Tributes paid in court as Lord Gill retires

Farewell tributes have been paid in court today to Lord Gill as he retires after neraly 21 years on the bench, the last three of them as Lord President and Lord Justice General.

At a ceremony in the First Division courtroom in Parliament House, a full bench of judges heard Lord Carloway, the Lord Justice Clerk, say that Lord Gill's legal career had spanned half a century and "his distinguished path from passing advocate in 1967 to Lord President is a matter of record if not legend".

Lord Gill, who was also Lord Justice Clerk from 2001 until 2012 when he was appointed Lord President, had had a vision of an inclusive approach, along with a deep concern for the common man and woman, said Lord Carloway.

He added: "We will all miss his leadership and his friendship on and off the bench. He will be a great loss to Parliament House. However, on behalf of the bench and staff, we all wish him well in retirement, knowing he has a life beyond the law."

James Wolffe QC, Dean of Faculty, praised Lord Gill's commitment to Scotland's outward-looking legal heritage.

He described the law reports of the past 20 years as "filled with your judgments, expounding and applying the law in your characteristically lapidary prose".

Mr Wolffe added: "Your presidency of this court has been characterised by a major campaign of civil justice reform... it aims to effect nothing less than a transformation in the way that we secure civil justice in this country in the 21st century."

Referring to another of Lord Gill's great passions, the Dean recalled that he had written an anthem, "Populus Sion", for the Faculty of Advocates Choir which was performed by the choir, under his direction, in the Basilica of St Peter in Rome in 2006.

"I speak on behalf of the Faculty, as its Dean, in expressing the hope that, as the law releases its claims upon you, as you lay aside the burdens of office, you will find great enjoyment doing the things about which you care and spending time with the people whom you love", he added.

Alistair Morris, President of the Law Society of Scotland, hailed Lord Gill as one of the most distinguished, pragmatic and reforming holders of the offices of Lord Justice Clerk and Lord President. He had brought great judgment to the posts, and, importantly, "Glaswegian wit and good humour."

Lord Gill, who devised the sweeping reforms to the civil courts that are now being implemented, thanked everyone for their kind words, which "mean more to me than I can say".

He said he had enjoyed two great privileges in his career.

The first was to be admitted to the Faculty of Advocates, through which he had the good fortune to make a living doing what he loved, and to make "many and lasting friendships through the camaraderie of the bar".

The second was to have been appointed to the bench, and over 20 years he had been learning all the time from his colleagues and from the gifted pleaders who appeared in his court.

"To have been Lord President has been an honour. I have tried to live up to the responsibilities of the job in a fitting way... to enhance the reputation of the court... and to make the work of my colleagues more congenial and fulfilling.

"I leave office with only the happiest of memories of my time as a pleader and my time as a judge."