The Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service (Procedure for Appointment of Members) Regulations 2015

Citation, commencement and interpretation

1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service (Procedure for Appointment of Members) Regulations 2015 and come into force on 16th March 2015.

(2) In these Regulations—

“the 2008 Act” means the Judiciary and Courts (Scotland) Act 2008;

“the 2014 Act” means the Courts Reform (Scotland) Act 2014(1).

Selection for appointment

2.—(1) The members of the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service(2) listed in paragraph 2(2)(e) and (f) and (3)(a), (b) and (d) of schedule 3 to the 2008 Act shall be selected for appointment by a panel appointed by the Lord President.

(2) The panel shall be made up of three members of the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service, including one judicial member and one member listed in paragraph 2(3)(d) of schedule 3 to the 2008 Act.

(3) The Lord President shall invite applications to be made to the panel by—

(a) notifying all sheriffs of a vacancy for a member listed in paragraph 2(2)(e) of schedule 3 to the 2008 Act;

(b) notifying all justices of the peace of a vacancy for a member listed in paragraph 2(2)(f) of schedule 3 to the 2008 Act;

(c) notifying the Faculty of Advocates of a vacancy for a member listed in paragraph 2(3)(a) of schedule 3 to the 2008 Act;

(d) notifying the Law Society of Scotland of a vacancy for a member listed in paragraph 2(3)(b) of schedule 3 to the 2008 Act;

(e) advertising the vacancies for the members listed in paragraph 2(3)(a) and (b) of schedule 3 to the 2008 Act in the appropriate professional journal;

(f) publicly advertising the vacancies for the members listed in paragraph 2(3)(d) of schedule 3 to the Act.

(4) An application must be in writing (including email, fax or by other electronic means which is legible and capable of being used for subsequent reference).

(5) The panel shall consider the applications and select persons for interview.

(6) The panel shall select persons suitable for appointment on the basis of an interview.

(7) For the avoidance of doubt the panel may select for appointment more persons than are required to be appointed in each category of membership.

(8) The panel shall notify the Lord President of persons selected for appointment.

(9) Where the panel selects for appointment more persons than are required to be appointed in each category of membership they shall notify the Lord President of their order of preference for appointment.

Nomination for appointment

3.—(1) The Lord President shall notify—

(a) persons holding the office of sheriff principal of any vacancy in the category of membership listed in paragraph 2(2)(d) of schedule 3 to the 2008 Act;

(b) persons holding the position of Chamber President in the First-tier Tribunal for Scotland and, where relevant, persons holding an office mentioned in paragraph 3(4) of schedule 4 to the 2014 Act, of any vacancy in the category of membership listed in paragraph 2(2)(g) of that schedule(3).

(2) Persons holding the position of sheriff principal may nominate themselves or others for appointment as the member listed in paragraph 2(2)(d) of schedule 3 to the 2008 Act.

(3) Persons holding the position of Chamber President in the First-tier Tribunal for Scotland and, where relevant, persons holding an office mentioned in paragraph 3(4) of Schedule 4 to the 2014 Act, may nominate themselves or others for appointment as the member listed in paragraph 2(2)(g) of schedule 3 to the 2008 Act.

Revocation

4.  The Scottish Court Service (Procedure for Appointment of Members) Regulations 2009(4) are revoked.

PAUL WHEELHOUSE

Authorised to sign by the Scottish Ministers

St Andrew’s House,

Edinburgh

4th February 2015