Judges shareholdings in companies guilty of breaking the law raise questions of ethical investments. DISCLOSURES of judges personal shareholdings obtained under Freedom of Information legislation from the Scottish Court Service have revealed a startling snapshot of the wealth of several key members of Scotland’s judiciary who sit on a controlling quango which flexes its muscle over the entire court structure in Scotland.
The declarations of the seven judicial members of the Scottish Court Service Board – including Scotland's top judge, the Lord President & Lord Justice General Brian Gill on £220K a year - reveal members of the judiciary benefit financially from shareholdings in companies who won huge public contracts to provide services to the courts & justice system, companies convicted of breaking the law around the world, companies involved in ‘industrial’ espionage against countries such as China, banks fined for international financial market manipulation, and companies involved in bribes, bid rigging, and tax dodging to name but a few.
The documents – handed over by the Scottish Court Service after officials initially denied holding the information in an effort to delay full publication, bring further revelations on top of reports in the Scottish Sun newspaper where it was revealed Sheriff Principal RA Dunlop holds shares in Weir Group - hit with a £13.9 million Proceeds of Crime fine for dodging UN sanctions by paying bribes to Saddam Hussein’s regime. The Sunday Herald also revealed Sheriff Principal RA Dunlop held shares in Tesco while presiding over a case involving the multi national supermarket giant.
Shareholdings of top judges on Scottish Court Service Board:
Lord President Lord Brian Gill: Henderson UK Growth Fund Retail Class Acc, Newton International Growth Fund, Aviva Investors UK Equity Fund, Terrace Hill Group, Vestry Court Ltd
Sheriff Principal R A Dunlop QC: Astrazeneca, BHP Billiton, Blackrock AM UK Gold & General, Bluescope Steel, BNY Mellon Newton Global, CG Real Return Inc, Close Brothers Group, Diageo, Findlay Park FDS American Smaller Cos., G4S, Henderson Global Invs, ING Global Real Estate Securities, Intercontinental Hotels, JP Morgan Private Equity, Lomond Shipping Co, Lloyds Banking, M&G (Guernsey) Global Leaders, National Grid, Oakley Capital Investments, Origo Partners, Pernod Ricard, Prudential, Rio Tinto, Royal Bank of Scotland, Royal Dutch Shell, Scottish Oriental Smaller Cos, Tesco, Vodafone, Weir Group
Sheriff Iona McDonald: Glaxosmithkline, Royal Dutch Shell, Unilever, Equiniti, Barclays, Standard Life, HBOS
Johan Findlay OBE: Aviva, Vodafone, Santander, Unilever, Norwich Union, Legal & General, Fidelity Funds Network, Scottish Widows, Lloyds Banking Group, Thus Group, HBOS, Trafficmaster, Standard Life
Sheriff A Grant McCulloch: “None significant”
Hon Lord Bannatyne: None
Lord Justice Clerk - Lord Carloway: None (and no declarations of any kind whatsoever)
The registers reveal more of the judges shareholdings in companies with questionable histories - Sheriff Dunlop is also a shareholder in G4S who were fined £335,000 for court delays in Scotland after it was revealed the company brought prisoners to court late - on at least 21,735 occasions.
In March 2014, G4S agreed to repay £109 million to the UK government after a scandal involving overcharging on contracts to tag offenders. The overcharging is believed to include billing for monitoring the movements of 3,000 "phantom" offenders, including some who had been sent back to prison and even some who had died.
And the firm was also implicated in several scandals in Iraq where the company operate as ArmorGroup, supplying armed guards & security. A BBC Scotland investigation into G4S revealed the company had been warned not to employ a former British paratrooper who went on to kill two colleagues including Private security guard Paul McGuigan, from the Scottish Borders.
Dunlop also has shares in mining giant BHP Billiton – embroiled in an anti-corruption investigation by the US authorities into a lobbying scam aimed at defeating the landmark US climate change bill involving forged letters sent to US congressmen. BHP Billiton is also under investigation in another anti-corruption investigation in Australia over its major sponsorship of the 2008 Beijing Olympics and the alleged payment of "tea money" to secure rights to a since-abandoned bauxite exploration project in Cambodia.
Another mining giant on Sheriff Dunlop’s extensive share portfolio is Rio Tinto - caught up in a spying and corruption scandal in China where four of the firm’s executives admitted bribery and were jailed. Sheriff Dunlop is also listed in the documents as holding shares in Vodafone - which paid no UK corporation tax for the past two years despite massive profits and sales of £5 Billion in Britain last year.
And, in what must be a humiliating slap in the face of the Scottish Government, documents show Sheriff Principal Dunlop also holds shares in drinks giant Diageo, who are supporting the drinks industry’s legal challenge against the Scottish Government’s minimum alcohol pricing policy.
Another judge, Sheriff Iona McDonald who also holds the position of Deputy Lieutenant for Ayrshire and Arran, is revealed to invest in pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline. GSK are also caught up in a huge corruption scandal in China over allegations it’s sales team targeted influential doctors with bribes, expensive gifts and cash to win business.
Among the list of other investments of SCS Board members are banks such as Lloyds - fined £218 Million for manipulating the Libor rate and Barclays - recently fined £26 Million for gold price fixing. Barclays were also fined £290 million over their part in the Libor rate rigging scandal.
Also on the list are insurance firms who do business with law firms all across Scotland and are directly linked to the Law Society of Scotland’s Master Insurance Policy - which protects corrupt solicitors from damages claims by clients who have been ripped off. A Research Report by the University of Manchester School of Law linked the Law Society’s Master Policy to suicides of court litigants & clients of Scottish solicitors.
