Scotsman Obituaries: Lord Ross, former Lord Justice Clerk and one of the great Scottish judges

By David Edward

Published 6th Jun 2025, 07:00 BST

Donald Ross held a succession of the highest offices in the Scottish legal system of which he was a proud and doughty champion. He was the youngest of three children of John Ross, a solicitor in Dundee. His elder brother John was in the Parachute Regiment, took part in the first raid on the French coast at Bruneval in 1942, was awarded the DSO for bravery in North Africa, and was captured in Sicily, spending the rest of the war as a POW.

Donald was educated at the High School of Dundee, of which he was Dux, and later became president of the Old Boys Club as well as the Edinburgh Angus Club.

Encouraged by his father and brother, he aimed for the Bar rather than join the family practice in Dundee. He first graduated M.A. at the University of Edinburgh, then did two years’ National Service with a commission in the Black Watch and returned to Edinburgh for the LL.B, winning the Class Prizes in Scots Law, Conveyancing and Forensic Medicine and the Vans Dunlop scholarship. One of his contemporaries said Donald absorbed in one hour what it took them five hours to learn. He and others lived in a small flat in the New Town that was known as the Snake Pit in spite of (or perhaps because of) the respectability of its inhabitants.

Donald was admitted to the Faculty of Advocates in 1952. At that time there were fewer than a hundred advocates in practice at the Bar, and Donald soon gained a reputation as a skilled and tenacious Junior. He had a succession of “devils” (pupils), several of whom later became judges. As one of them, Ranald (later Lord) MacLean, observed, his approach was one of hard work, acuity of mind and intellectual honesty in identifying the problem and following the argument where it led, whether desired or not.

At that time, participation in politics was still the “Establishment” route to preferment, since the Lord Advocate, the Solicitor General and all the Advocates Depute (Crown Counsel) changed with a change of government; and appointment as Standing Junior to one of the Government Departments was in the gift of the Lord Advocate. Donald stayed out of politics and was believed to hold anti-Establishment views, which might surprise those who knew him later. At any rate, he didn’t become a member of the New Club until he became Dean.

In 1958 Donald married Dorothy Annand, daughter of a farming family, whom he had known since childhood in Kirriemuir. They were devoted to each other and Dorothy, who radiated warmth and good humour, added a touch of levity when Donald became too serious. They had two children, Kirsty and Catriona, and set up home in Lauder Road, which was the scene of many happy parties, particularly before Christmas. Sadly, Dorothy died in 2004.

Donald took silk in 1964 and quickly established himself as one of the leaders of the Bar. After cross-examination about compulsory purchase of the new Heriot-Watt site, the Acting Principal said: “Next time, make certain that that advocate Ross is on our side – I certainly don’t want to go through that again”. From the point of view of the client, Sir Charles Fraser says he was very nice to work with, always interested and always very practical.

In 1967, the office of Vice-Dean of the Faculty of Advocates fell vacant, and Donald was elected by those who wished to see the creaking machinery of the Faculty move into the 20th century. Donald led a programme of reform including a new system for invoicing and collecting advocates’ fees, employing Clerks, librarians and other staff, making suitable pension arrangements, and completely refurbishing the building and contents of the Advocates’ Library.

In 1972 he was appointed Sheriff Principal of Argyll & Bute (in those days a part-time appointment held by one of the senior QCs) and in 1973 he was elected Dean of Faculty, the greatest tribute the Bar can pay to one of its leaders. As Dean he was able to celebrate the completion of the Library with a formal opening by the Lord Chancellor, Lord Elwyn Jones, in 1996. Throughout his life he retained a particular respect and affection for the Faculty, its history and its traditions.

In 1977, he was appointed a Senator of the College of Justice and in 1985 he succeeded Lord Wheatley as Lord Justice-Clerk, an office he held for a further 12 years.

He was a master of the law of Scotland and deserves to be remembered as one of the great Scottish judges. He was less enthusiastic about new ideas from Luxembourg and Strasbourg. Lord Pentland (now Lord President) says that, towards those who appeared before him, Donald was firm but always fair, though he could be impatient if the arguments presented were palpably unsound. He was particularly kind to young counsel, provided they were properly prepared. Even if he had to take a hard line when their arguments were unsound, he never held it against them the next time they appeared.

In 1990 and 1991 he was Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly, and Dorothy was a particular success as Her Grace, radiating her cheerful good humour to their guests at Holyrood.

As well as service as a judge, Donald undertook a series of public commitments: member of the Scottish Committee of the Council on Tribunals 1970-76; the Committee on Privacy 1976; chairman of the Boundary Commission for Scotland 1977-2002; member of the Court of Heriot Watt University 1978-90 and Chairman 1984-90.

After retirement from the bench, he became Chairman of the Judicial Studies Committee for Scotland from 1997 to 2001. He believed strongly in the value of organised studies for judges at all levels and brought great energy to the seminars and training courses that were devised.

In 2002, he chaired an expert group on the question of compensation for those who contracted hepatitis C from contaminated blood products. The group’s answer was that it was wrong that they should be treated less favourably than people who had contracted HIV under similar circumstances, and recommended lump sum payments, financial support and support arrangements. They made further recommendations to improve the provision of advice, assistance and legal aid in clinical negligence cases. As happened too often, their report ended in the long grass.

Donald was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 1988 and served as Vice President from 1999 to 2002. He was awarded honorary LL.D.’s by the Universities of Edinburgh, Dundee, Abertay and Aberdeen, and D.Univ. by Heriot-Watt.

After Dorothy’s death, Donald took great pleasure in cruising to many parts of the world with Swan Hellenic. He read a lot, but his eyesight gradually failed and he was made very comfortable in Cramond Residences, where he died. Donald was essentially a kind man, firm in his views and, behind it all, a man of genuine modesty.

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