‘Disappointing’ delay in introducing honorary QC system in Scotland

The independent observer of the appointment of Queen’s Counsel in Scotland, Jessica M. Burns, made the comments in her report on the appointment of silks.

In England, the Ministry of Justice invites nominations for the award of Queen’s Counsel Honoris Causa annually.

Ms Burns, who first made the recommendation a year ago, said that it was “disappointing that, partly due to changes in key personnel, progress on developing a similar system in Scotland has been slow and a suitable procedure is yet to be finalised”.

She added: “I have been assured that work on this is now underway and should be concluded before the end of the year. I fully accept that the working conditions in the last few months have been exceptional due to the lockdown period and that this has impacted on the progress of matters which were not urgent.”

This year, 45.5 per cent of the 22 lawyers who applied to become Queen’s Counsel were successful.

Ms Burns said: “My only recommendation in this year’s report is to repeat the recommendation that I made last year, namely that there is a proper process established for the appointment of honorary QCs in Scotland reflecting the attainment of excellence in other areas of Scots law which may be conferred on those who have made an outstanding contribution.”

A Scottish government spokesperson told Scottish Legal News: “Initial discussions have begun between the Lord President’s Private Office and the Scottish government about the introduction of an honorary QC system in Scotland and what steps would be needed to set this up.

“Due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic these discussions have been delayed with other matters taking priority.”