Colin John MacLean Sutherland, Lord Carloway PC

FRSE Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE) is an award granted to individuals that the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland's national academy of science and Literature, letters, judged to be "eminently distinguished in their subject". ...

(born 20 May 1954) 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 A judge is a person who wiktionary:preside, presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a judicial panel. In an adversarial system, the judge hears all the witnesses and any other Evidence (law), evidence presented by the barris ...

who served as the

Lord President of the Court of Session The Lord President of the Court of Session and Lord Justice General () is the most senior judge in Scotland, the head of the judiciary, and the presiding judge of the College of Justice, the Court of Session, and the High Court of Justiciary. ...

and Lord Justice General from 2015 until his retirement in February 2025. He was previously Lord Justice Clerk from 2012 to 2015 and was a Senator of the College of Justice from February 2000 until his retirement. On 4 June 2024, Lord Carloway announced his intention to retire from judicial office in early 2025. Born in

Falkirk Falkirk ( ; ; ) is a town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland, historically within the county of Stirlingshire. It lies in the Forth Valley, northwest of Edinburgh and northeast of Glasgow. Falkirk had a resident population of 32,422 at the ...

, Lord Carloway studied 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 ...

Law School A law school (also known as a law centre/center, college of law, or faculty of law) is an institution, professional school, or department of a college or university specializing in legal education, usually involved as part of a process for b ...

, where he earned a

Bachelor of Laws 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 ...

. In 1977, he was admitted to the Faculty of Advocates and served as an Advocate Depute in the late 1980s. Before being nominated as a Judge in 2000, he served as the Treasurer of the Faculty of Advocates. As a Senator of the College of Justice he presided over the 2004 prosecution of gas transporter Transco and published the ''Carloway Review.'' In 2012, Lord Gill, who had served as the Lord Justice Clerk, was appointed the Lord President and Lord Carloway succeeded him. Following the retirement of Lord Gill, Lord Carloway was nominated by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon to succeed him. He was officially appointed by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II on 18 December 2015, becoming the most senior judge in Scotland.

Early life

Colin John MacLean Sutherland was born, on 20 May 1954, in

. He was educated at Hurst Grange Preparatory School in

Stirling Stirling (; ; ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in Central Belt, central Scotland, northeast of Glasgow and north-west of Edinburgh. The market town#Scotland, market town, surrounded by rich farmland, grew up connecting the roya ...

and the Edinburgh Academy, before studying at the School of Law of the

( LL.B. (Hons)).

Career

As advocate

Sutherland was admitted to the Faculty of Advocates in 1977, and appointed Advocate Depute in 1986, serving until 1989. He became

Queen's Counsel A King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) is a senior lawyer appointed by the monarch (or their Viceroy, viceregal representative) of some Commonwealth realms as a "Counsel learned in the law". When the reigning monarc ...

in 1990 and was Treasurer of the Faculty of Advocates from 1994 to 2000.

As Judge

In the Court of Session 2000 onwards

Sutherland was appointed a Senator of the College of Justice, a judge of the

Court of Session The Court of Session is the highest national court of Scotland in relation to Civil law (common law), civil cases. The court was established in 1532 to take on the judicial functions of the royal council. Its jurisdiction overlapped with othe ...

and High Court of Justiciary, Scotland's Supreme Courts, in February 2000. He took the judicial title, Lord Carloway, and was promoted to the Inner House of the Court of Session and appointed to the Privy Council in 2008. Lord Carloway presided over the 2004 prosecution of gas transporter Transco under health and safety legislation for an explosion in Larkhall in December 1999 which killed a family of four, fining the company a record £15m. After 2008 he was almost exclusively involved in appellate work as a member of the Second Division, one of the two appeal court chambers in Scotland, chaired by the Lord Justice Clerk.

Lord Justice Clerk 2012–2015

Lord Carloway was appointed Lord Justice Clerk on 15 August 2012.

Lord President and Lord Justice General 2015–2025

Lord Carloway's appointment as Lord President and Lord Justice General was announced on 18 December 2015. He stepped down from the post on 3 February 2025. In December 2022, as Lord President of the Court of Session, Lord Carloway unveiled a plaque commemorating the 1778 Knight v. Wedderburn case, which ruled that slavery was incompatible with Scots law.

The Carloway Review

In October 2010, Lord Carloway was asked by the then Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill to undertake a review of the

Scottish criminal law Scots criminal law relies far more heavily on common law than in England and Wales. Scottish criminal law includes offences against the person of murder, culpable homicide, rape and assault, offences against property such as theft and malicious ...

following the decision by the UK Supreme Court in the case of Cadder v HM Advocate. The report was released in November 2011 and became known as the ''Carloway Review''. The Report did not immediately lead to the recommended abolition of the requirement for corroboration owing to considerable judicial opposition.

Publications

He is an assistant editor of ''Green’s Litigation Styles'' and contributed the chapters on "Court of Session Practice" to the ''Stair Memorial Encyclopaedia'' and "Expenses" in ''Court of Session Practice''.

Personal life

Lord Carloway married Jane Turnbull in 1988, with whom he has two sons. He was the joint editor of ''Parliament House Portraits: the Art Collection of the Faculty of Advocates'', and is a former president of the Scottish Arts Club. He is the lead vocalist in, and plays bass guitar for, the Faculty of Advocates band, The Reclaimers.

Honours

Lord Carloway is an Honorary Bencher of

Lincoln's Inn The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn, commonly known as Lincoln's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for Barrister, barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister ...

in London and King's Inn in Dublin, and is a

Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE) is an award granted to individuals that the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland's national academy of science and Literature, letters, judged to be "eminently distinguished in their subject". ...

(FRSE).

References

--> {{DEFAULTSORT:Carloway, Colin Sutherland, Lord Living people 1954 births Alumni of the University of Edinburgh 20th-century King's Counsel Carloway Carloway, Colin, Lord Members of the Faculty of Advocates Scottish King's Counsel People educated at Edinburgh Academy Lords President of the Court of Session Lords Justice Clerk