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.
The Lord Justice Clerk is the second most senior judge in Scotland,after the Lord President of the Court of Session. The current Lord Justice Clerk is Leeona Dorrian,Lady Dorrian,who was appointed to the position on 13 April 2016. in June 2024 Lady Dorrian has announced her intention to retire from judicial office on 3 February 2025.
Brian Gill,Lord Gill,KSG FRSE FRSAMD FRSCM is a retired Scottish judge and legal academic. Lord Gill was Lord President and Lord Justice General and held that position for three years from 2012 until 2015. His 2007 to 2009 consultation and report into the failings of the Scottish legal system was followed by a major overhaul of the entire court system once he had been appointed Lord President.
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.
Thomas David King Murray,Lord Birnam,,known as Lord Murray between 1938 and 1941 and Sir David King Murray between 1941 and 1945,was a Scottish advocate and judge who served for two years as Unionist Member of Parliament (MP).
John Beckett,Lord Beckett is a Scottish lawyer who was appointed in 2016 as a Senator of the College of Justice,a judge 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.
John Francis Wheatley,Lord Wheatley,PC is a Scottish lawyer and retired 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. He is an authority on road traffic law. His father,John Wheatley,Baron Wheatley,was Lord Justice Clerk between 1972 and 1985,the second-most senior judge in Scotland.
Colin John MacLean Sutherland,Lord Carloway PC FRSE 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.
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.
Angus Stewart,Lord Stewart is a Scottish lawyer and retired judge. From 2010 to 2016 he was 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.
Events from the year 2016 in Scotland.
Andrew Fleming Stewart,Lord Ericht is a Scottish lawyer who was appointed in 2016 as a Senator of the College of Justice,a judge of the Court of Session.
Her Majesty's Advocate v Alexander Elliot Anderson Salmond was the 2020 criminal prosecution of Alex Salmond,the former First Minister of Scotland,for allegations of sexual misconduct. Salmond faced 14 charges,mostly of sexual assault. The trial began on 9 March 2020 at the High Court in Edinburgh and concluded on 23 March 2020 with the jury acquitting Salmond of all charges:not guilty on 12 charges,and not proven on one of sexual assault with intent to rape. A further sexual assault charge was previously withdrawn by the Crown.
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.
Craig Robert Kindness Sandison,Lord Sandison is a Scottish judge who has been a Senator of the College of Justice since 2021.