Speaking to Diary of Injustice, a legal insider said: “While it may not be of concern to members of the judiciary which firms they choose to invest in, it should be of concern to the public, as many of these companies and their subsidiaries are regulars in the courts where judicial recusals are historically hard to come by on financial grounds.”
The SCS Board register of interests, which date back to 2010 – also list the shareholding portfolio of the then Lord President - Lord Hamilton. Additional declarations in the register reveal a snapshot of current SCS Board members directorships, trusteeships, links to businesses and relationships with shady regulators of the accountancy profession:
Lord President Lord Gill: Director of Scottish Redundant Churches Trust, a company limited by guarantee registered in Scotland (SC162884). Director of the Royal School of Church Music, a company limited by guarantee registered in England (Reg'd No 250031). Trustee of the Carmont Settlement: a trust for the support of retired priests of the Roman Catholic Church. Trustee of the Columba Trust: a trust for the benefit of the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland.Trustee of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland Endowment Trust: a trust for the benefit of RCS and its students. Trustee of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland Trust: a trust for the benefit of the RCS and its students. Trustee of the Royal School of Church Music, a registered charity for the promotion of church music in the Christian Churches (Reg No 312828). Vice President of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.
Sheriff Principal R A Dunlop QC: Member of Stirling University Conference. Chair of Local Criminal Justice Boards in Tayside Central and Fife. Commissioner of Northern Lighthouses. Trustee of St John's Kirk of Perth Trust. Elder of Gorebridge Parish Church of Scotland. Member of Royal Northern & Clyde Yacht Club. Member of the New Club, Edinburgh.
Sheriff Iona McDonald: Deputy Lieutenant for Ayrshire and Arran. Partner in property rental firm.
Johan Findlay OBE: Honorary Sheriff & Justice of the Peace
Sheriff A Grant McCulloch: Chair West Fife Education Trust. Chair Relationship Scotland- Couple Counselling Fife. Chair - Discipline Committee ICAS (Institute for Chartered Accountants of Scotland – Accountants self regulator). Committee Member Cammo Residents Association.
Hon Lord Bannatyne: Chester Street (Limited Partner) Ltd on behalf of the Board if the Cathedral Church of St Mary the Virgin, Palmerston Place, Edinburgh. Member of the Board of the Cathedral Church of St Mary the Virgin, Palmerston Place, Edinburgh. Shareholder as Trustee for the Cathedral Church of St Mary the Virgin, Palmerston Place, Edinburgh, in Chester Street (General Partner) Ltd. Member of the Clergy Disciplinary Tribunal of the Episcopal Church.
Lord Justice Clerk - Lord Carloway: No declarations of Directorships or other positions.
Multiple property ownership and interests in real estate, buy to let and property companies is big business for members of the judiciary and their family members – however there are no details or disclosures of any property directly owed by the SCS Board members contained in the declarations released by the SCS. It is as if Scotland’s top judges are on the homeless register – but it is clear from their wealth, they don't use food banks.
The limited disclosures of SCS Board members contain no references to outside earnings & work, relationships to law firms, big business and others more detailed declarations which may be picked up by a fully published register of judicial interests as is currently being investigated by the Scottish Parliament’s public Petitions Committee.who are considering proposals contained in Petition PE1458: Register of Interests for members of Scotland's judiciary.
The registers as released by the Scottish Court Service have now been handed to MSPs who are to be asked to consider the question of ethical investments of the judiciary as part of their on-going debate on proposals to create a full register of judicial interests for all Scottish judges.
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 earlier debates at the Scottish Parliament’s Public Petitions Committee on Petition PE1458 can be found here: A Register of Interests for Scotland's Judiciary.
Haha this is funny.
ReplyDeleteAfter all the spin from the Scottish Gov on minimum alcohol pricing it turns out the judges have shares in the whisky industry's legal challenge!
Who would have thought..judges with a financial interest in defeating legislation laid down by the Scottish Parliament!
"Sheriff Dunlop is also a shareholder in G4S who were fined £335,000 for court delays in Scotland after it was revealed the company brought prisoners to court late - on at least 21,735 occasions."
ReplyDeleteBang out of order judges holding shares in companies who are involved in the justice system.There is too much of a conflict of interest and incentive to - well you know what.
I see a few lenders on that list who regularly get their way in court to repossess homes from people who cant afford to pay their mortgages.
ReplyDeleteEthical investments?
ReplyDeleteI do not think these judges give a damn.Good on you for publishing it all.
Foreign governments should be reading this and put tabs on these dangerous Scottish judges who support crooked companies.
ReplyDeleteThe mercenary angle especially.
Judges or bankers?
ReplyDeleteThere is no difference!
Why judges allowed to keep this secret??
"It is as if Scotland’s top judges are on the homeless register – but it is clear from their wealth, they don't use food banks."
ReplyDeleteLOL.You never know.They sound a greedy bunch of characters fit for taking lolipops from babies!
Just remember next time you stand in front of a judge - the chances are they invest in crooks.
ReplyDeleteThe reason the banks fiddled the LIBOR rate is because they thought they would get away with it.
ReplyDeleteWith judges as their shareholders this must have been factored in to their risk assessment of what they were up to at the time.
How inconvenient the US Justice Department came along and threatened to prosecute.This would never happen back here in the UK/Scotland due to the banks secret connections with the judiciary - so well done you on revealing that one!
and all those excuses from Gill about not releasing their financial details
ReplyDeletemsps must create this register now instead of all these delays and playing about with judges
In terms of the judges property ownership what information do you want in this register? btw good idea the whole petition thing been watching those video clips very interesting stuff!
