Monday, June 02, 2014

LORD NO-NO: Scotland's top judge spends one year ‘in-hiding’ over Scottish Parliament proposal to create register of judiciary’s vast secret wealth, business connections & vested interests

Top judge Lord Gill bitterly resists calls for judicial wealth & connections to be declared. ONE YEAR on from persistent refusals to appear before MSPs to give evidence on the judiciary's undeclared interests, Scotland's top judge, Lord President Lord Brian Gill continues to oppose any call for him to attend the Scottish Parliament and publicly explain his bitter opposition to calls for judicial transparency contained in Petition PE1458: Register of Interests for members of Scotland's judiciary.

The petition calls on the Scottish Parliament to legislate for a requirement that all members of the Judiciary in Scotland to declare their sizeable financial wealth, hidden family & business connections within the legal profession, criminal records, directorships, secret earnings from law firms & big business and offshore ‘tax efficient’ trusts and investments. The proposals would see a publicly available Register of Judicial Interests available for all to inspect - a move the Lord President Lord Gill has bitterly resisted to-date.

The Sunday Mail’s coverage of 2 June 2013 reported on Lord Gill’s second refusal to show up at the Scottish Parliament. The exclusive report also features an article exposing the round the world travels of Scotland’s judiciary on the taxpayer, the very same Scottish judiciary who, after nearly eighteen months of discussion on judicial interests, still refuse to travel a few hundred yards to our sovereign Scottish Parliament and account for their secretive interests. The Sunday Mail reports :

LORD NO NO - Scotland's top Judge refuses second Parliament invite over Register of Interests - Sunday Mail 2 June 2013Scotland's top judge refuses to appear before MSPs for a second time to explain his opposition to a register of interests

EXCLUSIVE : LORD NO-NO : Gill snubs second invite from Holyrood Committee

By Russell Findlay 2 Jun 2013 Sunday Mail

SCOTLAND'S top judge has snubbed MSPs for a second time after they asked him to give evidence at Holyrood.

The Lord President, Lord Gill previously declined to attend the Scottish Parliament’s petitions committee to explain his opposition to a register of interests for judges. MSPs wrote asking him to reconsider his refusal to attend. But last week, in a letter to the committee’s chairman, Labour’s David Stewart, he rejected their second request to appear.

The top lawman, who earns £214,000 a year, cited the Scotland Act which prevents parliament from forcing judges to give evidence. He justified his refusal saying: “I do so for the reasons of constitutional principle. I intend no discourtesy to your committee. This is not a loophole. It is a necessary part of the constitutional settlement by which the Parliament is established. Its purpose is to protect the independence of the judiciary, a vital constitutional principle that is declared in section 1 of the Judiciary and Courts (Scotland) Act 2008.”

The row follows a petition by legal reform campaigner Peter Cherbi which calls for judges to declare interests such as hospitality, gifts, property plus any links to outside bodies.

In February, Lord Gill wrote to say a register was not needed and that it might mean judges would be harassed by “aggressive media”. His refusal to elaborate on that stance in person angered the committee. In April, they issued a second invitation but he has again refused to travel the 700 metres from his office to parliament to give evidence.

In his letter, sent to Stewart on Tuesday, Lord Gill did offer to meet committee members in private. Stewart now plans to meet Lord Gill along with deputy committee convener Chic Brodie. He said: “I’m disappointed but we will try to meet as soon as possible to get the information we require to deal with this very interesting petition.”

SNP MSP Brodie said: “He is at least willing to have discussions with representatives of the committee.”

Sources at Parliament say the judge has added insult to injury by agreeing to give evidence to the Justice Committee on Tuesday to defend heavily criticised cost-cutting reforms that will mean the closure of one in five sheriff courts.

WATCHDOG WHY SHOULD JUDGES BE EXEMPT?

Lord Gill's insistence that he will not appear in front of MSPs comes as a legal watchdog revealed two judges were investigated for alleged conflicts of interest last year. Judicial Complaints Reviewer Moi Ali, left, revealed the probes as she backed calls for a register.

