His Majesty the King has approved the appointment of the Right
Hon Lord Doherty as a Justice of the Supreme Court of the United
Kingdom. The King made the appointment on the advice of the Prime
Minister and Lord Chancellor, following the recommendation of an
independent selection commission. Lord Doherty has sat as a judge
of the Inner Court of Session in Edinburgh since 2020.
Raymond Doherty was born in Stirling and went to school in Alloa
and Dumfries. He studied law at the University of Edinburgh,
Hertford College, Oxford, and Harvard Law School. He was admitted
as an advocate in 1984 and was the first recipient of the Lord
Reid scholarship. At the Bar he had a predominantly civil
practice, with emphases on commercial law, property law, public
law, and valuation for rating; but he also practised in many
other areas. Between 1990 and 1997 he was a standing junior
counsel to UK Government departments. He was elected as Clerk of
the Faculty of Advocates in 1990 and held that office until 1995.
He took silk in 1997. Between 1998 and 2001 he served as an
Advocate-depute (prosecuting counsel).
Lord Doherty became a judge of the Court of Session and High
Court of Justiciary in 2010. He has been a judge of the Lands
Valuation Appeal Court since 2011. He was a judge of the Upper
Tribunal (Tax and Chancery) between 2013 and 2020, and a chairman
of the Competition Appeal Tribunal between 2015 and 2010. He was
a commercial judge and the exchequer judge between 2014 and 2020,
and was principal commercial judge between 2018 and 2020. He
became an Inner House judge in 2020, and a judge of the
Registration Appeal Court earlier this year. He was joint editor
of Armour on Valuation for Rating from 1990 to 2021,
and has been general editor since then. He was recently elected
an honorary bencher of Middle Temple. He is married with three
adult children.
Lord Doherty is expected to be sworn in as a Justice of the
Supreme Court in early 2026.
