New Commissioners
1 Apr 2020
Lady Paton, Chair of the Scottish Law Commission, welcomes the appointment of David Bartos and Dr Gillian Black as Commissioners of the Scottish Law Commission.
Lady Paton said today:
"I congratulate David Bartos and Dr Gillian Black on their appointment as Commissioners. David Bartos will lead our project on leases and our joint project with the Law Commission of England and Wales on automated vehicles. Dr Gillian Black will lead our joint project on surrogacy, and our project on damages for personal injury. It is vital for our society that the law on these matters is kept up to date and in tune with today’s values and beliefs, and that business and commerce can rely on a legal system that meets modern needs.”.
The Scottish Government has issued the following news release:
https://www.gov.scot/publications/public-appointments-news-releases/
Commissioners Appointed to Scottish Law Commission
The Minister for Community Safety, Ash Denham MSP, today announced the appointments of Mr David Bartos and Dr Gillian Black as Commissioners of the Scottish Law Commission.
COMMISSIONERS
Mr David Bartos brings a wealth of practical experience in commercial property litigation covering a wide breadth of landlord and tenant disputes together with a deep knowledge of property and contract law. His interests include the impact of new technologies on the law, including cryptocurrencies.
Having graduated from the University of Edinburgh with a First Class Degree, he has practised as an Advocate since 1993, and been a chairperson of the Housing and Property Chamber of the First-tier Tribunal for Scotland since 2011. He is a practising arbitrator, being a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators since 2007 having also acted as an arbitral-tribunal appointed expert on commercial leases.
He is co-author of the sixth edition of Bartos and Meston on the Succession (Scotland) Act and has co-authored two editions of Dundas and Bartos on the Arbitration (Scotland) Act 2010.
Dr Gillian Black is a Senior Lecturer in Law at the University of Edinburgh, with teaching and research interests principally in family law, contract law, and privacy. She also has a research interest in heraldry, and has published widely across these fields. Gillian regularly speaks at academic and practitioner conferences and has recently been a consultant on family law matters for a BBC1 drama series.
Before joining Edinburgh Law School as a Lecturer in 2005, Gillian qualified as a solicitor in 2002 with Shepherd & Wedderburn in Edinburgh, working in their Commercial Contracts division, and then spent 18 months as a teaching assistant in the School of Law at the University of Glasgow. She completed her PhD on publicity rights in Scots law in 2009. She is a graduate of the Universities of Glasgow (LLB, DPLP) and Edinburgh (PhD).
APPOINTMENTS
The appointments will be for five years. Mr Bartos will run from 20th April 2020 to
19th April 2025 and Dr Black will run from 22nd April 2020 to 21st April 2025.
The appointments are regulated by the Ethical Standards Commissioner.
REMUNERATION
The appointment for Mr Bartos is full-time and attracts a remuneration of £105,668 per annum for a time commitment of 37 hours per week.
The appointment for Dr Black is part-time and attracts a remuneration of £52,834 per annum for a time commitment of 18.5 hours per week.
OTHER MINISTERIAL APPOINTMENTS
Mr Bartos is Chairperson of the Housing and Property Chamber of the First-tier Tribunal for Scotland, for which he receives remuneration of £334.83 per day, for a time commitment of six days per month.
Dr Black does not hold any other ministerial public appointments.
POLITICAL ACTIVITY
All appointments are made on merit and political activity plays no part in the selection process. However, in accordance with the original Nolan recommendations, there is a requirement for appointees’ political activity within the last five years (if there is any to be declared) to be made public.
Mr Bartos and Dr Black have had no political activity within the last five years.
BACKGROUND
The Scottish Law Commission was established under the Law Commissions Act 1965 for the purposes of promoting the reform of the law of Scotland, and reviewing the law with a view to its systematic development and modernisation.
Further details on the Scottish Law Commission can be found on their website.