Her submission to the committee said: "One review I undertook last year concerned a complaint about a judge who had allegedly used their judicial position to promote a body that was alleged to have breached international law." Another was a sheriff who allegedly participated in a social function organised by the defender during the proof hearing.

Ali - who was appointed by Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill in 2011 - can review how the the Judicial Office for Scotland have handled a complaint but can only pass on her concerns to the Lord President.

She added "Registers of interest are a normal part of public life."It seems right that the judiciary should not be out of line with what is required of others who hold high public office."Better transparency would enhance the standing of that judiciary."

JET-SETTING LAWMEN NOTCH UP £83K BILL

Scotland's judges have racked up thousands of air miles on overseas trips, including jaunts to the US, India, Morocco and Malaysia.

Taxpayers have paid £83,644 to send judges and sheriffs around the world in the past three years. In 2010/11, the total was £14,430 which rose to £35,107 in 2011/12 followed by £34,167 last year.

The most expensive trip last year was to Kampala in Uganda. It cost £7300 for Sheriff Michael Fletcher and Lord President Lord Gill to attend a judges' conference there. Lord Gill’s other trips since 2010 have included Dublin, Cape Town in South Africa, Slovenian capital Ljubljana and a £1050 trip to a conference in Canada.

One of the most widely travelled was Sheriff Andrew Normand who has been on 11 overseas trips in the last three years. The judges usually travel alone or with a colleague but on two occasions last year they were joined by their wives.

The figures were obtained by legal blogger Peter Cherbi. He said: "Instead of flying around the world, perhaps Scotland's judges should focus on the problems within our own legal system."

The Judicial Office for Scotland said: "Attendance at overseas events must be approved in advance and comply with agreed guidance."

Sunday Mail Opinion on Lord Gill No Show 2 June 2013Mail Opinion: Lord Gill has missed an opportunity to portray our justice system as open and accountable

2 Jun 2013 11:32

NO JUSTICE IF IT CANOT BE SEEEN : SENIOR judge's refusal to give evidence to MSPs shows a lack of transparency, says Mail Opinion.

WE'RE possibly not clever enough but it is difficult to understand the terribly important point of principle Lord Gill is defending when he refuses to give evidence to our elected representatives.

Scotland’s most senior judge insists that he cannot amble down the Royal Mile to Holyrood to appear before the petitions committee because he must maintain the crucial separation between our courts and the Government.

The Lord President told them that, with the greatest respect, MSPs cannot compel a judge to appear. This is not a legal loophole, he said, but a vital bulwark of our democracy.

Fine. We get it. But they are not compelling him to appear. They did not issue an order but an invitation.

Since he has apparently agreed to appear in front of the justice committee on Tuesday to discuss the closure of a fifth of our sheriff courts, we must assume that he is picking and choosing which MSPs might be given his valuable time.

You could be forgiven for suspecting that he believes MSPs scrutinising the calls for judges to register their interests are wasting their time – and is not allowing them to waste his. Fair enough but his disinclination to pitch up before the people who represent the people who pay his £214,000-a-year salary might look a little high-handed and disrespectful. It might and, to be honest, it does.

This wasn’t an ambush. It was an opportunity for Scotland’s top judge to go to Parliament and talk about how our legal system works and might work better. It would have added, as the public relations executives and politicians like to say, a little transparency.

It was a window of opportunity that Lord Gill politely, but very firmly, nailed shut.

By taking every opportunity to speak to MSPs, Lord Gill could do more to show our legal system is a modern, receptive institution than any number of gimmicks and sound bites.

Instead, his refusal has only hardened the suspicion that our judges live and work in a bubble smelling of horse hair wigs, vintage port and even more vintage attitudes.

But his decision is only one disappointing straw in what is becoming a mighty wind of official secrecy and needless silence gusting around every part of our justice system.

