The Court of Session is the highest national court of Scotland in civil cases. The court was established in 1532 to take on the judicial functions of the royal council. Its jurisdiction overlapped with other royal,state and church courts but as those were disbanded,the role of the Court of Session ascended. The Acts of Union establishing the United Kingdom provided that the court will "remain in all time coming".
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.
Thomas Henry Bingham,Baron Bingham of Cornhill,was a British judge who was successively Master of the Rolls,Lord Chief Justice and Senior Law Lord. On his death in 2010,he was described as the greatest judge of his generation. The Baroness Hale of Richmond observed that his pioneering role in the formation of the United Kingdom Supreme Court may be his most important and long-lasting legacy. The Lord Phillips of Worth Matravers regarded Bingham as "one of the two great legal figures of my lifetime in the law". The Lord Hope of Craighead described Bingham as "the greatest jurist of our time".
Lords of Appeal in Ordinary,commonly known as Law Lords,were judges appointed under the Appellate Jurisdiction Act 1876 to the British House of Lords,as a committee of the House,effectively to exercise the judicial functions of the House of Lords,which included acting as the highest appellate court for most domestic matters.
The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom is the final court of appeal in the United Kingdom for all civil cases and for criminal cases originating in England,Wales and Northern Ireland. As the United Kingdom's highest appellate court for these matters,it hears cases of the greatest public or constitutional importance affecting the whole population.
Alan Ferguson Rodger,Baron Rodger of Earlsferry was a Scottish academic,lawyer,and Justice of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom.
The College of Justice includes the Supreme Courts of Scotland,and its associated bodies.
Jonathan Philip Chadwick Sumption,Lord Sumption,,KC,is a British author,medieval historian,barrister and former senior judge who sat on the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom between 2012 and 2018,and a Non-Permanent Judge of the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal from 2019 to 2024.
Anthony Philip Gilson Hughes,Lord Hughes of Ombersley is a former English judge of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom. He was previously a Lord Justice of Appeal and Vice-President of the Criminal Division from 2009,following the retirement of Lord Justice Latham,to 9 April 2013.
David Edmond Neuberger,Baron Neuberger of Abbotsbury is an English judge. He served as President of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom from 2012 to 2017. He was a Lord of Appeal in Ordinary until the House of Lords' judicial functions were transferred to the new Supreme Court in 2009,at which point he became Master of the Rolls,the second most senior judge in England and Wales. Neuberger was appointed to the Supreme Court,as its President,in 2012. He now serves as a Non-Permanent Judge of the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal and formerly served as the Chair of the High-Level Panel of Legal Experts on Media Freedom. He was appointed to the Singapore International Commercial Court as from 2018.
Andrew Stephen Burrows,Lord Burrows,is a Justice of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom. His academic work centres on private law. He is the main editor of the compendium English Private Law and the convenor of the advisory group that produced A Restatement of the English Law of Unjust Enrichment as well as textbooks on English contract law. He was appointed to the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom on 2 June 2020. As Professor of the Law of England,University of Oxford and senior research fellow at All Souls College,Oxford at the time of his appointment,he was the first Supreme Court judge to be appointed directly from academia.
Robert Walker,Baron Walker of Gestingthorpe,,was a British barrister and Justice of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom. He served as a Non-Permanent Judge of the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal between 2009 and 2023.
United Kingdom administrative law is part of UK constitutional law that is designed through judicial review to hold executive power and public bodies accountable under the law. A person can apply to the High Court to challenge a public body's decision if they have a "sufficient interest",within three months of the grounds of the cause of action becoming known. By contrast,claims against public bodies in tort or contract are usually limited by the Limitation Act 1980 to a period of 6 years.
Robert John Reed,Baron Reed of Allermuir,is a Scottish judge who has been President of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom since January 2020. He was the principal judge in the Commercial Court in Scotland before being promoted to the Inner House of the Court of Session in 2008. He is an authority on human rights law in Scotland and elsewhere;he served as one of the UK's ad hoc judges at the European Court of Human Rights. He was also a Non-Permanent Judge of the Court of Final Appeal of Hong Kong.
The constitution of the United Kingdom comprises the written and unwritten arrangements that establish the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland as a political body. Unlike in most countries,no official attempt has been made to codify such arrangements into a single document,thus it is known as an uncodified constitution. This enables the constitution to be easily changed as no provisions are formally entrenched.
Patrick Stewart Hodge,Lord Hodge,PC is a British lawyer,currently serving as Deputy President of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom.
Justices of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom are the judges of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom other than the president and the deputy president of the court. The Supreme Court is the highest court of the United Kingdom for all civil cases,and for criminal cases from the jurisdictions of England and Wales and Northern Ireland. Judges are appointed by the British monarch on the advice of the prime minister,who receives recommendations from a selection commission.
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.
Fraser v Her Majesty's Advocate (2011) UKSC 24 is a decision of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom relating to the effect of non-disclosure of evidence to the defence at trial and the role of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom in Scots criminal law.
Aidan O'Neill KC is a Scottish advocate,barrister,and King's Counsel.
