This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
Listen
Scottish Law Commission appointment
24/01/2006
The Minister for Justice today announced the appointment of a new member to the Scottish Law Commission.
The new member is Professor George Gretton who is a qualified solicitor, a Writer to the Signet and a Notary Public. At present he holds the Lord President Reid Chair of Law at the University of Edinburgh. His main interests lie in the fields of commercial law, property law, trusts, insolvency law, comparative law and legal history and he has published widely in all of these areas.
As a Commissioner, Professor Gretton will contribute to the formulation of Commission policy and to the preparation of discussion papers and reports to Government, as well as contributing to the leadership of the Commission and so helping to deliver its objectives. He will also have specific responsibility for completion of the Commission's ongoing project on land registration, and for taking forward a new project on the assignation of and security over incorporeal moveables.
Justice Minister Cathy Jamieson said:
"The Executive values highly the work of the Scottish Law Commission and I am pleased that Professor Gretton has accepted appointment as a member of the Commission. He is widely respected and admired in the legal profession and beyond, especially in relation to property and commercial law. He has already demonstrated a keen interest in and knowledge of law reform issues and I am confident that he will make a substantial contribution to the work of the Commission.
"I would also like to take this opportunity to pay tribute to Professor Gretton's predecessor, Professor Kenneth Reid, for the major contribution he made to the work of the Commission over the last 10 years."
This appointment will be for five years and will run from May 1, 2006 to April 30, 2011.
This post is full-time and attracts a remuneration of £ 98,201 per year. Professor Gretton does not hold any other Ministerial public appointments.
The Scottish Law Commission, along with its counterpart for England and Wales, was set up by the Law Commissions Act 1965. Its function is to recommend reforms to improve, simplify and update the law of Scotland. This Ministerial public appointment was made in accordance with the Commissioner for Public Appointments in Scotland's Code of Practice.
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 (if there is any to be declared) to be made public. Professor Gretton has not declared any political activity within the last five years.