George Nigel Hannington Emslie, Lord Emslie (called Nigel; born 17 April 1947) is a retired

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 ...

of the

Supreme Courts of Scotland 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, ...

. He is the son of former Lord President George Emslie, Baron Emslie, and older brother of fellow judge Derek Emslie, Lord Kingarth and rhino conservationist Dr Richard Emslie.

Early life

Emslie was educated at the

Edinburgh Academy The Edinburgh Academy is a Private schools in the United Kingdom, private day school in Edinburgh, Scotland, which was opened in 1824. The original building, on Henderson Row in Stockbridge, Edinburgh, Stockbridge, is now part of the Senior Scho ...

and

Trinity College, Glenalmond Glenalmond College is a co-educational independent boarding school in Perth and Kinross, Scotland, for children aged between 12 and 18 years. It is situated on the River Almond, Perth and Kinross, River Almond near the village of Methven, Pert ...

, before studying at

Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge Gonville and Caius College, commonly known as Caius ( ), is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1348 by Edmund Gonville, it is the fourth-oldest of the University of Cambridge's 31 colleges and ...

(BA) and 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

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 ...

(LLB). He was 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 1972, becoming a

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 1986.

Legal career

Emslie served as Standing Junior Counsel to the

Forestry Commission The Forestry Commission is a non-ministerial government department responsible for the management of publicly owned forests and the regulation of both public and private forestry in England. The Forestry Commission was previously also respons ...

and Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries from 1981 to 1982, and to the

Inland Revenue The Inland Revenue was, until April 2005, a department of the British Government responsible for the collection of direct taxation, including income tax, national insurance contributions, capital gains tax, inheritance tax, corporation ta ...

from 1982 to 1986. In 1988, he became part-time Chairman of the Medical Appeal Tribunals, serving until 1997, when he became Dean of the Faculty of Advocates, a position his father held from 1965 to 1970. He was appointed 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 ...

, 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 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 ...

, Scotland's supreme courts, in 2001, replacing Lord Prosser. His father was present at his installation. In December 2010, Emslie was appointed to the

Inner House 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 th ...

of the Court of Session and consequently sworn of the Privy Council in April 2011, entitling him to the style ''the Right Honourable''.

Personal life

Lord Emslie married Heather Ann Davis in 1973; the couple have a son and two daughters. He is a member of the

Hawks' Club The Hawks' Club, founded in 1872, is a members-only social club for the leading sportsmen at the University of Cambridge. Membership is by election only, and the usual criterion is that the candidate should have his Blue. Many notable individual ...

of the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

, and the New Club in Edinburgh.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Emslie, Nigel Hannington 1947 births Alumni of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Living people Deans of the Faculty of Advocates Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Lawyers from Edinburgh Emslie People educated at Edinburgh Academy People educated at Glenalmond College Sons of life peers