Hazel Josephine Cosgrove, Lady Cosgrove,

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(née Aronson; born 12 January 1946), 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 judge who 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 ...

from 1996 to 2006. She was the first woman 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, ...

. Born and raised in Glasgow, Cosgrove graduated law at the

University of Glasgow The University of Glasgow (abbreviated as ''Glas.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals; ) is a Public university, public research university in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded by papal bull in , it is the List of oldest universities in continuous ...

, becoming the first in her family to attend university. 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 const ...

in 1968, she served as Standing Junior Counsel to the

Department of Trade Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

from 1977 to 1979 and became the first woman to serve 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, the , which is common ...

judge of Glasgow and Strathkelvin in 1979. She was a member of the

Parole Board for Scotland The Parole Board for Scotland () is a tribunal non-departmental public body in Scotland first established in 1967, with responsibility for parole decisions. Its decision making and operating are independent of the Scottish Government, and many o ...

from 1988 to 1991. In 1991, she was appointed to the

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 ...

. Cosgrove went on to serve as a

of Lothian and Borders at Edinburgh from 1983 to 1996. From 1992 to 1996, she was a temporary judge in the

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 C ...

and

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 ...

. In 1996, a vacancy was made in the

and Cosgrove was nominated by Prime Minister

John Major Sir John Major (born 29 March 1943) is a British retired politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1990 to 1997. Following his defeat to Ton ...

to be appointed a

. She was appointed on 12 July 1996, becoming the first female to be appointed a Senator. She used the judicial title, Lady Cosgrove. As a Senator, Cosgrove was one of seven judges who rewrote the rape law in Scotland in 2002. She was Deputy Chairman of the

Boundary Commission for Scotland In the United Kingdom, the boundary commissions are non-departmental public bodies responsible for determining the boundaries of Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, parliamentary constituencies for elections to the House of Co ...

from 1997 to 2006. In 2003, she was the first woman to be appointed to 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 ...

. Cosgrove retired as judge in 2006. Cosgrove received an

to her services the criminal justice system in Scotland. Having once been told "the

bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar ** Chocolate bar * Protein bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a laye ...

is no place for a woman", she broke the '

glass ceiling A glass ceiling is a metaphor usually applied to women, used to represent an invisible barrier that prevents a given demographic from rising beyond a certain level in a hierarchy.Federal Glass Ceiling Commission''Solid Investments: Making Ful ...

' in Scotland's legal profession and has always encouraged other women to follow in her footsteps, advocating equality for women through her own achievements.

Early life

Hazel Josephine Aronson was born on 2 January 1946 in

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

, the daughter of Moses Aron Aronson and Julia Tobias. She is of Jewish origin and her grandparents were from the

Pale of Settlement The Pale of Settlement was a western region of the Russian Empire with varying borders that existed from 1791 to 1917 (''de facto'' until 1915) in which permanent settlement by Jews was allowed and beyond which the creation of new Jewish settlem ...

of the Russian Empire. She was educated at Glasgow High School for Girls. Cosgrove studied at the

School of Law 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 bec ...

of the

, graduating

LL.B. 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 1966, the first in her family to attend university.

Legal career

In 1968, Cosgrove was admitted to the

. When she revealed to other members of the legal profession, which was dominantly male, she wanted to become an

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 ...

, she was told "the

is no place for a woman". She used her

maiden name When a person (traditionally the wife in many cultures) assumes the family name of their spouse, in some countries and cultures that name replaces the person's previous surname, which in the case of the wife is called the maiden name ("birth name" ...

, Aronson, until 1996 after the judiciary preferred for her to use her maiden name, however, she thought otherwise. Cosgrove served as Standing Junior Counsel to the

from 1977 to 1979, and took silk to become a

in 1991. She was the first woman to serve as a

of Glasgow and Strathkelvin from 1979 to 1983 and of Lothian and Borders at Edinburgh from 1983 to 1996. She was a member of the

from 1988 to 1991, Chairman of the Mental Welfare Commission from 1991 to 1996, and Chairman of the Expert Panel on Sex Offending from 1997 to 2001.

Senator of the College of Justice

Appointment

In 1992, Cosgrove served as a temporary judge for the

and High Court. After a vacancy was held in 1996, she was nominated by Prime Minister

to be appointed as a

. She was appointed on 12 July 1996, becoming the first woman to be appointed as a judge in

. She used the judicial title, Lady Cosgrove.

Tenure

In February 2003, Lady Cosgrove was appointed to the Inner House of the

and sworn of Her Majesty's Privy Council. She received a

in 2004 for services to the criminal justice system in Scotland, and has also been awarded honorary degrees from a number of institutions. Lady Cosgrove retired as a Senator of the College of Justice on 24 March 2006 shortly after her 60th birthday, however she still sits on the bench occasionally when there is a shortage of judges.

Personal life

Cosgrove now lives in London with her husband John Cosgrove, a retired dental surgeon, the son of Dr Isaac Cosgrove, Glasgow Rabbi and Freemason. They have two children: a son and a daughter. She has a younger sister Danielle who is a solicitor.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cosgrove, Hazel Cosgrove, Lady 1946 births People educated at the High School of Glasgow Alumni of the University of Glasgow Cosgrove 21st-century Scottish Jews Living people Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Members of the Faculty of Advocates Scottish women judges Commanders of the Order of the British Empire 20th-century Scottish Jews