Richard Rashleigh Folliott Scott, Baron Scott of Foscote, (born 2 October 1934) is a British judge, who formerly held the office of
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 ...
.
Early life
The son of
Lieutenant-Colonel C. W. F. and Katharine Scott, Scott was born on 2 October 1934
and educated at
Michaelhouse School,
Natal in
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
.
He then studied at the
University of Cape Town
The University of Cape Town (UCT) (, ) is a public university, public research university in Cape Town, South Africa.
Established in 1829 as the South African College, it was granted full university status in 1918, making it the oldest univer ...
, where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1954, and
Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...
, where he received a B.A (
Law Tripos) in 1957 and a
Blue
Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB color model, RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB color model, RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between Violet (color), violet and cyan on the optical spe ...
in rugby.
He then spent a year as Bigelow Fellow at the
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...
, where he met his future wife, Rima Elisa Ripoll, who is from
Panama
Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...
.
Legal career
Scott 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 ...
by the
Inner Temple
The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional association for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practice as a barrister in England and Wa ...
in 1959, becoming a
Bencher
A bencher or Master of the Bench is a senior member of an Inn of Court in England and Wales or the Inns of Court in Northern Ireland, or the Honorable Society of King's Inns in Ireland. Benchers hold office for life once elected. A bencher c ...
in 1981. From 1960 to 1983, he practised at the Chancery Bar, and was appointed a
Queen'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 1975. In 1980, Scott was appointed
Attorney-General of the Duchy of Lancaster, a post he held until 1983. He was Vice-Chairman of the Bar from 1981 to 1982, and chairman from 1982 to 1983.
Scott was appointed a
judge
A judge is a person who wiktionary:preside, presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a judicial panel. In an adversarial system, the judge hears all the witnesses and any other Evidence (law), evidence presented by the barris ...
of the
High Court of Justice
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 (England and Wales), Court of Appeal and the Crown Court, are the Courts of England and Wales, Senior Cour ...
in 1983,
sitting in the
Chancery 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 ...
, and received the customary
knighthood
A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a 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.
The concept of a knighthood ...
.
From 1987 to 1991, he held the office of
Vice-Chancellor of the County Palatine of Lancaster, which has responsibility for overseeing Chancery business in the North of England. He was promoted to the
Court of Appeal
An appellate court, commonly called a court of appeal(s), appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to Hearing (law), hear a Legal case, case upon appeal from a trial court or other ...
in 1991,
becoming 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 ...
and receiving an appointment to the
Privy Council,
and serving as
Vice-Chancellor
A vice-chancellor (commonly called a VC) serves as the chief executive of a university in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Australia, Nepal, India, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Kenya, other Commonwealth of Nati ...
, the head of the Chancery Division, from 1994 to 2000,
and Head of Civil Justice from 1995 to 2000.
On 17 July 2000, he was appointed 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 ...
and 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 ...
as Baron Scott of Foscote, of
Foscote in the County of Buckinghamshire. He retired from this post on 30 September 2009, and did not transfer along with the other Lords of Appeal of ordinary to the new
Supreme Court of the United Kingdom
The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom (initialism: UKSC) is the final court of appeal for all civil cases in the United Kingdom and all criminal cases originating in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, as well as some limited criminal cases ...
. The vacancy on the bench his retirement created was filled by
Lord Clarke of Stone-cum-Ebony, previously
Master of the Rolls
The Keeper or Master of the Rolls and Records of the Chancery of England, known as the Master of the Rolls, is the President of the Court of Appeal (England and Wales)#Civil Division, Civil Division of the Court of Appeal of England and Wales ...
. He sat as a
crossbencher
A crossbencher is a minor party or independent member of some legislatures, such as the Parliament of Australia. In the British House of Lords the term refers to members of the parliamentary group of non-political peers. They take their name fr ...
until his retirement from the
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...
on 21 December 2016.
In 2003, he was appointed a non-permanent member of
Hong Kong's Court of Final Appeal, and while serving there, he is known by his Chinese name (). He left the court in 2012.
Notable judicial decisions of Lord Scott included:
* ''
Cumbrian Newspapers Group Ltd v Cumberland & Westmorland Herald Newspaper & Printing Co Ltd''
986BCLC 286 - leading authority on class rights of shares
* ''
Royal Bank of Scotland plc v Etridge (No 2)''
001UKHL 44 - leading case on the circumstances under which actual and presumed undue influence can be argued to vitiate consent to a contract
* ''
Cobbe v Yeoman's Row Management Ltd''
008 008, OO8, O08, or 0O8 may refer to:
* "008", a fictional 00 Agent
In Ian Fleming's James Bond novels and the derived films, the 00 Section of MI6 is considered the secret service's elite. A 00 (pronounced "Double O") is a field agent who ho ...
UKHL 55 - on promissory estoppel in the context of negotiations proceedings the formation of a contract
Scott Inquiry
In 1992, Scott, while a Lord Justice of Appeal, was appointed to chair an inquiry into the ''
Arms-to-Iraq
The Arms-to-Iraq affair concerned the uncovering of the government-endorsed sale of arms by United Kingdom, British companies to Ba'athist Iraq, Iraq, then under the rule of Saddam Hussein. The scandal contributed to the growing dissatisfaction w ...
'' scandal, in which it was claimed the British government had supported British companies in selling defence equipment to Iraq. The report was published in 1996, although much of it was secret. In 2001, Scott said it was "''regrettable and disappointing''" the Government had not made changes to the law regulating the arms trade.
Personal life
Lord Scott has been married to Rima Elisa Ripoll since 1959. They have two sons and two daughters.
References
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Foscote, Richard Scott, Baron Scott of
1934 births
Knights Bachelor
Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge
Scott of Foscote
British King's Counsel
Members of the Inner Temple
Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom
Alumni of Michaelhouse
20th-century King's Counsel
University of Cape Town alumni
Members of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council
Living people
Justices of the Court of Final Appeal (Hong Kong)
South African emigrants to the United Kingdom
Attorneys-general of the Duchy of Lancaster
Crossbench life peers
Judges of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom
Chancery Division judges
Peers retired under the House of Lords Reform Act 2014