In the United Kingdom, the Judge Advocate of Her Majesty's Fleet was a civilian judge who was responsible for the supervision and superintendence of the court martial system in the Royal Navy. Until 2004, he shared responsibility for the naval court martial system with the Chief Naval Judge Advocate, a legally-trained serving naval officer who was responsible for the appointment of judge advocates. However the Chief Naval Judge Advocate's post was abolished^[1] because of a ruling by the European Court of Human Rights that held that, as a serving naval officer, his position was insufficiently independent.^[2]

The role of Judge Advocate of the Fleet was taken over by the Judge Advocate General from 2004 onwards.^[3] It was formally abolished on 1 January 2008 under the Armed Forces Act 2006.^[4]

List of Judge Advocates of the Fleet

• 1663 J. Fowler
• 1672 J. Brisbane
• 1680 H. Croone
• 1689 P. Foster
• 1689 F. Bacher
• 1690 Villiers Bathurst
• 1711 W. Strahan
• 1714 E. Honywood
• 1724 J. Copeland
• 1729 T. Hawes
• 1743 T. Kempe
• 1744 Charles Fearne

• 1768 George Jackson
• 1824 H. Twiss
• 1828 H. J. Shepherd
• 1845 R. Godson
• 1849 R. B. Crowder
• 1854 Thomas Phinn
• 1855 W. Atherton
• 1859 Robert Collier, 1st Baron Monkswell
• 1863 Thomas Phinn
• 1866 John Walter Huddleston

...

• 1904 Reginald Brodie Dyke Acland

...

• 1933 J G Trapnell
• 1943 J Lhind Pratt
• 1945 Ewen Montagu
• 1973 William Howard
• 1986 Felix Waley
• 1995 J L Sessions
• 2004 Moribund
• 2008 Abolished

References