# James Rant

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{{Short description|British judge}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox officeholder
 | honorific_prefix = His Honour Judge
 | name        = James Rant 
 | honorific_suffix = CB QC
 | image       = 
 | alt         = 
 | caption     = 
 | office      = [Judge Advocate General](/source/Judge_Advocate_General_of_the_Armed_Forces)
 | term_start  = 1 February 1991
 | term_end    = 25 May 2003
 | nominator   = [The Lord Mackay of Clashfern](/source/James_Mackay%2C_Baron_Mackay_of_Clashfern)
 | appointer   = [Elizabeth II](/source/Elizabeth_II)
 | predecessor = [James Stuart-Smith](/source/James_Stuart-Smith)
 | successor   = [Jeff Blackett](/source/Jeff_Blackett)
}}

'''James William Rant''' [CB](/source/Order_of_the_Bath) [QC](/source/Queen's_Counsel) (16 April 1936 – 25 May 2003) was a British judge and the [Judge Advocate General](/source/Judge_Advocate_General_of_the_Armed_Forces) from 1991 until his death in 2003.<ref name="obit" />

==Early life and education==
Rant was born on 16 April 1936 in the Romford district of Essex and was educated at [Stowe School](/source/Stowe_School) and [Selwyn College, Cambridge](/source/Selwyn_College%2C_Cambridge).<ref name="obit" /> He graduated from Selwyn College in 1958 and was [called to the Bar](/source/called_to_the_bar) by [Gray's Inn](/source/Gray's_Inn) in 1961.<ref name="obit" />

==Career==
Rant practised general law until 1970, when he began to specialise in criminal law.  He became a QC in 1980 and by 1984 had become a circuit judge, sitting at the Old Bailey from 1986.<ref name="obit" />

In 1991, he was appointed the Judge Advocate General, the first for a long time without a background or connection to the military.<ref name="obit" /> He made reforms to the court-martial system, including a centralised administration system for Army and Royal Air Force courts-martial and the introduction of judge advocates.<ref name="obit" /> He further reformed the system to reflect the introduction of the Human Rights Act including the creation of summary appeal courts.<ref name="obit" />

Rant was appointed a [Companion of the Order of the Bath](/source/Order_of_the_Bath) in the [1995 Birthday Honours](/source/1995_Birthday_Honours).<ref name="cb" />

==Personal life==
Rant married in 1963 and had two daughters and two sons. He died on 25 May 2003, aged 67.<ref name="obit" />

==References==
<references>

<ref name="obit">"His Honour Judge Rant." Times [London, England] 11 June 2003: 30. The Times Digital Archive. Web. 24 Feb. 2013.</ref>
<ref name="cb">{{London Gazette |issue=54066 |date=17 June 1995 |page=4 |supp=y}}</ref>

</references>

{{s-start}}
{{s-legal}}
{{s-bef |before=[James Stuart-Smith](/source/James_Stuart-Smith)}}
{{s-ttl |title=[Judge Advocate General](/source/Judge_Advocate_General_of_the_Armed_Forces) |years= 1991 - 2003}}
{{s-aft |after=[Jeff Blackett](/source/Jeff_Blackett)}}
{{s-end}}

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rant, James}}
Category:1936 births
Category:2003 deaths
Category:21st-century English judges
Category:English King's Counsel
Category:People educated at Stowe School
Category:Alumni of Selwyn College, Cambridge
Category:Companions of the Order of the Bath
Category:20th-century English judges

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [James Rant](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Rant) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Rant?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.