Andrew Mackenzie appointed co-vice chair of IBA’s Access to Justice and Legal Aid Committee

Andrew Mackenzie, chief executive of the Scottish Arbitration Centre (pictured), has been appointed co-vice chair for the International Bar Association Access to Justice and Legal Aid Committee.

The International Bar Association (IBA), established in 1947, comprises international legal practitioners, bar associations and law societies. The IBA influences the development of international law reform and shapes the future of the legal profession throughout the world. It has a membership of 80,000 individual lawyers and more than 190 bar associations and law societies.

The IBA Access to Justice and Legal Aid Committee gathers information from around the world on the barriers to access to justice in each jurisdiction and ways in which these barriers are overcome.

Mr Mackenzie is a solicitor on secondment from the Scottish Government Justice Directorate at the Scottish Arbitration Centre and is also secretary general of the International Centre of Energy Arbitration.

He said: “I am delighted to have been selected by the IBA as co-vice chair for the Access to Justice and Legal Aid Committee. One of the great strengths of the IBA is its global reach, which is key to the committee’s objective of sharing and spreading good practice on access to justice around the world.”

He added: “Future plans include working more closely with the committee’s subcommittee, the Poverty and Social Development sub-committee, as well as pursuing another survey on Access to Justice and Disability, focusing on mental and physical disability. The committee is also seeking to produce a report on the economic case for legal aid and produce guidelines on the principles and practice that should underpin an effective legal aid system.”

Congratulating Andrew on the appointment, Brandon Malone, chairman of the board of the centre, said: “This appointment demonstrates Andrew’s hard work on the committee to date and ensures that Scotland continues to have a voice on this committee, and is able to feedback to those here on access to justice and other initiatives elsewhere in the world. It is also an opportunity to showcase Scotland as an ideal place for resolving disputes by having a Scots lawyer involved at the heart of an international legal body.”

Lorna Jack, chief executive of the Law Society of Scotland, said: “I congratulate Andrew on his appointment. It is great to see a Scottish solicitor being chosen to help lead the International Bar Association’s work on access to justice. With his experience from both inside and outside government, Andrew has brought great knowledge and policy expertise to the committee over the last two years. I know he will make an even greater contribution as vice-chair.”