Derek Schofield (born 20 February 1945), is a British lawyer and the former Chief Justice of Gibraltar. He commenced his legal career in 1961 when he was appointed assistant in the office of the clerk of the court in Lancashire. He was called to the bar in 1970, at Gray's Inn in London. He has served as the Senior Judge in the Cayman Islands, and a high court judge in Kenya. In 1996 he was appointed Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Gibraltar. He was suspended from this position while a Tribunal of inquiry was held in Gibraltar, estimated to have cost around £2 million. The inquiry submitted a report to the Governor of Gibraltar, who referred the matter to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in London. This held hearings between 15 and 18 June 2009 to consider the question of his removal as Chief Justice of Gibraltar due to misbehaviour and inability. He is married to human rights lawyer Anne Schofield, and has four children. He is known for his strong support of human rights and the independence of the judiciary which led him to resign as high court judge and leave Kenya with his family in 1987 when he refused to be influenced by strong political interference in a case. During his term as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Gibraltar, he made several significant decisions, including the ruling that it is unconstitutional for jury service to be compulsory only for men. The decision was reversed on appeal and then went to the Privy Council, who overturned the Gibraltar Government objection of equality for women in jury service. There were also a number of controversies over his conduct, which led to his suspension and subsequent removal from office. Controversies Since his appointment as Chief Justice of Gibraltar, he had been involved in high-profile disputes that he has actively pursued with Chief Minister Peter Caruana. The Tribunal of Inquiry, appointed by the Governor to look into whether his appointment should be referred to the Privy Council, reported that they found that Chief Justice Schofield misbehaved in his pursuit of these disputes and was unable to perform the duties of Chief Justice of Gibraltar. Chief Justice Schofield has been publicly critical of the Judicial Reforms introduced by the UK Government and Gibraltar Social Democrats administration through the new Constitution of Gibraltar and the Judicial Services Act.