This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Sheriff appointments
04/04/2005
Scottish Ministers have announced today that
Sheriff Principal Edward Bowen QC will
fill the vacancy for a Sheriff Principal of Lothian and
Borders, which arises from the promotion of Sheriff
Principal Macphail to the office of Senator of the College
of Justice.
Sheriff Principal Bowen transfers from the office of
Sheriff Principal in Glasgow and Strathkelvin where he has
served for seven and a half years.
Ministers have asked the Judicial Appointments Board to
run an open competition for filling the vacancy at Glasgow
and Strathkelvin. The Board will also make recommendations
for filling a second Sheriff Principal post in South
Strathclyde, Dumfries and Galloway. This will arise when
Sheriff Principal John McInnes QC retires later this
year.
Mr Vincent Smith, Solicitor has been
appointed as a resident sheriff at Hamilton to fill the
post vacated by Sheriff Simon Pender on transfer to
Dumbarton.
Mr Paul Arthurson, Advocate has been
appointed as a floating sheriff of Tayside, Central and
Fife, following the move of Sheriff Elizabeth Munro to the
office of resident sheriff at Dundee.
Sheriff Principal Edwin Farquharson Bowen
QC (59) qualified as an Advocate in 1970. Between
1983 and 1990 he served as a sheriff at Dundee before
returning to the Bar. He was appointed as Queen's Counsel
in 1992. In 1997 he was appointed to the office of Sheriff
Principal of Glasgow and Strathkelvin. He has also given
service as a temporary judge since 2000.
Sheriff Principal John Collin McInnes QC (66) qualified
as an Advocate in 1963 and was appointed Queen's Counsel in
1989. Between 1973 and 1991 he gave service as a sheriff at
Edinburgh, Cupar, Kinross and Kirkcaldy. Between 1991 and
2000 he served as a resident sheriff at Perth. In March
2000 he was appointed as Sheriff Principal for South
Strathclyde, Dumfries and Galloway. He was chairman of the
McInnes Committee which recently made recommendations to
Scottish Ministers for the reform of summary criminal
justice.
Mr Vincent Smith, Solicitor (50) was
admitted as a solicitor in 1980. In 1982 he became a
partner in Lavery Smith & Co and has experience in a
wide range of court and chamber work, appearing in both
civil and criminal cases in the sheriff courts. He was a
temporary sheriff in 1999 and was appointed as a part-time
sheriff in 2003. He will take up his post as resident
sheriff at Hamilton on 4 April 2005.
Mr Paul Arthurson, Advocate (39) was
admitted as a solicitor in 1989 and became an advocate in
1991. He gave service as a tutor in the Department of Scots
Law at the University of Edinburgh between 1987 and 1992.
He was appointed temporary sheriff in 1999 and became a
part-time sheriff in 2003. Mr Arthurson took up his post in
Tayside, Central and Fife in March 2005.