Regius Professor of Public Law and the Law of Nature and Nations (Edinburgh)

The Regius Professor of Public Law and the Law of Nature and Nations is a Regius Professorship for Law at the University of Edinburgh established by Queen Anne in 1707 .

History of the professorship

With the Act of Union as an occasion, Queen Anne endowed the professorship and thus founded the law school in Edinburgh. Of course, law had been taught for a long time before, but this training was offered by lawyers, not the university. The name of the chair should actually have been Civil Law. However, this niche was occupied by Alexander Cunningham of Block, who taught civil law on behalf of parliament. Queen Anne chose a subject for Erskine that was popular in Schottpland and was often studied abroad. The election of Erskines, later Lord Tinwald, was pushed through against the opposition of the town cousil.

Unlike the professorships for Civil Law and Scottish Law (Scots Law), which were founded shortly after the chair, the chair was initially viewed as a sinecure and the professor often did not even teach. When Robert Hamilton died in 1832, the professorship was no longer occupied by the Town Council and the chair remained orphaned for 30 years.

After a long period of great dissatisfaction with the conditions at Scottish universities, the Universities (Scotland) Act 1858 was passed under the influence of men trained in Germany such as James Lorimer. During this time, Germany carried out reforms that made the universities exemplary teaching and research institutions in Europe. The University of Edinburgh became independent from the Town Council and received new statutes. In 1862 the Regius Professorship was revived and James Lorimer was appointed. At the same time, James Muirhead, who was trained in Edinburgh and Heidelberg, held the professorship for Civil Law. The international contacts of the two men gave the University of Edinburgh its first international reputation in law. Lorimer worked on legal theory and international law and established the subjects for Edinburgh.

Lorimer's successor, Ludovig James Grant, 11th Baron de Grant, did not display the exceptional academic talent of his predecessor, but was a successful administrator of the university and dean of the law school. During his professorship, the first women, Eveline MacLaren (MA) and Josephine Gordon Stuart (MA, LL.B.), graduated from the University of Edinburgh in law in 1909. However, the women were not allowed to practice.

In 1922 William Wilson took over the professorship. In 1909 he was relegated to third place behind the best of the year, Josephine Gordon Stuart. Wilson specialized exclusively in international law and left other fields to other professors. In addition to their teaching activities, most professors also represented clients in court or spoke the law themselves. This system showed considerable weaknesses after the Second World War, so that reforms were considered.

In the post-war phase, teaching and research were further strengthened, the qualifications reformed several times, and the content of the course restructured and updated. The professorship remains tied to Edinburgh Law School and adds to the faculty's reputation.

owner

Surname	name suffix	from	to	annotation
Charles Erskine	MA	1707	1734	Charles Erskine (or Areskine) was only 27 years old and the Town Council, responsible for the university, fiercely opposed the appointment. The future Lord Tinwald was enforced against the will of the Town Council.
William Kirkpatrick		1734	1735	Kirkpatrick had studied under Erskine and in Leiden and in 1746 married Erskine's daughter.
George Abercrombie		1735
Robert Bruce		1759		Robert Bruce (Lord Kennet) attracted many listeners. Its success was comparable to that of the leading German professors at the time.
James Balfour		1764
Alexander Maconochie		1779
Robert Hamilton		1796
		1832	1862	vacant
James Lorimer		1862	Feb 13, 1890	The lawyer trained in Edinburgh, Geneva, Berlin and Bonn established legal theory and international law as subjects in Edinburgh.
Ludovic James Grant	Bart., Advocate, BA	1890	Sep 30 1922	Grant was the 11th Baronet of Grant, his career was shaped more by his administrative achievements than by academic achievements.
William Wilson	Esq., MA, LL.B.	Sep 30 1922
Archibald Hunter Campbell	Esq. LL.MBCL, MA	1945
Donald Neil MacCormick	Esq. MA	Sep 30 1972	Feb. 1, 2008
Neil Craig Walker		March 21, 2008

Individual evidence

^ ^A ^b History of the School of Law on the University of Edinburgh website; accessed on January 22, 2016.
↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t ^u ^v ^w ^x ^y ^z ^aa ^ab ^ac ^ad ^ae ^af ^ag ^ah ^ai ^aj ^ak ^al John W. Cairns, Hector L. MacQueen: Learning and the Law - A short History of Edinburgh Law School . (PDF) 2013; The University of Edinburgh Charity Reg. SC005336.
↑ ^a ^b RS Lea (1970) KIRKPATRICK, William (c.1705-78), of Lochmaben, Dumfries . In: R. Sedgwick (ed.): The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1715–1754 .
^ ^A ^b Communication on the appointment of Ludovic James Grant as Regius Professor of Public Law and the Law of Nature and Nations. In: London Gazette , May 9, 1890.
^ ^A ^b Announcement on the appointment of William Wilson as Regius Professor of Public Law and the Law of Nature and Nations at the University of Edinburgh. In: London Gazette , September 1, 1922.
^ ^A ^b Announcement on the appointment of Archibald Hunter Campbell as Regius Professor of Public Law and the Law of Nature and Nations at the University of Edinburgh. In: London Gazette , October 12, 1945.
^ ^A ^b Announcement on the appointment of Donald Neil MacCormick as Regius Professor of Public Law and the Law of Nature and Nations at the University of Edinburgh. In: The Gazette , July 20, 1972.
↑ Notice on the appointment of Neil Craig Walker as Regius Professor of Public Law and the Law of Nature and Nations. In: The Scottish Executive , April 20, 2007.

[ELSHist-1] A ^b History of the School of Law on the University of Edinburgh website; accessed on January 22, 2016.

[Cairns_MacQueen-2] ↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t ^u ^v ^w ^x ^y ^z ^aa ^ab ^ac ^ad ^ae ^af ^ag ^ah ^ai ^aj ^ak ^al John W. Cairns, Hector L. MacQueen: Learning and the Law - A short History of Edinburgh Law School . (PDF) 2013; The University of Edinburgh Charity Reg. SC005336.

[HoPKirkpatrick-3] RS Lea (1970) KIRKPATRICK, William (c.1705-78), of Lochmaben, Dumfries . In: R. Sedgwick (ed.): The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1715–1754 .

[LGaz26049-2688-4] A ^b Communication on the appointment of Ludovic James Grant as Regius Professor of Public Law and the Law of Nature and Nations. In: London Gazette , May 9, 1890.

[LGaz13845-1443-5] A ^b Announcement on the appointment of William Wilson as Regius Professor of Public Law and the Law of Nature and Nations at the University of Edinburgh. In: London Gazette , September 1, 1922.

[LGaz16272-351-6] A ^b Announcement on the appointment of Archibald Hunter Campbell as Regius Professor of Public Law and the Law of Nature and Nations at the University of Edinburgh. In: London Gazette , October 12, 1945.

[LGaz45730-8659-7] A ^b Announcement on the appointment of Donald Neil MacCormick as Regius Professor of Public Law and the Law of Nature and Nations at the University of Edinburgh. In: The Gazette , July 20, 1972.

[GazE-26235-1117-194-8] Notice on the appointment of Neil Craig Walker as Regius Professor of Public Law and the Law of Nature and Nations. In: The Scottish Executive , April 20, 2007.