Roderick John MacLeod, Lord Minginish, (

Gaelic Gaelic is an adjective that means "pertaining to the Gaels". As a noun it refers to the group of languages spoken by the Gaels, or to any one of the languages individually. Gaelic languages are spoken in Ireland, Scotland, the Isle of Man, and Ca ...

: ''Ruairidh Iain MacLeòid''; born ), also known as Roddy John, 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 ...

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, ...

. From 2014 until his retirement in December 2022, he was

Chairman of the Scottish Land Court The Scottish Land Court is a Scottish court of law based in Edinburgh with subject-matter jurisdiction covering disputes between landlords and tenants relating to agricultural tenancies, and matters related to crofts and crofters. The Scott ...

and President of the

Lands Tribunal for Scotland The Lands Tribunal for Scotland is a tribunal with jurisdiction over land and property in Scotland, relating to title obligations, compulsory purchase and other private rights. The Tribunal was established under the Lands Tribunal Act 1949, wh ...

. He was the first Gaelic-speaking chair of the court.

Early life

MacLeod was born on the

Isle of Skye The Isle of Skye, or simply Skye (; gd, An t-Eilean Sgitheanach or ; sco, Isle o Skye), is the largest and northernmost of the major islands in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. The island's peninsulas radiate from a mountainous hub dominated ...

in about 1953. His parents, who were both from the outer-Hebridean isle of Harris, moved in the 1920s to

Portnalong Portnalong ( gd, Port nan Long) is a small village on north west of the Isle of Skye on the shore of Loch Harport. Portnalong is Gaelic for "harbour of the ships". It was founded by crofters from Lewis and Harris in 1921. Portnalong and Fiskava ...

in Skye in the 1920s as part of a land settlement scheme. He was educated on Skye at

Portnalong Junior Secondary School Portnalong ( gd, Port nan Long) is a small village on north west of the Isle of Skye on the shore of Loch Harport. Portnalong is Gaelic for "harbour of the ships". It was founded by crofters from Lewis and Harris in 1921. Portnalong and Fiskavaig ...

from 1957 to 1965, and at

Portree High School Portree High School ( Gaelic: ') is a state co-educational comprehensive school in Portree, Isle of Skye in Scotland. , the school enrols 490 pupils and employs 80 teachers and support staff. The school's catchment area draws from 15 primary sch ...

from 1965 to 1971. He then studied law 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 ...

, graduating with

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 ...

honours in 1975.

Career

MacLeod then undertook a two-year legal apprenticeship in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

, before working for from 1977–78 in Gaelic-language broadcasting at

BBC Scotland BBC Scotland (Scottish Gaelic: ''BBC Alba'') is a division of the BBC and the main public broadcaster in Scotland. It is one of the four BBC national regions, together with the BBC English Regions, BBC Cymru Wales and BBC Northern Ireland. I ...

, where he presented current affairs programmes on television. He then completed his training in

Motherwell Motherwell ( sco, Mitherwall, gd, Tobar na Màthar) is a town and former burgh in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, United Kingdom, south east of Glasgow. It has a population of around 32,120. Historically in the parish of Dalziel and part of Lanarks ...

, qualifying as a solicitor in 1980. He practised as a solicitor in Edinburgh until 1993, and in July 1994 he was admitted to the Faculty of Advocates. In 2000, MacLeod was appointed as a

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 ...

to Edinburgh Sheriff Court. In 2013 he "took silk", becoming a

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 ...

Land Court

Sheriff MacLeod became Deputy Chair of the Scottish Land Court in 2006, serving under Lord McGhie. In 2013, he accompanied Lord McGhie and High Court Judge

Lord Bracadale Alastair Peter Campbell, Lord Bracadale, KC is a retired senior Scottish judge. Early life Campbell was born on 18 September 1949 in Skye, Scotland, to Rev. Donald Campbell and Margaret Campbell. His family moved to Edinburgh when he was tw ...

to Skye to commemorate the 130th anniversary of the 1882

Battle of the Braes A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

. The visit was to acknowledge that the court "stands on the shoulders" of the people of Braes who had resisted the attempt eviction of 12

crofters A croft is a fenced or enclosed area of land, usually small and arable, and usually, but not always, with a crofter's dwelling thereon. A crofter is one who has tenure and use of the land, typically as a tenant farmer, especially in rural area ...

. Their rebellion spread, and led to the

Napier Commission The Napier Commission, officially the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Condition of Crofters and Cottars in the Highlands and Islands was a royal commission and public inquiry into the condition of crofters and cottars in the Highlands and I ...

and then the Crofters Act 1886, which gave crofters security of tenure. In September 2014, he was appointed by

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

to succeed McGhie as Chairman of the Land Court, having been nominated by First Minister Alex Salmond on the recommendation by the independent

Judicial Appointments Board for Scotland The Judicial Appointments Board for Scotland 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 J ...

. Since 1978, the Chair of the Land Court has also held the office of President of the separate

, and MacLeod also holds both roles. He took office on 1 October 2014. On 17 October, MacLeod was installed in office at the Land Court's headquarters in George House, Edinburgh. The ceremony was led by

Lord Gill Brian Gill, Lord Gill, (born 25 February 1942) is a retired Scotland, Scottish judge and legal academic. He served as Lord President of the Court of Session, Lord President and Lord Justice General from June 2012 until May 2015. Gill previously ...

, who was then the Lord President of the Court of Session and head of the Scottish judiciary. MacLeod took the judicial title Lord Minginish, after the parish of

Minginish Minginish ( gd, Minginis) is a peninsula on the Isle of Skye in Scotland. It is situated on the west coast of the island and runs from Loch Scavaig in the south (which separates Minginish from the Strathaird Peninsula), along the western coast ...

in Skye, where he was raised. He retired in December 2022

Other interests

Since 2006, MacLeod has been director of

Sabhal Mòr Ostaig Sabhal Mòr Ostaig () (Great Barn of Ostaig) is a public higher education college situated in the Sleat peninsula in the south of the Isle of Skye, with an associate campus at Bowmore on the island of Islay, Ionad Chaluim Chille Ìle (the ...

, the National Centre for Gaelic Language and Culture, based on the Skye. He has been chair of the higher education college's board of directors since 2007. In 2010, MacLeod was a keynote speaker at An t-Alltan, an annual conference organised by Stòrlann Nàiseanta na Gàidhlig for teachers working in Gaelic medium education. He is also a member of the council of the

Royal Celtic Society Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a ci ...

Personal life

MacLeod married his wife Lorna in 1980. He lives in Edinburgh.

Notes

References

External links

The Scottish Land Court
, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Macleod, Roderick 1953 births Year of birth uncertain Living people People from the Isle of Skye People educated at Portree High School Alumni of the University of Edinburgh

Scottish solicitors Members of the Faculty of Advocates Scottish King's Counsel 21st-century King's Counsel BBC Scotland newsreaders and journalists Scottish sheriffs