James Hamilton (barrister)

James Hamilton (born 20 March 1949) is an Irish barrister and administrator who served as the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) at the Republic of Ireland's Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions from 1999 to 2011. In September 2010, Hamilton was elected President of the International Association of Prosecutors, succeeding Francois Falletti.[1][2]

Hamilton became Director of Public Prosecutions in 1999, succeeding Eamonn Barnes. Before becoming Director of Public Prosecutions, Hamilton was a practising barrister and was head of the office of the Attorney General of Ireland.[3]

In 2018, Hamilton was appointed to chair a review into the anti-Fraud and anti-Corruption Measures in the Irish Department of Justice, instituted by then Tánaiste Frances Fitzgerald.[4]

He was appointed as an independent advisor to the Scottish Government on the ministerial code in 2013 by former Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond and was reappointed by his successor First Minister Nicola Sturgeon in 2015.[5] He was also appointed to the same role by the Welsh Government.[6] In 2017, he concluded that Welsh First Minister Carwyn Jones did not mislead the Welsh Assembly over what he knew about bullying allegations at the top level of government.[7] Hamilton also conducted an investigation into the Alex Salmond scandal, namely whether Sturgeon had breached the Scottish ministerial code during the Scottish Government's investigation into sexual harassment complaints made against Salmond.[8] This was paused in 2019 and resumed in August 2020.[9] On 22 March 2021, his report was published, concluding that Sturgeon did not breach the ministerial code.[10][11] However, he caveated that "It is for the Scottish parliament to decide whether they were in fact misled."[12] A majority of MSPs on the Committee on the Scottish Government Handling of Harassment Complaints concluded that it was "hard to believe" Sturgeon when she told Parliament she had not known about concerns of inappropriate behaviour Mr Salmond before November 2017. It also determined that Sturgeon gave an "inaccurate account" of what happened when she met Mr Salmond at her home on 2 April 2018, and had misled the committee.[13]

  1. ^ "International Association of Prosecutors". Archived from the original on 8 October 2011. Retrieved 3 April 2011.
  2. ^ Davidson, Gina (22 March 2021). "What the Hamilton inquiry into Nicola Sturgeon's actions says". www.scotsman.com. Retrieved 23 March 2021.
  3. ^ "Mr James Hamilton". Council of Europe. Archived from the original on 17 March 2011. Retrieved 11 April 2011.
  4. ^ "Anti-corruption review group seeks input". Archived from the original on 22 March 2021. Retrieved 22 March 2021.
  5. ^ Merson, Adele. "James Hamilton QC: Who is the lawyer with the potential to decide Nicola Sturgeon's future?". Press and Journal. Retrieved 22 March 2021.
  6. ^ "Bullying: The Irish lawyer investigating Carwyn Jones". BBC News. 6 December 2017. Archived from the original on 11 February 2021. Retrieved 22 March 2021.
  7. ^ "Carwyn Jones did not mislead assembly over bullying claims – report". the Guardian. 17 April 2018. Archived from the original on 9 November 2020. Retrieved 22 March 2021.
  8. ^ McLaughlin, Mark. "Independent investigator James Hamilton holds Sturgeon's fate in his hands". ISSN 0140-0460. Archived from the original on 20 March 2021. Retrieved 22 March 2021.
  9. ^ Pooran, Neil; Eden, Tom (22 March 2021). "James Hamilton inquiry: Report into whether Nicola Sturgeon breached ministerial code to be released today". The Scotsman. Archived from the original on 22 March 2021. Retrieved 22 March 2021.
  10. ^ "Nicola Sturgeon cleared of breaching ministerial code over Alex Salmond saga". BBC News. 22 March 2021. Archived from the original on 22 March 2021. Retrieved 22 March 2021.
  11. ^ "Independent report by James Hamilton on the First Minister's self-referral under the Scottish Ministerial Code - gov.scot". Scottish Government publiucations. Scottish Government. 22 March 2021. Retrieved 23 March 2021.
  12. ^ "What did report that cleared Sturgeon of misleading Scottish parliament say?". The Guardian. 22 March 2021. Retrieved 3 June 2021.
  13. ^ "Nicola Sturgeon rejects claims over Alex Salmond inquiry evidence". BBC News. 19 March 2021. Retrieved 3 June 2021.