Police and prosecutors might not be using Lord Leveson’s criticism of newspapers to chill potential whistle-blowers and curb information being given to journalists, officially or unofficially, but you’d be forgiven for thinking so.

These days, the most simple, straightforward requests for the most simple, straightforward information from our law enforcement and legal authorities hit stonewall after stonewall.

It is a disgrace that Scottish journalists – and, through them, the Scottish public – are not being given basic information that would be passed on as a matter of course in, for example, England and the United States.

It is a disgrace and one that our MSPs should be discussing and debating. Not least because journalists are clearly not the only people our legal establishment are happy to keep in the dark.

Previous articles on the lack of transparency within Scotland’s judiciary, investigations by Diary of Injustice including reports from the media, and video footage of debates at the Scottish Parliament’s Public Petitions Committee deliberations on Petition PE1458: Register of Interests for members of Scotland's judiciary can be found here : A Register of Interests for Scotland's Judiciary

69 comments:

Anonymous said...

How Gill can get away with treating the parliament like this is beyond me - a total disgrace AND why have the Scottish Government not pulled him to bits on not showing up to face the msps?

Anonymous said...

The most expensive trip last year was to Kampala in Uganda. It cost £7300 for Sheriff Michael Fletcher and Lord President Lord Gill to attend a judges' conference there. Lord Gill’s other trips since 2010 have included Dublin, Cape Town in South Africa, Slovenian capital Ljubljana and a £1050 trip to a conference in Canada.

why are the judges flying to all these meetings (at our expense!) when they are supposed to be sitting in court

Anonymous said...

As others have already said this delay is about giving time to other judges so they can rearrange their interests before any register becomes law.

Anonymous said...

Still nothing on BBC!They must be too worried about the Savile abuse so they have to keep mates with the judges!

Anonymous said...

What is so special about judges not needing to go to the msps??

Even the rbs bank boss Fred Goodwin had to go to parliament so why not the judge?

Anonymous said...

Top judge Lord Gill bitterly resists calls for judicial wealth & connections to be declared. This is the man who argued that the Civil justice system was failing society. Beware his head is in the sand because he does not want us to fund out what we already know the system is as bent as the back road to Argyle.

The Judiciary are a business and their customers are big business where the former do the latter great favours protecting both parties interests. Business has subdued democracy with neo-liberal politicians just like business controls justice and lawyers control access to justice by forsaking clients that are a threat top their vested criminal cartel. The Scottish Courts are not about justice, they are about business with lawyers a law unto themselves. Stay the hell away from these professional criminals.

Anonymous said...

he top lawman, who earns £214,000 a year, cited the Scotland Act which prevents parliament from forcing judges to give evidence.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
So Mr Gill is answerable to himself like the rest of his detached dictatorship. What kind of system do we have in 2014 when this man has all this power over people's lives and he is answerable to no one and more importantly he can use the Scotland Act to hide. It is an utter scandal, they only thing he cannot do is sentence people to death like Henry VIII. How can one man just say No and get away with it?

As Miss Ali said 'they have the power to take away people’s assets, to separate families, to lock people away for years. Some of these people will not have committed a crime. They may be women who want protection from abusing partners, fathers who want access to their children, or people whose home is at stake due to various legal or family wrangles. People going through the court system face stress and anxiety, perhaps financial pressures, and fear about the future'.

The Scottish Justice system is a criminal setup when these people have this level of draconian control over people's lives.

Anonymous said...

The top lawman, who earns £214,000 a year thinks people have no right to question him, not even elected politicians. A scandal. Keep whistle blowing DOI, I bet Mr Gill wishes he could control the DOI journalists like he and MacAskill control the Scottish Parliament.

He cannot use the Scotland Act against you or he would.

Anonymous said...

Good to see support from the Press on this subject.

So how does it feel as a journalist to take on the judiciary in a debate and win?

You won the second this judge told your Parliament to go to hell and then some.

Anonymous said...

