| High Court of Justiciary | |
|---|---|
.svg) Scottish version of the Royal Coat of Arms as used by the Courts in Scotland  Parliament House, Edinburgh which houses the High Court of Justiciary for trial cases | |
| Established | 1672; 353 years ago (1672) |
| Jurisdiction | Scotland |
| Location | |
| Composition method | Appointed by theMonarch on recommendation of theFirst Minister of Scotland orScottish Ministers who receive a recommendation from theJudicial Appointments Board for Scotland |
| Authorised by | |
| Appeals to | Supreme Court of the United Kingdom[note 1] |
| Judge term length | Mandatory retirement at age 75 |
| Number of positions | 36[3] |
| Website | www.scotcourts.gov.uk |
| Lord Justice General | |
| Currently | Lord Pentland |
| Since | 3 February 2025 |
| Lord Justice Clerk | |
| Currently | Lord Beckett |
| Since | 4 February 2025 |
| Part of a series on |
| Scots law |
|---|
 |
TheHigh Court of Justiciary (Scottish Gaelic:Àrd-chùirt a' Cheartais) is thesupremecriminal court inScotland. The High Court is both atrial court and acourt of appeal. As a trial court, the High Court sits on circuit atParliament House or in the adjacent former Sheriff Court building in theOld Town inEdinburgh, or in dedicated buildings inGlasgow andAberdeen. The High Court sometimes sits in various smaller towns in Scotland, where it uses the localsheriff court building. As an appeal court, the High Court sits only in Edinburgh. On one occasion the High Court of Justiciary sat outside Scotland, atZeist in theNetherlands during thePan Am Flight 103 bombing trial, as theScottish Court in the Netherlands. At Zeist the High Court sat both as a trial court, and an appeal court for the initial appeal byAbdelbaset al-Megrahi.
The president of the High Court is theLord Justice General, who holds officeex officio by virtue of beingLord President of the Court of Session, and his depute is theLord Justice Clerk. The remaining judges are theLords Commissioners of Justiciary, who hold officeex officio by virtue of being appointed asSenators of the College of Justice and judges of theCourt of Session. As a court of first instancetrials are usually heard with a jury of 15 and a single Lord Commissioner of Justiciary; the jury canconvict on a majority verdict. In some cases, such as the trial ofAbdelbaset al-Megrahi and Lamin Khalifah Fhimah for the bombing ofPan Am Flight 103, a trial can be heard by abench of judges alone; sitting without a jury. As an appeal court the hearings are always without a jury, with two judges sitting to hear an appeal againstsentence, and three judges sit to hear an appeal againstconviction.
The High Court will hear appeals from thesheriff courts of Scotland where the trial was undersolemn proceedings; the High Court will also hear referrals onpoints of law from theSheriff Appeal Court, and fromsummary proceedings in the sheriff courts andjustice of the peace courts. Cases can be remitted to the High Court by thesheriff courts afterconviction forsentencing, where a sheriff believes that their sentencing powers are inadequate. The High Court can impose alife sentence but the sheriff has a limit of five years sentencing; both can issue an unlimitedfine.
As of 4 February 2025, theLord Justice General wasLord Pentland, theLord Justice Clerk wasLord Beckett, and there were a total of 36 Lords Commissioners of Justiciary.
