His Majesty the King, on the recommendation of Scottish Ministers has appointed Deborah
Anne Lovell as a new part-time legal member of the Scottish Land Court. Ms Lovell has
also been appointed by the Scottish Ministers as a part-time legal member of the Lands
Tribunal for Scotland. This will be the first female appointment to both the Scottish Land
Court and Lands Tribunal for Scotland.
A panel was formed to provide advice to the Scottish Ministers on suitable candidates to fill
the combined vacancies which arose in April 2023.
Ms Lovell obtained an LLB Honours Degree from the University of Aberdeen before
qualifying in 1996; she joined the Commercial Real Estate team in Anderson Strathern in
2002, becoming a partner in 2004 and serving three terms on the firm’s strategic Board.
Deborah is a former tutor of the University of Edinburgh and was Convenor of the Law
Society of Scotland’s Property Law Committee and member of the Tax Sub-Committee
before taking up an appointment as a Solicitor Member to the Scottish Solicitors Discipline
Tribunal in November 2019.
She will take up her appointment on 1 March 2024. This appointment covers two part-time
0.4 FTE positions. Combined remuneration for these posts is £126,164 per annum.
The Scottish Land Court has the authority to resolve a range of disputes in agricultural and
crofting matters. The Court is based in Edinburgh but holds hearings throughout Scotland.
The Tribunal’s main areas of work concern applications and disputes regarding the
discharge or variation of title conditions; disputed claims for compensation for compulsory
purchase of land or loss in value of land caused by public works; appeals against
decisions by the Keeper of the Registers of Scotland; disputes under the Electronic
Communications Code; and voluntary or joint references in which the Tribunal acts as
arbiter.