Lord Beckett installed as Senator of College of Justice

The first of the installations to the Court of Session and High Court bench, following the appointments announced last week, took place today.

Former sheriff John Beckett QC took his place on the bench with the title Lord Beckett.

The Lord President, Lord Carloway, presided over the ceremony in the First Division courtroom in Parliament House.

He told Lord Beckett: “It gives me great pleasure on behalf of the bench and the Scottish Courts & Tribunals Service to welcome you as a Senator of the College of Justice.

“You are the first of a cohort of new judges which will bring the bench back up to strength and alleviate the problems we have faced in the last year.

“You bring to the bench considerable experience as a solicitor, advocate, advocate depute, QC, law officer, sheriff and temporary judge – your skills and learning are well known to us all.”

The other new appointments are Ailsa Carmichael QC, Alistair Clark QC, Andrew Stewart QC and retiring Lord Advocate Frank Mulholland QC. The installations of Mr Clark and Mr Stewart have been set for 24 and 31 May.