Neil Craig Walker (born 5 July 1960) is a Scottish lawyer and

Regius Professor A Regius Professor is a university Professor (highest academic rank), professor who has, or originally had, Monarchy of the United Kingdom, royal patronage or appointment. They are a unique feature of academia in the United Kingdom and Republic ...

of Public Law and the Law of Nature and Nations at the

School of Law A law school (also known as a law centre or college of law) is an institution specializing in legal education, usually involved as part of a process for becoming a lawyer within a given jurisdiction. Law degrees Argentina In Argentina, ...

of 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 ...

. in 2009 he completed a review for the Scottish Government into the final appellate jurisdiction of the Scottish legal system.

Early life

Neil Walker studied at the

of the

University of Strathclyde The University of Strathclyde ( gd, Oilthigh Shrath Chluaidh) is a public research university located in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded in 1796 as the Andersonian Institute, it is Glasgow's second-oldest university, having received its royal chart ...

, graduating with a First class

LL.B. Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...

in 1981. He taught public law at the University of Edinburgh from 1986 to 1996, obtaining a

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is a ...

from the University of Strathclyde's Department of Human Resource Management, entitled ''Police culture and organisation'', in 1991.

Career

In 1996, he was appointed Professor of Legal and Constitutional Theory at the

of the

University of Aberdeen The University of Aberdeen ( sco, University o' 'Aiberdeen; abbreviated as ''Aberd.'' in List of post-nominal letters (United Kingdom), post-nominals; gd, Oilthigh Obar Dheathain) is a public university, public research university in Aberdeen, Sc ...

, and in 2000 moved to the

European University Institute The European University Institute (EUI) is an international postgraduate and post-doctoral teaching and research institute and an independent body of the European Union with juridical personality, established by the member states to contribu ...

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...

, where he was Professor of European Law, and served as dean of studies from 2002 to 2005. In 2008, he returned to Edinburgh as Professor of Public Law and the Law of Nature and Nations, succeeding Sir

Neil MacCormick Sir Donald Neil MacCormick (27 May 1941 – 5 April 2009) was a Scottish legal philosopher and politician. He was Regius Professor of Public Law and the Law of Nature and Nations at the University of Edinburgh from 1972 until 2008. He was a ...

. His research interests lie mainly in constitutional theory, as well as the relationship between security, legal order and political community. He has also held a number of visiting appointments, including as visiting professor in the department of philosophy,

University of Tilburg Tilburg University is a public university, public research university specializing in the social and behavioral sciences, economics, law, business sciences, theology and humanities, located in Tilburg in the southern part of the Netherlands. Tilb ...

, in 2000; visiting professor of law at

Columbia Law School Columbia Law School (Columbia Law or CLS) is the law school of Columbia University, a private Ivy League university in New York City. Columbia Law is widely regarded as one of the most prestigious law schools in the world and has always ranked i ...

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

in 2005; Eugene Einaudi Chair of European Studies,

Law School A law school (also known as a law centre or college of law) is an institution specializing in legal education, usually involved as part of a process for becoming a lawyer within a given jurisdiction. Law degrees Argentina In Argentina, ...

of Cornell University in 2007; and distinguished visiting professor of law,

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...

Faculty of Law A faculty is a division within a university or college comprising one subject area or a group of related subject areas, possibly also delimited by level (e.g. undergraduate). In American usage such divisions are generally referred to as colleges ...

, in 2007.

Review of appellate jurisdiction

On 15 December 2008, the Scottish Government announced Professor Walker had been appointed to conduct a review of final appellate jurisdiction in the Scottish legal system. Under current arrangements, it is possible to appeal from the

Court of Session The Court of Session is the supreme civil court of Scotland and constitutes part of the College of Justice; the supreme criminal court of Scotland is the High Court of Justiciary. The Court of Session sits in Parliament House in Edinburgh ...

, Scotland's highest civil court, to the

Supreme Court of the United Kingdom The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom (initialism: UKSC or the acronym: SCOTUK) is the final court of appeal in the United Kingdom for all civil cases, and for criminal cases originating in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. As the Unite ...

, but not from the

High Court of Justiciary The High Court of Justiciary is the supreme criminal court in Scotland. The High Court is both a trial court and a court of appeal. As a trial court, the High Court sits on circuit at Parliament House or in the adjacent former Sheriff Cou ...

, which remains the highest criminal court. The review covers both the civil and criminal jurisdictions. Professor Walker completed his report in November 2009.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Walker, Neil Living people 1960 births Alumni of the University of Strathclyde Academics of the University of Edinburgh Academics of the University of Aberdeen Academic staff of the European University Institute Scholars of constitutional law Scottish legal scholars Place of birth missing (living people)

Early life

Career

Review of appellate jurisdiction

See also

References

External links