The Lord Mackay of Clashfern | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2018 | |
| Lord Clerk Register | |
| In office 27 April 2007 – November 2022 | |
| Monarchs | Elizabeth II Charles III |
| Preceded by | The Earl of Wemyss |
| Succeeded by | Lady Elish Angiolini |
| Shadow Lord Chancellor | |
| In office 2 May 1997 – 11 June 1997 | |
| Leader | John Major |
| Preceded by | The Lord Irvine of Lairg |
| Succeeded by | The Lord Kingsland |
| Lord Chancellor | |
| In office 28 October 1987 – 2 May 1997 | |
| Monarch | Elizabeth II |
| Prime Minister | |
| Preceded by | The Lord Havers |
| Succeeded by | The Lord Irvine of Lairg |
| Lord of Appeal in Ordinary | |
| In office 1 October 1985 – 28 October 1987 | |
| Preceded by | The Lord Fraser of Tullybelton |
| Succeeded by | The Lord Jauncey of Tullichettle |
| Lord Advocate | |
| In office 5 May 1979 – 16 May 1984 | |
| Prime Minister | Margaret Thatcher |
| Preceded by | Ronald King Murray |
| Succeeded by | The Lord Cameron of Lochbroom |
| Member of theHouse of Lords Lord Temporal | |
| In office 11 July 1979 – 22 July 2022 Life peerage | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1927-07-02)2 July 1927 (age 98) Edinburgh, Scotland |
| Political party | Conservative |
| Spouse | Elizabeth Hymers (m. 1958) |
| Alma mater | University of Edinburgh Trinity College, Cambridge |
James Peter Hymers Mackay, Baron Mackay of Clashfern (born 2 July 1927)[1] is a British lawyer. He served asDean of the Faculty of Advocates,Lord Advocate, andLord Chancellor (1987–1997). He was formerly an active member of theHouse of Lords, where he sat as aConservative; he retired from the House on 22 July 2022.[2]
Mackay was born inEdinburgh on 2 July 1927. He won a scholarship toGeorge Heriot's School,[3] and then studied mathematics and physics at theUniversity of Edinburgh, receiving a joint MA in 1948.[1] He taught mathematics for two years at theUniversity of St Andrews before moving toTrinity College, Cambridge, on a scholarship, from which he obtained a BA in mathematics in 1952.[1] He then returned to Edinburgh University where he studied law, receiving an LLB (with distinction) in 1955.[1]
Mackay was elected to theFaculty of Advocates in 1955. He was appointed aQueen's Counsel in 1965.[1] He wasSheriff Principal for Renfrew and Argyll from 1972 to 1974.[1] In 1973 he became Vice-Dean of the Faculty on Advocates and from 1976 until 1979 served as its Dean, the leader of the Scots bar.[1]
In 1979, Mackay was appointed Lord Advocate, the senior law officer in Scotland, and was created alife peer asBaron Mackay of Clashfern, ofEddrachillis in the District of Sutherland, taking histerritorial designation from his father's birthplace, a cottage beside Loch na Claise Fearna.[4] After his retirement, Mackay sat in the House of Lords. He was also Commissary to the University of Cambridge until 2016. He is the editor-in-chief ofHalsbury's Laws of England, the major legal work which states the law of England, first published in 1907; the post is usually held by a former Lord Chancellor.[5]
Mackay is the son ofrailway signalman James Mackay (who came from Claisfearn nearTarbet inSutherland) and his wife Janet Hymers.[1] Mackay married Elizabeth Gunn Hymers, ofHalkirk, in 1958. They have a son, James, and two daughters, Elizabeth and Shona.[6] Mackay was raised a member of theFree Presbyterian Church of Scotland; as an adult he was anelder of the church.[1] The church forbids its members to attendCatholic religious services; nevertheless Mackay attended two Catholicfuneral masses for members of the judiciary (forCharles Ritchie Russell in 1986,[4] and again forJohn Wheatley in 1988).[1] Following the second mass Mackay was called before a churchsynod where he denied that he had broken the church's prohibition of showing "support for the doctrine of Catholicism", saying "I went there purely with the purpose of paying my respects to my dead colleagues."[7] The church suspended Mackay from the eldership and from membership.[1] The synod met again in Glasgow in 1989 to review the decision; the meeting asked Mackay to undertake not to attend further Catholic services, but he announced "I have no intention of giving any such undertaking as that for which the synod has asked",[8] and later withdrew from the church. The dispute precipitated a schism, leading to the formation of theAssociated Presbyterian Churches. Mackay did not join the new communion, but as of 1993[update] worshipped with their Inverness congregation.[4]
As a Presbyterian, Mackay was a firm believer in moderation. At a gathering for the Faculty of Advocates, Mackay had laid on a spread of tea and toast, complete with a tiny pot of honey. One of the lawyers in attendance contemplated the pot and remarked, "I see your Lordship keeps a bee."[9][10] Mackay is also the Honorary President of theScottish Bible Society.[11] He supported the society's programme to send a Bible to every court in Scotland[11] and wrote in support of "The Bible in Scots Law", a pamphlet it distributed to Scottish lawyers which described the Bible as a "foundational source book for Scotland's legal system".[12] He is a strictsabbatarian, refusing to work or travel on a Sunday, or even to give an interview if there is a chance it could be rebroadcast on the sabbath.[4]
| Styles of The Lord Mackay of Clashfern | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Reference style | His Lordship |
| Spoken style | Your Lordship |
| Alternative style | Sir |
Mackay was appointed aKnight of the Thistle byQueen Elizabeth II on 27 November 1997.[13] In 2007 the Queen appointed him to the office ofLord Clerk Register, replacingDavid Charteris, 12th Earl of Wemyss.[14] He retired from this office in November 2022, and was succeeded byLady Elish Angiolini.[15] He became a fellow of theRoyal Society of Edinburgh in 1984.[16] In 1989, he was elected honorary fellow ofTrinity College, Cambridge.[17] He received an honorary doctorate fromHeriot-Watt University in 1990.[18] He was awarded an honorary degree (Doctor of Laws) by theUniversity of Bath in 1994[19] and byNorthumbria University in 2017.[20]
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| Legal offices | ||
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| Preceded by | Lord Advocate 1979–1984 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain 1987–1997 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Shadow Lord Chancellor 1997 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Lord Clerk Register 2007–2022 | Succeeded by |
| Orders of precedence in the United Kingdom | ||
| Preceded by | Gentlemen Baron Mackay of Clashfern | Followed by |
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Margaret Thatcher
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