The origins derive from theJusticiar andCollege of Justice, as well as from the medievalroyal courts andbarony courts. The medievalJusticiar (royal judge) took its name from the justices who originally travelled around Scotland hearing cases on circuit or 'ayre'. From 1524, the Justiciar or a depute was required to have a "permanent base" in Edinburgh.[4][5]
TheKing of Scots sometimes sat in judgment of cases in the early King's Court, and it appears that appeals could be taken from the King's Court to theParliament of Scotland in civil cases but not in criminal ones. In 1532 theCollege of Justice was founded, separatingcivil andcriminal jurisdiction between two distinct courts. The King's Court was, however, normally the responsibility of the Justiciar. The Justiciar normally appointed several deputes to assist in the administration of justice, and to preside in his absence. A legally qualifiedclerk advised the Justiciar and his deputes as they were generallynoblemen and often notlegally qualified. This clerk prepared all theindictments and was keeper of the records. Eventually the influence of the clerk increased until the clerk gained both a vote in the court, and a seat on thebench as theJustice-Clerk.[4][6]
| Courts Act 1672 | |
|---|---|
| Act of Parliament | |
 |
The High Court in its modern form was founded in 1672 by theCourts Act 1672,[7] when five of theLords of Session (judges of theCourt of Session) were added as permanent judges of theJustice Court. Previously the Lord Justice General had appointed deputes to preside in the court. From 1672 to 1887, the High Court consisted of theLord Justice General,Lord Justice Clerk, and fiveLords of Session.[4]
The Court Act 1672 also gave statutory effect to the position of the Lord Justice Clerk, and the Lord Justice-General was made president of the Court, and the Justice-Clerk vice-president. During the period when the office of Lord Justice-General was held by noblemen the Lord Justice-Clerk was virtual head of the Justiciary Court.[4]
Article XIX of theTreaty of Union that united Scotland andEngland intoGreat Britain preserved the High Court of Justiciary, though now the High Court was subject to theParliament of Great Britain which could enact "...regulations for the better administration of Justice". Dominic Scullion, writing in theAberdeen Student Law Review in 2010, identified that theUnion of England and Scotland saw an increase in references toEnglish law and cases in the reports of the High Court. However, Scullion identified that it was only in the latter half of the 20th century that the judgments of the High Court were directly influenced by English decisions andprecedent.[8]
The High Court of Justiciary remained the final authority on all matters ofcriminal law after the Act of Union, though theParliament of Great Britain appears to have had appellate jurisdiction through thejudicial functions of the House of Lords this appeared to have little effect in practice.[4][8] In 1713 a case (Magistrates of Elgin v. Ministers of Elgin) was heard by the House of Lords which overturned a decision of the High Court. However, in 1781 the House of Lords resolved that there could be no appeal from the High Court, as no right of appeal had existed beyond the Court beyond the Treaty of Union.
The Court of Session Act 1830 united the offices of Lord President of the Court of Session and Lord Justice General, with the person appointed as Lord President assuming the office of Lord Justice Generalex officio.[9]
In 1834 the fiveLords of Session who were appointed as Lords Commissioners of Justiciary were paid an additional allowance of£600 over their basic salary of£2,000.[10][note 2] ASelect Committee of theHouse of Commons was appointed to investigate theremuneration andworking conditions of the Lords of Session and Lords Commissioners of Justiciary. The Select Committee recommended that all the Lords of Session should be made Lords Commissioners of Justiciary and that the additional allowance be abolished. At the same time the Committee recommended that the basic salary of a Senator be increased to£3,000.[11]
The membership of the court remained unchanged until 1887 when all of theSenators of the College of Justice were made Lords Commissioners of Justiciary, by the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1887.[12] Writing in 1896, Charles Pearson attested that no appeal was competent from the High Court to the House of Lords.[6]
The House of Lords made a final determination in the case ofMackintosh v. Lord Advocate (1876) 2 App. Cas. 41 that it had no jurisdiction over criminal appeals, as it had inherited the power of theParliament of Scotland to hear civil appeals, but that the pre-union Parliament did not have any jurisdiction to hear criminal appeals.[13][14]
In 1913,Edwin Keedy, writing in theJournal of the American Institute of Criminal Law and Criminology, would affirm that the High Court "is the Supreme Court for the trial of criminal causes".[4]
The supremacy of the High Court was affirmed by Section 124 of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995, which stated:
...every interlocutor and sentence pronounced by the High Court under this Part of this Act shall be final and conclusive and not subject to review by any court whatsoever...
