Janys M Scott QC

Janys M Scott QC

Janys M Scott QC is ranked as a star individual in Chambers Directory 2017, where she is described as the leading QC in Scotland in the area of family law. She regularly appears in the Inner House and Outer House of the Court of Session, and has made successful appeals to the Supreme Court. Her remit spans extremely high-value financial provision in addition to complex child law cases. Janys M Scott QC is credited with incredible attention to detail and a willingness to “think outside the box”.

The Legal 500 Directory reports that she is undoubtedly the pre-eminent family law silk in Scotland and also commends her work in the area of civil liberties, human rights and public and administrative law, where it is reported that she gets to the key issues quickly.

One satisfied client, assisted through the Free Legal Services Unit, described Janys as “absolutely amazing, absolutely phenomenal” adding “we won.”

Janys M Scott QC was featured in The Times Newspaper as “Lawyer of the Week” on 2 August 2012, following victory in the Supreme Court for Jessamine Gow, who was claiming financial provision after the breakdown of a cohabiting relationship.

She is accredited as an arbitrator by the Family Law Arbitration Group Scotland (FLAGS) and a member of the Faculty of Advocates Dispute Resolution Service.

As well as family law, Janys M Scott QC is a recognised expert in education law. She is the author of “Education Law in Scotland” the second edition of which was published in 2016.

Appointments

Originally qualified and practicing as a solicitor in England, Janys saw the light and came to Scotland in 1986. She worked as a Scottish solicitor before entering the Scottish bar in 1992.  She has served as Convenor of the Scottish Child Law Centre (1992 – 1997), Stepfamily Scotland (1998 – 2002) and the Scottish Legal Group of the British Association for Adoption and Fostering (2004 – 2010).  She was part of the Scottish Executive’s Adoption Policy Review Group, which reported in 2005.  In 2005 Janys was appointed a part-time sheriff. She took silk in 2007.

Chair of the Advocates’ Family Law Association until June 2018; Vice-President of the Part-Time Sheriffs’ Association and UK delegate to Family and Succession Committee of CCBE. She also chairs the Board of Trustees of Adoption and Fostering Alliance Scotland.  In 2017 she was appointed to the Scottish Government’s Independent Review of Legal Aid.

Cases

Landmark cases as junior counsel include:

  • Sanderson v McManus [1997] 1 FLR 980, 1997 SC (HL) 55 (House of Lords decision on contact with child)
  • T v T 2001 SC 337 (five judge appeal on children’s evidence)
  • S v Miller 2001 SC 977 (Inner House, human rights challenge to children’s hearing system)
  • Anderson v Scottish Ministers [2003] AC 602, 2002 SC (PC) 63 (Privy Council, mental health, human rights challenge to Act of Scottish Parliament)
  • White v White 2002 SC 689 (appeal, child contact)
  • Cameron v MacIntyre’s Executor 2004 SLT 79 (OH), 2006 SC 283, 2006 SLT 176 (IH) (reduction of adoption order) and 2006 SLT 1088 (expenses of executor)
  • AB v CD, 2007 FamLR 53 (divorce, property in offshore trust)

Cases as senior counsel include:

  • WA’s Legal Representative v Highland Council [2008] CSIH 51, 2009 SC 47 (Inner House decision of appeal from Additional Support Needs Tribunal)
  • M v M and Wards Estate Trustees, [2009] CSOH 65, 2009 SLT 608 (Outer House), [2009] CSIH 62 (Inner House), 2009 SLT 750 (interdict of trustees from disposing of property pending claims for financial provision)
  • Principal Reporter v K, [2010] UKSC 56, [2011] 1 WLR 18 (successful appeal to the Supreme Court, suspension of order allowing unmarried father to attend children’s hearing, challenge to the Children (Scotland) Act 1995 on human rights grounds)
  • M v M and W Trustees Limited, [2011] CSOH 33 (successful claim to set aside husband’s transfer of funds to trust, in context of complex claim for financial provision on divorce)
  • W v Aberdeenshire Council, [2012] CSIH 37, 2012 Fam LR 91 (appeal, permanence order, authority to adopt)
  • Gow v Grant, [2012] UKSC 29, 2012 SLT 829 (successful appeal to the Supreme Court, financial provision for cohabitant)
  • Simpson v Downie, [2012] CSIH 74, 2012 Fam LR 121 (appeal, statutory interpretation, time-limit for cohabitant’s financial provision claim)
  • S v Authority Reporter, 2012 SLT (Sh Ct) 89 (sheriff principal appeal, referral to children’s hearing, alleged assault by parent)
  • Glasgow City Council, Petitioner [2013] CSOH 118, 2013 Fam LR 64 (judicial review, child protection order)
  • SW v TW [2013] CSOH 136, 2013 Fam LR 85 (financial provision on divorce, incidence of capital gains tax)
  • Midlothian Council v M [2013] CSIH 71, 2014 SC 168 (appeal, permanence order)
  • S, Petitioner [2014] CSIH 42, 2014 Fam LR 23 (appeal, adoption order)
  • Highland Council v School Closure Review Panel 2016 SLT (Sh Ct) 207 (challenge to refusal of consent to close rural primary schools)
  • AB v AT [2015] CSIH 25; 2015 S.C. 545 (whether social workers refusing child contact were in contempt of court)
  • M v Children’s Reporter 2015 S.L.T. (Sh Ct) 215 (appeal to sheriff principal in relation to threshold test for referral to children’s hearing)
  • Fife Council v M [2016] CSIH 17, 2016 SC 556 (challenge to refusal to fund post-18 school place for pupil with disability)
  • EM v AM [2016] CSIH 2, 2016 Fam. L.R. 2 (appeal in relation to child contact order)
  • M v Fife Council [2015] CSIH 74, 2016 S.C. 169 (appeal against permanence order with authority to adopt)
  • M v Locality Reporter, Glasgow [2015] CSIH 58, 2016 S.C. 98 (whether offence of wilful ill-treatment of child requires intent to injure)
  • S v Children’s Reporter [2016] CSIH 74, 2017 SC 31 (joint investigative interviews, children’s evidence)
  • City of Edinburgh Council v RO and RD [2016] SAC (Civ) 15, 2017 Fam LR 27 (resisting appeal against refused permanence order)
  • West Lothian Council v MB [2017] UKSC 15, 2017 SC (UKSC) 67 (successful appeal to the Supreme Court, permanence order)
  • JA v WA, [2017] CSOH 93, 2017 Fam LR 94 (financial provision on divorce, source of funds versus needs)
  • McDonald v McDonald, [2017] UKSC 52, 2017 SLT 837 (Supreme Court case concerning valuation of pensions in context of financial provision on divorce)
  • Principal Reporter v LZ, [2017] CSIH 51, 2017 SLT 961 (EU jurisdiction, child protection orders)
  • Secretary of State for Work and Pensions v M, [2017] CSIH 57, 2017 SLT 1045 (successfully resisting appeal by Secretary of State in relation to personal independence payment)
  • U v Glasgow City Council [2017] CSOH 122 (declarator of age for asylum seeker, debate concerning procedure)

Publications

  • Education Law in Scotland, Thomson/W Green 2nd Edition (2016);
  • Children’s Rights in Scotland, Cleland, (chapter on Adoption), 3rd edition, W Green (2009);
  • The Laws of Scotland, Stair Memorial Encyclopaedia (Education section), LexisNexis (2010);
  • Law Making and the Scottish Parliament, The Early Years, Sutherland, (chapter on Education), Edinburgh University Press (2011)
  • Scottish Education, 4th Edition, (chapter on Education and the Law), Edinburgh University Press (2013)
  • Scottish Human Rights Service (Family and Education sections), W Green/Sweet & Maxwell;
  • Scottish Family Law Service (formerly Parental Responsibilities and Rights and Adoption sections, now Education section), Lexis Nexis;
  • Court of Session Practice (Family section), Bloomsbury;
  • Editor of Family Law Reports, W Green
  • Various articles including ‘Welfare and the new grounds for dispensing with parental consent to adoption – a reply’ 2009 SLT (News) 17; ‘Petrodel v Prest Resources Ltd UKSC 34: Cold Comfort for Mrs Prest in Scotland’ (with E Roxburgh) 2013 SLT (News) 223; ‘Divorce Observed: family law in the Court of Session in 1977 and 1978’ 2014 SLT (News) 33, ‘What’s in a form? Parenthood of children born following IVF treatment’ (with R Gilmour) 2016 SLT (News) 87.
  • Opinion for British Red Cross for the purposes of their report “A Healthy Start, Experiences of pregnant and asylum seeking women in Scotland” (2016)
  • Opinion for the Children’s Rights Strategic Litigation Working Group on Equal Protection on “The Legality of Scots Law on the Physical Punishment of Children” (2017)

Further Information

Worked as lecturer in Sulaimaniyah, Iraq 1976 – 78.  As Honorary Lecturer Dundee University 1989 – 1994 set up, taught and examined Law Module of Certificate in Child Protection Studies. Visiting Bye-Fellow Newnham College, Cambridge, April – September 2002. Chairman of trust ‘Friends of Petra School’, supporting education in Zimbabwe. Decisions and determinations as a part-time sheriff are available on the Scottish Courts website (http://www.scotcourts.gov.uk/).

Online Articles

Mobile: 07967 371 460
Email: Janys M Scott QC

Year of call: 1992

Year of silk: 2007

Areas of Practice
  • Family Law
  • Human Rights Law
  • Public & Administrative Law
  • Public & Fatal Accident Inquiries
  • The Legal 500 UK Recommended Lawyer 2017

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