The Court of Session is the supreme civil court of Scotland and constitutes part of the College of Justice;the supreme criminal court of Scotland is the High Court of Justiciary. The Court of Session sits in Parliament House in Edinburgh and is both a trial court and a court of appeal. The court was established in 1532 by an Act of the Parliament of Scotland,and was initially presided over by the Lord Chancellor of Scotland and had equal numbers of clergy and laity. The judges were all appointed from the King's Council. As of May 2017,the Lord President was Lord Carloway,who was appointed on 19 December 2015,and the Lord Justice Clerk was Lady Dorrian,who was appointed on 13 April 2016.
The High Court of Justiciary is the supreme criminal court in Scotland. The High Court is both a trial court and a court of appeal. As a trial court,the High Court sits on circuit at Parliament House or in the adjacent former Sheriff Court building in the Old Town in Edinburgh,or in dedicated buildings in Glasgow and Aberdeen. The High Court sometimes sits in various smaller towns in Scotland,where it uses the local sheriff court building. As an appeal court,the High Court sits only in Edinburgh. On one occasion the High Court of Justiciary sat outside Scotland,at Zeist in the Netherlands during the Pan Am Flight 103 bombing trial,as the Scottish Court in the Netherlands. At Zeist the High Court sat both as a trial court,and an appeal court for the initial appeal by Abdelbaset al-Megrahi.
Donald Sage Mackay,Baron Mackay of Drumadoon,PC was a British judge of the Supreme Courts of Scotland,and a Lord Advocate,the country's senior Law Officer. He was also one of five additional Lords of Appeal in the House of Lords,where he sat as a crossbencher.
Alan Ferguson Rodger,Baron Rodger of Earlsferry was a Scottish academic,lawyer,and Justice of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom.
The Senators of the College of Justice in Scotland are judges of the College of Justice,a set of legal institutions involved in the administration of justice in Scotland. There are three types of senator:Lords of Session;Lords Commissioners of Justiciary;and the Chairman of the Scottish Land Court. Whilst the High Court and Court of Session historically maintained separate judiciary,these are now identical,and the term Senator is almost exclusively used in referring to the judges of these courts.
Hazel Josephine Cosgrove,Lady Cosgrove,CBE,is a Scottish lawyer and judge who served as a Senator of the College of Justice from 1996 to 2006. She was the first woman appointed to the College of Justice.
Francis Mulholland,Lord Mulholland,is a Scottish judge who has been a Senator of the College of Justice since 2016. He previously served from 2011 to 2016 as Lord Advocate,one of the Great Officers of State of Scotland and the country's chief Law Officer,and as Solicitor General,the junior Law Officer.
Hugh Matthews,Lord Matthews is a Senator of the College of Justice,a judge of Scotland's Supreme Courts.
Colin John MacLean Sutherland,Lord Carloway,is a Scottish advocate and judge who has served as the Lord President of the Court of Session and Lord Justice General since 2015. He was previously Lord Justice Clerk from 2012 to 2015 and has been a Senator of the College of Justice since 2000.
Paul Benedict Cullen,Lord Pentland,is a former Solicitor General for Scotland,a Senator of the College of Justice and former Chairman of the Scottish Law Commission.
The School of Law at the University of Glasgow provides undergraduate and postgraduate courses in Law,and awards the degrees of Bachelor of Laws,Master of Laws,LLM by Research,Master of Research (MRes) and Doctor of Philosophy,the degree of Doctor of Laws being awarded generally only as an honorary degree.
Robin Gilmour McEwan,commonly called Lord McEwan was a Scottish lawyer and former judge of the High Court of Justiciary and Court of Session,the country's Supreme Courts.
Iain Duncan Macphail,Lord Macphail was a Scottish lawyer and Senator of the College of Justice,a judge of the country's Supreme Courts.
Angus James Scott Glennie,Lord Glennie,was a Senator of the College of Justice,and Principal Commercial Judge in the Court of Session,in Scotland.
Valerie Elizabeth Stacey,Lady Stacey is a Scottish lawyer,and a Senator of the College of Justice,a judge of the country's Supreme Courts. She was the first woman ever elected Vice-Dean of the Faculty of Advocates.
Colin Jack Tyre,Lord Tyre,is a Scottish lawyer,former President of the Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe,and a Senator of the College of Justice,a judge of the Supreme Courts of Scotland.
The judiciary of Scotland are the judicial office holders who sit in the courts of Scotland and make decisions in both civil and criminal cases. Judges make sure that cases and verdicts are within the parameters set by Scots law,and they must hand down appropriate judgments and sentences. Judicial independence is guaranteed in law,with a legal duty on Scottish Ministers,the Lord Advocate and the Members of the Scottish Parliament to uphold judicial independence,and barring them from influencing the judges through any form of special access.
Morag Barbara Wise,Lady Wise,is the President of the Scottish Tribunals and a Senator of the College of Justice,a judge of the Scotland's Supreme Courts.
Iain Gillies Armstrong,Lord Armstrong is a Senator of the College of Justice,a judge of the Supreme Courts of Scotland.
Sarah Poyntell LaBudde Wolffe,Lady Wolffe is an American-born Scottish lawyer and judge who is currently a Professor at the University of Strathclyde. She previously served as Senator of the College of Justice from 2014 to 2021. Wolffe was the first US-born member of the Scottish judiciary and the first woman appointed as a Commercial Judge in the Court of Session.
