Judicial Appointments Board for Scotland

Judicial Appointments Board for Scotland
Agency overview
Formed	2002
Type	advisory non-departmental public body
Jurisdiction	Scotland
Headquarters	Thistle House, 91 Haymarket Terrace, Edinburgh, EH12 5HE
Agency executives	Lindsay Montgomery, Chair; Paula Stevenson, Chief Executive;
Parent agency	Scottish Government
Website	www.judicialappointments.scot
Map
	Scotland in the UK and Europe

The Judicial Appointments Board for Scotland (Scottish Gaelic: Bòrd Dreuchdan Breithneachaidh na h-Alba) is an advisory non-departmental public body of the Scottish Government responsible for making recommendations on appointments to certain offices of the judiciary of Scotland. It was established in June 2002 on a non-statutory, ad hoc, basis by the Scottish Government, and was given statutory authority by the Judiciary and Courts (Scotland) Act 2008.

All recommendations are made to the First Minister, who must consult the Lord President of the Court of Session before making a recommendation to the monarch in relation to full-time, permanent, judiciary, or before any appointments are made by Scottish Ministers to temporary or part-time judicial office.

The board does not make recommendations for, or have any in role in the appointment of, justices of the peace, whose appointments are made by Scottish Ministers on the recommendation of Justice of the Peace Advisory Committees for each sheriffdom.

History

The Judicial Appointments Board was established in June 2002 on a non-statutory, ad hoc, basis by the Scottish Government,^[1] and was given statutory authority by the Judiciary and Courts (Scotland) Act 2008.^[2] The board was established on a statutory basis following criticism of its perceived lack of independence from political interference by the executive, and following the Scottish Government's consultation Strengthening Judicial Independence in a Modern Scotland.^[3]

In 2002 the board initially had equal numbers of lay and legally qualified members: 5 lay members, 3 judicial members, and 2 members from the legal profession (advocate and solicitors). 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.^[4]

In 2006 Sir Neil McIntosh, chair of the board, 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.^[5]

The board continues to be chaired by a lay member, who is appointed to the position by the Scottish Ministers. The chairing member is appointed for a maximum of 4 years, and may be reappointed.^[6]

Process

All recommendations are made to the First Minister, who must consult the Lord President of the Court of Session before making his or her recommendation to the monarch in relation to full-time judiciary. Appointments to the offices of temporary sheriff principal, part-time sheriffs and part-time summary sheriffs are made by the Scottish Ministers.^[7]

Board members

As of January 2024 the board has 15 members, with 5 judicial members appointed by the Lord President, and 2 legal members and 8 lay members appointed by the Scottish Ministers. As of July 2024 there is a vacancy for a legal member. Judicial members include 2 appointed from the Court of Session (but may not be either the Lord President or Lord Justice Clerk), a sheriff principal, a sheriff and a Chamber President of the First-tier Tribunals of Scotland. The legal members include an advocate and a solicitor.^[6]^[8]

As of January 2024, current board members were:^[8]

Chairing member: Dr Lindsay Montgomery CBE FRSE
Lay member: Ms Emma Marriott
Lay member: Mrs Wilma Canning
Lay member: Dr Fiona McLean
Lay member: Mrs Liz Burnley CBE
Lay member: Mr Gareth Morgan QPM
Lay member: Mr Peter Murray
Judicial member: The Hon. Lady Haldane KC, Senator
Judicial member: The Hon. Lord Weir KC, Senator
Judicial member: Sheriff Principal Kate Dowdalls KC
Judicial member: Sheriff David Young KC
Judicial member: Mrs May Dunsmuir, President of the Health & Education Chamber of First-tier Tribunal for Scotland
Legal member: Mr Jonathan Barne, KC
Legal member: Mr Paul Cackette CBE
Legal member: Vacant

Chairing members

Chairing members are always lay members of the board, and are appointed for a period of 4 years (up to a maximum of 8 years). The chairing member receives a daily fee of £350, and is eligible to claim expenses incurred whilst on board business.^[8]

Chairing member		Year assumed office	Year left office	Appointed by
1	Sir Neil McIntosh CBE DL	2002	2008	Jack McConnell
2	Sir Muir Russell KCB FRSE	2008^[9]	2014^[9]	Alex Salmond
3	Dr Michael Ewart	2010	2016	Alex Salmond (2010) Nicola Sturgeon (2016)
4	Mrs Nicola Gordon	2016	2021	Nicola Sturgeon (2016)
5	Dr Lindsay Montgomery CBE FRSE	2022	Incumbent	Nicola Sturgeon (2022)

Former Judicial members

Judicial members are appointed for 4 years (up to a maximum of 8 years) and receive no fees for work undertaken, though they may claim for incurred on board business.^[8]

