Richard Scott, Baron Scott of Foscote

Richard Rashleigh Folliott Scott, Baron Scott of Foscote, (born 2 October 1934) is a British judge, who formerly held the office of Lord of Appeal in Ordinary.

Early life

The son of Lieutenant-Colonel C. W. F. and Katharine Scott, Scott was born on 2 October 1934 and educated at Michaelhouse School, Natal in South Africa. He then studied at the University of Cape Town, where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1954, and Trinity College, Cambridge, where he received a B.A (Law Tripos) in 1957 and a Blue in rugby. which has responsibility for overseeing Chancery business in the North of England. He was promoted to the Court of Appeal in 1991, He retired from this post on 30 September 2009, and did not transfer along with the other Lords of Appeal of ordinary to the new Supreme Court of the United Kingdom. The vacancy on the bench his retirement created was filled by Lord Clarke of Stone-cum-Ebony, previously Master of the Rolls. He sat as a crossbencher until his retirement from the House of Lords on 21 December 2016.

In 2003, he was appointed a non-permanent member of Hong Kong's Court of Final Appeal, and while serving there, he is known by his Chinese name . He left the court in 2012.

Notable judicial decisions of Lord Scott included: Cumbrian Newspapers Group Ltd v Cumberland & Westmorland Herald Newspaper & Printing Co Ltd BCLC 286 - leading authority on class rights of shares Royal Bank of Scotland plc v Etridge (No 2) UKHL 44 - leading case on the circumstances under which actual and presumed undue influence can be argued to vitiate consent to a contract Cobbe v Yeoman's Row Management Ltd UKHL 55 - on promissory estoppel in the context of negotiations proceedings the formation of a contract

Scott Inquiry

In 1992, Scott, while a Lord Justice of Appeal, was appointed to chair an inquiry into the Arms-to-Iraq scandal, in which it was claimed the British government had supported British companies in selling defence equipment to Iraq. The report was published in 1996, although much of it was secret. In 2001, Scott said it was "regrettable and disappointing" the Government had not made changes to the law regulating the arms trade.

Personal life

Lord Scott has been married to Rima Elisa Ripoll since 1959. They have two sons and two daughters.