Birthday honours CBE to Jim Murdoch for human rights work

Jim Murdoch, Professor of Public Law at the University of Glasgow, has been awarded the CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire) in the Queen's Birthday honours list.

The award, for services to education and human rights, recognises Professor Murdoch's commitment to human rights in his teaching and research work over many years.

Professor Murdoch first joined the School of Law in 1979 after qualifying as a solicitor. In 1992 he began the Human Rights Project, a unique course which replicates the experience of bringing a case to the European Court of Human Rights, or defending a case as the respondent government. For this work, along with his overall work in human rights education, he was awarded the Pro Merito medal of the Council of Europe, the highest distinction granted by the Secretary General, in 2012, and the fifth annual European Award for Excellence in Teaching in the Social Sciences and Humanities, by the Central European University’s Centre for Teaching and Learning in 2016.

He is author, along with Lord Reed, of the standard textbook Human Rights Law in Scotland, now in its fourth edition, and has written or co-authored other texts including The Treatment of Prisoners: European Standards.

Also in the honours list, Catherine Duffy, formerly principal solicitor in the Legal Services department of Police Scotland, received an MBE for services to law and order, as did two members of the Citizens' Advice Bureau: William Dougray, chairman of the East Renfrewshire Bureau, and Hilary Wiggans, Tayside regional in-court adviser in Dundee, both for services to their respective communities.