Robert Mowat | |
---|---|
Judge, British Supreme Court for China and Japan | |
In office 1878–1891 | |
Preceded by | Charles Wycliffe Goodwin |
Succeeded by | George Jamieson |
Judge,British Court for Japan | |
In office 1891–1897 | |
Preceded by | Nicholas John Hannen |
Succeeded by | Hiram Shaw Wilkinson |
Personal details | |
Born | 1843 Edinburgh,Scotland |
Died | 7 June 1925 Hove,England |
Robert Anderson Mowat,was a British judge and diplomat,serving in China and Japan. His last position before retirement was as Judge of the British Court for Japan.
Mowat was born in 1843 in Edinburgh,Scotland,the only son of Joseph Mowat. He was educated in Edinburgh before attending London University,which nominated him for the Foreign Office exam. [1]
Mowat joined the British China Consular Service in 1864 as a student interpreter. In 1866,he was appointed Acting Law Secretary of the British Supreme Court for China and Japan in Shanghai. He was appointed to the substantive position in 1868. In 1869 Mowat went on long leave to study for the bar and was admitted to the bar of the Inner Temple in 1871. [2] In 1876,he was appointed "Deputy Chief Judge",while the Acting Judge of the court,Charles Wycliffe Goodwin was in Yokohama. [3] Due to Goodwin's ill-health and death,he held the position for most of the time until 1878 when a new Chief Judge,George French,arrived in Shanghai. In 1878,he was appointed Assistant Judge and Registrar of the Court. [4]
In 1891,Mowat was appointed Judge of the British Court for Japan based in Yokohama. Before leaving for Japan,he acted as both British Chief Justice and Consul-General in Shanghai for over half a year until the new Chief Justice and Consul General,Nicholas John Hannen could take up the posts. [5]
In his position as Judge for Japan,Mowat tried (with a jury) Edith Carew for the murder of her husband in 1896 in Yokohama. Soon after,he retired due to ill health and returned to England.
Charles Wycliffe Goodwin (1817–1878) was an English Egyptologist, bible scholar, lawyer and judge. His last judicial position was as Acting Chief Judge of the British Supreme Court for China and Japan.
Britain had a functioning consular service in Japan from 1859 after the signing of the 1858 Anglo-Japanese Treaty of Amity and Commerce between James Bruce, 8th Earl of Elgin and the Tokugawa Shogunate until 1941 when Japan invaded British colonial empire and declared war on the United Kingdom.
The British Supreme Court for China was a court established in the Shanghai International Settlement to try cases against British subjects in China, Japan and Korea under the principles of extraterritoriality.
Sir Hiram Shaw Wilkinson, JP, DL (1840–1926) was a leading British judge and diplomat, serving in China and Japan. His last position before retirement was as Chief Justice of the British Supreme Court for China and Corea.
Hiram Parkes "Harrie" Wilkinson, KC served as Crown Advocate of the British Supreme Court for China and Japan from 1897 to 1925. He was also Acting Assistant Judge of the British Court for Siam from 1903 to 1905 and Judge of the British High Court of Weihaiwei from 1916 to 1925.
Sir Nicholas John Hannen was a British barrister, diplomat and judge who served in China and Japan. He was the Chief Justice of the British Supreme Court for China and Japan from 1891 to 1900 and also served concurrently as Consul-General in Shanghai from 1891 to 1897. He was judge of the British Court for Japan from 1881 to 1891. He was the brother of James Hannen, a noted British judge of the 19th century. His son, Nicholas "Beau" Hannen was a famous actor of the early and mid-20th century.
Sir Havilland Walter de Sausmarez, 1st Baronet was a judge of various British colonial or consular courts in Africa and Asia, the Ottoman Empire and China. His last judicial position before retirement was as Chief Judge of the British Supreme Court for China. He later served as Bailiff of Guernsey.
The British Court for Japan was a court established in Yokohama in 1879 to try cases against British subjects in Japan, under the principles of extraterritoriality. The court also heard appeals from British consular courts in Japan. Appeals from the British Court for Japan lay to the British Supreme Court for China and Japan based in the Shanghai International Settlement.
John Carey Hall was a leading British diplomat who served in Japan in the 19th and early 20th centuries. His last position was as British Consul-General in Yokohama.
Sir Edmund Grimani Hornby was a leading Jewish-Italian British judge, with family interests in diamond-rich Antwerp. He was the founder and Chief Judge of both the British Supreme Consular Court at Constantinople and British Supreme Court for China and Japan.
Sir Peter Grain was a British judge who served in Zanzibar, Egypt, Constantinople and China. He was the Chief Judge of the British Supreme Court for China from 1927 to 1933 and also judge of the High Court of Weihaiwei from 1926 to 1930.
Sir Richard Temple Rennie was a British barrister and judge who served in China and Japan. He was the Chief Justice of the British Supreme Court for China and Japan from 1881 to 1891. He was judge of the British Court for Japan from its creation in 1879 to 1881.
Sir Allan George Mossop was a British judge of South African origin who served in China. He was the Chief Judge of the British Supreme Court for China from 1933 to 1943.
George French (1817–1881) was a British judge. He was the Chief Justice of both the Supreme Court of Sierra Leone and the British Supreme Court for China and Japan.
Sir Frederick Samuel August Bourne (1854–1940) was a British judge, diplomat and botanist who served in China. His last positions before retirement were concurrently as Assistant Judge of the British Supreme Court for China and Judge of the High Court of Weihaiwei.
Penrhyn Grant Jones CBE (1878–1945) was a British judge and diplomat who served in China. His last position before retirement was as Assistant Judge of the British Supreme Court for China.
Gilbert Walter King OBE was a British judge who served in China. His last position before retirement was as Assistant Judge of the British Supreme Court for China.
George Jamieson CMG (1843-1920) was a British diplomat and judge who served in China. His last position before retirement from government service was as British Consul-General in Shanghai.
Milton John Helmick (1885-1954) was Attorney General of New Mexico (1923-1925), a judge in Albuquerque (1925-1934) and the Judge of the United States Court for China (1934-1943).
Sir Herbert Phillips OBE, KCMG, (1878-1957) was a British diplomat who served in China. His last position before retirement from government service was as British Consul-General in Shanghai.