Gill thinks he is so important no one should question him. And if he can use the Scotland Act to avoid giving evidence the legislation is corrupt.

Imagine a member of the public said in court oh I should be able to use legislation to avoid giving evidence like the judiciary. Mr Gill is totally out of touch with modernity, he is stuck in the 19th century. Power seduced the mind.

Anonymous said...

This judges shows no respect for the Scottish parliament and if someone did the same in his court they will be jailed.I want to sign your petition is it possible ?

Anonymous said...

The lack of beeb coverage has probably done you a big favor if you check out how biased their coverage of Scottish news is.

Anonymous said...

I see from your blog you did a bbc show with Gary Robertson awhile back.

Well as I was saying before the beeb are now famed for bias in their reporting and look how they have treated Mr Roberson from yesterday's Herald

http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/home-news/bbc-faces-showdown-after-radio-anchorman-is-dropped.24368844

BBC faces showdown after radio anchorman is dropped
Gerry Braiden
Senior reporter
Monday 2 June 2014

BBC Scotland is set for showdown talks with union leaders as it emerged the broadcaster's respected anchorman Gary Robertson has been axed.

The National Union of ­Journalists' (NUJ) general secretary is visiting the corporation's Scottish headquarters today amid talk of industrial action and a threat to coverage of both the Commonwealth Games and the referendum.

Mr Robertson is understood to have been told his contract will not be renewed in August as part of cost-cutting measures, with senior NUJ sources warning of 'devastation' of staffing levels once this year's sequence of high-profile events has concluded and of plummeting morale.

It is understood Mr Robertson has taken legal advice on the cancellation of his "talent contract", which the NUJ says does not provide the same rights as regular staff contracts. His colleagues are threatening industrial action over the move, which has sparked today's meeting.

NUJ general secretary Michelle Stanistreet will lead the union's negotiations with BBC managers, a clear indication of how seriously the matter is being taken.

Asked why Mr Robertson was being axed, a senior NUJ figure said: "Who knows? Gary's probably the best presenter they've got. I'm assuming its something personal with senior management figures. The mood has shifted from incredulity to downright anger.

Anonymous said...

Excellent editorial from the Sunday Mail on your petition

Anonymous said...

One year in-hiding?
On your petition yes.
Undoubtedly not from free flights on taxpayers and everything else he enjoys!

Anonymous said...

Your petition has been discussed at an Edinburgh club frequented by judges.|They are trying ways to avoid it happening and using their friends in high places to lobby against you.

Anonymous said...

Seems you were correct all along about these judges,Peter and what they are hiding from us.If the top judge in the land is willing to bring such discredit to the judiciary by picking a fight with parliament then there is something to them worth hiding and it just has to be corrupt.

Well done for outing Gill and the judges.

Anonymous said...

Very good blog whoever you are found it via your twitter

Anonymous said...

Reminiscent of how the Speaker at Westminster tried to block the publication of mps expenses and we all know how that one ended up http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/mps-expenses/5350083/MPs-expenses-Speaker-Michael-Martin-announces-his-resignation.html

http://www.theguardian.com/media/2009/may/20/telegraph-mps-expenses-circulation

Taking on the judges instead of lawyers has also boosted your own blog because I keep hearing people in the profession talking about it now

Diary of Injustice said...

@ 2 June 2014 17:36

... because they are making contacts & earning money on the side they do not wish to declare ...

@ 2 June 2014 21:20

Yes ... glad to see this point is coming across .. the courts are a business and the judges are like directors of a business helping themselves to big bonuses and undetected, lavish spending on the public purse ...

@ 2 June 2014 23:16

It would be a good headline if he tried ...

@ 3 June 2014 10:44

Sorry, signatures can no longer be added to the petition, however you can spread the idea of the petition as it is a proposal clearly in the public interest ...

@3 June 2014 11:45

Gary Robertson was very fair to the debate on legal regulation during his time with Good Morning Scotland.