— Section 124, Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995
Scottish devolution and the establishment of theScottish Parliament by theScotland Act 1998 introduced the right to referpoints of law to theJudicial Committee of the Privy Council. Such points of law related tohuman rightscompatibility issues or related todevolution issues. Devolution issues are concerned with the legislative competence of theScottish Parliament and the executive functions of theScottish Government under theScotland Act 1998.[15][16]
From May 2000 until March 2002 the High Court of Justiciary sat as theScottish Court in the Netherlands to tryAbdelbaset al-Megrahi andLamin Khalifah Fhimah for the bombing ofPan Am Flight 103. ThePan Am Flight 103 bombing trial required atreaty between theGovernment of the United Kingdom andGovernment of the Kingdom of the Netherlands which createdextraterritoriality for the Scottish Court, withCamp Zeist inUtrecht (a disusedUnited States Air Force base) made a subject ofScots law.[17]
Legal effect was given to the treaty in theUnited Kingdom by the High Court of Justiciary Order 1998, anOrder in Council. The order empowered the Lord Justice Clerk to appoint three Lords Commissioners of Justiciary to sit asbench trial as bothtrier of fact and for determining anypoints of law. The High Court had full authority to determinecontempt of court relating to the proceedings.[18]
Following the conviction, which was upheld on appeal of Abdelbaset al-Megrahi, the Scottish Court in the Netherlands ceased to sit. Subsequent appeals were heard in Scotland.[19]
The jurisdiction of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in human rights and devolution issues was transferred to theSupreme Court of the United Kingdom by theConstitutional Reform Act 2005.[20] Such a transfer was not without controversy, as commentators, including theLaw Society of Scotland and theAdvocate General for Scotland, noted that this notionally placed anEnglish court in a position of superiority to the High Court.[13][21][22]
In May 2013, the Supreme Court's guidance on its jurisdiction over Scottish appeals stated that:[23]
The changes to the Supreme Court’s jurisdiction....in Scottish criminal cases as a result of the Scotland Act 2012...ensured that the High Court of Justiciary retained the power ultimately to resolve cases once the Supreme Court has determined the legal question at issue
— The Jurisdiction of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom in Scottish Appeals
Section 35 of theScotland Act 2012 modified the procedure for referrals by removing the ability of the Supreme Court to determine the final judgment of the case; in essence a criminal case cannot beremitted to the Supreme Court. The Scotland Act 2012 requires that once the point of law has been decided upon by the Supreme Court, it is for the High Court to resolve the case. An issue can be referred to the Supreme Court either by the Lords Commissioners of Justiciary who are presiding, theLord Advocate, or the Advocate General for Scotland. Though where two or more Lords Commissioners are presiding they may determine the human rights issue without referral to the Supreme Court.[23][24]
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The High Court has jurisdiction over all crimes in Scotland unless restricted by statute. The High Court hasexclusive jurisdiction over serious crimes such astreason,murder, andrape and, in practice, deals witharmed robbery,drug trafficking, andsexual offences involving children (over which itshares jurisdiction with thesheriff court).[15]
As acourt of first instance the court sits regularly in various places in Scotland, with permanent seats in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen. There are sittings when required inDumbarton,Lanark,Livingston,Paisley andStirling.[25]
Trials in the High Court are usuallyjury trials, with a single Lord Commissioner of Justiciary presiding (although two or more judges may sit in important or difficult cases) with ajury of fifteen individuals; in Scotland this is known assolemn proceedings.[25] Under theScottish legal system, the jury can convict on a majorityverdict of at least eight jurors, and need not return a unanimous verdict. The Scottish legal system also permits a verdict of 'not proven' as well as verdicts of 'guilty' or 'not guilty'. Juries may add arider to their verdict as additional commentary on their verdict. The 'not proven' verdict is of the same consequence as 'not guilty', though there remains some confusion and disagreement over the meaning of either verdict.[26][27][28] If eight jurors cannot agree on an accused's guilt or on analternative verdict, then the accused will beacquitted.[29]
Cases in the High Court are prosecuted in thepublic interest by theLord Advocate, who is usually represented in such cases byAdvocates Depute.[30] Aprivate prosecution can be brought before the High Court, but this is very rare and difficult as it requires the concurrence of the Lord Advocate and for the High Court to issue abill for criminal letters.[4]: 739 When families of the victims of the2014 Glasgow bin lorry crash applied for such a bill, their request was denied by the High Court in 2016 on the basis that there was insufficient evidence. The Lord Justice Clerk,Lady Dorrian, along withLord Menzies andLord Drummond Young further concluded that the case did not present special circumstances to enable granting of the bill.[31][32]
