The appointments of Sheriff Jillian Martin-Brown, Iain MacRae and Nicola Irvine were formally made by the Lord President on 25 January following an open and competitive recruitment exercise in consultation with the Scottish ministers.

Sheriff Martin-Brown was appointed as a sheriff in Dundee in 2019, having served as a summary sheriff since 2016. She was appointed as a commercial sheriff in 2020.

Mr MacRae graduated from the University of Dundee before undertaking a court based traineeship at Munro & Noble, Inverness. He was admitted as a solicitor in 1992 returning to his native Dundee in 1993. He has been a partner of Gilmartin Finlay MacRae since 1995. He was appointed as a Legal Member of the Local Taxation Chamber of the First Tier Tribunal on 1 November 2022.

Ms Irvine is the managing partner of Russells Gibson McCaffrey. She has over 20 years’ experience as a litigator in the Sheriff Court, undertaking civil and criminal work. She sits as a legal member in two chambers of the First tier Tribunal for Scotland.

The chair of the Council, the Lord President, Lord Carloway, said: “I would like to welcome all three members to the Council. I am confident that the Council will benefit from their wealth of knowledge and expertise.”