@3 June 2014 12:34

It is well known judges prefer behind the scenes lobbying and frequent use of the back door to obtain what they want ...

@3 June 2014 02:00

Thanks.Credit should go to the media who support transparency in the judiciary and those such as the Judicial Complaints Reviewer who have spoken up for transparency, and those who have contributed to the debate in a positive way.

There is some way to go however the public debate has been helped along by events ...




Anonymous said...

Very good.I do like how you are shaking up the judges on this one.

Anonymous said...

No wonder Gill is afraid to face the msps I just read your stuff on the offshore accounts and criminal records of judges - he will get ripped apart on this.

A total disgrace we have allowed the judges to get away with all this for so long.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous said...
The most expensive trip last year was to Kampala in Uganda. It cost £7300 for Sheriff Michael Fletcher and Lord President Lord Gill to attend a judges' conference there. Lord Gill’s other trips since 2010 have included Dublin, Cape Town in South Africa, Slovenian capital Ljubljana and a £1050 trip to a conference in Canada.

why are the judges flying to all these meetings (at our expense!) when they are supposed to be sitting in court

2 June 2014 17:36
----------------------------

Looks like they are treating themselves to First Class Flights and Business Class Flights or is it Standard Class Flights with the excess made up from Duty Free?

Anonymous said...

Anonymous said...
How Gill can get away with treating the parliament like this is beyond me - a total disgrace AND why have the Scottish Government not pulled him to bits on not showing up to face the msps?

2 June 2014 16:06
///////////////////////////////////////

This is a National Disgrace and these fools are steadily making a mockery out of Scotland?

We must have a facility where morons like this can be removed from their posts for falling far below the minimum standard required to retain his job?

Moi Ali would do NONO's job around 1000% better?

Anonymous said...

Anonymous said...
What is so special about judges not needing to go to the msps??

Even the rbs bank boss Fred Goodwin had to go to parliament so why not the judge?

2 June 2014 21:07
££££££££££££££££'hmm

Because the Real Power Brokers in Scotland is the Law Society of Scotland, who decide who is above the law?

Anonymous said...

Anonymous said...
Good to see support from the Press on this subject.

So how does it feel as a journalist to take on the judiciary in a debate and win?

You won the second this judge told your Parliament to go to hell and then some.

3 June 2014 02:00
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Here here, I have stopped buying the Scotsman and the Herald and now only buy the Sunday Mail because they are the only paper who are telling the Scottish People the truth, besides the Diary of Injustice journalists of course?

Anonymous said...

Anonymous said...
One year in-hiding?
On your petition yes.
Undoubtedly not from free flights on taxpayers and everything else he enjoys!

3 June 2014 12:15
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

They should have to pay all of these perquisites money back to the Scottish Public, maybe if they did so, 1 in 5 courts would not have to close?

Anonymous said...

"It is well known judges prefer behind the scenes lobbying and frequent use of the back door to obtain what they want ..."
??????????????????????

Does this mean that they are trying to increase their numbers?

After all, there is a well known medical theory about how Scottish Lawyers are made?

Yes......, by using the back-door!

Anonymous said...

The following is unrelated to judges however the headline and topics discussed in the story can be applied to the unelected Brian Gill who defies parliament when he pleases.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2644421/Is-Sir-Cover-powerful-PM.html

Is Sir Cover-up more powerful than the PM?

Anonymous said...

Judges and Sheriffs and not neutral in civil litigation matters. They want to hide the fact they have been bought and paid for by the corporations and quangos members of the public may try to claim damages from. How would it look if someone was trying to sue a business for damages and the lawyers and judge or sheriff had shares in that company, bonuses etc.

They are confidence tricksters. They create the illusion of a justice system when they are a confederacy of deceivers whose real aim is to protect their and their business connections financial interests and their own bonuses for cover ups. Stay away from the [Scottish Business Courts] they don't want a Register of Interests because judicial decisions are decided before the case starts. The taxpayer pays their salaries, big business pays their dividends and bonuses and control the Scottish Business Courts.

