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 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.
Colin Boyd,Baron Boyd of Duncansby,is a Scottish judge who has been a Senator of the College of Justice since June 2012. He was Lord Advocate for Scotland from 24 February 2000 until his resignation on 4 October 2006. On 11 April 2006,Downing Street announced that Colin Boyd would take a seat as a crossbench life peer;however,he took the Labour whip after resigning as Lord Advocate. He was formally introduced in the House of Lords on 3 July 2006. On the day SNP leader Alex Salmond was elected First Minister of Scotland,it was reported that Boyd was quitting the Scottish Bar to become a part-time consultant with public law solicitors,Dundas &Wilson. He told the Glasgow Herald,"This is a first. I don't think a Lord Advocate has ever done this—left the Bar and become a solicitor."
Peter Lovat Fraser,Baron Fraser of Carmyllie,PC,QC was a Scottish politician and advocate.
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.
Andrew Rutherford Hardie,Baron Hardie,is a former Senator of the College of Justice,a judge of the Supreme Courts of Scotland,and a former Lord Advocate,the country's senior Law Officer. He led the prosecution team in the preparation of the original Lockerbie bombing trial,but resigned as Lord Advocate shortly before the trial commenced in 2000.
Alan Ferguson Rodger,Baron Rodger of Earlsferry was a Scottish academic,lawyer,and Justice of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom.
Lord Cullen may refer to:
A fatal accident inquiry is a Scottish judicial process which investigates and determines the circumstances of some deaths occurring in Scotland. Until 2009,they did not apply to any deaths occurring in other jurisdictions,when the Coroners and Justice Act 2009 extended the Fatal Accidents and Sudden Deaths Inquiry (Scotland) Act 1976 to service personnel at the discretion of the Chief Coroner or the Secretary of State. The equivalent process in England and Wales is an inquest. A major review of the fatal accident inquiries was undertaken by Lord Cullen of Whitekirk,at the request of the Scottish Government,which resulted in the passing of the Inquiries into Fatal Accidents and Sudden Deaths etc. (Scotland) Act 2016.
Arthur Campbell Hamilton,Lord Hamilton,,is a Scottish judge and served as Lord Justice General and Lord President of the Court of Session from November 2005 until 8 June 2012,succeeding Lord Cullen.
James John Clyde,Baron Clyde,PC was a Scottish judge.
Robert Younger,Baron Blanesburgh,was a British barrister and judge. The scion of a Scottish brewing family,he practised at the bar of England and Wales,before being appointed to the High Court in 1915,the Court of Appeal in 1919,and the House of Lords in 1923. He served as a law lord until 1937,when failing eyesight forced his retirement.
Alan Turnbull,Lord Turnbull is a Scottish lawyer,and a Senator of the College of Justice,a judge of the country's Supreme Courts. He was one of the lead prosecutors in the Pan Am Flight 103 bombing trial.
Stephen Errol Woolman,Lord Woolman,,is a Scottish legal academic,and a retired Senator of the College of Justice.
William Austin Nimmo Smith 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. He retired from this position on 30 September 2009.
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.
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 Cullen Report can refer to one of three reports of public inquiries into UK disasters that were overseen by William Cullen,Baron Cullen of Whitekirk.
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.
