College of Justice

Supreme courts of Scotland

College of Justice

The Court of Session, the supreme civil court, is based at Parliament House

Established| 1532
Jurisdiction| Scotland
Location| Edinburgh
Composition method| Judges are appointed by the Monarch on the recommendation of the First Minister, who receives recommendations from the Judicial Appointments Board for Scotland[1]
Appeals to| Supreme Court of the United Kingdom (Appeals from the the High Court are limited to appeals on points of law with respect to human rights and devolution issues.)
Judge term length| Mandatory retirement at age 75
Lord President and Lord Justice General
Currently| The Rt Hon Lord Carloway
Since| 2015
Jurist term ends| 2029
Lord Justice Clerk and President of the Second Division of the Inner House
Currently| The Rt Hon Lady Dorrian
Since| 2016
Jurist term ends| 2032
The High Court of Justiciary, the supreme criminal court, in Edinburgh

The College of Justice (Scottish Gaelic: Colaiste a' Cheartais) 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, and the Auditor of the Court of Session.[2][3][4] Its associated bodies are the Faculty of Advocates, the Society of Writers to His Majesty's Signet and the Society of Solicitors in the Supreme Courts of Scotland.

The College is headed by the Lord President of the Court of Session, who also holds the title of Lord Justice General in relation to the High Court of Justiciary, and judges of the Court of Session and High Court are titled Senators of the College of Justice.

## History

[edit]

The college was founded in 1532 by King James V following a bull issued by Pope Clement VII on 15 September 1531. It provided for 10,000 gold ducats to be contributed by the Scottish bishoprics and monastic institutions for the maintenance of its members, one half of whom would be members of the "ecclesiastical dignity".[5]

United Kingdom legislation

College of Justice Act 1532

Act of Parliament

Parliament of Scotland

Long title| Concerning the ordour of Justice and the institutioun of ane college of cunning and wise men for the administracioun of Justice.
Citation| c. 2
[12mo ed: 1537 cc. 36–41]
Dates
Royal assent| 17 May 1532
Other legislation
Amended by|

* Statute Law Revision (Scotland) Act 1906

Status: Amended

Text of the College of Justice Act 1532 as in force today (including any amendments) within the United Kingdom, from legislation.gov.uk.

The Parliament of Scotland passed the College of Justice Act 1532 (c. 2) on 17 May 1532 authorising the creation of the college with 14 members, half spiritual, half temporal, plus a president and the Lord Chancellor. The college convened for the first time on 27 May 1532, in the royal presence.

Supplementing the 14 ordinary lords, who were called senators, were an indefinite number of supernumerary judges called extraordinary lords.

The founding members of the College of Justice were:

* The Lord Chancellor, Gavin Dunbar, Archbishop of Glasgow
* The Lord President, Alexander Myln, Abbot of Cambuskenneth
* Richard Bothwell, Rector of Ashkirk
* John Dingwall, Provost of Trinity College
* Henry White, Rector of Finevin
* William Gibson, Dean of Restalrig
* Thomas Hay, Dean of Dunbar
* Robert Reid, Abbot of Kinloss
* George Ker, Provost of Dunglass
* Sir William Scott of Balweary
* Henry Lauder, Lord St Germains, King's Advocate[6]
* John Campbell of Lundy
* Sir James Colville of Easter Wemyss
* Sir Adam Otterburn of Auldhame and Redhall, King's Advocate
* Nicholas Crawford of Oxengangs
* Francis Bothwell of Edinburgh (brother of Richard)
* James Lawson of Edinburgh
* Sir James Foulis of Colinton, who was added at the first meeting of the court when the king made him a "Lord of the Session".

The college at its foundation dealt with underdeveloped civil law. It did not dispense justice in criminal matters as that was an area of the law reserved to the king's justice, through the justiciars (hence the High Court of the Justiciary), the Barony Courts and the Commission of Justiciary. The High Court of Justiciary was only incorporated into the College of Justice in 1672.

Initially, there was little legal literature. Acts of the Parliament of Scotland and the books of the Old Law as well as Roman Law and canon law texts were about all to which the pursuer and defender could refer. It was only after the establishment of the court that this situation improved, with judges noting their decisions in books of practicks.

The Treaty of Union 1707 with England preserved the Scottish Legal System. Article XIX provided "that the Court of Session or College of Justice do after the Union and notwithstanding thereof remain in all time coming within Scotland, and that the Court of Justiciary do also after the Union ... remain in all time coming."

## See also

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Part of a series on

Scots law

Administration

* Justice and Communities Directorate of the Scottish Government
* Cabinet Secretary for Justice
* Judicial Appointments Board
* Judicial Complaints Reviewer
* Parole Board for Scotland
* Legal Aid Board
* Courts & Tribunals Service
* College of Justice
* Office of the Public Guardian
* Scottish Sentencing Council
* Law Commission
* Criminal Cases Review Commission
* Prison Service

Civil courts

* Court of Session
* Lord President
* Lord Justice Clerk
* Lord of Session
* Office of the Accountant of Court
* Acts of Sederunt
* Sheriff Court
* Sheriff Appeal Court
* Sheriff Principal
* Sheriff Personal Injury Court
* Sheriff

Criminal courts

* High Court of Justiciary
* Lord Justice-General
* Lord Justice Clerk
* Lords Commissioner of Justiciary
* Acts of Adjournal
* Sheriff courts
* Sheriff Appeal Court
* Sheriff Principal
* Sheriffs
* Justice of the peace courts
* Justices of the peace

Special courts

* Court of the Lord Lyon
* Lord Lyon King of Arms
* Children's Reporter Administration
* Children's Hearings
* Land Court
* Lands Tribunal
* Scottish Solicitors' Discipline Tribunal

Criminal prosecution

* Lord Advocate
* Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service
* Advocate Depute
* Procurator fiscal
* Fiscal fine
* Precognition

Legal profession

* Judiciary
* Faculty of Advocates
* Advocate
* Law Society
* Solicitor-Advocate
* Solicitor
* Association of Commercial Attorneys
* Scottish Legal Complaints Commission

* v
* t
* e

* Senator of the College of Justice
* Historic List of Senators of the College of Justice
* Extraordinary Lord of Session
* Principal Clerk of Session and Justiciary

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Judicial Appointments - How are judges appointed?". Judiciary of Scotland. Edinburgh: Judicial Office for Scotland. Archived from the original on 14 February 2021. Retrieved 27 May 2012.
2. ^ PDF-file Archived 2007-07-04 at the Wayback Machine \- "The Supreme Courts are made up of: the Court of Session, the High Court of Justiciary and the Accountant of Court's Office" - Scottish Court Service, accessed 12 March 2007
3. ^ "Expenses and Funding of Litigation Bill | Auditor of Court Provisions" (PDF). scottishciviljusticecouncil.gov.uk. Scottish Civil Justice Council. 14 June 2016. Retrieved 6 May 2017.
4. ^ "Court of Session Act 1821", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, 1821 c. 38
5. ^ The 1531 bull stipulated that of the senators "media pars in dignitate ecclesiastica constituta omnino esse debeat"; a March 1534 bull of Pope Paul III added "pro uno Presidente semper prelate ecclesiastico". Baird Smith, David (1912), "The Reformers and divorce", The Scottish Historical Review, 9: 12–13
6. ^ "One of the nine advocates appointed at the institution of the College of Justice. Dalrymple of Hailes, Bt., Sir David, An Historical Account of the Senators of the College of Justice of Scotland from its Institution, Edinburgh, 1849, p.63.

## External links

[edit]

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