Ailsa Jane Carmichael, Lady Carmichael (born 26 November 1969) is a Scottish

advocate An advocate is a professional in the field of law. List of country legal systems, Different countries and legal systems use the term with somewhat differing meanings. The broad equivalent in many English law–based jurisdictions could be a ba ...

and judge who has served as a

Senator of the College of Justice The senators of the College of Justice in Scotland 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 ...

since 2016.

Early life

Ailsa Jane Carmichael was born on 28 November 1969 in Paisley,

Renfrewshire Renfrewshire () (; ) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. Renfrewshire is located in the west central Lowlands. It borders East Renfrewshire, Glasgow, Inverclyde, North Ayrshire and West Dunbartonshire, and lies on the southern ba ...

, the eldest of two daughters to Ian Henry Buist Carmichael and Jean Cowie Carmichael (''

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

'' Davidson). Her father was an

and worked for the Scottish Legal Action Group. Carmichael's younger sister Heather is an advocate, working in Westwater Advocates. In 1986, after leaving school from

fifth year Fifth Year refers to the fifth year of schooling in secondary schools in Scotland and Ireland. It was also the traditional term for the same year group in England and Wales, until about 1990 when most schools replaced it with Year Eleven and Y ...

, Carmichael attended the

University of Glasgow School of Law The School of Law at the University of Glasgow provides undergraduate and postgraduate courses in Law, and awards the degrees of Bachelor of Laws (''Legum Baccalaureus'', LLB), Master of Laws (''Iuris Vtriusque Magistrum'', LLM), LLM by Researc ...

. She studied abroad at the

Erasmus University Erasmus University Rotterdam ( ; abbreviated as EUR) is a public university, public research university located in Rotterdam, Netherlands. The university is named after Desiderius Erasmus, Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus, a 15th-century Christia ...

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , ; ; ) is the second-largest List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city in the Netherlands after the national capital of Amsterdam. It is in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, part of the North S ...

and worked in law firms in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

. In 1990, she graduated with an

LLB A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...

(hons) (Upper Second Class specialising in Comparative Law) and gained a

Diploma in Legal Practice A diploma is a document awarded by an educational institution (such as a college or university) testifying the recipient has graduated by successfully completing their courses of studies. Historically, it has also referred to a charter or offi ...

the following year.

Legal career

After receiving her

in 1991, she undertook a bar traineeship with Simpson & Marwick in Edinburgh after which she was admitted as an advocate in 1993, and devilled for

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, the , which is common ...

J.A. Baird and for S.J. MacGibbon. From 2000 to 2008 she was standing junior counsel to the

Home Office The Home Office (HO), also known (especially in official papers and when referred to in Parliament) as the Home Department, is the United Kingdom's interior ministry. It is responsible for public safety and policing, border security, immigr ...

in Scotland, appearing in many

judicial review Judicial review is a process under which a government's executive, legislative, or administrative actions are subject to review by the judiciary. In a judicial review, a court may invalidate laws, acts, or governmental actions that are in ...

s and statutory appeals relating to

immigration Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not usual residents or where they do not possess nationality in order to settle as Permanent residency, permanent residents. Commuting, Commuter ...

and

asylum Asylum may refer to: Types of asylum * Asylum (antiquity), places of refuge in ancient Greece and Rome * Benevolent asylum, a 19th-century Australian institution for housing the destitute * Cities of Refuge, places of refuge in ancient Judea * ...

. She was junior counsel to the Fingerprint Inquiry, which investigated the use of fingerprint evidence in the case of Detective Constable Shirley McKie. She

took silk A King's Counsel ( post-nominal initials KC) is a senior lawyer appointed by the monarch (or their viceregal representative) of some Commonwealth realms as a "Counsel learned in the law". When the reigning monarch is a woman, the title is Qu ...

in 2008. Carmichael specialises in

public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociology, sociological concept of the ''Öf ...

and

administrative law Administrative law is a division of law governing the activities of government agency, executive branch agencies of government. Administrative law includes executive branch rulemaking (executive branch rules are generally referred to as "regul ...

. She served as an

advocate depute The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service () is the independent public prosecutor, prosecution service for Scotland, and is a Ministerial Department of the Scottish Government. The department is headed by Charles III of the United Kingd ...

, as a member of the Mental Health Tribunal for Scotland, and as a part-time

. From 2011 to 2014, Carmichael was a tutor in

human rights Human rights are universally recognized Morality, moral principles or Social norm, norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both Municipal law, national and international laws. These rights are considered ...

at the Diploma in Legal Practice course at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

. In a judgement published on 21 October 2021, Carmichael found that the environmental agency

NatureScot NatureScot () is an Scottish public bodies#Executive NDPBs, executive non-departmental public body of the Scottish Government responsible for Scotland’s natural heritage, especially its nature, natural, genetics, genetic and scenic diversity. ...

had erred in law in failing to give reasons for issuing licences for the killing of

beavers Beavers (genus ''Castor'') are large, semiaquatic rodents of the Northern Hemisphere. There are two existing species: the North American beaver (''Castor canadensis'') and the Eurasian beaver (''C. fiber''). Beavers are the second-large ...

.Bowser, Tom (2025), ''Waters of Life: Fighting for Scotland's Beavers'', Birlinn Ltd., Edinburgh, pp. 131 - 136,

Senator of the College of Justice

On 11 May 2016, it was announced that Carmichael would be one of five new judges appointed to the

College of Justice 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, ...

, the others being John Beckett, Alistair Clark, Frank Mulholland, and Andrew Stewart. Mulholland's appointment was not due to take effect until later in 2016, after the retirement of another judge. The other four appointees were to fill existing vacancies. Beckett, Clark and Stewart were all installed in May, however Carmichael's installation came a month later, on 30 June 2016. She took the judicial title Lady Carmichael.

Experience of sexism, and the importance of women role models

Carmichael has spoken about experiencing

sexism Sexism is prejudice or discrimination based on one's sex or gender. Sexism can affect anyone, but primarily affects women and girls. It has been linked to gender roles and stereotypes, and may include the belief that one sex or gender is int ...

and

sexual harassment Sexual harassment is a type of harassment based on the sex or gender of a victim. It can involve offensive sexist or sexual behavior, verbal or physical actions, up to bribery, coercion, and assault. Harassment may be explicit or implicit, wit ...

in her legal training, and of the effect of being a parent on her studies. She has said:

Personal life

In 1997 she married Paul Barnaby. They had a daughter and son. Their marriage was dissolved in 2008. In 2010 she married Pino Di Emidio; they have a daughter.

References

External links

* Scottish Judiciary
The Hon Lady Carmichael (Ailsa Carmichael QC)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Carmichael, Ailsa Living people Members of the Faculty of Advocates Scottish King's Counsel 21st-century King's Counsel Alumni of the University of Glasgow 21st-century Scottish judges Scottish sheriffs Scottish women judges Senators of the College of Justice People educated at Hutchesons' Grammar School 1969 births 21st-century British women judges 21st-century Scottish women lawyers 21st-century Scottish lawyers Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom