The Lord President of the Court of Session and Lord Justice General is the most senior

judge A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a panel of judges. A judge hears all the witnesses and any other evidence presented by the barristers or solicitors of the case, assesses the credibility an ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

, the head of the

judiciary The judiciary (also known as the judicial system, judicature, judicial branch, judiciative branch, and court or judiciary system) is the system of courts that adjudicates legal disputes/disagreements and interprets, defends, and applies the law ...

, and the presiding judge of the

College of Justice The College of Justice includes the Supreme Courts of Scotland, and its associated bodies. The constituent bodies of the national supreme courts are the Court of Session, the High Court of Justiciary, the Office of the Accountant of Court, an ...

, the

Court of Session 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 the

High Court of Justiciary 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 Cou ...

. The Lord President holds the title of Lord Justice General of Scotland and the head of the

ex officio An ''ex officio'' member is a member of a body (notably a board, committee, council) who is part of it by virtue of holding another office. The term '' ex officio'' is Latin, meaning literally 'from the office', and the sense intended is 'by right ...

'', as the two offices were combined in 1836. The Lord President has authority over any court established under

Scots law 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 Ireland l ...

, except for the

Supreme Court of the United Kingdom The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom (initialism: UKSC or the acronym: SCOTUK) 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 Unite ...

and the

Court of the Lord Lyon The Court of the Lord Lyon (the Lyon Court) is a standing court of law, based in New Register House in Edinburgh, which regulates heraldry in Scotland. The Lyon Court maintains the register of grants of arms, known as the Public Register of All A ...

. The current Lord President of the Court of Session is

Lord Carloway Colin John MacLean Sutherland, Lord Carloway (born 20 May 1954), 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 t ...

, who was appointed to the position on 18 December 2015. They are paid according to salary group 1.1 of the Judicial Salaries Scale, which in 2016 was £222,862.

Remit and jurisdiction

Head of the judiciary

As Lord President of the Court of Session and is the most senior

, the head of the

, and the presiding judge of the

, and the

. Under Section 2(6) of the Judiciary and Courts (Scotland) Act 2008, the Lord President has authority over the judiciary of any court established under

, except for the

and the

. The

Scottish Land Court 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 Scotti ...

, which until 1 April 2017 was administered separately, was transferred to the

Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service , type = , seal = , logo = 250px , logo_caption = , formed = , jurisdiction = Scotland , headquarters = Saughton House, Broomhouse Drive, Edinburgh EH11 3XD , employees = 1,374 , budget = £129.3 million (2015-2016) , chief1_name = Lord ...

. The 2008 act states: The Lord President is supported by the

Judicial Office for Scotland The judiciary (also known as the judicial system, judicature, judicial branch, judiciative branch, and court or judiciary system) is the system of courts that adjudicates legal disputes/disagreements and interprets, defends, and applies the law ...

which was established on 1 April 2010 as a result of the

Judiciary and Courts (Scotland) Act 2008 The Judiciary and Courts (Scotland) Act 2008 is an Act of the Scottish Parliament passed in October 2008 to reform the courts of Scotland, to give statutory force to judicial independence, and to establish the Lord President of the Court of Sessio ...

, and the Lord President chairs the corporate board of the

. The Lord President, and the wider judiciary, is advised on matters relating to the administration of justice by the Judicial Council for Scotland, which is a non-statutory body established in 2007. There had been plans for a statutory judges' council but these plans were abandoned in favour of a non-statutory council convened by the Lord President.

Inner House

The Lord President presides over the 1st Division of the

Inner House The Inner House is the senior part of the Court of Session, the supreme civil court in Scotland; the Outer House forms the junior part of the Court of Session. It is a court of appeal and a court of first instance. The chief justice is th ...

of the Court of Session. The

is the part of the Court of Session which acts as a

court of appeal A court of appeals, also called a court of appeal, appellate court, appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal. In much of t ...

for cases decided the

Outer House The Outer House (abbreviated as CSOH in neutral citations) is one of the two parts of the Scottish Court of Session, which is the supreme civil court in Scotland. It is a court of first instance, although some statutory appeals are remitted ...

and

Sheriff Appeal Court The Sheriff Appeal Court is a court in Scotland that hears appeals from summary criminal proceedings in the sheriff courts and justice of the peace courts, and hears appeals on bail decisions made in solemn proceedings in the sheriff court. ...

, and hearing appeals on

questions of law In law, a question of law, also known as a point of law, is a question that must be answered by applying relevant legal principles to interpretation of the law. Such a question is distinct from a question of fact, which must be answered by reference ...

from the

, and the

Lands Tribunal for Scotland The Lands Tribunal for Scotland is a tribunal with jurisdiction over land and property in Scotland, relating to title obligations, compulsory purchase and other private rights. The Tribunal was established under the Lands Tribunal Act 1949, wh ...

