Judicial complaints reviewer appointed

Ian Gordon has been named as the third Judicial Complaints Reviewer by Cabinet Secretary for Justice Michael Matheson.

A retired Deputy Chief Constable of Tayside Police, Ian Gordon is currently an Acting Commissioner with the Northern Ireland Public Service Ombudsman Office. He will begin his new role on 1 September 2017.

He was seconded to HM Inspectorate of Constabulary and was the lead police officer on the annual statutory inspection of five UK police forces, and was a member of the UK Police Professional Standards Group. He has conducted criminal, conduct and complaints investigations in the UK and undertaken enquires abroad on behalf of the Foreign Office. 

Mr Gordon was also a Convener for the Standards Commission between 2010 and 2017 and contributed to a focused improvement to awareness of the codes of Conduct by elected members and Boards of Public Bodies.

This appointment was established by the Judiciary and Courts (Scotland) Act 2008 to review, when asked, the handling of a complaints investigation into members of the judiciary, to ensure that it has been dealt with in accordance with The Complaints About the Judiciary (Scotland) Rules 2016. The Reviewer has no powers to consider the merits of any complaint or the disposal of the complaint.

The appointment, which has been made with the approval of the Lord President, will be for a period of three years from 1 September 2017 to 31 August 2020.