ReplyDeleteDunlop obviously not bothered how it looks because his boss Lordy Gill will fix the media so nothing comes out!
ReplyDeleteThe amounts of the judges shareholdings should also be listed and why is there no declaration for Lord Carloway?
ReplyDeleteSomeone should look into this. hint hint!
Just think of the numbers of court cases fixed because judges have shares and dont need to declare it.Must be in the thousands and big money.
ReplyDeleteand just what else did they miss out apart from the properties and houses on the cheap etc ?
ReplyDeletelet someone else make the rules for this register not the judges or their lackey servants!
And, in what must be a humiliating slap in the face of the Scottish Government, documents show Sheriff Principal Dunlop also holds shares in drinks giant Diageo, who are supporting the drinks industry’s legal challenge against the Scottish Government’s minimum alcohol pricing policy.
ReplyDeleteGOOD NEWS!Might stop Salmond and his MacBuckfast from interfering with our small pleasures!
I am not surprised because there is no power to keep them in awe. They are the Teflon lawbreakers who throw people in the cells in our courts, Gill and his cronies don't pay for them. The act as if they are honest members of society, pillars of the community when the reality is that they are the opposite. Mendacious, crooks who see themselves as so clever who thing we have no right to question them.
ReplyDeleteKeep hammering away DOI your blog is one of the reasons Salmond won't get my vote, be denied his crown on 18th September because it will get worse with Salmond's masters at the Law Society of Scotland if we are independent. Lawyers are detached from society but dominate it, try getting Legal Aid to sue one or a lawyer top represent you, no chance, all with the approval of our MSP's of all parties.
Very good.Nice to know judges are as much a gang of crooks as the crooks we are constantly told are crooks!
ReplyDeleteHow did it come about judges took this power to keep all their interests secret until your petition came along?
ReplyDeleteIs it something they did themselves while the politicians were sleeping or is there a bit of collusion as I suspect with politicians realising they can use the judges to do their bidding and give them backing when needed in exchange for a free hand in the courts and infinite money.
All judges everywhere could be doing this and only now are we finding out because they resist to register their interests.
It all sounds like a get-richer-quicker-scheme?
ReplyDeleteWell done!Good to see a blog from Scotland tearing into legal stuff!
ReplyDeleteHow bad would crime levels be if there was no Police force? The Judiciary have no police force to keep them within legal parameters, so they operate in a legal loophole called self regulation. This setup is used by criminals for their own enrichment.
ReplyDeleteReassuring as ever to learn the Scottish Court Service denied holding the information in an attempt to prevent publication.
ReplyDeleteGill's miserable court mafia are little more than a criminal enterprise intent on keeping justice from the rest of us and misusing it for their own gain.If it were not the case the courts would be open and accountable.Yet again you have demonstrated they are not!
Keep up the good work Peter.
The registers reveal more of the judges shareholdings in companies with questionable histories - Sheriff Dunlop is also a shareholder in G4S who were fined £335,000 for court delays in Scotland after it was revealed the company brought prisoners to court late - on at least 21,735 occasions.
ReplyDeleteIn March 2014, G4S agreed to repay £109 million to the UK government after a scandal involving overcharging on contracts to tag offenders. The overcharging is believed to include billing for monitoring the movements of 3,000 "phantom" offenders, including some who had been sent back to prison and even some who had died.
Two conflicts of interest right there AND other judges will be in on it somewhere along the line!
Judiciary is totally corrupt and must be a full inquiry into how they got away with it for so long and what damage they have done to justice and courts.
How anyone is stupid enough to believe they will get a fair hearing in front of these people is beyond me.
ReplyDeleteHere we have it and the evidence.Judges are more interested in wealth than justice and with all those shares I am surprised they find any time to sit in a court.
Disgusting.
Gill's miserable court mafia are little more than a criminal enterprise intent on keeping justice from the rest of us and misusing it for their own gain.If it were not the case the courts would be open and accountable.Yet again you have demonstrated they are not.
ReplyDelete----------------------------------------------------
Yes they are a criminal enterprise, sharing out the booty, pirates in judicial robes and wigs, agree 100% with what you wrote here but remember these people do not regard themselves as criminals. Indeed they would be horrified because they think they have a right to wreck people's lives because there are no punishments for the judiciary. It has been engineered to keep them out of jail and the Scottish people oppressed as far as access to justice is concerned. On welfare imagine if they have financial interests in Atos and someone with serious disability looks for redress in the courts, not a chance in hell they would stand. All with the approval of our MSP's who represent the Law Society not the public.
I like your format for publication.Very intuitive and the evidence listing their shareholdings.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous said...
ReplyDeleteThe reason the banks fiddled the LIBOR rate is because they thought they would get away with it.
With judges as their shareholders this must have been factored in to their risk assessment of what they were up to at the time.
How inconvenient the US Justice Department came along and threatened to prosecute.This would never happen back here in the UK/Scotland due to the banks secret connections with the judiciary - so well done you on revealing that one!
15 August 2014 14:05
cruptcruptcruptcruptcruptcruptcrupt
It all boils down to Scottish Judges and Sheriff's proving to all of us that their Judgement is completely and utterly bereft of morals or the Rule of Law?
They are not people to look up to, revere or respect but instead they have shown us by their actions that they are self-centred and self-serving bunch of money-men, who run a system for their own benefit and no one else's?
Anonymous said...
