Five new Senators named

Five new Senators of the College of Justice, including three practising members of the senior Bar, have been appointed by Her Majesty the Queen on the recommendation of the First Minister.

The five are: Sheriff John Beckett, QC, Ailsa Carmichael, QC, Alistair Clark, QC, Frank Mulholland, QC, the outgoing Lord Advocate, and Andrew Stewart, QC.

Their appointments were announced by the Scottish Government which said that they would take up their posts on dates to be agreed by the Lord President. Four of the appointments are to fill existing vacancies, while the appointment of Mr Mulholland will take effect following the retirement of a Senator later in the year.

John Beckett was admitted to Faculty in 1993 and took Silk in 2005. He was a member of the Megrahi defence team at the Lockerbie trial. He served as Solicitor General for Scotland from October 2006 to May 2007, and was appointed a sheriff in 2008.

Ailsa Carmichael called to the Bar in 1993 and was appointed QC in 2008. She is a recognised specialist in public and administrative law and has appeared in a number of leading cases in the Court of Session, the House of Lords and the Supreme Court. She was junior counsel to the Fingerprint Inquiry Scotland, a major public inquiry arising from the Shirley McKie case.

Alistair Clark initially followed a career as a university lecturer, teaching mainly company and commercial law to LLB students and postgraduates. In 1994, he was admitted to Faculty, and took Silk in 2008. He has been regularly instructed in cases in the Commercial Court and has gained substantial experience in the workings and procedures of the court.

Frank Mulholland joined the procurator fiscal service in 1984 and became an Advocate Depute in 1997. He was appointed Solicitor General for Scotland in 2007, and held the post until he succeeded Elish Angiolini, QC, as Lord Advocate in 2011. He took Silk in 2005 and was admitted to Faculty in 2008.

Andrew Stewart was Legal Assistant to the Lord President before being admitted to Faculty in 1996. He served as Clerk of Faculty from 2003 to 2009, and took Silk in 2009. He was an Advocate Depute from 2009 to 2013. Last year, he was appointed the first President of the Scottish Tax Tribunals. He is a member of the Scottish Civil Justice Council, editor of Session Cases and a Visiting Lecturer at the University of Lorraine, France.