Appointment of King's Counsel in Scotland 2024 Report by Keith Connal, Independent Observer

Observations

While the King’s Counsel nomination process differs from arrangements for public appointments by the Scottish Ministers under the Code of Practice for Ministerial Appointments to Public Bodies in Scotland and the pool of potential applicants is limited and specific to a singular field of practice, it is a thorough and rigorous process which it is clear has continued to be honed and improved over recent years. The changes introduced this year to the wording of the Legal Ability and Experience criteria is an example of this. The introduction in recent years of the arrangements for all judges to be asked for comment and for a scoring panel of judges to consider applications in detail delivers breadth and depth to the assessment of applicants. The decision to recommend applicants for appointment is made without interview but this seems an appropriate and proportionate approach.

One of the matters I discussed with the Lord Justice General was the reference by several applicants to being extensively involved in long-running Public Inquiries which they prayed in aid to explain their relative or total absence from the courts for a significant period. The Lord Justice General will consider referring to this in the Guide for Applicants for next year’s round. He is also going to consider referring to the importance of providing full citations for any reported cases in which an applicant has been involved.

In his report on the 2023 appointment round, my predecessor noted that a detailed procedure was being considered in relation to the appointment of Honorary King’s Counsel. Such appointments recognise those in the legal profession who have made a major contribution to the law of Scotland or the profession and how it is advanced, outwith practice in the courts as an advocate or solicitor advocate. The process has been run in parallel with the King’s Counsel appointment round this year. The Lord Justice General invited nominations to be submitted using a form available on the Judiciary of Scotland website, to be considered by a panel comprising the Lord Justice General, the Dean of the Faculty, an academic and the President of the Law Society. The introduction of new Honorary King’s Counsel will be made at the same time as the introduction of new King’s Counsel.