ReplyDeleteIn terms of the judges property ownership what information do you want in this register? btw good idea the whole petition thing been watching those video clips very interesting stuff!
15 August 2014 16:31
££££££££££££££££££££££££££
They are supposed to be Public Servants for Heavan's sake?
They should fully and completely declare all of their Interests and be totally transparent in all their dealings?
The reason they have sought to hide all of these Interests from the Scottish Public is because they should not even have all of these Interests in the first place because they create a minefield of Conflicts of Interest, which prevents them from carrying out their contractual function. That is to be impartial, fair and have characters above reproach?
When was all this thrown out of the window in favour of filling their bank balances?
Their attitude seems to be, we will not tell the Scottish Public about all of our outside inappropriate Interests, that way we don't have to ever recuse ourselves because we are keeping this a secret from the Scottish Public?
Heavan's to Murgatroyd even...
Anonymous said...
ReplyDeleteI am not surprised because there is no power to keep them in awe. They are the Teflon lawbreakers who throw people in the cells in our courts, Gill and his cronies don't pay for them. The act as if they are honest members of society, pillars of the community when the reality is that they are the opposite. Mendacious, crooks who see themselves as so clever who thing we have no right to question them.
Keep hammering away DOI your blog is one of the reasons Salmond won't get my vote, be denied his crown on 18th September because it will get worse with Salmond's masters at the Law Society of Scotland if we are independent. Lawyers are detached from society but dominate it, try getting Legal Aid to sue one or a lawyer top represent you, no chance, all with the approval of our MSP's of all parties.
15 August 2014 21:31
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
No wonder they look upon is with utter contempt because they are already laughing at us regarding them hiding their secrets from us, which they never thought we find out about?
.....All judges everywhere could be doing this and only now are we finding out because they resist to register their interests.
ReplyDelete15 August 2014 23:21
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Or this is just limited to Scottish Judges & Sheriff's, making our country the most corrupt small country in the World?
Anonymous said...
ReplyDeleteHow bad would crime levels be if there was no Police force? The Judiciary have no police force to keep them within legal parameters, so they operate in a legal loophole called self regulation. This setup is used by criminals for their own enrichment.
16 August 2014 10:51
ffsffsffsffsffsffsffsffsffsffsffs
Ditto - how bad would corruption be if Scotland had only one Police Force and if (when) something goes wrong we have nobody to investigate the Police?
Can anyone see a pattern here?
This is a deliberate design to subjugate the People of Scotland, so that Scotland becomes a totalitarian State under Salmond, where he and his Scottish lawyer traitor pals will rule over us and we won't be able to do a thing about it?
Why is this scandal not on our Newsmedia TV programmes every evening?
ReplyDeleteThey are nothing but frequent-flyer-chancers.
ReplyDeleteJudicial oath
ReplyDeleteWhen judges are sworn in they take two oaths or affirmations. The first is the
oath of allegiance and the second the judicial oath, these are collectively referred to as the judicial oath.
The judicial oath provides:
“I will do right to all manner of people after the laws and usages of this
Realm, without fear or favour, affection or ill-will.”
=====================================================
As we can see they do the opposite eg a party litigant suing a company for damages these Judges have financial interests in. Civil Courts are a business, don't expect justice folks.
The judicial oath provides:
“I will do right to all manner of people after the laws and usages of this
Realm, without fear or favour, affection or ill-will.
They only do right by business they are bought over hence the horror they have of DOI.
JUDICIAL RICH LIST: Register reveals top judges investments in dodgy justice system providers, companies linked to international bribes scandals, mercenaries, tax avoidance & banks fined for financial markets manipulation.
ReplyDelete=================================
The inevitable result of self regulation, why am I not surprised Mr Gill and colleagues? He said a register of interests was unworkable, this report proves why. None of you are fit to practice law.
They are an organized crime gang, I would jail every one of them.
ReplyDeleteThe directors of these companies may as well be awarded law degrees and be allowed to take Gill's job and the others overseeing court cases. That is what is happening the judges are bought and paid for by big business, so the courts are about business nothing to do with justice.
ReplyDeleteA financial criminal cartel control the courts, no wonder even genuine cases collapse after the lawyers have milked the Legal Aid and drop their clients before the court date. And dear MSP's you are traitors to your electorate, we did not get a parliament. The judiciary and big business control everything and Gill and colleagues are Punch and Judy's their strings pulled by their financial interests so strongly company directors may as well be on the bench. Your cases are doomed clients befoer you even approach a Scottish lawyer. Scottish Courts PLC, are more like a company than a justice platform.
It's a dog and pony show!
ReplyDeleteI wonder what bonus the judges get every time they kill a case off. Corrupt bastards.
ReplyDeleteNow we can see why they were so desparate to keep their Interests a secret from us.
ReplyDeleteYou are quoted in the Sun today in a huge story about judges "Lording it all over the world"
ReplyDeleteLord Gill no comment because he is on holiday!
Very good!
If this is just what 7 judges have imagine what the rest are sitting on,probably millions and no fear of anyone getting to know because Gill is covering their backs with threats to msps about your petition.
ReplyDeleteTotally corrupt!Judges cannot be trusted.
Justice is bought and sold - this confirms it
ReplyDeletewhy are judges allowed to have shares when it is obvious they are going to come across their own companies in court.Sheer madness to allow it.
I will just say these judges deserve NO respect neither the justice system for letting them line their pockets as they sit in judgement over all of us.This is not justice it is corruption.CORRUPTION.
