The hacking and subsequent release of thousands of e-mail messages and documents generated by climate researchers from a university computer server and dubbed Climategate have set off an international dispute over the quality of research on global warming just as negotiators from 190-plus nations prepare to gather for talks in Copenhagen next week on a potential treaty to limit greenhouse gases.

Sir Muir, now chairman of the Judicial Appointments Board for Scotland, said he would first assemble experts who could interpret the records and data. The university has asked that the review be completed by spring.