Charles Stoddart

Born in Dunfermline and educated at Dunfermline High School, Mr Stoddart graduated in law from the University of Edinburgh before completing an LLM at McGill University, writing a thesis on the reform of Scottish divorce law.

Admitted as a solicitor in 1972, he worked as lecturer in Scots law at the University of Edinburgh from 1973 until 1980, teaching criminal law and evidence and completing a PhD on legal aid in Scotland.

Following a period as partner in John G Gray & Co, SSC, he was appointed as a sheriff at Paisley in 1988, later serving as sheriff at Edinburgh and as the first holder of the post of director of judicial studies for Scotland, where his work was instrumental both in developing judicial training and resources such as the Charging the Jury Manual (as it then was) and the Criminal Bench Book.

Familiar to generations of students through his authorship, with Chris Gane, of casebooks on criminal law and criminal procedure, he was also the author of texts on criminal warrants and legal aid, contributed to the Stair Memorial Encyclopaedia, and wrote a 1980 book on the search for Bible John. He edited Greens Criminal Law Bulletin for 15 years and contributed many articles to legal journals.

Retiral in 2009 did not impede his contribution to Scots law, with subsequent service as a temporary sheriff principal and as a judicial member of the Parole Board for Scotland alongside involvement in law reform initiatives such as the Post-Corroboration Safeguards Review and service as general editor of Renton & Brown’s Criminal Procedure.

James Chalmers, regius professor of law at the University of Glasgow, told SLN: “Charles Stoddart’s contribution to the criminal law of Scotland, both in practice and academically, is extraordinarily far-reaching.

“He contributed textbooks in an era where little guidance for students existed, mining the records of the Justiciary Office for crucial unpublished material which might otherwise have escaped the notice of scholars and practitioners.

“His writing was wide-ranging and thorough, all the more so when considered alongside his judicial service and the range of public bodies and reviews to which he contributed, while his devotion to his family was evident from our conversations.

“I will miss his counsel, as I know will many others.”

Mr Stoddart is survived by his wife Anne, his daughter Nicola and his grandchildren Anna and Adam. There will be no funeral at his own request.