Judicial Appointments Board for Scotland


The Judicial Appointments Board for Scotland 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 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, and was given statutory authority by the Judiciary and Courts Act 2008. 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.
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. 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.
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.
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.

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.

Board members

The board has 12 members, with 4 judicial members appointed by the Lord President, and 2 legal members and 6 lay members appointed by the Scottish Ministers. Judicial members include 2 appointed from the Court of Session, a sheriff principal, and a sheriff. The legal members include an advocate and a solicitor.
As of February 2019, current board members were:
Chairing members are always lay members of the board, and are appointed for a period of 4 years. The chairing member receives a daily fee of £350, and is eligible to claim expenses incurred whilst on board business.

Judicial members

Judicial members are appointed for 4 years and receive no fees for work undertaken, though they may claim for incurred on board business.
Judicial memberJudicial officeYear assumed officeYear left officeAppointed by
Lord MacLeanSenator of the College of Justice20022005Lord President Cullen
Bruce Kerr QCSheriff principal20022007Lord President Cullen
J Douglas Allan OBESheriff20022008Lord President Cullen
Lord WheatleySenator of the College of Justice20052007Lord President Cullen
Sir Stephen Young QC BtSheriff principal20072010Lord President Hamilton

Legal members

Legal members are appointed for 4 years and receive a fee of £290 per day of board work, and they may claim for incurred on board business.
Legal memberLegal officeYear assumed officeYear left officeAppointed by
Mr Colin Campbell QCAdvocate20022005Lord President Cullen
Mr Michael ScanlanSolicitor20022008Lord President Cullen
Mrs Valerie Stacey QCAdvocate20052007Lord President Cullen
Mr Roy Martin QCAdvocate20072010Lord President Hamilton

Lay members

Lay members are appointed for 4 years and receive a fee of £290 per day of board work, and they may claim for incurred on board business.
Lay memberYear assumed officeYear left officeAppointed by
Mrs Barbara Duffner OBE FRSE20022008Jack McConnell
Professor Joan Stringer CBE20022007Jack McConnell
Professor Alan Paterson20022008Jack McConnell
Sir Robert Smith20022007Jack McConnell
Reverend John Miller20092010Nicola 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 Act 2008.

Judicial offices

The board is supported by its Business Management Unit, which is independent of the Scottish Government, and is based in Edinburgh at Thistle House. The team is headed by Chief Executive, Mr John Craig.

Lay assistants

The members of the board are supported in sifting and interviewing candidates for judicial officer, and have all the powers of a lay member of the board except they cannot take part in the decision making of the board. The board has appointed 3 lay assistants for a period of 3 years from 1 January 2016 to 31 December 2018, and they may be appointed for a further 3 years.
NameDate appointedDate appointment ends
Mr David Robinson1 January 201631 December 2018
Mr John Cummings1 January 201631 December 2018
Mrs Elizabeth Burnley1 January 201631 December 2018