Official Oath

In Scotland the

Official Oath The Oath of Allegiance (Judicial or Official Oath) is a promise to be loyal to the British monarch, and his or her heirs and successors, sworn by certain public servants in the United Kingdom, and also by newly naturalised subjects in citizen ...

is taken before the Lord President of the Court of Session.

Lord Justice General

The Lord President is also the Lord Justice General of Scotland and the head of the

''ex officio'', with the two offices having been combined in 1836.The office of Lord Justice General is derived from the

justiciar Justiciar is the English form of the medieval Latin term ''justiciarius'' or ''justitiarius'' ("man of justice", i.e. judge). During the Middle Ages in England, the Chief Justiciar (later known simply as the Justiciar) was roughly equivalent ...

s who were appointed from at least the twelfth century. From around 1567 onwards it was held heritably by the

Earl of Argyll Earl () is a rank of the nobility in the United Kingdom. The title originates in the Old English word ''eorl'', meaning "a man of noble birth or rank". The word is cognate with the Scandinavian form ''jarl'', and meant "chieftain", particular ...

until the heritability was resigned to

the Crown The Crown is the state in all its aspects within the jurisprudence of the Commonwealth realms and their subdivisions (such as the Crown Dependencies, overseas territories, provinces, or states). Legally ill-defined, the term has different ...

in 1607.

Officeholders

Justiciars

(called Lord Chief Justices by Scot of Scotstarvet). * Argadus, Captain of

Argyll Argyll (; archaically Argyle, in modern Gaelic, ), sometimes called Argyllshire, is a historic county and registration county of western Scotland. Argyll is of ancient origin, and corresponds to most of the part of the ancient kingdom of ...

, in the reign of Ethodius * Comes Dunetus; in the reign of King

William the Lion William the Lion, sometimes styled William I and also known by the nickname Garbh, "the Rough"''Uilleam Garbh''; e.g. Annals of Ulster, s.a. 1214.6; Annals of Loch Cé, s.a. 1213.10. ( 1142 – 4 December 1214), reigned as King of Scots from 11 ...

. (

Donnchad II, Earl of Fife Donnchad II (died 1204), anglicized as Duncan II or Dunecan II, succeeded his father Duncan I as Earl of Fife in childhood. As a child of the previous mormaer, he was entitled to succeed his father through primogeniture, but not to lead his k ...

) * William Comyn *

Richard Comyn Richard Comyn (died c. 1179) was a Scottish noble, the nephew of William Cumin. Richard was probably born between 1115 and 1123. In 1144, William Comyn gave him Northallerton Castle, which he had re-built a few years earlier. Shortly after, he r ...

David, Earl of Huntingdon David of Scotland (Medieval Gaelic: ''Dabíd'') (1152 – 17 June 1219) was a Scottish prince and 8th Earl of Huntingdon. He was, until 1198, heir to the Scottish throne. Life He was the youngest surviving son of Henry of Scotland, 3rd Earl of ...

(died 1219) * Walter Clifford, Justiciary of the Lothians * 1216:

Allan Allan may refer to: People * Allan (name), a given name and surname, including list of people and characters with this name * Allan (footballer, born 1984) (Allan Barreto da Silva), Brazilian football striker * Allan (footballer, born 1989) ...

, Justiciary to King Alexander II * 1224: William Cumin, Earl of Buchan *

Walter Walter may refer to: People * Walter (name), both a surname and a given name * Little Walter, American blues harmonica player Marion Walter Jacobs (1930–1968) * Gunther (wrestler), Austrian professional wrestler and trainer Walter Hahn (born 19 ...

(died 1241), son of Allan High Steward of Scotland * 1239: William, Earl of Ross, "Lord Chief Justice of Scotland" *

Alexander Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here are Aleksandar, Al ...

(d.1283),

High Steward of Scotland The title of High Steward or Great Steward is that of an officer who controls the domestic affairs of a royal household. In the 12th century King David I of Scotland gave the title to Walter fitz Alan, a nobleman from Brittany, whose descendan ...

to King Alexander II * 1253: Alexander Cumin, Earl of Buchan * 1366: Robert de Erskine, Justiciary South of the Forth for King David II * bef 1372: Alan de Lawedre of The Bass, Whitslaid, & Haltoun, Justiciary South of the Forth, (he received a pension for holding this post in 1374). * 1437: James Douglas, Earl of Avondale and Lord Balveny * 1446: Patrick de Ogilvy, Justiciary South of the Forth * 1457: John, Lord Lindsay of the Byres, Justiciary South of the Forth * William Sinclair, 3rd Earl of Orkney & Caithness (d.1480), Justiciary North of the Forth for King James II * 1477: John Haldane of Gleneagles, Justiciary North of the Forth *

Patrick Hepburn, 1st Lord Hailes Sir Patrick Hepburn of Dunsyre, 1st Lord Hailes (died 1483) was the feudal lord of Hailes and its castle in East Lothian and a Lord of Parliament. Family Sir Patrick Hepburn was the son of Sir Adam Hepburn of Hailes, Knt. (d. 1446), by his spo ...

