The Scottish Law Commission () 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 o ...

of the

Scottish Government The Scottish Government (, ) is the executive arm of the devolved government of Scotland. It was formed in 1999 as the Scottish Executive following the 1997 referendum on Scottish devolution, and is headquartered at St Andrew's House in ...

. It was established in 1965 to keep

Scots law Scots law () is the List of country legal systems, legal system of Scotland. It is a hybrid or mixed legal system containing Civil law (legal system), civil law and common law elements, that traces its roots to a number of different histori ...

under review and recommend necessary reforms to improve, simplify and update the country's legal system. It was established by the Law Commissions Act 1965 (as amended) at the same time as the

Law Commission A law commission, law reform commission, or law revision commission is an independent body set up by a government to conduct law reform; that is, to consider the state of laws in a jurisdiction and make recommendations or proposals for legal chang ...

in England and Wales. Appointments are ordinarily made in accordance with the Commissioner for Public Appointments in Scotland's Code of Practice. The commission is part of the Commonwealth Association of Law Reform Agencies.

Functions

The Commission exists to keep Scots law under review and recommend reform as needed. The commission's scope encompasses

devolved Devolution is the statutory delegation of powers from the central government of a sovereign state to govern at a subnational level, such as a regional or local level. It is a form of administrative decentralization. Devolved territories ...

and reserved matters, as defined by the

Scotland Act 1998 The Scotland Act 1998 (c. 46) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which legislated for the establishment of the devolved Scottish Parliament with tax varying powers and the Scottish Government (then Scottish Executive). It was o ...

and as such has a duty for laws that are the responsibility of the

Parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, and may also legislate for the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace ...

, as well as those that are the responsibility of the

Scottish Parliament The Scottish Parliament ( ; ) is the Devolution in the United Kingdom, devolved, unicameral legislature of Scotland. It is located in the Holyrood, Edinburgh, Holyrood area of Edinburgh, and is frequently referred to by the metonym 'Holyrood'. ...

Composition

The commission consists of five commissioners appointed by the

Scottish Ministers The Scottish Government (, ) is the executive arm of the devolved government of Scotland. It was formed in 1999 as the Scottish Executive following the 1997 referendum on Scottish devolution, and is headquartered at St Andrew's House in t ...

. One of the commissioners is the chairman who by convention is a Senator of the College of Justice. The other commissioners are drawn from those holding judicial office,

advocate An advocate is a professional in the field of law. List of country legal systems, Different countries and legal systems use the term with somewhat differing meanings. The broad equivalent in many English law–based jurisdictions could be a ba ...

solicitor A solicitor is a lawyer 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 enabled to p ...

s or university law teachers. Commissioners are appointed for a maximum term of five years with the possibility of re-appointment. The current commissioners are as follows: #The Rt Hon Lady Paton (chair) #Professor Gillian Black #Professor Frankie McCarthy #Ann Stewart The commissioners are supported by the chief executive of the commission, Rachel Rayner, and by legal and non-legal staff. All permanent staff are seconded from the Scottish government.

Chairs

The past and current chairs are as follows: * Lord Kilbrandon (1965–1971) * Lord Hunter (1971–1981) * Lord Maxwell (1981–1988) * Lord Davidson (1988–1996) *

Lord Gill Brian Gill, Lord Gill, Order of St. Gregory the Great, KSG Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, FRSE Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, FRSAMD Royal School of Church Music, FRSCM (born 25 February 1942) is a retired Scotland, Scottish ju ...

(1996–2001) * Lord Eassie (2002–2006) * Lord Drummond Young (2007–2011) * Lady Clark (2012–2013) * Lord Pentland (2014–2018) * Lady Paton (2019–present)

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1965 establishments in Scotland Legal organisations based in Scotland

Government agencies established in 1965 Government-related organisations based in Edinburgh Scottish commissions and inquiries Law commissions Law reform in the United Kingdom Reform in Scotland

Functions

Composition

Chairs

See also

References

Further reading

External links