Colin Sutherland, Lord Carloway

Colin John MacLean Sutherland, Lord Carloway QC PC (born 20 May 1954),[1] is a Scottish advocate and judge. He is currently Lord President of the Court of Session and Lord Justice General, the most senior judge of the Supreme Courts of Scotland and head of the Scottish Judiciary.

The Right Honourable Lord Carloway QC
Lord President of the Court of Session Lord Justice General
Incumbent
Assumed office 18 December 2015
Appointed by	Elizabeth II
Deputy	Lady Dorrian
Preceded by	Lord Gill
Lord Justice Clerk
In office 15 August 2012 – 18 December 2015
Appointed by	Elizabeth II
Preceded by	Lord Gill
Succeeded by	Lady Dorrian
Personal details
Born	20 May 1954 Falkirk, Scotland
Spouse(s)	Jane Turnbull
Alma mater	University of Edinburgh
Profession	Advocate

Early life

Sutherland was born in Falkirk in 1954, and was educated at Hurst Grange Preparatory School, Stirling and the Edinburgh Academy, before studying at the School of Law of the University of Edinburgh (LL.B. (Hons.)).[2][3]

Legal career

He was admitted to the Faculty of Advocates in 1977, and appointed Advocate Depute in 1986, serving until 1989. He took silk in 1990 and was Treasurer of the Faculty of Advocates from 1994 to 2000.[2][3]

Sutherland was appointed a Senator of the College of Justice, a judge of the Court of Session and High Court of Justiciary, Scotland's Supreme Courts, in February 2000. He took the judicial title, Lord Carloway, and was promoted to the Inner House of the Court of Session and appointed to the Privy Council in 2008.[2][3]

He is an assistant editor of Green’s Litigation Styles and contributed the chapters on "Court of Session Practice" to the Stair Memorial Encyclopaedia and "Expenses" in Court of Session Practice.[2]

Carloway presided over the 2004 prosecution of gas transporter Transco under health and safety legislation for an explosion in Larkhall in December 1999 which killed a family of four, fining the company a record £15m. Since 2008 he has been almost exclusively involved in appellate work as a member of the Second Division, one of the two appeal court chambers in Scotland, chaired by the Lord Justice Clerk. In October 2010, he was asked by the then Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill to undertake a review of the Scottish criminal law following the decision by the UK Supreme Court in the case of Cadder v HM Advocate. The report was released in November 2011 and became known as the Carloway Review.[4]

Carloway was appointed Lord Justice Clerk on 15 August 2012.[5] His appointment as Lord President and Lord Justice General was announced on 18 December 2015.[6]

Personal life

He married Jane Turnbull in 1988, with whom he has two sons. He was the joint editor of Parliament House Portraits: the Art Collection of the Faculty of Advocates, and is a former President of the Scottish Arts Club.[2] He is the lead vocalist in, and plays bass guitar for, the Faculty of Advocates band, The Reclaimers.[7]

See also

• Corroboration in Scots law
• List of Senators of the College of Justice

References

1. "Birthday's today". The Telegraph. 20 May 2013. Retrieved 16 May 2014. Lord Carloway, a Senator of the College of Justice in Scotland, 59
2. "Biographies - The Right Hon Lord Carloway". Scottish Court Service. Retrieved 23 August 2009.
3. "Privy Council appointment of Lord Colin". 10 Downing Street. 10 September 2008. Archived from the original on 8 October 2009. Retrieved 23 August 2009.
4. "Carloway review says end corroboration in crime cases". BBC. BBC News. 17 November 2011. Retrieved 3 June 2016.
5. "Appointment of Lord Justice Clerk" (Press release). The Scottish Government. 15 August 2012. Retrieved 15 August 2012.
6. "Lord Carloway appointed as Lord President - Scotland's most senior judge". BBC. BBC News. 18 December 2015. Retrieved 3 June 2016.
7. "Definitive proof the law is a racket". The Scotsman. Pressreader. 19 April 2010. Retrieved 23 December 2018.