(died after 1482), and Robert, 2nd Lord Lyle, Justiciaries South of the Forth * Andrew, Earl of Crawfurd, and

George Gordon, 2nd Earl of Huntly George Gordon, 2nd Earl of Huntly (died 8 June 1501) was a Scottish nobleman and Chancellor of Scotland from 1498 to 1501. Life George was the son of Alexander (Seton) Gordon, 1st Earl of Huntly and his second wife Elizabeth Crichton, daughter ...

, Justiciaries North of the Forth * 1488:

Robert Lyle, 2nd Lord Lyle Robert Lyle, 2nd Lord Lyle (died 1497) was a Scottish nobleman from Duchal Castle in Renfrewshire. He was at one point a loyal supporter of King James III and served as an ambassador to England in the 1470s and 1480s. During his service, Lord Lyl ...

(died c. 1497), "Lord Chief Justice" * 1489:

John Lyon, 3rd Lord Glamis John Lyon, 3rd Lord of Glamis (14311 April 1497) was a Scottish nobleman. Born in Angus, he was the second son of Patrick Lyon, 1st Lord Glamis, and inherited the title on his brother's death in 1486. He attended university, possibly in Paris. He ...

(died 1 April 1497), and

John Drummond, 1st Lord Drummond John Drummond, 1st Lord Drummond (died 1519), was a Scottish statesman. Drummond, ninth successive knight of his family, was the eldest son of Sir Malcolm Drummond of Cargill and Stobhall, Perthshire, by his marriage with Mariota, eldest daughter ...

: "Justice-General" * 1492:

, and

* 1494:

(died c1519) * 1504: Andrew Gray, 2nd

Lord Gray Lord Gray is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. The Barony of Gray was created circa July 1445 for the Scottish diplomat and politician Sir Andrew Gray. The first Lord Gray was a hostage in England for the good conduct of James I of Scotland ...

, and

John Kennedy, 2nd Lord Kennedy John Kennedy, PC, 2nd Lord Kennedy (12 October 1454 – 29 December 1508) was a Scottish lord, the son of Gilbert Kennedy, 1st Lord Kennedy and Catherine Maxwell. He succeeded to the title of 2nd Lord Kennedy in 1489 after the death of his ...

* 1514:

Colin Campbell, 3rd Earl of Argyll Colin Campbell, 3rd Earl of Argyll (c. 1486 – 9 October 1529) was a Scottish nobleman and soldier. He was also known as "Cailen Malloch". Life Colin Campbell was the son of Archibald Campbell, 2nd Earl of Argyll and Lady Elizabeth Stuart ...

* 1526:

Archibald Douglas of Kilspindie Sir Archibald Douglas of Kilspindie (c. 1475 – bef. 1536), also known as ''Greysteil'', was a Scottish nobleman and courtier, who served as Treasurer of Scotland, and was three times Provost of Edinburgh. Life Rise Kilspindie was the four ...

* 1532: Alexander Mylne,

Abbot of Cambuskenneth The Abbot of Cambuskenneth or Abbot of Stirling (later Commendator of Cambuskenneth) was the head of the Arrouaisian (Augustinian) monastic community of Cambuskenneth Abbey, near Stirling. The long history of the abbey came to a formal end when th ...

* 1537:

Archibald Campbell, 4th Earl of Argyll Archibald Campbell, 4th Earl of Argyll or Archibald "the Red" Campbell (c. 1507 – 1558), was a Scottish nobleman and politician. Biography Archibald Campbell was the eldest son of Colin Campbell, 3rd Earl of Argyll (died 1529) and Lad ...

* 1567: Sir

Colin Campbell, 6th Earl of Argyll Colin Campbell, 6th Earl of Argyll (c. 1542– October 1584) was a Scottish nobleman and politician. He was appointed to the Lord Chancellorship of Scotland. Biography He was the eldest son of Archibald Campbell, 4th Earl of Argyll and his seco ...

, (d.1584) (heritably) * 1578: Sir

, (re-appointment?) * 1589:

Archibald Campbell, 7th Earl of Argyll Archibald Campbell, 7th Earl of Argyll (c. 1575–1638), also called ("Archibald the Grim"), was a Scottish peer, politician, and military leader. Life Campbell was the son of Colin Campbell, 6th Earl of Argyll and Agnes Keith. His nickn ...

, (who exchanged the heritable office of Lord Chief Justice in 1607, for the heritable Lieutenancy of Argyll and Lorn, and most of The Isles).

Lord Justice-General

Lord President

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lord President of the Court of Session Lists of judges in Scotland

Remit and jurisdiction

Head of the judiciary

Inner House

Official Oath

Lord Justice General

Officeholders

Justiciars

Lord Justice-General

Lord President

See also

References