ONE of the country's most respected QCs has been expelled from a professional body after being found guilty of misconduct.
John Campbell, who was counsel to the Holyrood inquiry, was kicked out of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIA) following his "inexcusable" handling of a commercial row.
The high-profile lawyer was president of the organisation at the time of his "egregious disregard of proper professional standards".
Campbell, who was called to the Bar in 1981 and took silk in 1998, was the star QC picked to quiz witnesses during Lord Fraser's inquiry into the Scottish Parliament costs fiasco.
On top of his work as a QC, Campbell was also a fellow of the CIA who helped resolve disputes.
However, this part of his career appears to have hit the buffers following a brutal report into his professional conduct.
Disciplinary charges were brought against him arising from a delay in him reaching a decision in a commercial arbitration between two parties, which are anonymised in the report.
Campbell is said to have told the parties concerned that the decision, formally described as the "award", would be delivered by Christmas 2005. It was eventually made in February 2010.
The huge delay led to the CIA alleging various breaches of its by-laws.
This included behaviour that was "injurious" to the good name of the Institute and which was "likely to bring the Institute into disrepute".
Another charge states that the lapse "was of such gravity as to render you [Campbell] unfit to be a member of the Institute".
The report, from last year, added that the delay was "on any view inordinate and inexcusable".
In the tribunal's decision, Campbell is said to have "expressly confirmed to us at the hearing that he admitted the charges".
The QC also described his own conduct as "inefficiency, failure to prioritise and really almost wilful ignoring of the rules".
In the report's conclusions, the tribunal stated that Campbell "deliberately" chose other activities ahead of prioritising the award, such as taking a holiday.
He was also judged to have "compounded the situation by repeatedly making promises which proved to be empty and meaningless", and of treating the interests of the parties "with contempt".
In another section, the report stated: "His dereliction of duty was without reason or excuse. His behaviour amounted in our judgment to an egregious disregard of proper professional standards."
An aggravating factor, according to the report, was the "hypocrisy" of Campbell being CIA president at a time when he mishandled the case.
In explaining the expulsion, the tribunal decision noted "it is common ground that the delay for which he was responsible was misconduct of such gravity as to render him unfit to be a member of the Institute".
Along with being expelled, Campbell was ordered to pay £3000 plus VAT towards the body's costs.
The report also contained remarks made by Campbell at the hearing: "I can't say expulsion is not merited."
According to Campbell's online CV, his areas of specialism include agriculture, building and construction, and planning. In 2010, Campbell and a conservation architect offered their services as mediators to bring the warring sides together in the Edinburgh trams debacle.
Following publication of the Fraser report, Campbell laid in to the quality of decision-makers on the Holyrood project: "I contend there were not sufficiently well-qualified people in that team to make the slightest difference."
Campbell made no comment last night.
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