The Lord Rodger of Earlsferry | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Justice of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom[a] | |
| In office 1 October 2001 – 26 June 2011 | |
| Nominated by | Jack Straw |
| Appointed by | Elizabeth II |
| Preceded by | The Lord Clyde |
| Succeeded by | Lord Reed |
| Lord Justice General and Lord President of the Court of Session | |
| In office 1 October 1996 – 13 November 2002 | |
| Preceded by | The Lord Hope of Craighead |
| Succeeded by | The Lord Cullen of Whitekirk |
| Lord Advocate | |
| In office 15 April 1992 – 7 November 1995 | |
| Prime Minister | John Major |
| Preceded by | The Lord Fraser of Carmyllie |
| Succeeded by | The Lord Mackay of Drumadoon |
| Solicitor General for Scotland | |
| In office 14 January 1989 – 15 April 1992 | |
| Prime Minister | Margaret Thatcher John Major |
| Preceded by | Peter Fraser |
| Succeeded by | Donald Mackay |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Alan Ferguson Rodger (1944-09-18)18 September 1944 Glasgow, Scotland |
| Died | 26 June 2011(2011-06-26) (aged 66) Clydebank, Scotland |
| Nationality | British |
| Relations | Ferguson Rodger (father) |
| Alma mater | University of Glasgow New College, Oxford |
| Occupation | Judge |
| Profession | Advocate |
Alan Ferguson Rodger, Baron Rodger of EarlsferryPC, FBA, FRSE (18 September 1944 – 26 June 2011) was a Scottish academic, lawyer, andJustice of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom.
He served asLord Advocate, the seniorLaw Officer of Scotland, before becomingLord Justice General and Lord President of the Court of Session, the head of the country's judiciary. He was then appointed aLord of Appeal in Ordinary (Law Lord) and became a Justice of the Supreme Court when thejudicial functions of the House of Lords were transferred to that Court.
Alan Rodger was born on 18 September 1944 in Glasgow, to ProfessorT Ferguson Rodger, Professor of Psychological Medicine at theUniversity of Glasgow, and Jean Margaret Smith Chalmers, and educated at theprivateKelvinside Academy in the city.[1] He studied at theUniversity of Glasgow, graduating with anMA, and at the University'sSchool of Law, taking anLLB.[1] He then studied atNew College, Oxford—underDavid Daube,Regius Professor of Civil Law—where he graduated with anMA (by decree) andDPhil, and was Dyke Junior Research Fellow atBalliol College, Oxford, from 1969 to 1970 and a Fellow of New College from 1970 to 1972.[1]
He became an advocate in 1974[2] and was Clerk of theFaculty of Advocates from 1976 to 1979. He was a Member of theMental Welfare Commission for Scotland from 1981 to 1984, and was appointedQueen's Counsel in 1985.[1][2] He was anAdvocate Depute from 1985 to 1988 and was appointedSolicitor General for Scotland in 1989, being promoted toLord Advocate in 1992, and was created alife peer asBaron Rodger of Earlsferry,ofEarlsferry in theDistrict of North East Fife on 29 April 1992,[3] and was appointed to thePrivy Council.[1][2]
Rodger was appointed aSenator of the College of Justice, a judge of theHigh Court of Justiciary andCourt of Session, in 1995,[4] He becameLord Justice General andLord President in 1996. He was appointed aLord of Appeal in Ordinary in 2001, upon the retirement ofLord Clyde, in which capacity his Judicial Assistants includedCharles Banner. He and nine other Lords of Appeal in Ordinary becameJustices of theSupreme Court upon that body's inauguration on 1 October 2009.[5]
Lord Rodger of Earlsferry died from abrain tumour at a hospice inClydebank on 26 June 2011, at the age of 66.[6][5] Scottish First MinisterAlex Salmond, who provoked fury after criticising Rodger less than a month earlier,[7] said he had made an "outstanding contribution" to Scottish public life.[6]
Lord Rodger of Earlsferry was elected a Fellow of theBritish Academy in 1991, and the same year was the Maccabaean Lecturer at the Academy. He was appointed a Fellow of theRoyal Society of Edinburgh, an HonoraryBencher atLincoln's Inn in 1992, and an Honorary Bencher of theInn of Court of Northern Ireland in 1998. He was appointed an Honorary Member of SPTL, subsequently SLS in 1992 and a Corresponding Member of Bayerische Akademy der Wissenschaften in 2001. He was President of theHoldsworth Club in 1998–99 and made an Honorary Fellow of theAmerican College of Trial Lawyers in 2008. He received honorary degrees ofDoctor of Laws (LLD) from the Universities ofGlasgow (1995),Aberdeen (1999) andEdinburgh (2001).
Lord Rodger of Earlsferry had been theVisitor ofSt Hugh's College, Oxford, since 2003,[8]High Steward of the University of Oxford since 2008,[9] and an Honorary Professor at theUniversity of Glasgow School of Law since July 2009.[2]
As Lord Justice General
As Justice of the Supreme Court
| Legal offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Solicitor General for Scotland 1989–1992 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Lord Advocate 1992–1995 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Lord President of the Court of Session andLord Justice General 1996–2002 | Succeeded by |
| Academic offices | ||
| Preceded by | High Steward of theUniversity of Oxford 2008–2011 | Vacant |
