Overview:
Judicial Appointments Board for Scotland
Appointment of Lay and Legal Members
The Judicial Appointments Board for Scotland (JABS) is an independent advisory body that plays a key role in ensuring an open and transparent selection process based on merit for a range of judicial appointments.
The Board’s aims are:
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To attract applicants of the highest calibre, recognising the need to encourage diversity in the range of those available for selection, and
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To recommend applicants for appointment to judicial office on merit through processes that are fair, transparent and command respect.
Skills/Experience Required:
Roles
All Board Members undertake the following tasks:
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Attend Board meetings, which will generally take place on the third Monday of every second month. Meetings can last for a half-day or a full day and normally start
at 9:15 am; -
Participate in appointment exercises throughout the year in line with the Board’s programme of activity which is demand led;
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With Board colleagues make recommendations to the Scottish Ministers for judicial appointment;
- Contribute to Board committees, working groups or improvement projects;
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Attend training including for assessment and interview; and,
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Occasionally participate in outreach events and stakeholder engagement about the work of the Board.
Lay members
For this appointment round, we are looking to recruit up to five lay members.
JABS legislation requires that a lay member:
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Is resident in Scotland;
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Is not a solicitor or advocate practising as such in Scotland; and
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Does not hold and has not held any judicial office within the Board’s remit.
The role of a lay member is to participate in decision-making on the suitability of individual applicants for judicial appointment and contribute to the development of the Board’s policies, strategy and governance. You will receive training on the Board’s processes and its approach to appointment exercises.
Legal members
For this appointment round, we are looking to appoint two legal members.
One legal member must be an Advocate and the other may be either a Solicitor (including Solicitor Advocate) or an Advocate, practising as such in Scotland.
The role of the Legal Member is to participate in decision-making on the suitability of individual applicants for judicial appointment and contribute to the development of the Board’s policies, strategy and governance. You will also be responsible for assessing applicants’ knowledge of the law and skills and competenence in the interpretation and application of the law. You will receive training on the Board’s processes and its approach to appointment exercises.
Remuneration and Expenses: Members of the Board receive £296 per day. Expenses incurred as a result of carrying out the duties of the appointment, including reasonable travel and subsistence costs and dependant carer and childcare expenses, will be reimbursed. The appointment is non-pensionable.
Time commitment: Members will be expected to devote up to 40 days per year, but this may vary year on year. The number and nature of recruitment exercises varies and are demand led. Some can involve a limited number of applications and judicial positions whilst others have much larger numbers.
Smaller appointment rounds will involve a couple of planning meetings, sifting applications at home over a week or two, a shortlisting meeting and interviewing for a few days over a couple of weeks. There will then be a panel decision meeting followed by a Board decision meeting to determine which candidates are to be recommended for appointment.
Larger rounds have a similar structure but may also require longlisting to determine which candidates progress to shortlisting. Longlisting will be done at home by legal and judicial members over a four or five week period. A similar period will be required for shortlisting. Interviews may require 6-10 days over a four to five week period. Interviews will normally take place on two or three days each week over this period. Individual members are unlikely to be involved in more than two or three competitions each year.
Board Members are expected to attend around 7 Board meetings each year. They will also be involved in competition decision meetings, where these are held separately to Board meetings, Board committees, working groups and will be expected to contribute to Board improvement projects. In addition, Board Members may occasionally be invited to attend engagements with key stakeholders.
Generally, Board meetings are held in person, although provision is available for remote attendance. Other meetings are usually done remotely. Interviews are held in-person, usually in Edinburgh.
Length of Appointment: The term of appointment will be for up to 4 years. There is a possibility of reappointment subject to evidence of effective performance and having regard to the skills, knowledge, understanding and experience required by the Board at that time. Any appointments and subsequent reappointments will not extend beyond a maximum of eight years.
To Apply
In order for your application to be considered you must complete a two stage process. First of all, please click on the Apply for this job online link at the top right hand side of this advert (on some devices this may default to the bottom of your screen) to complete contact details, monitoring information and declaration of interest. The second stage is to download and complete the Application Form which can be found below;
Lay Members - Judicial Appointments Board for Scotland - Members - Application Form for Lay Member
Legal Members - Judicial Appointments Board for Scotland - Members - Application Form for Legal Member
Closing date for applications is 22 February 2023 at 17:00. For full information on the appointments, please read the Applicant Information Pack - Judicial Appointments Board for Scotland - Members - Applicant Information Pack.
An application pack and full details on this and other public appointments can be found at www.appointed-for-scotland.org/. If you experience any difficulties accessing the website, please contact by telephone on 0300 244 1898 or email
[email protected].
Accessibility to public appointments is a fundamental requirement and the public appointments process promotes, demonstrates and upholds equality of opportunity for all applicants. The Scottish Government will always give consideration to disability-related reasonable adjustments that an applicant might request to enable them to demonstrate their merit and participate fully in the selection process. If you require any of the application pack documentation in an alternative format, please Telephone 0300 244 1898 or
[email protected].
Further information about the online application process is attached Public Appointments - Frequently Asked Questions. General information about public appointments and guidance to help you improve your applications is attached www.gov.scot/collections/public-appointments.
Scottish Ministers particularly welcome applications from people with protected characteristics that are currently under-represented on the boards of Public Bodies, such as disabled people, LGBTI+ people, those from black and minority ethnic communities and people aged under 50.
Applicants for public appointments must be legally entitled to work in the UK. Please see the applicants’ pack for further information.
Appointed on merit; committed to diversity and equality.