Duncan Adam Young Menzies, Lord Menzies, (born 28 August 1953) is a judge of the Supreme Courts of Scotland. He was appointed to the

Outer House The Outer House (abbreviated as CSOH in neutral citations) is one of the two parts of the Scottish Court of Session, which is the supreme civil court in Scotland. It is a court of first instance, although some statutory appeals are remitted t ...

of the Court of Session in 2001, and the

Inner House The Inner House is the senior part of the Court of Session, the supreme civil court in Scotland; the Outer House forms the junior part of the Court of Session. It is a court of appeal and a court of first instance. The chief justice is t ...

(Scotland's main appellate court) in 2012.

Early life

Menzies was educated at the private Cargilfield Preparatory School in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...

, before obtaining a scholarship to

Glenalmond College Glenalmond College is a co-educational independent boarding school in Perth and Kinross, Scotland, for children aged between 12 and 18 years. It is situated on the River Almond near the village of Methven, about west of the city of Perth. ...

, Perthshire. He achieved a further scholarship to study at

Wadham College Wadham College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It is located in the centre of Oxford, at the intersection of Broad Street and Parks Road. Wadham College was founded in 1610 by Dorothy W ...

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

(MA), and then studied at the

School of Law A law school (also known as a law centre or college of law) is an institution specializing in legal education, usually involved as part of a process for becoming a lawyer within a given jurisdiction. Law degrees Argentina In Argentina, l ...

of the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

(LLB). He was admitted to the

Faculty of Advocates The Faculty of Advocates is an independent body of lawyers who have been admitted to practise as advocates before the courts of Scotland, especially the Court of Session and the High Court of Justiciary. The Faculty of Advocates is a constit ...

in 1978 and from 1984 to 1991 was Standing Junior Counsel to the

Admiralty Admiralty most often refers to: *Admiralty, Hong Kong *Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964 *The rank of admiral *Admiralty law Admiralty can also refer to: Buildings * Admiralty, Traf ...

. He

took silk 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 a ...

in 1991. He stood as the

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

candidate for Midlothian in

1983 The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning ...

, and for Edinburgh Leith in

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, ...

, but was unsuccessful both times.

Legal career

He served as a Temporary Sheriff from 1996 to 1997, and as Chairman of the Scottish Planning, Local Government and Environmental Bar Group from 1997 to 2001. He was appointed an Advocate Depute in January 1998, replacing Alan Turnbull QC, and became Home Advocate Depute in September that year, replacing

Alastair Campbell Alastair John Campbell (born 25 May 1957) is a British journalist, author, strategist, broadcaster and activist known for his roles during Tony Blair's leadership of the Labour Party. Campbell worked as Blair's spokesman and campaign director ...

, who resigned to concentrate on his role in the

Pan Am Flight 103 bombing trial The Pan Am Flight 103 bombing trial began on 3 May 2000, 11 years, 4 months and 13 days after the destruction of Pan Am Flight 103 on 21 December 1988. The 36-week bench trial took place at a specially convened Scottish Court in the Netherlands set ...

. Menzies served in this role until December 2000. Menzies was appointed a Senator of the College of Justice, a judge of the Court of Session and

High Court of Justiciary The High Court of Justiciary is the supreme criminal court in Scotland. The High Court is both a trial court and a court of appeal. As a trial court, the High Court sits on circuit at Parliament House or in the adjacent former Sheriff Cour ...

, Scotland's supreme courts, in July 2001, taking the judicial title Lord Menzies. He sat as the presiding judge in the Angelika Kluk murder case. Menzies was promoted to the

in 2012 and received the customary appointment to the Privy Council.Orders for 14 March 2012
Privy Council Office.

Personal life

Lord Menzies married Hilary Elizabeth McLauchlan Weston in 1979, with whom he has two sons. His interests include shooting, golf and wine, and he is a member of the von Poser Society of Scotland, the Saintsbury Club, the New Club and the

Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers ''The Honourable'' (British English) or ''The Honorable'' (American English; see spelling differences) (abbreviation: ''Hon.'', ''Hon'ble'', or variations) is an honorific style that is used as a prefix before the names or titles of certain ...

, and a founding member of the Scottish Wine Society. He lives in Edinburgh.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Menzies, Duncan Adam Young 1953 births Living people Alumni of Wadham College, Oxford Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom People educated at Glenalmond College People educated at Cargilfield School

Menzies Menzies is a Scottish surname, with Gaelic forms being Méinnearach and Méinn, and other variant forms being Menigees, Mennes, Mengzes, Menzeys, Mengies, and Minges. Derivation and history The name and its Gaelic form are probably derived f ...

Members of the Faculty of Advocates Scottish King's Counsel 20th-century King's Counsel Conservative Party (UK) parliamentary candidates

Early life

Legal career

Personal life

See also

References