Stage One Consultations

 Prior to interview, we will consult:

·         the Lord President

·         all Sheriffs Principal

·         the Dean of the Faculty of Advocates

·         the President of the Law Society of Scotland

·         the Chief Executive of the Scottish Legal Complaints Commission

·         the Crown Agent

·         Police Scotland.

We will ask if they are aware of any reason relating to your character or your legal competence, or any other matter about you which might cause us, or if you were recommended for appointment, the First Minister, to doubt that you are suitable or fit for appointment to the office for which you have applied. 

If any such reason is drawn to our attention, that reason and a summary of the factual background may be disclosed to you and you will be given an opportunity to discuss this with two members of the selection panel, one of whom will be judicial and one lay.  A report will be made to the selection panel and this will form part of the material before them when considering your application and whether you should proceed to interview.

Judicial References

If you have applied for the role of Sheriff Principal or Senator of the College of Justice, we will seek judicial references from the Lord President, and for any applicant who serves or has served as a Sheriff, from any incumbent Sheriffs Principal.  This will be one of many pieces of information that will inform the interview and our subsequent consideration of your suitability for appointment.

For Senator roles, the Lord President will be supplied with the list of the most significant cases or matters, transactions and situations where you have been involved. 

If you are not sufficiently well known to the Lord President he may, on the basis of confidentiality, consult another judge whom he considers is best placed to assist him in responding.  The name of any judge contributing on this basis will be made available to the Board and will be disclosed to you before the interview, but the content of the judicial reference will be confidential to us.

If there are particular circumstances that mean judicial references cannot be obtained, for example if you are not known to the Lord President, Sheriffs Principal, or those judicial colleagues from whom they may seek input, it will not count against you. 

The request for judicial references will be distinct from our Stage One consultations and from the legislative consultation with the Lord President undertaken by the Scottish Government before an appointment is made.