Queen approves sheriff ’s new role

SHERIFF DEREK Pyle, full-time sheriff in Dundee, Tayside and the Highlands for the past 12 years, has been appointed Sheriff Principal for the Sheriffdom of Grampian, Highlands and Islands.

His appointment was approved by the Queen after he was nominated by First Minister Alex Salmond on the basis of a report by the independent Judicial Appointments Board.

Sheriff Pyle wa s appointed on May 2 and will take up his appointment on June 1, with a salary of £138,548 per annum.

Derek Pyle was admitted as a solicitor in 1976 and as a solicitor advocate in 1994. He became partner at Edinburgh solicitors Dove Lockhart in 1978, moving to become senior partner at Wilson, Pyle & Co. in 1980.

From 1990 to 1999, he was senior partner at Henderson Boyd Jackson. From 1998 to 1999, he was a temporary sheriff and, since 2000, he has been a full-time sheriff in various courts in Tayside and the Highlands, including Dundee and Perth. He is also a member of the Scottish Court Service Board.

The Judicial Appointments Board for Scotland was established by ministers in 2002 and it became an independent advisory non-departmental public body on June 1, 2009.

The board’s role is to recommend for appointment to the office of judge, sheriff principal, sheriff and parttime sheriff. The First Minister retains the statutory responsibility for making nominations to the Queen.