Judicial Appointments Board for Scotland

The Judicial Appointments Board for Scotland (Bòrd Dreuchdan Breithneachaidh na h-Alba) is an advisory non-departmental public body of the Scottish Government responsible for making recommendations on appointments to certain offices of the judiciary of Scotland. It was established in June 2002 on a non-statutory, ad hoc, basis by the Scottish Government, and was given statutory authority by the Judiciary and Courts (Scotland) Act 2008. All recommendations are made to the First Minister, who must consult the Lord President of the Court of Session before making a recommendation to the monarch 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, whose appointments are made by Scottish Ministers on the recommendation of Justice of the Peace Advisory Committees for each sheriffdom. The Judicial Appointments Board was established in June 2002 on a non-statutory, ad hoc, basis by the Scottish Government, and was given statutory authority 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, 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 and solicitors). The method of creating the board and appointing members was not without criticism. The Law Society of Scotland in its members' magazine Journal was critical that the appointments process did not follow procedures recommended by the Committee on Standards in Public Life, 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.