Obituary: William Duncan, Trinity College Dublin professor, ‘father of Irish family law' and key figure in Hague Conventions

Irish Independent

2 days ago

He was born on November 25, 1944, in Lowestoft on the east coast of England. He was educated at the Cathedral School in Hereford and studied law at Oxford, where he was awarded a master's degree. It was here he met Ilana Drori, whom he later married.
Duncan joined the Law School at Trinity College in October 1967 as a junior lecturer. In a memorial service there last Tuesday, his colleague Professor Gerard Whyte said Duncan was 'part of the first generation of full-time academic lawyers in this country on whose shoulders fell the task of providing informed commentary on contemporary Irish law'.
Duncan's main interest was law regulating family relationships. His academic work helped generate reform in that area to such an extent that Dr Whyte said he 'may fairly be considered the father of Irish family law'.
He also worked on a pro bono basis with organisations seeking family law reform, such as Cherish (now One Family Ireland), and supported the Traveller community in their efforts to acquire better living conditions.
Elected as a fellow of Trinity in 1982, he was appointed 11 years later as professor of law and jurisprudence.
He also served from 1987 to 1996 as a member of the Law Reform Commission, an independent body set up by the Fine Gael-Labour government in 1975 to examine aspects of legislation and, if necessary, propose reforms.
Membership of the Law Reform Commission resulted in his attendance in October 1989 at a special event on international child abduction, held under the auspices of The Hague Conference on Private International Law.
This intergovernmental organisation develops co-operation frameworks in more than 150 countries to provide a high degree of legal certainty and security for individuals and companies whose activities cross different legal systems.
Duncan was the principal Irish delegate to the conference from 1989 to 1997 and played a leading role in drafting two Hague Conventions: the first in 1993 on intercountry adoption of children and the second in 1996 on parental responsibility and child protection.
In 1997 he resigned from Trinity and moved to The Hague to become first secretary and later deputy secretary general of the Permanent Bureau (Secretariat) of the Conference. He retired in June 2011.
In 2020, he was among the recipients chosen for the Presidential Distinguished Service Award in recognition of the service given to this country, or to Irish communities abroad, by those who live outside Ireland. Duncan received the award in the category of 'Peace, Reconciliation, and Development', as recognition of his years with the Hague Conference and dedication to academia and law reform in Ireland.
In 2022, he received an honorary doctorate from the University of Dublin, as Trinity is also known. He was also a qualified barrister at law.
He was one of three members, with Judge Yvonne Murphy (chair) and Professor Mary Daly, of the Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes.
On January 12, 2021, the commission said in its final report that about 9,000 children, one in seven of those born in the 18 institutions under investigation, had died in them between 1922 and 1998, which was double the general rate of infant mortality.
William Robert Duncan died on August 3. Predeceased by his wife Ilana and sister Liz, he is survived by his children Heidi, Tim, Tanya and Natalie.