The Rt Hon Lady
Hazel Cosgrove CBE
1946-
Hazel Cosgrove grew up in Glasgow and attended the Glasgow High School for Girls. She studied Law at the University of Glasgow and graduated in 1966. She was admitted to the Faculty of Advocates in 1968. She was the first woman to be appointed a full time sheriff at Glasgow and was later a sheriff at Edinburgh. In 1996 she was the first woman ever in its 450 year history to be appointed a Senator of the College of Justice in Scotland, a Judge of Scotland’s Supreme Court. She was appointed to the Inner House of the Court of Session in 2003 and sworn of her Majesty’s Privy Council. Since her retirement from full time judicial office in 2006 she has continued to sit as a retired judge. During her judicial career Hazel was a member of the Parole Board for Scotland and was Chair of the Mental Welfare Commission for Scotland and of an Expert Panel on Sexual Offending. She was also de facto Chairman of the Boundary Commission for Scotland. Hazel has been awarded Honorary Doctorates from 5 Scottish Universities. She was appointed a CBE in recognition of her services to the Criminal Justice System in Scotland. Hazel now lives in London with her husband, John, a retired dentist. She has 2 children and 7 grandchildren.