Robert Bruce Weir, Lord Weir is a Scottish judge. He has been 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 9 April 2020.

Early life and education

Weir is the son of Bruce Weir, who was also a Senator of the College of Justice. He was educated at

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 ...

. He graduated from

Durham University Durham University (legally the University of Durham) is a collegiate university, collegiate public university, public research university in Durham, England, founded by an Act of Parliament (UK), Act of Parliament in 1832 and incorporated by r ...

with a BA in History and obtained his

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 ...

from

Dundee University The University of Dundee is a public research university based in Dundee, Scotland. It was founded as a university college in 1881 with a donation from the prominent Baxter family of textile manufacturers. The institution was, for most of its ...

Career

Weir joined Scottish law firm of Maclay Murray & Spens as a trainee solicitor in 1992, and 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 1995. He practised principally in commercial dispute resolution, with a speciality in

maritime law Maritime law or admiralty law is a body of law that governs nautical issues and private maritime disputes. Admiralty law consists of both domestic law on maritime activities, and private international law governing the relationships between pri ...

. Wier was an Advocate Depute between 2005 and 2008 and

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 2010. He was appointed as a Sheriff in 2015 sitting in South Strathclyde, Dumfries and Galloway until 2018, at which he was appointed a resident Sheriff at Edinburgh Sheriff Court. He was selected to hear cases in the All Scotland Personal Injury Court located at Edinburgh Sheriff Court. As a Sheriff, Weir determined that a woman had been raped by a man who had earlier been acquitted of rape following a trial 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 ...

where the acquittal had been by the controversial not proven verdict. It was the first time in recent legal history in Scotland that a person acquitted of rape had been sued for damages. Weir was installed as a

in April 2020 taking the judicial title Lord Weir. He had sat as a Temporary Judge of the High Court between 2017 and his appointment as a Senator of the College of Justice. He is a member of the Personal Injury Committee of the Scottish Civil Justice Council, and has served as its chair since November 2023. In March 2024, it was announced that Weir would chair a public inquiry regarding the way in which allegations of misconduct against Sam Eljamel, a brain surgeon, were handled by

NHS Tayside NHS Tayside is an NHS board which forms one of the fourteen regions of NHS Scotland. It provides healthcare services in Angus, Scotland, Angus, the Dundee City council area and Perth and Kinross. NHS Tayside is headquartered at Ninewells Hospit ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Weir, Robert, Lord Weir Living people People educated at Edinburgh Academy Alumni of Durham University Alumni of the University of Dundee 21st-century King's Counsel Scottish sheriffs Scottish solicitors Senators of the College of Justice 21st-century Scottish lawyers