ABOUT THE BOARD
In September 1999, the Scottish Ministers set out their commitment to consulting on the system of judicial appointments in A Programme for Government. In the summer of 2000, a public consultation exercise was carried out under the auspices of the Scottish Executive consultation paper, Judicial Appointments: An Inclusive Approach.
Responses to the consultation paper demonstrated substantial support for the creation of an independent Judicial Appointments Board and, in March 2001, the Justice Minister, Jim Wallace, announced the setting up of such a Board to create more open and accessible arrangements for judicial appointments in Scotland.
The Remit of the Judicial Appointments Board for Scotland is:
- to provide the First Minister with a list of candidates recommended for appointment to the offices of Judge of the Court of Session, Sheriff Principal, Sheriff and Part-time Sheriff. The Board is also responsible for approving procedures for the appointment of Justices of the Peace
- to make such recommendations on merit, but in addition to consider ways of recruiting a Judiciary which is as representative as possible of the communities which they serve
- to undertake the recruitment and assessment process in an efficient and effective way.
The Board began its work in June 2002 under the Chairmanship of Sir Neil McIntosh CBE.
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