John Donaldson, Baron Donaldson of Lymington

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Lord Justice of Appeal
In office
1979–1982
Personal details
Born
John Francis Donaldson

(1920-10-06)6 October 1920
Died31 August 2005(2005-08-31) (aged 84)
UK
Spouse
Mary Donaldson, Baroness Donaldson of Lymington (née Dorothy Mary Warwick)
EducationCharterhouse School
Alma materTrinity College, Cambridge
OccupationQC, jurist

John Francis Donaldson, Baron Donaldson of Lymington,

PC (6 October 1920 – 31 August 2005) was a British barrister and judge who served as Master of the Rolls for ten years, from 1982 to 1992. He was the first (and only) President of the short-lived National Industrial Relations Court
from 1971 to 1974.

Early and private life

He was born at 6 King Street, St Marylebone, London, the son of Malcolm Donaldson (1884–1973), consultant gynaecologist, and his first wife, Evelyn Helen Marguerite, née Gilroy. His father was a

gynaecologist
.

Donaldson attended first

Member of Parliament . He was an Independent Ratepayers Councillor for the County Borough of Croydon
from 1949 to 1953.

After graduating with a

lieutenant-colonel
aged 25.

He married Dorothy Mary Warwick (later known as

Dame Mary Donaldson), in 1945, having met her at Middlesex Hospital where she was working as a nurse. She later became the first woman to be a Member of the City of London Court of Common Council, the first female Alderman, the first female Sheriff and, finally, in 1983, the first female Lord Mayor of London. Together, they had two daughters and a son; his wife predeceased him in October 2003.[1]

Legal career

Donaldson was called to the

Queen's Bench Division and knighted
in 1966 at the age of 45. He remained the youngest High Court judge for a number of years.

He became the first (and last) President of the

House of Commons
motion calling for his dismissal.

Two months after

Court of Appeal, where he pushed forward modernisation efforts, including the introduction of skeleton arguments in civil appeals, [clarification needed
] judgments being "handed down" rather than read, and enhanced case management.

Donaldson decided in

County of Hampshire.[2]

In his various roles, Donaldson was involved in many high-profile cases from the 1970s onwards. He presided over the trials of the

high treason, which still carried the death penalty, rather than for murder, which by then no longer carried the death penalty.[4] These remarks bore an uncanny resemblance to the words of another leading judge of the era, Sir Nigel Bridge, who commented in a similar IRA-based miscarriage of justice, the Birmingham Six trial
, that he wished that he could still hang murderers.

Donaldson refused to prevent newspapers from publishing the Spycatcher memoir of Peter Wright in 1988, against government policy; and he ruled in 1991 that the then Home Secretary, Kenneth Baker was in contempt of court over an extradition case, in which a man was deported to Zaire while the case was still pending, contrary to a court order.

In retirement

After retiring as a judge in 1992, he wrote reports regarding two maritime accidents involving the grounding of oil tankers and subsequent spills of crude oil: the grounding of the

Sea Empress at the entrance to Milford Haven in February 1996, and subsequent escape of more than 70,000 tonnes of oil off the Pembrokeshire coast.[citation needed
]

In the 2000-01 session of Parliament, he presented a private member's bill in the House of Lords (the Parliament Acts (Amendment) Bill), which would have had the effect of confirming the legitimacy of the Parliament Act 1949 to address concerns raised by legal academics as to whether the use of the Act was valid.[5] The bill was not passed, and Donaldson supported the legal action by the Countryside Alliance to overturn the Hunting Act 2004, which was passed under the provisions of the Parliament Acts 1911 and 1949.[clarification needed][citation needed]

Donaldson died on 31 August 2005.[6][7][8][9][10]

Judgments

  • The Angel Bell [1979] 2 Lloyd's Rep 491
  • Parker v British Airways Board [1982] Q.B. 1004[11]
  • Ronex Properties Ltd v John Laing Construction Ltd [1983] Q.B. 398[12]
  • ' Re T (Adult: Refusal of Treatment)] [1993] Fam. 95[13]
  • O'Kelly v Trusthouse Forte plc [1983] ICR 728

Arms

Coat of arms of John Donaldson, Baron Donaldson of Lymington
Crest
A Sealion erect Sable Scales Fins and Tail Or holding a Lymphad also Or the Mainsail displaying the Arms, viz. Sable two Bars Or in chief three Petasi Argent winged Gold each mast ensigned by a Cross Formy Gules
Escutcheon
Sable two Bars Or in chief three Petasi argent winged Gold
Motto
Pro Libertate Per Leges (For liberty through the Law)[14]

References

  1. ^ "John Francis Donaldson, Baron Donaldson of Lymington". thepeerage.com. Retrieved 28 March 2016.
  2. ^ "No. 51247". The London Gazette. 22 February 1988. p. 2095.
  3. ^ "Obituary: Lord Donaldson of Lymington". 1 September 2005 – via news.bbc.co.uk.
  4. ^ "A Great British Injustice: The Maguire Story". BBC.
  5. ^ "Parliament Acts (Amendment) Bill [H.L.]". Archived from the original on 15 April 2005.
  6. ^ "Former judge Lord Donaldson dies". BBC News. 1 September 2005.
  7. ^ "Lord Donaldson of Lymington". www.telegraph.co.uk. 2 September 2005.
  8. ^ Lee, Simon (2 September 2005). "Obituary: Lord Donaldson of Lymington". the Guardian.
  9. ^ "Lord Donaldson of Lymington". The Independent. 9 September 2005. Archived from the original on 12 November 2005.
  10. ^ "The Times & The Sunday Times". www.thetimes.co.uk.
  11. ^ "Parker v British Airways Board [1982] Q.B. 1004". Sterling Law QLD.
  12. ^ "Ronex Properties Ltd v John Laing Construction Ltd summary". Sterling Law QLD.
  13. PMID 11648226
    – via PubMed.
  14. ^ "Life Peerages - D". cracroftspeerage.co.uk.
Legal offices
Preceded by Master of the Rolls
1982–1992 		Succeeded by
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