James Skinner, QC, helped to secure Zambian independence. He was born in Clonmel, Republic of Ireland, in July 1923 and educated at Clongowes Wood College and read law at Trinity College, Dublin. He was called to the Irish Bar by King’s Inns in 1946. Four years later he joined its English counterpart as a member of Gray’s Inn.

In 1951 Skinner answered a newspaper advert that saw him moving his practice to Northern Rhodesia. The country’s nationalist movement was beginning to gather momentum, and as an instinctive radical from an Irish Nationalist background, he found himself defending African Nationalists prosecuted by the British.

In 1962 he risked a jail term by refusing to register for national service under the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland Defence Act, regarding the Federal Army as a terror force used to oppress the majority of the country’s citizens. He made an unsuccessful attempt to join the Northern Rhodesian Parliament, winning too few European votes to succeed in the complex, weighted system that was in operation at the time. Undeterred, he continued his political activism, becoming legal advisor to the United National Independence Party — then considered by many to be extremist and pro-Communist. In this role he helped steer the country towards independence as the Republic of Zambia, which was declared in October 1964.

Skinner helped to draft the new nation’s constitution and was elected MP for Lusaka East — on a one man, one vote basis. He was subsequently appointed as Minister of Justice, the only white member of the Government. For this, he was snubbed by several people he had, until then, considered friends. He was also insulted in the street by disapproving strangers.

In 1965 his efforts were recognised outside Zambia, when he was made a Grand Commander by Order of Menelik II of Ethiopia. Soon after, he was promoted to Attorney-General, serving for four years. During that period, Skinner was chairman and member of various cabinet committees, and in 1967 acted as mediator in a dispute between Kenya and Somalia which resulted in the Arusha settlement, through which the two countries reopened diplomatic relations. His abilities were also recognised in 1969 when he was appointed Chief Justice, Zambia's highest legal office.

Skinner stepped down from his position in controversial circumstances after only six months. He had upheld the decision of another expatriate High Court judge to free two Portuguese soldiers sentenced to two years imprisonment for entering Zambia illegally, and was publicly challenged by President Kenneth Kaunda. Kaunda called on Skinner to explain why the judge had referred to the offence as “trivial”, creating a furore that culminated in anti-white demonstrations and the ransacking of the High Court by 500 members of the official youth service. Skinner was adamant that the independence of the judiciary was necessary to preserve democracy and the rule of law, and resigned. He was unwilling to work in a system that betrayed these principles. Although the President later apologised for what had happened and invited Skinner to resume his duties, Skinner declined.

Skinner went on to become Chief Justice of Malawi. He worked there for fifteen years, returning to Ireland in 1985.He is survived by his wife, whom he married in 1950, and by his three sons and two daughters.

James Skinner, QC, former Chief Justice of Zambia and of Malawi, was born on July 24, 1923. He died on October 21, 2008, aged 85