Judicial member	Judicial office	Year assumed office	Year left office	Appointed by
Lord MacLean	Senator of the College of Justice	2002	2005	Lord President Cullen
Bruce Kerr QC	Sheriff principal	2002	2007	Lord President Cullen
J Douglas Allan OBE	Sheriff	2002	2008	Lord President Cullen
Lord Wheatley	Senator of the College of Justice	2005	2007	Lord President Cullen
Sir Stephen Young QC Bt	Sheriff principal	2007	2010	Lord President Hamilton
Michael O'Grady QC	Sheriff		2020
Maryisa Lewis	Sheriff Principal	2019	2021	Lord President Carloway
Lady Wise	Senator of the College of Justice	2018	2022	Lord President Carloway
Lord Minginish	Chair of the Scottish Land Court	2018	2022	Lord President Carloway
Aisha Anwar	Sheriff Principal	2021	2023	Lord President Carloway

Former Legal members

Legal members are appointed for 4 years (up to a maximum of 8 years) and receive a fee of £290 per day of board work, and they may claim for incurred on board business.^[8]

Legal member	Legal office	Year assumed office	Year left office	Appointed by
Mr Colin Campbell QC	Advocate	2002	2005	Lord President Cullen
Mr Michael Scanlan	Solicitor	2002	2008	Lord President Cullen
Mrs Valerie Stacey QC	Advocate	2005	2007	Lord President Cullen
Mr Roy Martin QC	Advocate	2007	2010	Lord President Hamilton
Ms Morag Ross KC	Advocate	2019	2023	Lord President Carloway
Ms Cat MacLean	Solicitor	2022	2024	Lord President Carloway

Former Lay members

Lay members are appointed for 4 years (up to a maximum of 8 years) and receive a fee of £290 per day of board work, and they may claim for incurred on board business.^[8]

Lay member	Year assumed office	Year left office	Appointed by
Mrs Barbara Duffner OBE FRSE	2002	2008	Jack McConnell
Professor Joan Stringer CBE	2002	2007	Jack McConnell
Professor Alan Paterson	2002	2008	Jack McConnell
Sir Robert Smith	2002	2007	Jack McConnell
Reverend John Miller	2009	2010	Nicola Sturgeon
Ms Neelam Bakshi		2023	Nicola Sturgeon
Professor Stephen Tierney FRSE		2023	Nicola Sturgeon
Mrs Deirdre Fulton		2023	Nicola Sturgeon

Remit

The board has a remit for making recommendations on appointments to judicial offices as specified by Section 10 of the Judiciary and Courts (Scotland) Act 2008.^[2]

Judicial offices

Senator of the College of Justice
Chairman of the Scottish Land Court
Temporary judge of the Court of Session or High Court of Justiciary
Sheriff principal
Sheriff
Part-time sheriff
Summary sheriff
Part-time summary sheriff
Scottish Tribunals
- Vice-President of Upper Tribunal
- Chamber President, First-tier Tribunal
- Deputy Chamber President, First-tier Tribunal
- Ordinary member, First-tier or Upper Tribunal
- Legal member, First-tier or Upper Tribunal
The Parole Board for Scotland

Business Management Unit

The board is supported by its Business Management Unit, which is staffed by civil servants but is independent of the Scottish Government, and is based in Edinburgh at Thistle House. The team is headed by Chief Executive, Ms Paula Stevenson.

Lay and Legal Appointments Advisors

The members of the board are supported in sifting and interviewing candidates for judicial office, and have all the powers of a lay member of the board except they cannot take part in the decision making of the board.^[6] Appointments advisors may be appointed for three years and can subsequently be re-appointed for a further three years.^[10]

Lay Appointments Advisors^[10]
Name	Date appointed	Date appointment ends
Ms Marieke Dawarshuis
Mr Peter McGrath
Dr Geoff Garner
Ms Deirdre Fulton

References

^ "History | Judicial Appointments Board for Scotland". Judicial Appointments Board for Scotland. 2016. Retrieved 5 April 2017.
^ ^a ^b "Chapter 3 | Judiciary and Courts (Scotland) Act 2008". www.legislation.gov.uk. The National Archives. 29 October 2008. Retrieved 5 April 2017.
^ "Judicial Appointments | Strengthening Judicial Independence in a Modern Scotland". www.gov.scot. The Scottish Government. 8 February 2006. Retrieved 5 April 2017.
^ 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. 1 August 2002. Retrieved 31 July 2009.
^ "News Release | Judicial Appointments Board". Scottish Government. 30 November 2006. Retrieved 5 April 2017. In February, the Scottish Executive issued a consultation paper on whether the Board should be placed on a statutory basis. I regret that attaining statutory status is not yet law.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Schedule 1 | Judiciary and Courts (Scotland) Act 2008". www.legislation.gov.uk. The National Archives. 29 October 2008. Retrieved 5 April 2017.
^ "Office of Sheriff" (PDF). Judicial Appointments Board for Scotland. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 2007-11-19.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f "Board Members | Judicial Appointments Board for Scotland". www.judicialappointments.scot. Judicial Appointments Board for Scotland. 2016. Retrieved 5 April 2017.
^ ^a ^b "Judicial Appointments Board for Scotland". Scottish Government. 22 March 2011. Archived from the original on 10 June 2011.
^ ^a ^b "Lay Assistants | Judicial Appointments Board for Scotland". www.judicialappointments.scot. Judicial Appointments Board for Scotland. 2016. Retrieved 5 April 2017.