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Scots law Administration
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The Judicial Appointments Board for Scotland is public body responsible for making recommendations on appointments to judicial offices in Scotland. It commenced work in June 2002 as an administrative body of the Scottish Executive. [1] All recommendations are made to the First Minister of Scotland, who must consult the Lord President of the Court of Session before making his or her recommendation to the Queen of the United Kingdom.[2]
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Members
The Board has ten members (an equal number of lay and judicial/legal members) with a lay Chairman. The current Board members are:
Chairman: Sir Muir Russell KCB DL FRSE (2008 to present)
Lay Members: Ms Elspeth MacArthur (2007 to present), Mr Sandy Mowat CA (2008 to present), Professor Andrew Coyle CMG (2009 to present, Reverend John Miller (from March 2009)
Judicial/Legal Members: The Honourable Lady Anne Smith (2008 to present), Sheriff Principal Sir Stephen Young Bt QC (2007 to present), Sheriff Kenneth Ross (2008 to present), Mr Roy Martin QC, Advocate (2007 to present), Mr Martin McAllister, Solicitor (2008 to present)
List of Former Board Members
Chairman: Sir Neil McIntosh CBE DL (2002 to 2008)
Lay Members: Mrs Barbara Duffner OBE FRSE (2002 to 2008), Professor Joan Stringer CBE (2002 to 2007), Professor Alan Paterson (2002 to 2008), Sir Robert Smith (now The Right Honourable The Lord Smith of Kelvin) 2002 to 2007)
Judicial/Legal Members: The Right Honourable Lord MacLean (2002 to 2005), The Right Honourable Lord Wheatley (2005 to 2007), Sheriff Principal Bruce Kerr QC (2002 to 2007), Sheriff J Douglas Allan OBE (2002 to 2008), Mr Colin Campbell QC, Advocate (now The Honourable Lord Malcolm) (2002 to 2005), Mrs Valerie Stacey QC, Advocate (now The Honourable Lady Stacey) (2005 to 2007), Mr Michael Scanlan, Solicitor (2002 to 2008)
Remit
The Board's remit is to:
- Provide the First Minister with a list of candidates recommended for appointment to the offices of Senator of the College of Justice, Sheriff Principal, Sheriff and Part-time Sheriff.
- Make such recommendations on merit, but in addition to consider ways of recruiting a Judiciary which is as representative as possible of the communities which they serve.
- Undertake the recruitment and assessment process in an efficient and effective way.
The Board comprises 10 members, including the Chairman, who were all appointed by the Scottish Ministers, to whom the Board is responsible for its activities. There is an even balance of legal and lay members. The Board is serviced by a dedicated Secretariat, based in Edinburgh.
Criticism
The method of creating the Board and appointing members was not without criticism. The Law Society of Scotland in its members' magazine Journal was critical that the appointments process did not follow procedures recommended by the Committee on Standards in Public Life, and the Chair of the Board is a lay member, a situation said to be "unique in Europe", where the norm is for self-governing bodies to control judicial appointments. [3]
Sir Neil McIntosh, Chair, was critical that the Scottish Executive did not put the Board on a statutory footing, as is the case for the Judicial Appointments Commission in England. [4]
References
- ^ web|title=About the Board |url=http://www.judicialappointmentsscotland.gov.uk/judicial/JUD_Main.jsp?pContentID=438&p_applic=CCC&pMenu0=44&p_service=Content.show&|publisher=Judicial Appointments Board for Scotland |accessdate=2007-11-19}}
- ^ Appointments process: "Office of Sheriff". Judicial Appointments Board for Scotland. http://www.judicialappointmentsscotland.gov.uk/judicial/files/Office_Sheriff.pdf. Retrieved 2007-11-19.
- ^ Criticism of the Judicial Appointments Board on the ground that it lacks any real authority: "The Judicial Appointments Board – a misnomer". Law Society of Scotland. http://www.journalonline.co.uk/Magazine/47-8/1000263.aspx. Retrieved 2009-07-31.
- ^ News Release: "Judicial Appointments Board". Scottish Government. http://www.scotland.gov.uk/News/Releases/2006/11/30152026. Retrieved 2007-11-19.
External links
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