Tributes as Lord Gill says farewell to Supreme Court

Tributes have been paid to Lord Gill, former Lord President of the Court of Session, after he heard his final appeal as a member of the UK Supreme Court's supplementary panel this week.

Lord Gill, who reaches the statutory retirement age of 75 tiomorrow (25 February), resigned as Lord President of the Court of Session in 2015, but remained on the supplementary panel of senior judges who may be called on to hear appeals alongside Supreme Court Justices. He sat occasionally in the Supreme Court during his time as Lord President and has continued to do so since. 

To mark the occasion, Martin Kingston QC (who was appearing for the appellants in a planning case, and spoke on behalf of the Bar), Lord Neuberger, President of the Supreme Court, and Lord Hodge, one of the Scottish Justices of the Supreme Court all gave valedictory remarks paying tribute to Lord Gill's outstanding legal career in Scotland.

Lord Neuberger described Lord Gill's judicial opinions as "models of authority, conciseness and lucidity from which many other judges, including me, would benefit", going on to thank Lord Gill for his "enormous and longlasting contribution to the development of the law and the rule of law in Scotland and the UK generally".

Responding with his thanks, Lord Gill spoke of his "honour and privilege" of sitting as a judge both in Scotland and in the UK Supreme Court.