Court of Session

Court of Session
Coort o Session (Scots) Cùirt an t-Seisein (Scots Gaelic)
Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom as used by the courts in Scotland
55°56′56″N 3°11′28″W / 55.949°N 3.191°W / 55.949; -3.191
Established	1532; 492 years ago (1532)
Location	Parliament House, Edinburgh
Coordinates	55°56′56″N 3°11′28″W / 55.949°N 3.191°W / 55.949; -3.191
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]
Authorized by	College of Justice Act 1532 Court of Session Act 1988 Courts Reform (Scotland) Act 2014
Appeals to	Supreme Court of the United Kingdom[2]
Judge term length	Mandatory retirement at age of 75
Number of positions	35[3]
Website	www.scotcourts.gov.uk
Lord President
Currently	Lord Carloway
Since	19 December 2015
Lord Justice Clerk
Currently	Lady Dorrian
Since	13 April 2016

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

Court of Session Act 1988
Act of Parliament
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Long title	An Act to consolidate, with amendments to give effect to recommendations of the Scottish Law Commission, certain enactments relating to the constitution, administration and procedure of the Court of Session and procedure on appeal therefrom to the House of Lords; and to repeal, in accordance with recommendations of the Scottish Law Commission, certain enactments relating to the aforesaid matters which are no longer of practical utility.
Citation	1988 c. 36
Dates
Royal assent	29 July 1988
Other legislation
Repeals/revokes	Declinature Act 1594 Summons Execution Act 1672 Court of Session Act 1808 Court of Session Act 1810 Court of Session Act 1813 Jury Trials (Scotland) Act 1819 Court of Session Act 1819 Court of Session Act 1832 Jury Trials (Scotland) Act 1837 Court of Session (No. 1) Act 1838 Bill Chamber Procedure Act 1857 Court of Session Act 1857 Evidence (Scotland) Act 1866 Parliamentary Elections Act 1868 Parliamentary Elections and Corrupt Practices Act 1879 Corrupt and Illegal Practices Prevention Act 1883 Jury Trials Amendment (Scotland) Act 1910 Administration of Justice (Scotland) Act 1948
Status: Current legislation
Text of statute as originally enacted
Text of the Court of Session Act 1988 as in force today (including any amendments) within the United Kingdom, from legislation.gov.uk.

The Court of Session (Scottish Gaelic: Cùirt an t-Seisein) 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.

Decisions of the court can be appealed to the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom, with the permission of either the Inner House or the Supreme Court. The Court of Session and the local sheriff courts of Scotland have concurrent jurisdiction for all cases with a monetary value in excess of £100,000; the plaintiff is given first choice of court. However, the majority of complex, important, or high value cases are brought in the Court of Session. Cases can be remitted to the Court of Session from the sheriff courts, including the Sheriff Personal Injury Court, at the request of the presiding sheriff. Legal aid, administered by the Scottish Legal Aid Board, is available to persons with little disposable income for cases in the Court of Session.

The court is a unitary collegiate court, with all judges other than the Lord President of the Court of Session and the Lord Justice Clerk holding the same rank and title—Senator of the College of Justice and also Lord or Lady of Council and Session. The Lord President is chief justice of the court, and also head of the judiciary of Scotland; the Lord Justice Clerk is his deputy. There are 35 senators, in addition to a number of temporary judges; these temporary judges are typically serving sheriffs and sheriffs principal, or advocates in private practice. The senators sit also in the High Court of Justiciary, where the Lord President is called the Lord Justice General, and senators are known as Lords Commissioners of Justiciary.

The court is divided into the Inner House of twelve senators, which is primarily an appeal court, and the Outer House, which is primarily a court of first instance. The Inner House is further divided into two divisions of six senators: the first division is presided over by the Lord President, and the second division is presided over by the Lord Justice Clerk. Cases in the Inner House are normally heard before a bench of three senators, though more complex or important cases are presided over by five senators. On very rare occasions the whole Inner House has presided over a case. Cases in the Outer House are heard by a single senator sitting as a Lord Ordinary, occasionally with a jury of twelve. The court is administered by the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service, and the most senior clerk of court is the Principal Clerk of Session and Justiciary; the Principal Clerk is responsible for all court staff, and is also responsible for the administration of the High Court of Justiciary.