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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.
William Douglas Cullen,Baron Cullen of Whitekirk,is a former senior member of the Scottish judiciary. He formerly served as Lord Justice General and Lord President of the Court of Session,and was an additional Lord of Appeal in the House of Lords prior to the transfer of its judicial functions to the Supreme Court.
A sheriff court is the principal local civil and criminal court in Scotland,with exclusive jurisdiction over all civil cases with a monetary value up to £100,000,and with the jurisdiction to hear any criminal case except treason,murder,and rape,which are in the exclusive jurisdiction of the High Court of Justiciary. Though the sheriff courts have concurrent jurisdiction with the High Court over armed robbery,drug trafficking,and sexual offences involving children,the vast majority of these cases are heard by the High Court. Each court serves a sheriff court district within one of the six sheriffdoms of Scotland. Each sheriff court is presided over by a sheriff,who is a legally qualified judge,and part of the judiciary of Scotland.
The courts of Scotland are responsible for administration of justice in Scotland,under statutory,common law and equitable provisions within Scots law. The courts are presided over by the judiciary of Scotland,who are the various judicial office holders responsible for issuing judgments,ensuring fair trials,and deciding on sentencing. The Court of Session is the supreme civil court of Scotland,subject to appeals to the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom,and the High Court of Justiciary is the supreme criminal court,which is only subject to the authority of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom on devolution issues and human rights compatibility issues.
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.
In Scotland a sheriff principal is a judge in charge of a sheriffdom with judicial,quasi-judicial,and administrative responsibilities. Sheriffs principal have been part of the judiciary of Scotland since the 11th century. Sheriffs principal were originally appointed by the monarch of Scotland,and evolved into a heritable jurisdiction before appointment was again vested in the Crown and the monarch of the United Kingdom following the passage of the Heritable Jurisdictions (Scotland) Act 1746.
The Scottish Land Court is a Scottish court of law based in Edinburgh with subject-matter jurisdiction covering disputes between landlords and tenants relating to agricultural tenancies,and matters related to crofts and crofters. The Scottish Land Court is both a trial court and an appeal court;hearings at first-instance are often heard by a Divisional Court of one of the Agricultural Members advised by the Principal Clerk. Decisions of the Divisional Court can be appealed to the Full Court,which will consist of at least one legally qualified judicial member and the remaining Agricultural Member. Some cases are heard at first-instance by the Full Court,and these cases may be appealed to the Inner House of the Court of Session.
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. On 4 June 2024 Lord Carloway announced his intention to retire from judicial office in early 2025.
Matthew Gerard Clarke,Lord Clarke,PC was a Senator of the College of Justice,a judge of the Supreme Courts of Scotland,sitting in the High Court of Justiciary and the Inner House of the Court of Session.
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.
Iain Bonomy,Lord Bonomy,is a former Senator of the College of Justice,a judge of the Supreme Courts of Scotland,sitting in the High Court of Justiciary and the Inner House of the Court of Session from 2010 to 2012. From 2004 to 2009,he was a Judge of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.
An Act of Sederunt is secondary legislation made by the Court of Session,the supreme civil court of Scotland,to regulate the proceedings of Scottish courts and tribunals hearing civil matters. Originally made under an Act of the Parliament of Scotland of 1532,the modern power to make Acts of Sederunt is largely derived from the Courts Reform (Scotland) Act 2014. Since 2013,draft Acts have also been prepared by the Scottish Civil Justice Council and submitted to the Court of Session for approval.
Scots law is the legal system of Scotland. It is a hybrid or mixed legal system containing civil law and common law elements,that traces its roots to a number of different historical sources. Together with English law and Northern Irish law,it is one of the three legal systems of the United Kingdom. Scots law recognises four sources of law:legislation,legal precedent,specific academic writings,and custom. Legislation affecting Scotland and Scots law is passed by the Scottish Parliament on all areas of devolved responsibility,and the United Kingdom Parliament on reserved matters. Some legislation passed by the pre-1707 Parliament of Scotland is still also valid.
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.
The Sheriff Personal Injury Court is a Scottish court with exclusive competence over claims relating to personal injury where the case is for a work-related accident claim in excess of £1,000,where the total amount claimed is in excess of £5,000,or where a sheriff in a local sheriff court remits proceedings to the Personal Injury Court. It has concurrent jurisdiction with the Court of Session for all claims in excess of £100,000,and concurrent jurisdiction with the local sheriff courts for personal injury claims within its competence.
Anna Isabel Poole,Lady Poole is a Senator of the College of Justice in Scotland. Prior to her appointment as Senator,she was a Judge of the UK Upper Tribunal,Administrative Appeals Chamber. Lady Poole was educated at Madras College,St Andrews,and at Somerville and Magdalen Colleges,Oxford.
References
- ↑ "Lord Hamilton is new Lord President". The Journal of the Law Society of Scotland. Connect Communications (Scotland) Limited. 24 November 2005. Retrieved 15 July 2008.
- ↑ Ian Mitchell The Justice Factory (2013) printed by Amazon, at page 283
- ↑ "Top judge enters World's End row". BBC News. 27 September 2007. Retrieved 12 January 2009.
- ↑ "Leading judge steps into legal row over murder trial". The Guardian. 28 September 2007. Retrieved 12 January 2009.
- ↑ A & C Black (December 2008). "Rt Hon. Lord Hamilton". Who's Who 2009; online ed. Oxford University Press. Retrieved 27 April 2009.
