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Scottish Law Commission

Non-departmental public body

Summary

Non-departmental public body

FieldValue
nameScottish Law Commission
motto"Promoting law reform"
logoScottish Law Commission logo.svg
logo_captionScottish Law Commission logo
mapScotland in the UK and Europe.svg
map_captionScotland in the UK and Europe
formed
agency_typeadvisory non-departmental public body
keydocument1Law Commissions Act 1965
headquartersParliament House, 11 Parliament Square. Edinburgh EH1 1RQ
jurisdictionScotland
minister1_pfoCabinet Secretary for Justice and Home Affairs
minister1_nameAngela Constance MSP
chief1_nameNew Chair to be announced shortly
chief2_positionChief Executive
chief2_nameRachel Rayner
parent_departmentJustice Directorate of the Scottish Government
website

The Scottish Law Commission () is an advisory non-departmental public body of the Scottish Government. It was established in 1965 to keep Scots law 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 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 and reserved matters, as defined by the Scotland Act 1998 and as such has a duty for laws that are the responsibility of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, as well as those that are the responsibility of the Scottish Parliament.

Composition

The commission consists of five commissioners appointed by the Scottish Ministers. 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, advocates, solicitors 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:

  1. New Chair to be announced shortly.
  2. Professor Gillian Black
  3. Roisin Higgins KC
  4. Professor Frankie McCarthy
  5. 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 current and past Chairs are as follows:

  • New Chair to be announced shortly

  • Lady Paton (2019–2025)

  • Lord Pentland (2014–2018)

  • Lady Clark (2012–2013)

  • Lord Drummond Young (2007–2011)

  • Lord Eassie (2002–2006)

  • Lord Gill (1996–2001)

  • Lord Davidson (1988–1996)

  • Lord Maxwell (1981–1988)

  • Lord Hunter (1971–1981)

  • Lord Kilbrandon (1965–1971)

References

References

  1. "Law Commissions Act 1965". Office of Public Sector Information.
  2. "About us: What we do". Scottish Law Commission.
  3. "About us: Who we are". Scottish Law Commission.
  4. [https://www.scotlawcom.gov.uk/news/new-commissioners1/ New Commissioners, Scottish Law Commission, 1 April 2020.]
  5. "[https://www.scotlawcom.gov.uk/news/new-commissioner4/ Scottish Law Commission :: New Commissioner] 23 October 2025"
  6. "New Commissioner, Scottish Law Commission 17 September 2019".
  7. "New Commissioner, Scottish Law Commission 15 April 2024".
Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

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