Edward Holroyd Pearce, Baron Pearce, (9 February 1901 – 26 November 1990) was a British barrister and judge. He served as a
Lord of Appeal in Ordinary from 1962 until 1969. In 1971–72, he chaired the
Pearce Commission, which was charged with testing the acceptability of a proposed constitutional settlement in
Rhodesia
Rhodesia ( , ; ), officially the Republic of Rhodesia from 1970, was an unrecognised state, unrecognised state in Southern Africa that existed from 1965 to 1979. Rhodesia served as the ''de facto'' Succession of states, successor state to the ...
.
Early life and career
Edward Holroyd Pearce was born in
Sidcup
Sidcup is an area of south-east London, England, primarily in the London Borough of Bexley. It is south-east of Charing Cross, bordering the London Boroughs of London Borough of Bromley, Bromley and Royal Borough of Greenwich, Greenwich. It was ...
in
Kent
Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...
, the eldest child (he was followed by three sisters) of John William Ernest Pearce, headmaster of a preparatory school, and Irene Pearce, ''née'' Chaplin, daughter of daughter of Holroyd Chaplin.
He was educated at
Charterhouse School
Charterhouse is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English independent boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) in Godalming, Surrey, England. Founded by Thomas Sutton in 1611 on the site of the old Carthusian monastery in Charter ...
and
Corpus Christi College, Oxford
Corpus Christi College (formally, Corpus Christi College in the University of Oxford; informally abbreviated as Corpus or CCC) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1517 by Richard Fo ...
, of which he was a
scholar
A scholar is a person who is a researcher or has expertise in an academic discipline. A scholar can also be an academic, who works as a professor, teacher, or researcher at a university. An academic usually holds an advanced degree or a termina ...
and where he took a
First in
Honour Moderations in 1921 and a
Third in ''
literae humaniores'' in 1923. He was elected an honorary
fellow
A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned society, learned or professional society, p ...
of Corpus Christi in 1950.
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 ...
by
Lincoln's Inn
The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn, commonly known as Lincoln's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for Barrister, barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister ...
and the
Middle Temple
The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court entitled to Call to the bar, call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple (with whi ...
in 1925, he practiced in the
King's Bench and
Probate, Divorce and Admiralty Divisions of the
High Court. In the 1930s, Pearce was forced to leave legal practice for a time because of tuberculosis. He spent some time in
Switzerland
Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...
, where he acquired a lifelong passion for oil painting, before returning to the Bar. He later exhibited regularly at the
Royal Academy
The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House in Piccadilly London, England. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its ...
and mounted one-man exhibitions as well, sometimes also exhibiting together with his wife, a watercolourist.
He became a member of the
Royal Society of British Artists in 1940.
Exempt from military service on medical grounds, Pearce continued to practice at the bar during the Second World War; he was appointed
King's Counsel
A King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) is a senior lawyer appointed by the monarch (or their Viceroy, viceregal representative) of some Commonwealth realms as a "Counsel learned in the law". When the reigning monarc ...
in 1945.
He became deputy chairman of the East Sussex
Quarter Sessions
The courts of quarter sessions or quarter sessions were local courts that were traditionally held at four set times each year in the Kingdom of England from 1388; they were extended to Wales following the Laws in Wales Act 1535. Scotland establ ...
in 1947, was elected a bencher of
Lincoln's Inn
The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn, commonly known as Lincoln's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for Barrister, barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister ...
in 1948 and served as its treasurer in 1966.
Judicial career
On 14 October 1948, Pearce was appointed a
Justice of the High Court, receiving the customary
knighthood on 29 October.
He was initially assigned to the
Probate, Divorce and Admiralty Division, before being transferred to the
Queen's Bench Division in 1954.
He was made a
Lord Justice of Appeal
A Lord Justice of Appeal or Lady Justice of Appeal is a judge of the Court of Appeal of England and Wales, the court that hears appeals from the High Court of Justice, the Crown Court and other courts and tribunals. A Lord (or Lady) Just ...
on 30 April 1957, and sworn of the
Privy Council. On 19 April 1962, Pearce was made
Lord of Appeal in Ordinary 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. Life peers are appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister. With the exception of the D ...
with the title Baron Pearce, of Sweethaws in the County of
Sussex
Sussex (Help:IPA/English, /ˈsʌsɪks/; from the Old English ''Sūþseaxe''; lit. 'South Saxons'; 'Sussex') is an area within South East England that was historically a kingdom of Sussex, kingdom and, later, a Historic counties of England, ...
