Sheriff Principal In Scotland a sheriff principal (''pl''. sheriffs principal) is a judge in charge of a sheriffdom with judicial, quasi-judicial, and administrative responsibilities. Sheriffs principal have been part of the judiciary of Scotland since the 11th ce ...

Graham Cox, QC was a Sheriff Principal of South Strathclyde,

Dumfries and Galloway Dumfries and Galloway ( sco, Dumfries an Gallowa; gd, Dùn Phrìs is Gall-Ghaidhealaibh) is one of 32 unitary council areas of Scotland and is located in the western Southern Uplands. It covers the counties of Scotland, historic counties of ...

;

Sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly transla ...

of Tayside, Central and Fife, Scotland; and Member of Council,

The Commonwealth The Commonwealth of Nations, simply referred to as the Commonwealth, is a political association of 56 member states, the vast majority of which are former territories of the British Empire. The chief institutions of the organisation are the ...

Magistrates and Judges Association.

Education

Graham London Cox was born in

Newcastle-upon-Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is als ...

on 22 December 1933 and received his education at the former Hamilton Academy; the Grove Academy school and at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

.Frost’s Scottish Who’s Who – Graham Cox
Retrieved 28 October 2010

Career

Serving in the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

from 1956–1961 and attaining the rank of Major in the Directorate of Army Legal Services, Graham Cox was

called to the Bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

in 1962 and served as an

Advocate An advocate is a professional in the field of law. Different countries' legal systems use the term with somewhat differing meanings. The broad equivalent in many English law–based jurisdictions could be a barrister or a solicitor. However, ...

-depute from 1966–1968, in which year he was appointed

of Tayside, Central and Fife, at Dundee, a post he held until 1993 when he was appointed

Queen's Counsel In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of ...

and

Sheriff Principal of South Strathclyde, Dumfries and Galloway The Sheriff Principal of South Strathclyde, Dumfries and Galloway is the head of the judicial system of the sheriffdom of South Strathclyde, Dumfries and Galloway, one of the six sheriffdoms covering the whole of Scotland. The sheriffdom employs ...

(1993–2000). It was during his term of office that the suspects arrested regarding the

Lockerbie air disaster Pan Am Flight 103 was a regularly scheduled Pan Am transatlantic flight from Frankfurt to Detroit via a stopover in London and another in New York City. The transatlantic leg of the route was operated by ''Clipper Maid of the Seas'', a Boeing ...

appeared before him on 6 April 1999 at a makeshift Scottish court at Kamp Van Zeist, The Netherlands; this court appearance starting off the subsequent legal proceedings in the trial of suspects. Cox served as Secretary of the Sheriffs' Association from 1987 to 1991 and as President from 1991 to 1993. Other appointments have included, Hon. Vice-President of the Scottish Association for the Study of Delinquency and Vice-Chairman, Northern Lighthouse Board. In 1991, Graham Cox was appointed a member of Council,

Magistrates and Judges Association, a post he has held twice, 1991–94 and again, 1997–2000; and in 2001 he took up the appointment as Chairman of the Adoption Policy Advisory Group. He died in 2014.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cox, Graham 1933 births People educated at Hamilton Academy Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Scottish sheriffs 2014 deaths 20th-century King's Counsel Scottish King's Counsel Members of the Faculty of Advocates