Anonymous said...

Yes ... glad to see this point is coming across .. the courts are a business and the judges are like directors of a business helping themselves to big bonuses and undetected, lavish spending on the public purse ...
--------------------------------
Yes DOI enrichment from the public and private sector, hence the resistance to the register. Miss Ali talked about the immense power of the Judiciary. Well going back in time Jeremy Bentham the British philosopher, jurist, and social reformer was horrified when a servant working for his parents was hanged for stealing two broken silver spoons. During the trial he stated he tool them for non payment. A draconian punishment. Yes they are powerful even today but just goes to show what horrific power they had. Yes Gill's faction are business managers and the courts are not about justice. Better staying well clear of these people.

Anonymous said...

They want independence from Parliament so that they cannot be accused of judicial decisions being political when all of the time they are bought and paid for by business.

Judges are Business directors with law degrees. Their rulings are political but that is because of their business connections. Capitalist protection by buying off the judiciary that is how it works, hence the terror of a Register.

Anonymous said...

As Miss Ali said 'they have the power to take away people’s assets, to separate families, to lock people away for years. Some of these people will not have committed a crime. They may be women who want protection from abusing partners, fathers who want access to their children, or people whose home is at stake due to various legal or family wrangles. People going through the court system face stress and anxiety, perhaps financial pressures, and fear about the future'.
================================
Yes and a watchdog without teeth is what they want. MacAskill and Gill the illusionists whatever they set up against them is an illusion. Perhaps MacAskill is being bought off by big business too or getting some kind of backhander. Easy to make a mockery of democracy where there are no checks and balances the way MacAskill and his cromies want it. Just like the SLCC the Law Society repackaged. Same actors with a different facade.

Anonymous said...


Scotland - No for lawyers
Guaranteed No Win and High Fee
Guaranteed to damage your health and wealth
That's what Scottish Injustice feels like

Anonymous said...

Most people will think judges just sit in a court and hear cases.Not now after all you have made public.

Anonymous said...

Scottish judge dress up and lecture of justice???haha really its joke for 2014

Anonymous said...

Hearings on a case involving an NHS trust were cancelled at least three times due to the judge involved having more regard for his "international commitments"

Anonymous said...

Judges lavish spending from the public purse makes them benefit scroungers at the top. Difference is they have huge salaries and hidden bonuses from private firms without being monitored.

Anonymous said...

We dont get to hear about it because the judges are too secretive

Now it all has to be published or if not better not trust a judge EVER AGAIN

Anonymous said...

Impressive.Now what are these judges doing on their trips we dont know about?

Sounds to me like you have flushed out a lot of business deals possibly even some snooping on other countries via the judges getting access to people and places without raising suspicions.

Something fishy going on when judges spend more time in the air than court.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous said...
Judges and Sheriffs and not neutral in civil litigation matters. They want to hide the fact they have been bought and paid for by the corporations and quangos members of the public may try to claim damages from. How would it look if someone was trying to sue a business for damages and the lawyers and judge or sheriff had shares in that company, bonuses etc.

They are confidence tricksters. They create the illusion of a justice system when they are a confederacy of deceivers whose real aim is to protect their and their business connections financial interests and their own bonuses for cover ups. Stay away from the [Scottish Business Courts] they don't want a Register of Interests because judicial decisions are decided before the case starts. The taxpayer pays their salaries, big business pays their dividends and bonuses and control the Scottish Business Courts.

4 June 2014 08:26
..............................................

It is well known that in contentious cases, Scottish Judges meet their preferred counsel in his chambers to discuss strategy and to agree how the court hearing is to be played out....?

Anonymous said...

Anonymous said...
Most people will think judges just sit in a court and hear cases.Not now after all you have made public.

4 June 2014 12:23
//////////////////////////////////

Are they even doing the requisite hours to fulfil their contract?