ReplyDeleteI thought Lord Gill told the msps it was impossible to list every interest of a judge.Well as you say Peter this is just a snapshot and not the whole story so keep pushing for the register and get all their details published just like they do with everyone else.
ReplyDeleteLord Carloway no declarations!
ReplyDeleteAnonymous said...
ReplyDeleteJudicial oath
When judges are sworn in they take two oaths or affirmations. The first is the
oath of allegiance and the second the judicial oath, these are collectively referred to as the judicial oath.
The judicial oath provides:
“I will do right to all manner of people after the laws and usages of this
Realm, without fear or favour, affection or ill-will.”
=====================================================
As we can see they do the opposite eg a party litigant suing a company for damages these Judges have financial interests in. Civil Courts are a business, don't expect justice folks.
The judicial oath provides:
“I will do right to all manner of people after the laws and usages of this
Realm, without fear or favour, affection or ill-will.
They only do right by business they are bought over hence the horror they have of DOI.
17 August 2014 09:22
;-);-);-);-);-);-);-);-);-);-);-);-);-)
It looks as though they have twisted these oaths in their mind to mean something completely different?
In talking to a judge I said but where is the Justice for so and so and all I got was the person did get justice. justice is the court process?
You make the misapprehension along with the rest of the public that justice means you get what is right by you according to the law but that is not Justice in Scotland. We see justice as, not being interested in the truth but more what is the best fit...
Says it all really!
Anonymous said...
ReplyDeleteJustice is bought and sold - this confirms it
why are judges allowed to have shares when it is obvious they are going to come across their own companies in court.Sheer madness to allow it.
17 August 2014 18:52
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Other jurisdictions around the World are looking at your website and I wonder if they feel the same way as we do. Your judiciary are skinning-the-cat and don't seem to be a bit bothered about it, as if they feel they are untouchable?
One wonders what the hell your law enforcement are doing, other than sitting on their hands?
What do you mean Scottish judges have Shares in companies?
ReplyDeleteAs Kenny Everett (Parton) would say, 'Youw kanauwt be seereeuss'
Like the other comment said the judges probably get bonuses for killing off cases shares or cash looks like the courts are awash with corruption
ReplyDeleteYou are correct Peter we need a full register of their interests.If only 7 judges have this much then the rest have a lot more and I am guessing these judges also have a lot not declared in this smaller register.
ReplyDeleteWell done and keep up the good work!
This is a deliberate design to subjugate the People of Scotland, so that Scotland becomes a totalitarian State under Salmond, where he and his Scottish lawyer traitor pals will rule over us and we won't be able to do a thing about it?
ReplyDelete=================================
Yes Salmond is up to his neck in corruption, denying Scots access to justice because the Law Society control him. We have a voting system with an utterly corrupt parliament so no matter how you vote or write to an MSP for help when you are left rightless it is a Judicial Dictatorship purporting to be a democracy. Fill a parliament with people who share the same views on this issue and it becomes domination not democracy. We are not all equal before the law so we do not have a democratic country. There is no power overseeing the Judges and their subordinates, they have a free hand to break the law with impunity.
Surprise! Judges are as corrupt as the rest of society!
ReplyDeleteAbout time someone exposed the judiciary for what they really are instead of all this cap doffing crap we get thrown at us from their paymasters and lawyer lover brigade!
A pack of Hyenas is more civilised than these bullies of society!
Lawyers stand in front of the courts with placards stating "save justice". Any client in the know realizes the courts are big business, not justice. And people are ruined and ripped off because the lawyers and judges can get away with it.
ReplyDeleteA businessman once stated he "sold crap" so does the legal profession they sell a lie they are fit to practice when they are not. Lawyers sell crap services because they know there is no complaints system against them.
A wonderful business model Lord President. Financial reward from the public and private sectors and what did you state. Lord Gill’s challenge to MSPs declared judicial opposition to transparency. In Lord Gill’s opening letter to MSPs on the call for a register of judicial interests, the judge claimed “In practical terms it would be impossible for all judicial office holders to identify all the interests that could conceivably arise in any future case. The terms of the Judicial Oath and the Statement of Principles of Judicial Ethics ensure that such a difficulty does not arise and that the onus is on the judicial office holder to declare any interest at the outset.”
ReplyDelete========================================================
As I have always said the Judicial Oath is utter b******t. The courts are a business that is why the Lord President wants everything hush, hush. Put simply an oath is a promise to be honest. The measure of a man is what he does with power.
Plato
This secrecy about what goes on behind oak panelled doors is shameful.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous said...
ReplyDelete"Sheriff Dunlop is also a shareholder in G4S who were fined £335,000 for court delays in Scotland after it was revealed the company brought prisoners to court late - on at least 21,735 occasions."
Bang out of order judges holding shares in companies who are involved in the justice system.There is too much of a conflict of interest and incentive to - well you know what.
15 August 2014 12:29
Obviously a full investigation needed but no one trustworthy enough to do it because until now it has all been kept secret and we know why - so court cases can be fiddled bought bent twisted killed off whatever you want to call it and everyone goes on as before with the judges up to their necks in money and corruption and the powers that be get their status quo going on forever.
Judges are at the centre of it all we can see that now and they have been allowed to accumulate as much wealth as they like no matter conflict of interest or whatever and all that rubbish Lord Gill says in his letters to the msps on the parliament's website are just delaying tactics intimidation threats and bluffs to stop anyone asking the real questions now coming out in the press about these shady judges.
JUDICIAL RICH LIST: Register reveals top judges investments in dodgy justice system providers, companies linked to international bribes scandals, mercenaries, tax avoidance & banks fined for financial markets manipulation.
