Sir Martin Charles Nourse (3 April 1932 – 28 November 2017) was 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 ...
of
England and Wales, who served as
Vice-President of the Civil Division of the
Court of Appeal of England and Wales from 2003 until his retirement from the bench in 2006.
One of his most notable cases related to multi millionaire Sir Charles Clore. He ruled in favour of the Inland Revenue, that Clore was domiciled in England for tax purposes, despite being resident in Monaco. Clore died on his last visit to England in 1979.
Nourse's wife, Lady Lavinia Nourse (née Malim), was acquitted of 17 counts of historic child sex abuse in May 2021 and has subsequently called for law reforms to allow the accused, media anonymity unless or until they are charged.
Education and military service
Nourse attended
Winchester College (1945–1950) and
Corpus Christi College, Cambridge
Corpus Christi College (full name: "The College of Corpus Christi and the Blessed Virgin Mary", often shortened to "Corpus"), is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. From the late 14th century through to the early 19th century ...
.
He served as a second lieutenant in the
Rifle Brigade
The Rifle Brigade (The Prince Consort's Own) was an infantry rifle regiment of the British Army formed in January 1800 as the "Experimental Corps of Riflemen" to provide sharpshooters, scouts, and skirmishers. They were soon renamed the "Rifle ...
from 1951 to 1952, and subsequently in the
Territorial Army in the London Rifle Brigade Rangers.
Legal career
In 1956, Nourse 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 ...
(
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 ...
), was made a bencher in 1978, and served as treasurer in 2001. He was a member of the General Council of the Bar from 1964 to 1968. Nourse served as a junior counsel to the
Board of Trade
The Board of Trade is a British government body concerned with commerce and industry, currently within the Department for International Trade. Its full title is The Lords of the Committee of the Privy Council appointed for the consideration of ...
in chancery matters from 1967 until 1970, the same year he became a
Queen's Counsel. He was appointed
Attorney-General of the Duchy of Lancaster in 1976 and a judge of the Jersey and Guernsey Courts of Appeal in 1977.
He served in both posts until he became a
High Court judge on 14 April 1980, receiving the customary
knighthood, and was assigned to the
Chancery Division. Nourse 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 3 June 1985.
From 1992 to 1995, he served as President of the Council of the Inns of Court. When
Lord Phillips of Worth Matravers was appointed
Master of the Rolls in 2000, Nourse was appointed the first
Vice-President of the Civil Division to enable him to serve as Acting Master of the Rolls
from June to October 2000
[ while Lord Phillips completed work on the Bovine spongiform encephalopathy outbreak inquiry. He continued as Vice-President until he retired from the bench the following year.][
]
Arms
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nourse, Martin
1932 births
2017 deaths
Fellows of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge
Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom
Chancery Division judges
Members of Lincoln's Inn
People educated at Winchester College
Lords Justices of Appeal
Knights Bachelor