New judicial member appointed to the Council

The Lord Justice General has appointed Lady Drummond as the new judicial member of the Scottish Sentencing Council.

Lady Drummond succeeds Lord Matthews, whose five-year term with the Council came to an end late last year.

Lord Justice Clerk and Chair of the Council, Lord Beckett, said: “I am pleased to welcome Lady Drummond to the Council as our new senator member. Her wealth of experience, knowledge and expertise will be of great assistance as we continue the development of several important sentencing guidelines, as well as our research projects and work to increase public awareness of sentencing in Scotland.

“I would like to extend my thanks to Lord Matthews for the time, dedication, and expertise he has given to the Council over his five years as a member. In particular, his considerable contribution to the Council’s sentencing guidelines on rape offences – which were recently approved by the High Court – has been invaluable.”

Lady Drummond was installed as a Senator of the College of Justice in May 2022 after serving as an appeal sheriff and a temporary High Court judge since 2020.

Educated at Glasgow and Cambridge Universities, Lady Drummond was appointed assistant parliamentary counsel before calling to the Bar in 1998. She became a QC in 2011 after acting as standing junior to the Advocate General and Scottish Ministers. She sat as a part-time sheriff from 2009 and took up the role as resident sheriff in Dundee in 2014 and commercial sheriff in 2017. She is Honorary Professor of St Andrews University and Justice of the St Helena Court of Appeal.

She is also the Chair of the Judicial Institute for Scotland, the body responsible for providing education and training for Scottish judges.

Lady Drummond took up post on 1 January 2026 and will serve on the Council for five years.

The Council is made up of 12 members. The categories of membership are provided for in the Criminal Justice and Licensing (Scotland) Act 2010 .