ReplyDelete==================================================
Why because the Judges judge the Judges. Transparency terrifies them because they are professional criminals. A cesspit of corruption labeled a justice system, utterly shocking but true. Millions of Scots dominated by the few who have a stranglehold on large sections of the press in a democratic country. No a Plutocracy disguised as democracy. And they want to remove their robes and wigs to make them less daunting to the public. A smokescreen to allow them to cover up their real activities and links to big business.
This corruption is off the charts
ReplyDeleteHas it not reached the stage where we have to resort to a People's Court, made up of ordinary members of the Scottish Public who have no vested interest in the handling of a dispute between two parties?
ReplyDeleteMaybe Moi Ali or Peter Cherbi could chair the panel and this way the Scottish Court's System could be usurped as they have long since served the Public?
There could be an anonymously chosen panel at random of 13 people including the chair, whereby the two disputing parties would pay £1,000 to each panel member for each decision (thereby it would deter frivolous cases)?
So, both parties would stump up £6,500 and let's face it this is 10x cheaper than using a Scottish lawyer and the Scottish Court System?
Both parties would happily sign to accept the decision of the panel is binding?
It would have the added advantage of being more dependable and trustworthy, quicker, fairer, impartial and you would still retain your health at the end of it?
Also, the self-serving Scottish lawyers and the Justice System would be bust, with the sham exposed and we would never need them again?
This would mean we would have around £10 Billion Pounds more than before to spend as we wished every single year?
Just think, the best hospitals, schools and universities in the World, first class visitor attractions, high speed Maglev trains to transport you all over Scotland?
We could even afford to build a giant mirror suspended by huge dirigibles above the clouds to burn away the clouds and make Scotland a warmer place?
Sound like a great idea?
Let's make Scotland's Crooked Lawyers history!
We are so lucky to have the DOI Journalists acting as Public Service Journalists, diligently and purposefully combating the tyranny of the State
ReplyDeleteYes I also like Peter's presentation of all the evidence and the way this blog rips the guts out of the cloak of judicial robes we are all forcibly told to trust in.
ReplyDeleteAnd have you all noticed that? Whenever an issue comes up about judges they deliver threats and intimidation just like Gill in his letters telling us we must trust them or it is certain death and the world stops turning.
Nothing about you can trust us we have your best interests at heart and will happily declare the lot.Instead it is always a threat and messing about behind the scenes like these private meetings Gill had to try and close up your petition.Very dishonest.He should resign along with Dunlop now you have outed all his shares in these dodgy companies.
Never again should anyone bother to trust a judge unless they declare everything they have.Even the slightest little thing can lead to legal favors maybe a knighthood or seat in the lords and cases of injustice falling on the rocks.
Keep up the good work!
You make the misapprehension along with the rest of the public that justice means you get what is right by you according to the law but that is not Justice in Scotland. We see justice as, not being interested in the truth but more what is the best fit...............
ReplyDelete=======================================================
Please note it is not a misapprehension on my part,it was but three years of litigation hell proved to me what this so called justice system was and is. Lawyers, doctors, expert witnesses all like the Judges have financial interests in employers so litigation is a frame up from start to finish. One man [a lecturer] in litigation against Motherwell College went through 15 years litigation hell and lost. It is not a justice system it is a business with the Scottish public are all potential victims of these people. They taught me never to trust them again. As for things being according to the law, law is fluid, it is written but if no one in a position of power will enforce people's rights they have no rights, the reason DOI started their blog. And there is no complaints system either that is fact. They use the public to make money because they can. All the best.
If you have not dealt with them beware they are very dangerous because they use psychological violence to wear people down by barring you from the courts. They rip you off because they can.
ReplyDeleteLeaving people right less after they ruin them is a form of violence, they are bad to the bone, stay away that is my advice.
A lot of those shares will be held by other judges too so yes we need a full register of their interests and no more delays.
ReplyDeleteWhy is a judge allowed to have shares in a company fined £335K for delays in bringing people to courts he is in charge of?
ReplyDeleteRidiculous.No wonder Gill wanted to keep it all a secret.
Now you have got this out just imagine how bad the problem in England and Wales of judges and their investments in crooked companies also in other countries it must be the same everywhere and they did it by refusing to declare!
ReplyDeleteNo one wins in court except lawyers and now we know the judges do too.I bet they are just sitting there having a laugh at all of us while they grow fat on their shares and secret stashes in the tax havens.
ReplyDeleteI find it hard to believe Scotland's second most powerful judge - and the most outspoken (removing corroboration etc) has nothing to declare whatsoever.
ReplyDeleteInteresting finding on the Bank of Scotland in a Northern Ireland court.
ReplyDeleteThey are double billing their clients just like solicitors do.
You would not get such a finding in Scotland because the judges all have shares or other interests in BOS
http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/home-news/judge-bank-of-scotland-is-guilty-of-double-billing-customers-who-fall-behind-on-mortg.1408450147
Judge: Bank of Scotland is guilty of double-billing customers who fall behind on mortgages
Tuesday 19 August 2014
Bank of Scotland has been unfairly double-billing customers who fell behind on their mortgages, a High Court judge has ruled.
Master Ellison said the bank's behaviour had been unconscionable.
His finding in a Belfast courtroom could have implications for thousands of mortgage holders across the UK, the charity which took the case said.
Master Ellison said: "The plaintiffs' reliance on extinguished arrears may fairly be described as double-billing. Unilateral consolidation with double billing creates very real problems for borrowers, their advisers and the court.
