Ranald MacLean, Lord MacLean

Ranald Norman Munro MacLean, Lord MacLean, 66, retired from Scotland's judicial bench in 2005. However, he remains a member of the Judicial Appointments Board for Scotland, and with two other Judges and five lay members, is responsible for selecting all new Scottish Judges and Sheriffs.

Brief Biography

* Educated at Fettes College, where he was Head of School.
* Graduate of the University of Cambridge (BA, Clare College), the University of Edinburgh (LLB) and Yale University (LLM).
* Admitted to the Faculty of Advocates in 1964.
* Appointed Queen's Counsel (QC) in 1977.
* Served as an Advocate Depute from 1972-1975 and was the Home Advocate Depute from 1979-1982.
* Served on the Scottish Legal Aid Board, the Council on Tribunals and the Stewart Committee on Alternatives to Prosecution.
* Member of the Parole Board for Scotland since 1998.
* Member of the Secretary of State for Scotland's Criminal Justice Forum since 1996.
* Chairman of the governors of Fettes College in Edinburgh since 1996.
* Chairman of the Council of the Cockburn Association from 1988-1996.
* Chairman of a committee established by the Secretary of State for Scotland to review the sentencing and treatment of serious sexual and violent offenders including those with personality disorders in 1999.
* Chairman of the Inquiry into the death of loyalist leader Billy Wright in the Maze Prison, [http://www.billywrightinquiry.org/ The Billy Wright Inquiry] .

Lockerbie

Ranald MacLean was one of the Judges who presided at the Pan Am Flight 103 bombing trial. Although the conviction of Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi at the trial was widely criticised, MacLean believes the verdict was right. "I have no doubt, on the evidence we heard, that the judgments we made and the verdicts we reached were correct," he told "The Scotsman" newspaper on January 31, 2006. As for Megrahi's application to the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission (SCCRC), MacLean believes that that the SCCRC will refer the case back for further appeal: "They can't be working for two years without producing something with which to go to the court," he suggested to "The Scotsman". "But it depends upon what the bases are for a fresh appeal, but I wouldn't have a problem with that."