Lady Smith appointed as head of Scottish Tribunals as Scottish Government clear up of devolved tribunals gets underway

Judge Lady Smith now head of Scottish Tribunals. COURT OF SESSION judge Lady Smith has been appointed as the first President of the Scottish Tribunals by Scotland’s current top judge – the Lord President & Lord Justice General Lord Brian Gill. The appointment was made under the Tribunals (Scotland) Act 2014, where the Lord President, Lord Gill, has overall leadership of the Scottish Tribunals. Lord Gill has now formally assigned Lady Smith to the Office of President, to whom he may delegate various functions.

The main policy objective of the Tribunals (Scotland) Act 2014 is to create a new, two-tier structure for devolved tribunals in Scotland – to be known as the Scottish Tribunals – which will comprise a First-tier Tribunal for first instance decisions and an Upper Tribunal (primarily for dealing with appeals) with a common system of leadership, appointments, practice and procedures for reviews and appeals, under the overall leadership of the Lord President of the Court of Session.

Lady Smith - Anne Mather Smith was appointed a Judge of the Supreme Courts in 2001 and was appointed to the Inner House in November 2012.

She is a graduate of the University of Edinburgh (LL.B. Hons). She was admitted to the Faculty of Advocates in 1980 and was Standing Junior Counsel to the Countryside Commission. Lady Smith was appointed Queen's Counsel in 1993. She served as a Temporary Sheriff from 1995 to 1999. Lady Smith was appointed Chairman of the Scottish Partnership on Domestic Abuse from 1998 to 2000 and served as Advocate Depute from 2000 until she was appointed a Judge.  

She has served as a member of the Court of Session Rules Council and is a past Chairman of the Advocates Family Law Group and Chairman of the Advocates Professional Negligence Law Group.

Lady Smith has extensive experience of sitting in tribunals and working with tribunal judges and members.  She was a judge of the Employment Appeal Tribunal for eight years and she chairs the Scottish Tribunals Forum and the Reserved Tribunals Group. She also represents the interests of the Lord President in relation to tribunals where the relevant law has not been devolved to the Scottish Parliament, on the Tribunals Judicial Executive Board, chaired by the Senior President of Tribunals (currently Lord Justice Sullivan).

Lady Smith’s partner, retired solicitor David Smith formerly with Shepherd & Wedderburn, and more recently a controversial pro-lawyer board member of the Scottish Legal Complaints Commission hit the headlines when the now retired Scottish Information Commissioner Kevin Dunion – who now sits on the SLCC as a board member,  ruled the Commission had unjustifiably covered up documents relating to David Smith’s conduct during his time on the board.

Dunion forced the SLCC to disclose details, revealing Lady Smith’s husband had embarked on a tirade of insults against victims of dishonest lawyers during internal communications between SLCC board members, and branded members of the public “Frequent Flyers” during discussions on how to deal with complaints against the legal profession.

Lady Smith is also known for throwing out the Scottish National Party’s bid to use the Court of Session to block the broadcast of the Prime Ministerial debate on the lead up to the 2010 General Election, reported HERE.

The first Commencement Order for the Tribunals (Scotland) Act 2014, published on Monday 14 July 2014, brings into force section 4(1),(2),(3), and (5) of the Act enabling the Lord President to make this appointment. With the coming into force of the Order and by virtue of the power conferred on the Lord President by section 4(2) of the Act, Lord Gill has formally assigned Lady Smith to the Office of President of the Scottish Tribunals, to whom he may delegate various functions.

SCOTTISH TRIBUNALS:

In Scotland there are currently three different types of tribunals:

• Tribunals that deal with devolved issues and have specific Scottish jurisdiction and structures (such as the Mental Health Tribunal for Scotland);
• Tribunals that deal with reserved issues, but have specific Scottish jurisdiction and structures (such as the tribunal that deals with War Pensions); and
• Tribunals that deal with reserved issues and have GB‐wide jurisdiction and structures (such as the Social Entitlement Chamber of the First‐tier tribunal which deals with appeals relating to Social Security and Child Support).

