The Scottish Government has announced that the process of appointing a new Lord President for Scotland’s highest civil court, the Court of Session, has begun. This follows the retirement of Scotland’s longest serving judge, Lord Gill, on 31 May 2015.
The First Minister has established a selection panel which includes senior members of the judiciary, to make recommendations for a new Lord President, the most senior judicial office in Scotland.
The Lord President is responsible for leadership of the entire Scottish judiciary, in addition to chairing the Board of the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service. The office holder is the most senior judge in Scotland, with authority over any court established under Scots law, apart from the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom.
The selection panel is made up of:
• Sir Muir Russell – Judicial Appointments Board for Scotland
• Mrs Deirdre Fulton – Judicial Appointments Board for Scotland
• The Rt Hon Lord Reed – Justice of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom
• The Rt Hon Lady Dorrian – Senator, Inner House of the Court of Session
The post is being advertised from today with applications invited by Monday 3 August 2015. The selection panel will interview shortlisted candidates, and make recommendations to the First Minister, shortly afterwards.
The First Minister, who must have regard of those recommendations but is not bound by them, then makes her nomination to the Prime Minister, after statutory consultation with the Lord Justice Clerk. The Prime Minister is responsible for recommending a name for the new Lord President to Her Majesty, but may not recommend anybody who has not been nominated by the First Minister.
Eligibility for appointment as Lord President is open to:
• Serving Court of Session judges
• Sheriffs principal and sheriffs who have held continuous office for at least five years immediately preceding appointment
• Solicitors who have had rights of audience in both the Court of Session and High Court of Justiciary for a continuous period of at least five years immediately preceding the appointment
• Advocates of at least five years standing
• Writers to the Signet of ten years standing who have passed an examination in civil law set by the Faculty of Advocates, two years before appointment
The post advertisement can be accessed here: http://ow.ly/PP1re
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