Public appointment: Commissioner reappointed to the Scottish Law Commission

The Minister for Victims and Community Safety today announced the reappointment of Professor Gillian Black as a Commissioner of the Scottish Law Commission.

Commissioner

Professor Gillian Black was appointed a part-time Commissioner in April 2020, and the appointment became a full-time one from 1 June 2023.

She is Professor of Scots Private Law at the University of Edinburgh, with teaching and research interests principally in family law, contract law, and privacy.  Gillian also has a research interest in heraldry, and has published widely across these fields. She is Carrick Pursuivant in the Court of the Lord Lyon.

Before joining Edinburgh Law School as a Lecturer in 2005, she qualified as a solicitor in 2002 with Shepherd & Wedderburn in Edinburgh, working in their Commercial Contracts division, and then spent 18 months as a teaching assistant in the School of Law at the University of Glasgow.  She completed her PhD on publicity rights in Scots law in 2009 and is a graduate of the Universities of Glasgow (LLB, DPLP) and Edinburgh (PhD).

Gillian is the lead Commissioner on the Aspects of family law project. 

Reappointment

This reappointment will be for 3 years and will run from 22 April 2025 to 21 April 2028.
 

This reappointment is regulated by the Ethical Standards Commissioner.

Remuneration

This reappointment is full-time and attracts a remuneration of £105,668 for a time commitment of 37 hours per week.

Other ministerial appointments

Professor Black does not hold any other public appointments.

Political activity

All appointments are made on merit and political activity plays no part in the selection process.  However, in accordance with the original Nolan recommendations, there is a requirement for appointees’ political activity within the last five years (if there is any to be declared) to be made public.   

Professor Black has had no political activity within the last five years.

Background

The Scottish Law Commission was established under the Law Commissions Act 1965 for the purposes of promoting the reform of the law of Scotland, and reviewing the law with a view to its systematic development and modernisation. 

Further details on the Scottish Law Commission can be found on their website.