Alexander Mackenzie Stuart, Baron Mackenzie-Stuart

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The Right Honourable
The Lord Mackenzie-Stuart
President of the European Court of Justice
In office
1984–1988
Preceded byJosse Mertens de Wilmars
Succeeded byOle Due
Personal details
Born(1924-11-18)18 November 1924
Died1 April 2000(2000-04-01) (aged 75)
SpouseAnne Millar
Children4

Alexander John ("Jack") Mackenzie Stuart, Baron Mackenzie-Stuart (18 November 1924 – 1 April 2000) was a

United Kingdom jurisdiction to sit on the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg
, later becoming its president.

Early life

Jack Mackenzie Stuart, as he was widely known, was born in

Aberdeen University, and Amy Margaret Dean. He was educated at Fettes College in Edinburgh.[1]

In 1942, Mackenzie Stuart joined the

Edinburgh University two years later.[2]

Early career

Mackenzie Stuart was admitted to the

Queen's Counsel
in 1963. In those days there was no specialisation and he was equally at home in the realms of trusts (on which his father had written the standard textbook), taxation and estate duty (as Counsel to the Revenue) and coal-mining accidents.

In 1971 he was appointed

European law had been whetted by his wife who studied for an LL.M.
with Professor John Mitchell, and he was asked at an early stage whether he would like to be Advocate General. The judgeship was meanwhile offered to senior lawyers in London.

European Court of Justice

Mackenzie-Stuart was unexpectedly offered the post of Judge at the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg. The Mackenzie Stuarts moved to Luxembourg and set up home in a farming village where they quickly became part of its life. They worked hard to build up the spirit of the embryo British community and his wife, Anne, became a driving force in the European School. The Court of Justice was dominated by Robert Lecourt.

With

legal systems which has continued to work ever since. In reality, the work of the European Court touches very little on the historical differences between the common law and the civil law
, and much more on the modern problems of ensuring cross-frontier freedom to trade and to work, market regulation and fair competition.

President of the Court of Justice

He was later elected by the College of Judges as the seventh president of the court – an office he neither sought nor wanted. He took over the presidency at a difficult time. By failing to nominate new judges, some governments were holding up the work of the court, whose workload was growing exponentially. Greece had joined in 1981, followed by Spain and Portugal in 1986, taking the number of official languages from six to nine.

The court building ("the rusty Palais" opened in 1972) was already too small, and some of the translators were working in prefabricated huts. Through quiet persistence with judges, staff, community institutions and national governments, the president ensured that the work got done, a new building was planned and the foundations were laid for a new court structure, involving the creation of a

Court of First Instance
.

Later life

In recognition of his contribution to the work of the Court of Justice and to community law, he was created a

district of the City of Edinburgh[4] (his peerage
, unlike his surname and Scottish judicial title, was hyphenated).

In 1989 he became the first President of The Academy of Experts continuing until 1992 when he was succeeded by Gordon Slynn, Baron Slynn of Hadley.

Family

His wife, the former Anne Burtholme Millar (died 2008), was known for her legendary parties, both in Edinburgh and Luxembourg. The Mackenzie-Stuarts had four daughters, all of whom survived both their parents. Anne Mackenzie-Stuart shone in her own right as chairperson of the Parent-Teacher Association of the European School in Luxembourg.

Death

Alexander John Mackenzie-Stuart died on 1 April 2000, in Edinburgh, aged 75.

See also

References

  1. ^ Distinguished Old Fettesians Archived 22 November 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  2. Who's Who & Who Was Who. Vol. 2021 (online ed.). A & C Black. (Subscription or UK public library membership
    required.)
  3. ^ "No. 19100". The Edinburgh Gazette. 26 May 1972. p. 463.
  4. ^ "No. 51509". The London Gazette. 24 October 1988. p. 11869.

External links

Legal offices
Preceded by
President of the European Court of Justice

1984–1988 		Succeeded by
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