Judith Robertson

Dr Anna Black and Dr Jacqueline Kinghan have been appointed for six-year terms, starting on 1 May 2021.

Dr Black is a GP in Glasgow, a non-executive director of Public Health Scotland and is currently completing her PhD in Public Health at the University of Glasgow which explores how women who are asylum seekers or refugees access primary healthcare in Glasgow.

Dr Kinghan is a human rights lawyer and academic with expertise in access to justice and human rights. She is a senior lecturer at Newcastle Law School where she co-convenes the Forum for Social Justice and Human Rights and leads the Community Social Justice programme. Based in Scotland, she works with charities and NGOs on a range of legal and social change projects.

The new commissioners will take up their posts as two of the commission’s current members, Susan Kemp and Dr Alan Mitchell, come to the end of their appointments. Jane-Claire Judson, appointed in September 2017, will continue as part-time commissioner until August 2023.

Commission chair Judith Robertson said: “This is a crucial time for human rights in Scotland. The development of a new human rights bill for Scotland is on the horizon and with that comes a pressing need to ensure this leads to real changes in practice and access to justice for people in everyday life.

“We look forward to welcoming Dr Black and Dr Kinghan to their posts as commissioners and to benefiting from their expertise and experience.”

She added: “Our departing commissioners, Susan Kemp and Dr Alan Mitchell, have made significant contributions to the Commission’s work since their appointments in 2015.

“They have brought specialist knowledge and expertise to our work on policing, prisons, justice and healthcare in particular, while contributing more broadly to developing and overseeing the Commission’s Strategic Plan and the wide-ranging programme of work this entails.”