The Scottish Law Commission is an advisory

non-departmental public body In the United Kingdom, non-departmental public body (NDPB) is a classification applied by the Cabinet Office, Treasury, the Scottish Government and the Northern Ireland Executive to public sector organisations that have a role in the process of n ...

of the Scottish Government. It was established in 1965 to keep

Scots law Scots law () is the legal system of Scotland. It is a hybrid or mixed legal system containing civil law and common law elements, that traces its roots to a number of different historical sources. Together with English law and Northern Ireland l ...

under review and recommend necessary reforms to improve, simplify and update the country's legal system. It was established by the

Law Commissions Act 1965 The Law Commissions Act 1965 (1965 c. 22) was an Act which created the Law Commission of England and Wales and the Scottish Law Commission, tasked with reviewing English and Scots law respectively. Background During the Victorian era, successiv ...

(as amended) at the same time as the

Law Commission A law commission, law reform commission, or law revision commission is an independent body set up by a government to conduct law reform; that is, to consider the state of laws in a jurisdiction and make recommendations or proposals for legal chang ...

in England and Wales. Appointments are ordinarily made in accordance with the Commissioner for Public Appointments in Scotland's Code of Practice. The commission is part of the

Commonwealth Association of Law Reform Agencies The Commonwealth Association of Law Reform Agencies is an international association of permanent Law reform commission, law reform agencies within Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth nations that work on law reform. The organization hosts regular ...

Functions

The Commission exists to keep Scots law under review and recommend reform as needed. The commission's scope encompasses

devolved Devolution is the statutory delegation of powers from the central government of a sovereign state to govern at a subnational level, such as a regional or local level. It is a form of administrative decentralization. Devolved territories h ...

and

reserved matters In the United Kingdom, devolved matters are the areas of public policy where the Parliament of the United Kingdom has Devolution in the United Kingdom, devolved its legislative power to the national assemblies of Scotland, Wales and Northern I ...

, as defined by the

Scotland Act 1998 The Scotland Act 1998 (c. 46) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which legislated for the establishment of the devolved Scottish Parliament with tax varying powers and the Scottish Government (then Scottish Executive). It was on ...

and as such has duty for laws that are the responsibility of the

Parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative suprema ...

, as well as those that are the responsibility of the

Scottish Parliament The Scottish Parliament ( gd, Pàrlamaid na h-Alba ; sco, Scots Pairlament) is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Scotland. Located in the Holyrood area of the capital city, Edinburgh, it is frequently referred to by the metonym Holyro ...

Composition

The commission consists of five commissioners appointed by the Scottish Ministers. One of the commissioners is the chairman who by convention is 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); ...

. The other commissioners are drawn from those holding judicial office,

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, ...

solicitor A solicitor is a legal practitioner who traditionally deals with most of the legal matters in some jurisdictions. A person must have legally-defined qualifications, which vary from one jurisdiction to another, to be described as a solicitor and ...

s or university law teachers. Commissioners are appointed for a maximum term of five years with the possibility of re-appointment. The current commissioners are as follows: #The Rt Hon Lady Paton (chair) #David Bartos #Professor Gillian Black #Catherine Dowdalls QC #Professor Frankie McCarthy The commissioners are supported by the interim chief executive of the commission, Mr Charles Garland, and by legal and non-legal staff. All permanent staff are seconded from the Scottish government.

Chairs

The past and current chairs are as follows: * Lord Kilbrandon (1965–1971) * Lord Hunter (1971–1981) *

Lord Maxwell Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the peerage in the United Kingdom, or a ...

(1981–1988) * Lord Davidson (1988–1996) * Lord Gill (1996–2001) * Lord Eassie (2002–2006) * Lord Drummond Young (2007–2011) * Lady Clark (2012–2013) * Lord Pentland (2014–2018) * Lady Paton (2019–present)

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1965 establishments in Scotland Legal organisations based in Scotland

Government agencies established in 1965 Organisations based in Edinburgh Scottish commissions and inquiries Law commissions Law reform in the United Kingdom Reform in Scotland

Functions

Composition

Chairs

References

Further reading

External links