Best sticking to hair removal me thinks?

Anonymous said...

Na Na Na NaNa......you cannot catch us because we are above the law and you fell for the old Scotland Act switcheroo. What a bunch of plebs you lot all are?

We shall decide the law and who should abide by it, afteral, if a Scottish Judge was guilty of crime, he could not be prosecuted because it is 'not in the Public Interest' for the Scottish Public to find out about our scams because if they knew it would drastically reduce their trust in the Scottish Judiciary, therefore we must always be above the law, end-of?

Read it and weep losers?

You serve us, and do not forget it?

Anonymous said...

Scotland's legal community? Hell you must be the only one in it telling the truth!

btw excellent blog!

Anonymous said...

Just testing to see your thoughts on the following:

Alistair Darling likens Scotland's First Minister to North Korean leader Kim Jong Il yet Mr Salmond actually bothers to show up to Holyrood while your top judge insults parliament and tells msps to get stuffed on all these big money interests you have uncovered.

So who are the real dictators in Scotland who do not respect democracy or "transparency"? answers on a postcard please!

Anonymous said...

Who in their right mind would consult a Scottish lawyer or trust a Scottish judge?

The Law Society of Scotland and Lord NONO seem to be Hell-bent on bringing their professions into disrepute and damaging the Scottish Public's confidence in their members?

It's almost as if they do not care that they have a bad reputation because they intend to continue to try to sell us the lie that they are wonderful, butter would'nt melt in their mouths and that they have an amazing reputation all around the World?

Only dafties would fall for this clap-trap?

Anonymous said...

I think these judges should get down to work they are paid for heading cases in court instead of all the international flights

Anonymous said...

Poor Scotland saddled with this bunch of judges hellbent on protecting their secrets.As a country you really need to move on from this lot running things for their own ends.

Anonymous said...

There is a more than passing resemblance between the Scottish Judiciary and FIFA?

Both are run by an old, stuck in the mud dinosaur who thinks they are untouchable?

Both are up to their ears in fraud and deceit?

Both run organisations which hate transparency and who do their dealings in secret?

Both have been in the job too long?

Both cannot be trusted?

Both have brought their respective organisations into disrepute?

Both live high-off-the-hog with respect to kick-backs and pay-offs?

Both look after their own rather than acting in the Public Interest?

Anonymous said...

If you are a Private Citizen in court up against an abusive big business or organisation that your Scottish Judge probably has Shares in, what Interest does the Scottish Judge have in deciding in your favour?

Zero?

Does this mean their are corrupt organisation operating in Scotland who are acting unlawfully against their customers, knowing that they can use the Scottish Court as a back-stop?

Anonymous said...

Heavens to Murgatroyd

How can they get away with this, even

I am going to have to emigrate back to Cartoonland to get out of this Banana Republic, even

Anonymous said...

No justice if it cannot be seen - sums up the courts perfectly except we all now know there is no justice in scotland

Anonymous said...

Who is protecting these Scottish judges?

Why are the police not investigating them?

There is no protection of the rights of the Scottish Public?

Anonymous said...

Anonymous said...

Your petition has been discussed at an Edinburgh club frequented by judges.|They are trying ways to avoid it happening and using their friends in high places to lobby against you.
===============================
Yes and self regulation is legal so when a client cannot get legal representation he or she suffers persecution by law.

Anonymous said...

Lawyers victims are stateless persons on one respect, the state [in this case all Scottish lawyers] refuse to provide representation therefore protection of the clients interests if a lawyer has ruined that client. What it amounts to is legalized theft and legalized persecution.

Anonymous said...

http://www.ratedpeople.com/?gclid=CMue6-_w6r4CFUfLtAodh1UAEg

People can find reputable tradesman on the above site. Why do we not have ratedlawyers.com? It is because Scottish Lawyers are professional criminals and they don't want rated by ex clients because they would have no clients at all.

