Scottish Sentencing Council recruits legal members

Solicitors and advocates interested in assisting in the development of sentencing policy and the preparation of guidelines for the Scottish courts are being invited to apply to become legal members of the Scottish Sentencing Council.

The recruitment process for the advocate and solicitor member positions on the Council, which will be established in October, is now underway. Prosecutors are not eligible for these appointments. The third legal member, a prosecutor, will be nominated by the Lord Advocate.

The objectives of the Scottish Sentencing Council are to promote consistency and transparency in sentencing practice, assist in developing sentencing policy and promote better understanding of sentencing across Scotland.

The Council, which will also be responsible for producing sentencing guidelines for the approval of the High Court of Justiciary, is to be chaired by the Lord Justice Clerk and will include five other judicial office holders, three legal members, a police officer, a victims’ expert and one further lay member.

Applications are invited for the advocate and solicitor positions on the Council. Applications are welcomed and encouraged from the widest possible range of eligible persons and particularly from protected groups covered by the Equality Act 2010.

The advocate member must be a practising advocate and have substantial experience of litigating in the High Court of Justiciary, including appeals.

The solicitor member must be a practising solicitor or solicitor advocate and have substantial experience of litigating in criminal proceedings in the sheriff and JP court.

The closing date for applications is noon, Thursday 20 August 2015. Application packs and further details on the recruitment exercise are available from the Council’s website here.