Lady Carmichael welcomed to “enthusiastic and happy cohort”

 

The latest of a series of new Senators of the College of Justice has been installed in traditional fashion, taking the judicial title, Lady Carmichael.

Ailsa Carmichael, QC, was sworn in by the Lord President, Lord Carloway, in the First Division courtroom.

Lord Carloway said: “Lady Carmichael, on behalf of the Bench, it gives me great pleasure to welcome you as a Senator of the College of Justice. You have had a distinguished career since passing advocate in 1993 and taking Silk in 2008. This has included a specialism in public and administrative law, notably in asylum and immigration cases. I am sure that your skills in these expanding fields will prove a major asset to the Bench.

“We all wish you a rewarding life as part of our enthusiastic and happy cohort.”

At the Bar, Ailsa Carmichael became a recognised specialist in public and administrative law and appeared in a number of leading cases in the Court of Session, the House of Lords and the Supreme Court. She was standing Junior Counsel to the Home Department, and a tutor at Edinburgh University as well as a member of the Equality and Human Rights Commission's panel of counsel. She was junior counsel to the Fingerprint Inquiry Scotland, a major public inquiry arising from the Shirley McKie case, and has served as a part-time sheriff since 2007 and as a Deputy Judge of the Upper Tribunal (Administrative Appeals Chamber) since 2014.