"To the extent at least of the double billing, it is unconscionable."
The Housing Rights Service which supports distressed borrowers challenged how the lender was dealing with mortgage arrears, in conjunction with three customers facing repossession.
The bank had added their arrears to outstanding mortgage balances without the customers' consent.
This produced increased mortgage payments, meaning customers were effectively paying off their arrears.
As they sit listening to cases these judges are probably thinking about how it will impact on their shares.Total conflict of interest from start to finish.How do you think this can be cleaned up?
ReplyDelete"Yes Salmond is up to his neck in corruption, denying Scots access to justice because the Law Society control him. We have a voting system with an utterly corrupt parliament...."
ReplyDeleteI agree, remember the SNP Msp John Swinney asking awkward questions about the notorious insurer Marsh and its stranglehold on the Master Policy - as soon as he got into power he shut up straight away and not a peep from him since!
Pity anyone stuck in the courts in front of these judges
ReplyDeleteI thought the politicians ran Scotland.
ReplyDeleteHow wrong was I.
Of no surprise to me the Scottish Court Service denied having the information and tried to cover it up.One of their clerks in Edinburgh helped alter documents my lawyer submitted to the court.My lawyer found out and complained and when it came to the hearing the judge covered it up and tried to say it was presented in the wrong format.All lies.They must have admitted to it behind the scenes because next time in court the judge said the documents had been found and were in order.Lord Liar.I will send you his name by email.I hope the fat clerk at Edinburgh who thinks she runs the court reads this comment.Anyone else had similar treatment?
ReplyDeleteI was totally unaware that there are ongoing deep seated relationships between Scottish Judges and Scottish lawyer firms.
ReplyDeleteThis cannot be allowed to continue as it at the very least is highly suspicious and potentially fraudulent as the Scottish Public is left wondering if deals are being made to ensure they get the 'Right' Judge and that side-deals are being reached out of court.
Given the maniacal grip of power that the Law Society of Scotland have, it is very dangerous that Scottish lawyers and Scottish Judges pander to them. It is about time that the Law Society of Scotland is broken up and that Scottish Judges are separated from the Law Society of Scotland, where the stench of lies and corruption follows closely to.
Good morning m'lords and m'ladies.
ReplyDeleteHow many cases are being rigged in Scotland's courts today?
A few shares here a cheap house taken off some ripped off client there a holiday in the Caymans or how about a posh London hotel and free tickets to the opera..
Thanks to Diary of Injustice we all now know how the courts really work - just as rotten and corrupt as everything else!
Anonymous said...
ReplyDeleteGood morning m'lords and m'ladies.
How many cases are being rigged in Scotland's courts today?
A few shares here a cheap house taken off some ripped off client there a holiday in the Caymans or how about a posh London hotel and free tickets to the opera..
Thanks to Diary of Injustice we all now know how the courts really work - just as rotten and corrupt as everything else!
21 August 2014 11:44
I agree!It is probably the same or worse for England just that we dont know about it yet!
Anonymous said...
ReplyDeleteYou make the misapprehension along with the rest of the public that justice means you get what is right by you according to the law but that is not Justice in Scotland. We see justice as, not being interested in the truth but more what is the best fit...............
=======================================================
Please note it is not a misapprehension on my part,it was but three years of litigation hell proved to me what this so called justice system was and is. Lawyers, doctors, expert witnesses all like the Judges have financial interests in employers so litigation is a frame up from start to finish. One man [a lecturer] in litigation against Motherwell College went through 15 years litigation hell and lost. It is not a justice system it is a business with the Scottish public are all potential victims of these people. They taught me never to trust them again. As for things being according to the law, law is fluid, it is written but if no one in a position of power will enforce people's rights they have no rights, the reason DOI started their blog. And there is no complaints system either that is fact. They use the public to make money because they can. All the best.
19 August 2014 14:24
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We are just Cash Trees to them...
You can hear them jingling their coin purses during court.The sound of their ever growing money to relax their minds!
ReplyDelete@ 19 August 2014 13:44
ReplyDeleteFair comment ...
@ 21 August 2014 08:47
The scale of undeclared links, earnings and business between members of the judiciary and law firms is enormous, and clearly a matter of public interest.
With even Scotland's top judge Lord Gill caught out by such relationships and having to recuse himself, clearly the entire issue of links between the judiciary, law firms and others along with earnings, business etc should rightly be declared in a fully published register of interests of Scotland's judiciary.
A solicitor talking about your blog and this news of the shareholdings says he believes over 90% of cases in the Court of Session are compromised in some way by judges interests.
ReplyDeleteLittle wonder the judiciary are fighting transparency.
So judges are also investors in the Master Policy scam and people wonder why no court cases against solicitors get results for clients..
ReplyDeleteNot much point in people trying to sue a crooked lawyer if the judges have shares in the insurance companies backing the crooked lawyer..
@ 25 August 2014 10:53
ReplyDeleteA casual glance at the court rolls and knowledge of judges undeclared interests seems to confirm the solicitor's view ...
For your information rumours circulating the legal fraternity claim the judiciary are very concerned their undisclosed financial positions are going to be tied to cases which have inexplicably collapsed in court.The situation is now so serious a judge you have previously written about is alleged to have come out at a dinner and said the judiciary are going to have to watch their backs and named you as a thorn in their side.He went on to accuse Lord Gill of mishandling the parliament end of your petition and said maybe some good will eventually come of it.
ReplyDeleteNo wonder when someone goes up against some big corp in court they usually lose - because the judge has a pile of shares in the company!