The Scottish Tribunals Service

The STS provides administrative support to six tribunals:

• The Additional Support Needs Tribunals for Scotland (ASNTS)
• The Mental Health Tribunal for Scotland (MHTS)
• The Pensions Appeal Tribunals Scotland (PATS)
• The Scottish Charity Appeals Panel (SCAP)
• The Lands Tribunal for Scotland (LTS)
• The Private Rented Housing Panel (PRHP)

Reserved Tribunals

The following reserved tribunals are administered by HM Courts and Tribunal Service (HMCTS):

• Immigration and Asylum Tribunal
• Social Entitlement (Social Security and Child Support Appeals)
• The Employment Tribunal in Scotland

EXPOSED: The Court of Session Clerk who downloaded child porn & whispered in the ears of Scotland’s top judges

Court of Session was workplace of clerk who admitted downloading child porn. A HIGH COURT clerk & close confidante of Scotland’s top judges in the Court of Session has admitted downloading child porn images while he was employed by the Scottish Court Service. Donald Bruton, who resigned from the Scottish Court Service after child pornography was discovered on his computer pleaded guilty to downloading the indecent images between July 24, 2011, and October 3 last year.

This latest case involving a figure close to Scotland’s judges on charges of child porn is one of many instances were staff working at the Scottish Court Service (SCS) and even prosecutors at the Crown Office & Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) have been linked to the downloading of, and in some cases distributing child porn images. However, not all cases have resulted in prosecutions …

The Daily Mail reports:

HIGH COURT OFFICIAL WAS CAUGHT WITH CHILD PORN ON HIS LAPTOP

By Victoria Allen Daily Mail

A HIGH Court clerk yesterday admitted downloading indecent images of children.

Donald Bruton was forced to resign from his post at the Court of Session and the High Court after child pornography was discovered on his laptop.

He was found with indecent pictures of young girls aged ten to 15, three images being of the most serious 'level five' type.

Bruton, 60, was arrested after the laptop was discovered at his home in Joppa, Edinburgh, and appeared last October at the city's sheriff court, where he had to face his colleagues. He resigned from his job soon afterwards.

Yesterday, at the same court, he pleaded guilty to downloading the indecent images between July 24, 2011, and October 3 last year.

Fiscal Depute Aidan Higgins told the court police had received intelligence about Bruton's actions.

They went to the home he shared with his wife and two adult sons on October 3 last year. On being told the reason for their visit, the clerk directed them towards the laptop.

Mr Higgins said: 'He told the police he had been downloading these images of children for some time out of curiosity and had taken to searching for indecent images.'

Bruton worked with some of Scotland's most senior judges, particularly on commercial cases.

He was responsible for the daily running of proceedings at the Court of Session, which holds complex and high-value cases including divorce and libel actions.

The clerk formerly worked on criminal cases at the High Court in Edinburgh and Edinburgh Sheriff Court. He was also a member of the Edinburgh Budgerigar Association, where he served as treasurer, secretary and publicity officer.

Bruton had 16 pictures - four at level one in the scale of child pornography, one at level two, four at level three and four at level four. There were three at level five - the worst rating, which includes sadism and bestiality.

Defence solicitor Mark Harrower told Sheriff Alistair Noble his client has no previous convictions.

Sheriff Noble deferred sentence until August 5 for a social work report and continued Bruton's bail. He has also been placed on the Sex Offenders Register.

The Scottish Courts Service refused to comment after he was arrested as the case was active.

Scottish Conservative chief whip John Lamont said: 'It is wrong and inexcusable for anyone to access images such as this. But when it is someone working in such a senior position within the law, it seems to become more shocking.'

Alison Todd, chief executive of Scots charity Children 1st, which has campaigned for tougher sentences for paedophiles, said: 'Child pornography is not a victimless crime. Every image is evidence of achild suffering abuse from which they may never fully recover.'

Scottish Government spend £800K of public cash on the appointment of 6 new Sheriffs as Courts look for business

Six new sheriffs added to Scotland’s burgeoning judicial elite. the AS local courts across Scotland close, allegedly to ‘save money’ and tens of millions of pounds are spent on maintaining the Parliament Square powerbase of Scotland’s ageing judges, the Scottish Government have this week swollen the ranks of Scotland’s judiciary even further with the appointment of six solicitors as Sheriffs on an annual salary of £130,875 plus the usual range of perks and multi million pound judicial pensions.

