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NewsLord Gill Appointed Lord PresidentNews - date posted 01/06/12 First Minister Alex Salmond has welcomed the appointment by Her Majesty the Queen of The Rt Hon Lord Gill as Scotland's new Lord President. Lord Gill replaces the Rt Hon Lord Hamilton who retires on 8 June. Mr Salmond said that Lord Gill was an outstanding individual who would lead Scotland's judiciary with independence and integrity and had a clear vision for the continued modernisation of the Scottish courts. Lord Gill led tributes to Lord Hamilton's distinguished career as a member of Faculty and as a Judge in a valedictory ceremony attended by a Bench of 15 judges and members of the legal profession in the First Division of the Court of Session. Lesley Thomson QC, Solicitor General for Scotland, Iain Armstrong QC, Vice-Dean of the Faculty of Advocates, Austin Lafferty, President of the Law Society of Scotland and John Scott QC, Vice-President of the Society of Solicitor Advocates also paid tribute to Lord Hamilton. Lord Gill was nominated by the First Minister taking account of recommendations made by a selection panel constituted under the Judiciary and Courts (Scotland) Act 2008. Mr Salmond said: "I warmly welcome the appointment of The Rt Hon Lord Gill as Scotland's new Lord President. His commitment to reform and modernisation is clear and under his leadership I am confident there will be substantial improvements to the justice system. He is an individual of great stature and integrity and in leading Scotland's judiciary will enjoy the respect and confidence of those around him." "I would also like to take the opportunity to thank Lord Hamilton for his leadership over the last few years in establishing the new role of the Lord President and the new governance arrangements for the Scottish Court Service. The changes introduced by the Judiciary and Courts (Scotland) Act were of considerable constitutional significance, and their successful introduction will stand as a testament to his period in office." Her Majesty the Queen, on the recommendation of the First Minister, has also appointed Lord Boyd QC, Michael Jones QC, and David Burns QC as Senators of the College of Justice. First Minister Alex Salmond nominated Lord Boyd, Michael Jones and David Burns for appointment on the basis of a report by the independent Judicial Appointments Board for Scotland. Lord Boyd, Michael Jones and David Burns will take up their appointments later in 2012. Lord Gill is Scotland's longest serving judge. He is a graduate of the Universities of Glasgow and Edinburgh and lectured in the Faculty of Law of Edinburgh University before being admitted to the Faculty of Advocates in 1967. He was appointed Queen's Counsel in 1981. He is a member of the English Bar (Lincoln's Inn, 1991; Bencher 2002); an advocate depute 1977-1979; Standing Junior Counsel to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (1974-1977), the Home Office (1979-1981) and the Scottish Education Department (1979-1981); and Deputy Chairman of the Copyright Tribunal (1989-1994). He was appointed a Judge in 1994 and Lord Justice Clerk in 2001. Lord Gill is Chairman of the Lands Valuation Appeal Court and was Chairman of the Scottish Law Commission from 1996 to 2001. In 2008, he was appointed by the UK and Scottish Governments to Chair the Public Inquiry into the fatal explosion in 2004 at the ICL factory in Glasgow. Lord Gill was also Chairman of the Scottish Civil Courts Review (2007-2009). He is Chairman of the Council of the Royal School of Church Music and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh and a Fellow of the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama. In 2011, Lord Gill was awarded a Papal Knighthood of the Order of St Gregory the Great. |
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