ReplyDeleteAll the judges must be at it and this is why Mr top judge is fighting against your petition.
@ 27 August 2014 11:33
ReplyDeleteThe only good that will come of it is if a fully published and independently regulated register of judicial interests is created.
The judges cannot be trusted to keep their own house in order and Lord Gill's disrespect of the Scottish Parliament and a call for transparency is proof enough of that.
You can just tell this is why the bankers did what they did to RBS Lloyds and the rest - because they have judges on their shareholder lists who were waving through whatever was going on.Stands to reason doesn't it.Have a judge on your books may as well use them to your advantage and both get something out of it.
ReplyDelete@ 5 September 2014 23:19
ReplyDeleteThere is evidence to show some companies have much closer links with their shareholders than is currently being disclosed by the judiciary ...
This will feature in further investigations into the judiciary and their links to big business ...
You may as well just come right out and say the judiciary is corrupt.If they were not or if there was nothing to hide Gill would have gone along to the parliament and not done what he has.
ReplyDeleteClearly their decisions in court are being influenced by their interests and everyone knows it now thanks to you and the papers.
No one need bother putting any faith in judges ever again until this is all cleared up and also we find out what they have been up to before your petition came along.
Anonymous said...
ReplyDeleteYou may as well just come right out and say the judiciary is corrupt.If they were not or if there was nothing to hide Gill would have gone along to the parliament and not done what he has.
Clearly their decisions in court are being influenced by their interests and everyone knows it now thanks to you and the papers.
No one need bother putting any faith in judges ever again until this is all cleared up and also we find out what they have been up to before your petition came along.
8 September 2014 14:35
I agree
No point in trusting the judges if they dont trust us to know what they all have and are hiding!
@ 8 September 2014 14:35
ReplyDeleteGood points, and yes, it does appear rulings in Scottish courts are being influenced by the financial positions of the judiciary.
Given the judiciary's bitter resistance to a simple call to register their interests, anyone already in court or intending to go to court should now question the position of the judge.
It is no longer enough to take any member of the judiciary on trust ... given the power they have to alter ordinary people's lives in ways which are often irreparable.
Good advice and an honest take on the judiciary.So it's official at least from this blog - you cannot trust a judge if they do not declare their interests.I agree with you Peter.It is a reasonable plan you put forward to the Scottish parliament and look at the way Lord Gill treated it and the msps.
ReplyDeleteAnd with all your efforts and headlines about their interests I believe you are in the right as usual! on this one.
Keep up the good work and dont bother about the bbc you have an excellent website and everything is here we need to find out about the justice system!
Although all of it true this is not a good image for Scotland's legal system is it.
ReplyDeleteDo you think there is a chance to clean up the Scots legal system or is it beyond repair?
This is THE story you should stick with.Gill will hate these headlines and the fact this register he claimed was impossible to create exists.Good one and shows the judges are on a level with the bankers etc
ReplyDelete@ 10 September 2014 00:51
ReplyDeleteSadly, no. The justice system as it stands clearly does not want to report itself ... principally due to the fact it makes a killing from the public either way, win or lose, there is little chance of deserving litigants obtaining justice or finding a remedy for gross miscarriage of justice in Scotland's courts.
As long as judges have pound signs in their eyes and lawyers briefs to steady their offshore investments and dodgy trusts ... the Scottish justice system will not provide Scots with the access to justice everyone in this country should have a right to.
@ 10 September 2014 11:23
Judges are the head of the justice system and control all it's aspects. Until Scotland's aggressive judiciary become fully transparent, and fully accountable, there can be little trust shown in them if they do not show trust in the community which they serve ...
Judges are the head of the justice system and control all it's aspects. Until Scotland's aggressive judiciary become fully transparent, and fully accountable, there can be little trust shown in them if they do not show trust in the community which they serve ...
ReplyDelete12 September 2014 15:46
Hmm very good point and well said Peter.
Judges do not trust us enough to declare their interests so why should we trust them.
Shameless corruption in the courts.Even in a company boardroom there are more questions about members interests than in court and why have your Scottish politicians allowed your top judge to dictate the pace of reform instead of your Scottish Parliament.
ReplyDeleteLike the Sheikh said all have their price along with the greedy judiciary full of secrets so much they try to shut down the register petition and buy off top politicians to intimidate the rest of the parliament
ReplyDeletehttp://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/news/uk/article1917052.ece
'I can buy the law' said Sheikh Maher al-Tajir as he dismissed his gamekeeper
David Lister, Scotland Correspondent of The Times
A billionaire Arab sheikh said that British law worked on “money not
justice”, and vowed to “stitch up” an employee who dared to challenge him, an employment tribunal was told yesterday.
Sheikh Maher al-Tajir, whose family owns 24,000 acres (9,700ha) of land in Perthshire and the Highland Spring bottled water company, is alleged to have told Chris Mulqueeney that he had enough money to buy anything he wanted in Britain, including the police and the justiciary.
When the former head gamekeeper said that Britain wasn’t like that, the sheikh is said to have replied: “You’re so patriotic. Hasn’t anyone told you that the law of this great land works on money, not justice, and I’ve got enough money to buy any of them? The police, the justiciary — all have their price in this country.”
The Sheik is right on the money in what he says “You’re so patriotic. Hasn’t anyone told you that the law of this great land works on money, not justice, and I’ve got enough money to buy any of them? The police, the justiciary — all have their price in this country.”
ReplyDeleteand the ones most easily bought up are the judges this is evident from their protests against the register of interests