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

judge A judge is a person who wiktionary:preside, presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a judicial panel. In an adversarial system, the judge hears all the witnesses and any other Evidence (law), evidence presented by the barris ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

, 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, ...

, the

Court of Session The Court of Session is the highest national court of Scotland in relation to Civil law (common law), civil cases. The court was established in 1532 to take on the judicial functions of the royal council. Its jurisdiction overlapped with othe ...

, 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 C ...

. 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, or 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 r ...

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

Scots law Scots law () is the List of country legal systems, legal system of Scotland. It is a hybrid or mixed legal system containing Civil law (legal system), civil law and common law elements, that traces its roots to a number of different histori ...

, except for the

Supreme Court of the United Kingdom The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom (initialism: UKSC) is the final court of appeal for all civil cases in the United Kingdom and all criminal cases originating in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, as well as some limited criminal cases ...

and the

Court of the Lord Lyon The Court of the Lord Lyon, or 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 ...

. The current Lord President of the Court of Session is Lord Pentland, who was appointed to the position on 3 February 2025 succeeding Lord Carloway 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 Courts of Scotland, Scottish court of law based in Edinburgh with subject-matter jurisdiction covering disputes between landlords and tenants relating to Tenant farmer, agricultural tenancies, and matters relat ...

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

Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service The Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service (SCTS) () is an independent Public bodies of the Scottish Government, public body which is responsible for the administration of the Courts of Scotland, courts and tribunals of Scotland. The Service is ...

. The 2008 act states: The Lord President is supported by the Judicial Office for Scotland 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 An appellate court, commonly called a court of appeal(s), appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to Hearing (law), hear a Legal case, case upon appeal from a trial court or other ...

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 co ...

, 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 a judge and can not be answered by a jury. Such a question is distinct from a question of fact, which must be answered by reference to facts and eviden ...

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 194 ...

Official Oath

In Scotland the Official Oath 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 or (meaning "judge" or "justice"). The Chief Justiciar was the king's chief minister, roughly equivalent to a modern Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. The Justiciar of Ireland was ...

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. In modern Britain, an earl is a member of the peerage, ranking below a marquess and above a viscount. A feminine form of ''earl'' never developed; instead, ''countess'' is used. The titl ...

until the heritability was resigned to

the Crown The Crown is a political concept used in Commonwealth realms. Depending on the context used, it generally refers to the entirety of the State (polity), state (or in federal realms, the relevant level of government in that state), the executive ...

in 1607.

Officeholders

Justiciars

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

Argyll Argyll (; archaically Argyle; , ), sometimes called Argyllshire, is a Shires of Scotland, historic county and registration county of western Scotland. The county ceased to be used for local government purposes in 1975 and most of the area ...

, 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 ; 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 Alba from 1165 to 1214. His almost 49 ...

. (

Donnchad II, Earl of Fife Donnchad II (died 1204), anglicized as Duncan II or Dunecan II, succeeded his father Donnchad I, Earl of Fife, Duncan I as Earl of Fife in childhood. As a child of the previous mormaer, he was entitled to succeed his father through primogenitur ...

) * William Comyn * Richard Comyn *

David, Earl of Huntingdon David of Scotland (1152 – 17 June 1219) was a Scottish prince and Earl of Huntingdon. He was the grandson of David I and the younger brother of two Scottish kings, Malcolm the Maiden and William the Lion. Life Born in 1152, David was the ...

(died 1219) * Walter Clifford, Justiciary of the Lothians * 1216: Allan, Justiciary to King Alexander II * 1224: William Cumin, Earl of Buchan *

Walter Walter may refer to: People and fictional characters * Walter (name), including a list of people and fictional and mythical characters with the given name or surname * Little Walter, American blues harmonica player Marion Walter Jacobs (1930–19 ...

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

Alexander Alexander () is a male name of Greek origin. 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 ar ...

(d.1283),

High Steward of Scotland Prince and Great Steward of Scotland is one of the titles of the heir apparent to the British throne. The holder since 8 September 2022 is Prince William, who bears the other Scottish titles of Duke of Rothesay, Earl of Carrick, Lord of the Is ...

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 (died after 1482), and Robert, 2nd Lord Lyle, Justiciaries South of the Forth * Andrew, Earl of Crawfurd, and George Gordon, 2nd Earl of Huntly, 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, Kilmacolm, Duchal Castle in Renfrewshire. He was at one point a loyal supporter of James III of Scotland, King James III and served as an ambassador to England in th ...

(died ), "Lord Chief Justice" * 1489: John Lyon, 3rd Lord Glamis (died 1 April 1497), and John Drummond, 1st Lord Drummond: "Justice-General" * 1492:

, and John Lyon, 3rd Lord Glamis * 1494: John Drummond, 1st Lord Drummond (died c1519) * 1504: Andrew Gray, 2nd Lord Gray, and John Kennedy, 2nd Lord Kennedy * 1514: Colin Campbell, 3rd Earl of Argyll * 1526: Archibald Douglas of Kilspindie * 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 ...

* 1537: Archibald Campbell, 4th Earl of Argyll * 1567: Sir Colin Campbell, 6th Earl of Argyll, (d.1584) (heritably) * 1578: Sir Colin Campbell, 6th Earl of Argyll, (re-appointment?) * 1589:

Archibald Campbell, 7th Earl of Argyll Archibald may refer to: People and characters *Archibald (name), a masculine given name and a surname * Archibald (musician) (1916–1973), American R&B pianist * Archibald, a character from the animated TV show '' Archibald the Koala'' Other us ...

, (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