Joseph Raymond Doherty, Lord Doherty, (born 30 January 1958)
is a
Scottish
Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including:
*Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland
*Scottish English
*Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...
lawyer and
Senator of the College of Justice
The senators of the College of Justice are judges of the College of Justice, a set of legal institutions involved in the administration of justice in Scotland. There are three types of senator: Lords of Session (judges of the Court of Session); ...
, a judge of the
Supreme Courts of Scotland
The College of Justice includes the Supreme Courts of Scotland, and its associated bodies.
The constituent bodies of the national supreme courts are the Court of Session, the High Court of Justiciary, the Office of the Accountant of Court, and ...
.
Early life
Doherty studied 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 ...
(
LLB
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 China, People's Republic ...
),
Hertford College
Hertford College ( ), previously known as Magdalen Hall, is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. It is located on Catte Street in the centre of Oxford, directly opposite the main gate to the Bodleian Library. The colleg ...
,
Oxford
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
(
BCL) and
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
(
LLM
A Master of Laws (M.L. or LL.M.; Latin: ' or ') is an advanced postgraduate academic degree, pursued by those either holding an undergraduate academic law degree, a professional law degree, or an undergraduate degree in a related subject. In mos ...
). He was admitted to the
Faculty of Advocates
The Faculty of Advocates is an independent body of lawyers who have been admitted to practise as advocates before the courts of Scotland, especially the Court of Session and the High Court of Justiciary. The Faculty of Advocates is a constitu ...
in 1984.
Legal career
In 1990, he was elected Clerk of the Faculty, holding that office until 1995. He served as Standing Junior Counsel (legal advisor) to the
Ministry of Defence
{{unsourced, date=February 2021
A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...
from 1990 to 1991 and to the Industry Department of the
Scottish Office
The Scottish Office was a department of the Government of the United Kingdom from 1885 until 1999, exercising a wide range of government functions in relation to Scotland under the control of the Secretary of State for Scotland. Following the e ...
from 1991 to 1997, at which time 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 ...
. From 1998 to 2001, he was an
Advocate Depute
The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service is the independent public prosecution service for Scotland, and is a Ministerial Department of the Scottish Government. The department is headed by His Majesty's Lord Advocate, who under the S ...
.
The Bench
In April 2010, he was appointed a
Senator of the College of Justice
The senators of the College of Justice are judges of the College of Justice, a set of legal institutions involved in the administration of justice in Scotland. There are three types of senator: Lords of Session (judges of the Court of Session); ...
, a judge of 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 ...
and
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 ...
, the
Supreme Courts of Scotland
The College of Justice includes the Supreme Courts of Scotland, and its associated bodies.
The constituent bodies of the national supreme courts are the Court of Session, the High Court of Justiciary, the Office of the Accountant of Court, and ...
, taking the judicial title, Lord Doherty. He heard the case brought by a number of Scottish politicians, including
Andy Wightman
Andrew Dearg Wightman is a Scottish Independent politician, who served as a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Lothian region from 2016 to 2021. He was elected as a member of the Scottish Greens, but resigned from the party in ...
and
Joanna Cherry
Joanna Catherine Cherry (born 18 March 1966) is a Scottish politician and lawyer serving as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Edinburgh South West since 2015. A member of the Scottish National Party (SNP), she was the party's Shadow Home Se ...
, which sought an answer to the question on whethear the United Kingdom could unilaterally withdraw its notice of its intention to leave the
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
. Lord Doherty refused permission for judicial review, but this decision was overturned by the
Inner House of the Court of Session
The Inner House is the senior part of the Court of Session, the supreme civil court in Scotland; the Outer House forms the junior part of the Court of Session. It is a court of appeal and a court of first instance. The chief justice is the ...
.
"Appeal judges grant permission to proceed in legal challenge over revocability of Article 50"
Scottish Legal News, 20 March 2018
It was announced on 17 February 2020 that Lord Doherty had been appointed to the Inner House of the Court of Session with effect from December 202
He was appointed to Her Majesty's Privy Council on 12 April 2022 allowing him the honorific The Right Honourable.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Doherty, Raymond
1958 births
Living people
Members of the Faculty of Advocates
Doherty
Alumni of the University of Edinburgh
Alumni of Hertford College, Oxford
Harvard Law School alumni
20th-century King's Counsel
Scottish King's Counsel
Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom