Lord President of the Court of Session

Scots law

This article is part of the series:
Law of Scotland

The Lord President of the Court of Session is head of the judiciary in Scotland,[1] and presiding judge (and Senator) of the College of Justice and Court of Session, as well as being Lord Justice General of Scotland and head of the High Court of Justiciary, the offices having been combined in 1836.[2] The Lord President has authority over any court established under Scots law except for the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom.[3]

The office of Lord Justice General is derived from the justiciars who were appointed from the twelfth century (or even earlier). From around 1567 it was held heritably by the Earl of Argyll until the heritability was resigned to the Crown in 1607. Scotstarvet lists it as a Great Officer of State in his famous treatise of 1754.[4]

The current Lord President, Lord Hamilton, was sworn in on 2 December 2005.[5]

His deputy is the Lord Justice Clerk.

In Scotland the Official Oath is taken before the Lord President of the Court of Session. In England that role is performed by the Clerk of the Privy Council.[6]

Contents

Officeholders

Justiciars

See also: Justiciar of Scotia and Justiciar of Lothian

(called Lord Chief Justices by Scot of Scotstarvet).

Lord Justice-General

(list might be incomplete)

The office was combined with that of Lord President on the death of the Duke of Montrose in 1836.

Lord President

See also

References

  1. ^ "Section 2, Paragraph 1, Judiciary and Courts (Scotland) Act 2008", Acts of the Scottish Parliament 2008 (6): 2(1), http://www.statutelaw.gov.uk/documents/2008/6/asp, retrieved 2009-08-29, "The Lord President is the Head of the Scottish Judiciary." 
  2. ^ "Section 18, Court of Session Act 1830", Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom 69: 18, 1830-07-23, http://www.statutelaw.gov.uk/documents/1830/69/ukpga, "Office of lord justice general to devolve on lord president." 
  3. ^ "Section 2, Paragraph 5, Judiciary and Courts (Scotland) Act 2008", Acts of the Scottish Parliament 2008 (6): 2(5), http://www.statutelaw.gov.uk/documents/2008/6/asp, retrieved 2009-08-29, "References in this section to the Scottish judiciary are references to the judiciary of any court established under the law of Scotland (other than the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom)." 
  4. ^ Sir John Scot of Scotstarvet, Director of Chancery (1754), The Staggering State of the Scots' Statesmen, Edinburgh: W. Ruddiman, pp. 181–3 
  5. ^ a b c "Lord Hamilton is new Lord President". The Journal of the Law Society of Scotland (Connect Communications (Scotland) Limited). 2005-11-24. http://www.journalonline.co.uk/news/1002497.aspx. Retrieved 2008-07-15. 
  6. ^ "Schedule, Promissory Oaths Act 1868", Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom 72: Schedule, 1868, http://www.statutelaw.gov.uk/documents/1868/72/ukpga/c72/schedule, retrieved 2009-09-01, "The oath as to England is to be tendered by the Clerk of the Council, and taken in presence of Her Majesty in Council, or otherwise as Her Majesty shall direct. The oath as to Scotland is to be tendered by the Lord President of the Court of Session at a sitting of the Court." 
  7. ^ http://www.archive.org/stream/scotspeeragefoun03pauluoft#page/172/mode/2up
  8. ^ a b "Scottish Judicial Appointments". 10 Downing Street. 2001-11-13. http://www.number10.gov.uk/output/Page2750.asp. Retrieved 2008-07-16. 
Chief justice
Lord President of the Court of Session
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