Those appointed in the latest round of additions to the judiciary are Mrs Aisha Yaqoob Anwar, Solicitor as a sheriff of Glasgow and Strathkelvin; Ms Lorna Allison Drummond, QC, as a sheriff of Tayside, Central and Fife; Ms Alison Nancy Stirling, Advocate and Mr Gordon Fleetwood, Solicitor as sheriffs of Grampian, Highland and Islands; Ian Macdonald Fleming, Solicitor Advocate as a sheriff of North Strathclyde; and Mr Brian Anthony Mohan, Solicitor as sheriff of South Strathclyde, Dumfries and Galloway. First Minister Alex Salmond nominated those recommended for appointment on the basis of a report by the independent Judicial Appointments Board for Scotland.

Aisha Anwar graduated with an LLB Hons from the University Edinburgh in 1996 and a Bachelor of Civil Law (Oxford 1998). She joined Maclay Murray and Spens in 1998 as a trainee, was admitted as a solicitor in 2000 and became an associate in 2003. From 2009 to 2012 she became a partner and then head of litigation at DLA Piper. She was appointed as a part-time sheriff in 2011. She has authored numerous publications, lectured and tutored. She recently co-authored the Civil Bench Book for Sheriffs on behalf of the Judicial Institute.

Brian Mohan graduated with an LLB Hons from the University of Glasgow in 1981. He was admitted as a solicitor in 1988. In 1992 he became a partner in Cartys Solicitors, concentrating on employment tribunal and sheriff court work in Hamilton and Airdrie. In 2009 he completed an LLM in Human Rights. Mr Mohan served as a Children’s Panel safeguarder in North Lanarkshire. He was a tutor in Glasgow University’s courses in Public Law (1989-2003) and Diploma in Legal Practice (2010-2014).

Alison Stirling graduated with an LLB from the University of Edinburgh in 1992. She was admitted as a Solicitor in 1994. In 1995 she became Legal Assistant to the Lord President and was admitted to the Faculty of Advocates in 1997. She has been Deputy Editor of Session Cases since 2001. She was appointed a part-time sheriff in 2011 and in 2014 was appointed a Legal Assessor to the Nursing and Midwifery Council.

Ian Fleming graduated with a LLB Hons from the University of Strathclyde in 1983. He was admitted as a solicitor in 1985. He was a trainee solicitor, assistant and partner with Paton and Co before becoming a partner with Fleming and Reid in 1990. He became a solicitor advocate in 2001. He was appointed as a part-time sheriff in 2005, a Convenor of Mental Health Tribunals in 2010 and a member of the Judicial Panel of the Scottish Football Association in 2011.

Lorna Drummond graduated with an LLB Hons from the University of Glasgow in 1985 followed by a Masters in Philosophy from the University of Cambridge. She was admitted as a solicitor in 1993 and employed as Assistant Scottish Parliamentary Counsel and Assistant Legal Secretary to the Scottish Law Officers before being called to the Bar in 1998. She was appointed Standing Junior to the Advocate General and to the Scottish Ministers. She was appointed a part time sheriff in 2009 and took silk in 2011.

Gordon Fleetwood graduated with an LLB Hons from the University of Edinburgh in 1973. He was admitted as a Solicitor in 1975 and became a Solicitor Advocate in 1994. Solicitor, More and Co, 1977-1982; then in Inverness with Sutherland and Co, 1982-1986 and Fleetwood and Robb, 1986-2004. He was principal in own practice, 2004-2008. He has been a part-time sheriff since 2003 and a legal member of the Parole Board since 2010.

The Judicial Appointments Board for Scotland was established by Ministers in 2002 and it became an independent advisory non-departmental public body on 1st June 2009. The board has statutory responsibilities under the Judiciary and Courts (Scotland) Act 2008. The board’s role is to recommend for appointment to the office of judge, sheriff principal, sheriff and part-time sheriff. The First Minister retains the statutory responsibility for making nominations to Her Majesty the Queen. The First Minister is required by statute to consult the Lord President of the Court of Session before making his nomination to Her Majesty.