Lady Paton to chair Scottish Law Commission

Court of Session judge Lady Paton has been appointed chair of the Scottish Law Commission from 1 January 2019.

She succeeds Lord Pentland, who has served since January 2014 and whose term of office expires this month.

Lady Paton (Ann Paton) became an advocate in 1977, a QC in 1990, a judge in 2000, and an appeal court judge in 2007. She is experienced in both civil and criminal law, and prosecuted crime in the High Court as an advocate depute between 1992 and 1995. She served on the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board from 1995 to 1999 and the Parole Board for Scotland from 2003 to 2007. Her publications include Gloag & Henderson, Law of Scotland (8th, 9th and 10th editions) and McEwan & Paton, Damages for Personal Injuries in Scotland (1st and 2nd editions).

Her new appointment will be for five years until 
31 December 2023. It will mean 60% of Lady Paton’s time being spent on Commission business, and the remainder of her time devoted to her judicial functions. She retains her judicial salary and receives no additional payment for this work.