The Judicial Appointments Board for Scotland is an

advisory non-departmental public body In the United Kingdom, non-departmental public body (NDPB) is a classification applied by the Cabinet Office, Treasury, the Scottish Government and the Northern Ireland Executive to public sector organisations that have a role in the process of n ...

of the Scottish Government responsible for making recommendations on appointments to certain offices of the

judiciary of Scotland The judiciary of Scotland are the judicial office holders who sit in the courts of Scotland and make decisions in both civil and criminal cases. Judges make sure that cases and verdicts are within the parameters set by Scots law, and they ...

. It was established in June 2002 on a non-statutory,

ad hoc Ad hoc is a Latin phrase meaning literally 'to this'. In English, it typically signifies a solution for a specific purpose, problem, or task rather than a generalized solution adaptable to collateral instances. (Compare with '' a priori''.) C ...

, basis by the Scottish Government, and was given

statutory authority A statutory body or statutory authority is a body set up by law (statute) that is authorised to implement certain legislation on behalf of the relevant country or state, sometimes by being Primary and secondary legislation, empowered or deleg ...

by the

Judiciary and Courts (Scotland) Act 2008 The Judiciary and Courts (Scotland) Act 2008 is an Act of the Scottish Parliament passed in October 2008 to reform the courts of Scotland, to give statutory force to judicial independence, and to establish the Lord President of the Court of Sessio ...

. All recommendations are made to the

First Minister A first minister is any of a variety of leaders of government cabinets. The term literally has the same meaning as "prime minister" but is typically chosen to distinguish the office-holder from a superior prime minister. Currently the title of ' ...

, who must consult the

Lord President of the Court of Session The Lord President of the Court of Session and Lord Justice General is the most senior judge in Scotland, the head of the judiciary, and the presiding judge of the College of Justice, the Court of Session, and the High Court of Justiciary. The L ...

before making a recommendation to the

monarch A monarch is a head of stateWebster's II New College DictionarMonarch Houghton Mifflin. Boston. 2001. p. 707. Life tenure, for life or until abdication, and therefore the head of state of a monarchy. A monarch may exercise the highest authority ...

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 A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

, 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,

, basis by the Scottish Government, and was given

by the Judiciary and Courts (Scotland) Act 2008. The board was established on a statutory basis following criticism of its perceived lack of independence from political interference by the

executive Executive ( exe., exec., execu.) may refer to: Role or title * Executive, a senior management role in an organization ** Chief executive officer (CEO), one of the highest-ranking corporate officers (executives) or administrators ** Executive dir ...

, 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 (

advocate An advocate is a professional in the field of law. Different countries' legal systems use the term with somewhat differing meanings. The broad equivalent in many English law–based jurisdictions could be a barrister or a solicitor. However, ...

and

solicitors A solicitor is a legal practitioner who traditionally deals with most of the legal matters in some jurisdictions. A person must have legally-defined qualifications, which vary from one jurisdiction to another, to be described as a solicitor and ...

). The method of creating the board and appointing members was not without criticism. The

Law Society of Scotland The Law Society of Scotland is the professional governing body for Scottish solicitors. It promotes excellence among solicitors through the support and regulation of its members. It also promotes the interests of the public in relation to the ...

in its members' magazine ''Journal'' was critical that the appointments process did not follow procedures recommended by the

Committee on Standards in Public Life The Committee on Standards in Public Life (CSPL) is an advisory non-departmental public body of the United Kingdom Government, established by John Major in 1994 to advise the Prime Minister on ethical standards of public life. It promotes a code o ...

, 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.Criticism of the Judicial Appointments Board on the ground that it lacks any real authority: 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 The Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC) is an independent commission that selects candidates for judicial office in courts and tribunals in England and Wales and for some tribunals whose jurisdiction extends to Scotland or Northern Ireland. Sy ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. 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

, who must consult the

before making his or her recommendation to the

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 (but may not be either the Lord President or

Lord Justice Clerk The Lord Justice Clerk is the second most senior judge in Scotland, after the Lord President of the Court of Session. Originally ''clericus justiciarie'' or Clerk to the Court of Justiciary, the counterpart in the criminal courts of the Lord ...

), a sheriff principal, and a

sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly transla ...

. The legal members include an

and a

solicitor A solicitor is a legal practitioner who traditionally deals with most of the legal matters in some jurisdictions. A person must have legally-defined qualifications, which vary from one jurisdiction to another, to be described as a solicitor and ...

. As of August 2022, current board members were: *Chairing member: Dr Lindsay Montgomery CBE FRSE *Lay member: Ms Emma Marriott *Lay member: Mrs Deirdre Fulton *Lay member: Professor Stephen Tierney *Lay member: Ms Neelam Bakshi *Lay member: Mrs Liz Burnley CBE *Judicial member: The Hon. Lady Haldane KC,

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

*Judicial member: Sheriff Principal Aisha Anwar *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: Ms Morag Ross KC, Advocate *Legal member: Ms Cat MacLean, Solicitor

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Judicial offices

* Senator of the College of Justice *

Chairman of the Scottish Land Court The Scottish Land Court is a Scottish court of law based in Edinburgh with subject-matter jurisdiction covering disputes between landlords and tenants relating to agricultural tenancies, and matters related to crofts and crofters. The Scott ...

* Temporary judge of the Court of Session or

High Court of Justiciary The High Court of Justiciary is the supreme criminal court in Scotland. The High Court is both a trial court and a court of appeal. As a trial court, the High Court sits on circuit at Parliament House or in the adjacent former Sheriff Cour ...

* Sheriff principal *

Sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly transla ...

* 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

Business Management Unit

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, Ms Paula Stevenson.

Lay assistants

The members of the board are supported in

sifting A sieve, fine mesh strainer, or sift, is a device for separating wanted elements from unwanted material or for controlling the particle size distribution of a sample, using a screen such as a woven mesh or net or perforated sheet material. ...

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 5 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.

References

External links

Official website
{{Authority control 2002 establishments in Scotland Legal organisations based in Scotland 2002 in British law Courts of Scotland Government-related organisations based in Edinburgh Judiciary of Scotland Advisory non-departmental public bodies of the Scottish Government College of Justice Government agencies established in 2002 Government recruitment Judicial nominations and appointments