.
In his capacity as a member of the
Judicial Committee of the Privy Council
The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (JCPC) is the highest court of appeal for the Crown Dependencies, the British Overseas Territories, some Commonwealth countries and a few institutions in the United Kingdom. Established on 14 August ...
, Pearce sat on the case of ''
Madzimbamuto v Lardner-Burke'', concerning the constitutionality of
Rhodesia's Unilateral Declaration of Independence
Rhodesia's Unilateral Declaration of Independence (UDI) was a statement adopted by the Cabinet of Rhodesia on 11 November 1965, announcing that Rhodesia (previously Southern Rhodesia), a British crown colony in southern Africa that had respon ...
. He dissented from the majority decision of
Lord Reid, who held that the Unilateral Declaration was unconstitutional and the detention orders in issue were therefore unlawful. While agreeing that the Declaration was unlawful, Pearce would have held that the detention orders in issue were lawful, on the basis that they had been issued by a government which was in ''de facto'' control of Rhodesia, and therefore should be applied by the courts.
[''Madzimbamuto v Lardner-Burke'', ; 9683 WLR 1229; 9683 All ER 561; 9691 AC 645.]
He retired as Lord of Appeal in Ordinary in 1969.
Post-judicial career and later life
After his retirement from the bench, Lord Pearce became chairman of the
Press Council in 1969, serving until 1974. From 1969 until 1976, he was chairman of the Appeals Committee of the
Takeover Panel
The Panel on Takeovers and Mergers, or more commonly The Takeover Panel, is the United Kingdom's regulatory body charged with the administration of The Takeover Code.
It was set up in 1968 and is located in London, England.
Its role is to ens ...
.
In 1971–72, he chaired a commission (known as the
Pearce Commission) tasked with testing the acceptability of a proposed constitutional settlement in Rhodesia negotiated between
Sir Alec Douglas-Home and
Ian Smith
Ian Douglas Smith (8 April 191920 November 2007) was a Rhodesian politician, farmer, and fighter pilot who served as Prime Minister of Rhodesia (known as Southern Rhodesia until October 1964 and now known as Zimbabwe) from 1964 to 1979. He w ...
. The four-person commission reported in May 1972: it described white, coloured and Asian Rhodesians as in favour of the terms by 98%, 97% and 96% respectively, and black citizens as against them by an unspecified large majority. As a result, the proposals were shelved, though not immediately abandoned.
In his later years Lord Pearce suffered from hip problems. Shortly before his death, he auctioned a sculpture, which he had acquired for £7 in 1951, at
Sotheby's
Sotheby's ( ) is a British-founded multinational corporation with headquarters in New York City. It is one of the world's largest brokers of fine art, fine and decorative art, jewellery, and collectibles. It has 80 locations in 40 countries, an ...
. The work, identified as a sculpture by
Adriaen de Vries, was sold for £6.82 million.
Family
In 1927, he married Erica Priestman (d. 1985), daughter of
Bertram Priestman,
RA. They had two sons, James and Bruce, both of whom became
QCs (the eldest also becoming a
circuit judge) and predeceased him.
Selected judgments
* ''
Long v Lloyd''
958
Year 958 (Roman numerals, CMLVIII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar.
Events
By place
Byzantine Empire
* October / November – Battle of Raban: The Byzantine Empire, Byzantines under John I Tzimiskes, Jo ...
1 WLR 753
* ''
McCutcheon v David MacBrayne Ltd''
9641 WLR 125
* ''
Madzimbamuto v Lardner-Burke''
9691 AC 645
* ''
Anisminic v Foreign Compensation Commission''
9692 AC 147
Arms
References
*
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pearce, Edward
1901 births
1990 deaths
Alumni of Corpus Christi College, Oxford
Law lords
Members of Lincoln's Inn
Members of the Middle Temple
Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom
People educated at Charterhouse School
Members of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council
People from Sidcup
20th-century British judges
Knights Bachelor
Probate, Divorce and Admiralty Division judges
Queen's Bench Division judges
English painters
English King's Counsel
20th-century King's Counsel
20th-century English lawyers