James Stuart-Smith - Telegraph After seven years of independent practice, Stuart-Smith joined the office of the Judge Advocate General as a legal assistant. He quickly came to the notice of the then Judge Advocate General, Sir Frederick Gentle QC, who persuaded him that his careful and analytical approach to problems, and his extensive knowledge of the Army, equipped him well for the duties of a judge advocate. Following his promotion to Judge Advocate General, he was appointed CB and, subsequently, QC Emeritus. At the end of his career, he was a trusted adviser to the Secretary of State. He retired in 1991 having served as a military judge for 36 years. James Stuart-Smith was born in Brighton, Sussex, on September 13 1919. His father owned livery stables and was the first manager of the Southdown Bus Company. Young James went to Brighton College and then to the London Hospital as a medical student. On the outbreak of the Second World War he joined the King's Royal Rifle Corps and saw active service in Italy, Egypt and Palestine. He was promoted lieutenant colonel aged 27 but decided to pursue a legal career after being demobilised. Stuart-Smith held every military judicial appointment from legal assistant to that of Judge Advocate General. His rulings on matters of law were invariably sound, he was scrupulously fair in court and did not delight, as did some of his fellow judges, in scoring points at the expense of the advocates. He was president of the International Society for Military Law and the Law of War from 1985 to 1991. In the 1990s he heard that his old school was to commemorate all those former pupils who had been killed in the Second World War. A contemporary at school was a German boy called Guhl who had been forced by the German government to leave the school to join the Wehrmacht. He was killed on active service. Stuart-Smith battled successfully to have Guhl's name included on the list and in later life became friendly with the young man's family. James Stuart-Smith married, in 1957, Jean Groundsell. She predeceased him and he is survived by their son and daughter. James Stuart-Smith, born September 13 1919, died May 15 2013