It is because Mr Gill and the Law Society of Scotland Govern Scotland, they are the guiding hand behind Salmond and his stooges.

RatedJudges.com I wonder what Mr Gill thinks of this? No NO NO NO NO.

Anonymous said...

It is now inconceivable that MSP's can vote for vested individual interests to retain the status quo, by championing secrecy, dishonesty and lack of transparency over integrity, honesty and to do what is right in the interests of justice and democracy?

Scottish Judges have brought our Justice System into disrepute and have demonstrated by their behaviour that many of our Judges no longer are fit to hold their lofty office?

Anonymous said...

It should be no surprise that our judges have a finger in every pie and and angle on every case because they have come from a wholly corrupt regime whereby the Law Society of Scotland have ensured that their membership have been allowed to be above the law and have a Get Out of Jail Free Card, which has allowed them to believe that breaking the law for personal enrichment is the norm, where they have developed an indignantly self righteous persona, where they believe they can do what they like when they like and they treat their client's with the utmost contempt and view their clients as their personal cash-cow, where they know they will get paid an exorbitant fee regardless whether or not they properly represent their client?

This is a closed-shop monopolistic regime, where the Rule of Law is a running joke and where Scottish lawyers taunt the police with, 'do you know who I am' when they get arrested and with a promise that their bosses will hammer them for having the cheek to arrest a Scottish lawyer?

Anonymous said...

Who will be foolish ehough to trust a judge now after the way this Lord Gill has acted about the register of interests

Anonymous said...

I despair for our morally corrupt and dysfunctional Scottish judicial system?

Scotland is going down the tubes?

Anonymous said...

Well there is one thing for sure - anyone abroad coming into contact with these Scottish judges will now be looking at them in a totally different light and now knowing they cannot be trusted over the way the judges are treating our own parliament and arrogant attitude.If I lived in one of these countries where the judges are always flying to I'd be checking them out all the time and keeping an eye on what they are up to now it is all over the internet thanks to your investigating!

The judges are not going abroad for the good of other people they are obviously doing it for themselves and that other story about the judges having shares in companies who are on the take and involved in corruption in other countries backs it all up.

Anonymous said...

Without doubt the best (and probably the most sinister) subject you have ever tackled on the blog.
The judges keep the courts rolling in their own interests and now people are beginning to realise this because the judges feel so threatened by openness they realise their way of doing business is going to be exposed.

Anonymous said...

Last comment has it right and sinister is the word here.There is something very big going on in the background if the judge is allowed to order around your own legislature for well over a year and get away with it.

Makes me think we should be questioning all judges wherever they are not just in Scotland now all this has come out.

Anonymous said...

No wonder our judiciary are in disarray when they have the King of Hair Removal acting as their leader?

Anonymous said...

What message do Scottish Judges convey?

Scotland's courts, on the side of big business and against the Scottish People?

Anonymous said...

Fantastic public interest journalism bringing the truth out from under the veil of secrecy in Scotland

Anonymous said...

Should a judge be allowed to bully like this?

Anonymous said...

So when does Lord Droopy decide he better cave in and do your register before him and his colleagues all end up looking like crooks ?

Oh my mistake some of them already are !

Anonymous said...

Anonymous said...
Last comment has it right and sinister is the word here.There is something very big going on in the background if the judge is allowed to order around your own legislature for well over a year and get away with it.

Makes me think we should be questioning all judges wherever they are not just in Scotland now all this has come out.

10 June 2014 01:30
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The chances are that this is a uniquely Scottish problem, simply because our Judges emanate from a horrendously corrupt Law Society of Scotland who regularly keep their members out of jail and have the Regulation of Scottish Lawyers sewn-up as they collude with the SSDT and SLCC to get the decision that they want which is invariably to get their lawyer off with the lightest possible Sanction, to allow them to continue their campaign of fraud against the Scottish Public?

As Heineken definitely would not say, 'the Law Society of Scotland, definitely one of the most corrupt organisations on the Planet'?