbourg Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label= Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label= Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the ...

from 1959 to 1965.

Personal life

Lord McNair married Marjorie Bailhache (1887–1971), a social worker and daughter of Sir Clement Bailhache, in 1912. They had one son and three daughters. McNair's wife died in 1971 and he in 1975, aged 90. He was succeeded in the barony by his son, Clement John McNair.

Honours

McNair was created a CBE in 1918 and knighted and made 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 1943. In 1955 he was raised to the peerage as Baron McNair, of Gleniffer in the County of Renfrew. He received an honorary DCL from Oxford and

from the

University of Glasgow , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

University of Liverpool , mottoeng = These days of peace foster learning , established = 1881 – University College Liverpool1884 – affiliated to the federal Victoria Universityhttp://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/2004/4 University of Manchester Act 200 ...

and

University of Birmingham , mottoeng = Through efforts to heights , established = 1825 – Birmingham School of Medicine and Surgery1836 – Birmingham Royal School of Medicine and Surgery1843 – Queen's College1875 – Mason Science College1898 – Mason Univers ...

. He received an honorary

DLitt Doctor of Letters (D.Litt., Litt.D., Latin: ' or ') is a terminal degree in the humanities that, depending on the country, is a higher doctorate after the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree or equivalent to a higher doctorate, such as the Doctor ...

from the

University of Reading The University of Reading is a public university in Reading, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1892 as University College, Reading, a University of Oxford extension college. The institution received the power to grant its own degrees in 192 ...

Notes

References

* * *Remarks of Former ICJ President Stephen M. Schwebel durin
Discussion
an
Dinner
a
the 25th Anniversary Conference of the Lauterpacht Centre for International Law
o
11-12 July 2008

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:McNair, Arnold International law scholars McNair, Arnold Duncan McNair, 1st Baron McNair, Arnold Duncan, 1st Baron Presidents of the European Court of Human Rights People educated at Aldenham School McNair, Arnold Duncan McNair, 1st Baron Members of Gray's Inn McNair, Arnold Duncan McNair, 1st Baron 20th-century English judges Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Fellows of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge Fellows of the British Academy Alumni of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge Vice-Chancellors of the University of Liverpool Whewell Professors of International Law British judges of United Nations courts and tribunals British judges of international courts and tribunals Hereditary barons created by Elizabeth II