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 Lords of Appeal in Ordinary, commonly known as Law Lords, were judges appointed under the Appellate Jurisdiction Act 1876 to the British House of Lords, as a committee of the House, effectively to exercise the judicial functions of the House of ...

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 from 1970 the Republic of Rhodesia, was an unrecognised state in Southern Africa from 1965 to 1979, equivalent in territory to modern Zimbabwe. Rhodesia was the ''de facto'' successor state to the British colony of S ...

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. Before ...

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

, 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 (God having given, I gave) , established = , closed = , type = Public school Independent day and boarding school , religion = Church of England , president ...

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, it is the 12th ...

, of which he was a

scholar A scholar is a person who pursues academic and intellectual activities, particularly academics who apply their intellectualism into expertise in an area of study. A scholar can also be an academic, who works as a professor, teacher, or researche ...

and where he took a

First First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...

Honour Moderations Honour Moderations (or ''Mods'') are a set of examinations at the University of Oxford at the end of the first part of some degree courses (e.g., Greats or '' Literae Humaniores''). Honour Moderations candidates have a class awarded (hence the ' ...

in 1921 and a

Third Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * Second#Sexagesimal divisions of calendar time and day, 1⁄60 of a ''second'', or 1⁄3600 of a ''minute'' Places * 3rd Street (d ...

in '' literae humaniores'' in 1923. He was elected an honorary

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 ...

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 ...

Lincoln's Inn The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn is one of the four Inns of Court in London to which barristers of England and Wales belong and where they are called to the Bar. (The other three are Middle Temple, Inner Temple and Gray's Inn.) Lincoln ...

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 exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn an ...

in 1925, he practiced in the King's Bench and

Probate, Divorce and Admiralty 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 ...

s 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 ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

, 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 on Piccadilly in London. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its pur ...

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 The Royal Society of British Artists (RBA) is a British art body established in 1823 as the Society of British Artists, as an alternative to the Royal Academy. History The RBA commenced with twenty-seven members, and took until 1876 to reach fif ...

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 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 1945. He became deputy chairman of the East Sussex

Quarter Sessions The courts of quarter sessions or quarter sessions were local courts traditionally held at four set times each year in the Kingdom of England from 1388 (extending also to Wales following the Laws in Wales Act 1535). They were also established in ...

in 1947, was elected a bencher of

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 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 Gr ...

on 29 October. He was initially assigned to the

, before being transferred to the

Queen's Bench Division The King's Bench Division (or Queen's Bench Division when the monarch is female) of the High Court of Justice deals with a wide range of common law cases and has supervisory responsibility over certain lower courts. It hears appeals on point ...

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) Justice ...

on 30 April 1957, and sworn of the

Privy Council A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...

. On 19 April 1962, Pearce was made

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. In modern times, life peerages, always created at the rank of baron, are created under the Life Peerages ...

with the title Baron Pearce, of Sweethaws in the County of

Sussex Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the English ...

. 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 Augus ...

, 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 Southern Rhodesia or simply Rhodesia, a British territory in southern Africa that had governed it ...

. 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'', ;

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 ...

3 WLR 1229;

3 All ER 561;

969 Year 969 ( CMLXIX) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar, the 969th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 969th year of the 1st millennium, the 69th ...

1 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 ensu ...

. In 1971–22, he chaired a commission (known as the

Pearce Commission The Commission on Rhodesian Opinion, also known as the Pearce Commission, was a British commission set up in 1971 by Foreign and Commonwealth Secretary Sir Alec Douglas-Home to test the acceptability of a proposed constitutional settlement in Rhod ...

) tasked with testing the acceptability of a proposed constitutional settlement in Rhodesia negotiated between

Sir Alec Douglas-Home Alexander Frederick Douglas-Home, Baron Home of the Hirsel (; 2 July 1903 – 9 October 1995), styled as Lord Dunglass between 1918 and 1951 and being The 14th Earl of Home from 1951 till 1963, was a British Conservative Party (UK), Conse ...

and

Ian Smith Ian Douglas Smith (8 April 1919 – 20 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 ...

. 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 American multinational corporation with headquarters in New York City. It is one of the world's largest brokers of fine and decorative art, jewellery, and collectibles. It has 80 locations in 40 countries, and ...

. The work, identified as a sculpture by

Adriaen de Vries Adriaen de Vries (c.1556–1626) was a Northern Mannerist sculptor born in the Netherlands but working in Central Europe, whose international style crossed the threshold to the Baroque; he excelled in refined modelling and bronze casting and ...

, 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 ''Long v Lloyd'' 9581 WLR 753 is an English contract law case concerning misrepresentation. It exemplifies that if a contract is affirmed by the party who has been misrepresented, rescission will be barred. Facts Lloyd advertised a lorry as bei ...

958 Year 958 ( CMLVIII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * October / November – Battle of Raban: The Byzantines under John Tzimiskes ...

1 WLR 753 * '' McCutcheon v David MacBrayne Ltd'' 9641 WLR 125 * '' Madzimbamuto v Lardner-Burke''

1 AC 645 * ''

Anisminic v Foreign Compensation Commission ''Anisminic Ltd v Foreign Compensation Commission'' 9692 AC 147 is a UK constitutional law case from the House of Lords in English administrative law. It established the " collateral fact doctrine", that any error of law made by a public body ...

2 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 lawyers 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