Lord Carloway appointed as Lord President - Scotland's most senior judge

Lord Carloway has been a judge since 2000

Lord Carloway has been announced as the new Lord President, Scotland's most senior judge.

The 61-year-old will replace Lord Gill, who retired in May.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said Lord Carloway, who was appointed a judge in February 2000, had a "wide breadth of experience" in both the civil and criminal courts.

She said: "His commitment to continuing reform and modernisation of our justice system is clear."

Ms Sturgeon added: "Under his leadership I am confident that the already substantial improvements to Scotland's courts will continue."

The Lord President is the senior judge in Scotland and the head of the judiciary.

As presiding judge of Scotland's supreme civil and criminal courts, he acts as both Lord President of the Court of Session and the Lord Justice General of the High Court of Justiciary.

The Lord President also chairs the Board of the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service.

Faculty of advocates

Before he became Lord Carloway, Colin Sutherland was a graduate of Edinburgh University and was admitted to the Faculty of Advocates in 1977.

He served as an advocate depute from 1986 to 1989, was appointed Queen's Counsel in 1990 and became a judge in 2000.

In 2011 he published the Carloway Review, which looked at key elements of criminal law and recommended the requirement for corroboration in Scottish criminal prosecutions should be abolished.

The Scottish government dropped its plan to scrap corroboration earlier this year but other recommendations from the Carloway paper were taken forward in the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Bill, approved by parliament earlier this week.

James Wolffe, QC, Dean of the Faculty of Advocates, said: "His appointment as head of Scotland's judiciary is richly merited - having regard not only to his personal qualities but to his distinguished career of service, as an advocate before his appointment to the bench in 2000, as a judge since that date, and since 2012 as Lord Justice-Clerk.

"Lord Carloway becomes Lord President at an important time for our legal system as it responds to technological, social and institutional change. I look forward very much indeed to working with him."

Christine McLintock, president of the Law Society of Scotland, said: "Lord Carloway assumes this role at a critical time for Scotland's justice system, with major reforms to improve the efficiency of our courts but also pressures from reductions in public spending.

"We are also seeing a transformation in the legal services market, with new business models, changing expectations from clients and a greater internationalism amongst legal firms.

"Against this backdrop of change, we look forward to working with Lord Carloway, building on the excellent relationship we have enjoyed with him as Lord Justice Clerk."

The Lord President has an annual salary of £220,655.