Bail can be granted by the High Court to anyaccused person and "bail is to be granted to an accused person except where there is good reason for refusing bail." The Bail, Judicial Appointments etc. (Scotland) Act 2000, anAct of the Scottish Parliament, had removed the previous restrictions on bail that meant thatmurder andtreason were not ordinarily bailable.[33] However, a person could be bailed when accused of these of crimes on application of theLord Advocate or by a decision of the High Court itself.[34] The Criminal Proceedings etc. (Reform) (Scotland) Act 2007 did reintroduce restrictions on the granting of bail by requiring exceptional circumstances to be shown when a person is accused of violent, sexual, or drugs offences, and they have a prior conviction for a similar offence.[35]
In Scotland, the focus is normally for those who are opposed to bail to convince the courts that bail should not be granted,[34] with theprocurator fiscal given guidance to use the nature and gravity of an offence as grounds to oppose bail.[36]
Following a conviction under solemn proceedings in asheriff court, Section 195 of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995 allows a sheriff to remit the case to the High Court for sentencing, should the sheriff believes their powers of sentencing to be inadequate for the crime committed.[2] A sheriff in solemn proceedings can impose a maximum sentence of up to 5 yearsimprisonment or an unlimitedfine, and the High Court can impose alife sentence (unless a lesser maximum sentence is prescribed by statute) as well as an unlimited fine. Once a case is remitted, the High Court can treat the case as if it had been tried before a Lord Commissioner of Justiciary.[15][37]
| Criminal Appeal (Scotland) Act 1926 | |
|---|---|
| Act of Parliament | |
 | |
| Long title | An Act to amend the law of Scotland relating to appeal in criminal cases tried on indictment. |
| Citation | 16 & 17 Geo. 5. c. 15 |
| Dates | |
| Royal assent | 8 July 1926 |
Status: Amended | |
| Text of statute as originally enacted | |
| Text of the Criminal Appeal (Scotland) Act 1926 as in force today (including any amendments) within the United Kingdom, fromlegislation.gov.uk. | |
Following theCriminal Appeal (Scotland) Act 1926 (16 & 17 Geo. 5. c. 15), when theScottish High Court of Justiciary hears criminal appeals, it is known as the Court of Criminal Appeal. TheCriminal Appeal (Scotland) Act 1927 (17 & 18 Geo. 5. c. 26) was passed the following year specifically to deal with theCase of Oscar Slater.
The court consists of at least threejudges when hearing appeals against conviction and two when hearing appeals against sentence, although more judges may sit when the court is dealing with exceptionally difficult cases or those where important matters of law may be considered. This is known as afull bench. Appeals by right are heard from the High Court of Justiciary (sitting at first instance) andsheriff courts sitting insolemn procedure; with appeals, with leave, onquestions of law are heard from theSheriff Appeal Court. Appeals against sentence or conviction insummary proceedings before the sheriff courts orjustice of the peace courts are heard before the Sheriff Appeal Court. The High Court also hears appeals in cases referred to it by theScottish Criminal Cases Review Commission.[38]
Leave to appeal is granted by a Lord Commissioner of Justiciary inchambers under sections 106 and 107 of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995 when a person is convicted insolemn procedure in either the High Court orsheriff courts, with the High Court sitting as the Appeal Court.[2]: Sections 106 and 107
Appeals against convictions or sentence insummary procedure heard in sheriff courts andjustice of the peace courts are now heard by theSheriff Appeal Court. However, referrals onpoints of law may be heard in the High Court from the Sheriff Appeal Court with the permission of the High Court. Two judges sit to hear an appeal against sentence, and three judges sit to hear an appeal against conviction. The High Court of Justiciary sits as an appeal court in Edinburgh.[15][25]
The High Court, as a collegiate court, has the ability to convene abench of greater numbers of Lords Commissioners of Justiciary to overturn decisions andprecedent established by previous appeals. Such a decision is made by the High Court on its own initiative. It is possible for the entire High Court to sit in determination of an appeal.[39]
In exceptional circumstances, a person may petition theScottish Criminal Cases Review Commission, who have the authority to refer an appeal back to the High Court of Justiciary, if the Commission determine that a miscarriage of justice has or might have occurred.[40]
Under Section 35 of the Scotland Act 2012, the High Court as an Appeal Court will also hear referrals onhuman rightscompatibility issues from theSheriff Appeal Court,sheriff courts, and from cases being heard at first-instance by a single Lord Commissioner of Justiciary. The High Court can then make a determination on that issue, or it can refer the matter to the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom.[24]
The High Court of Justiciary has the final authority on matters of criminal law in Scotland, and thus no appeal beyond the High Court is possible on the grounds of sentence or conviction.[14][23] However, it is possible to refer apoint of law to theSupreme Court of the United Kingdom relating tohuman rightscompatibility issues or relating todevolution issues. Devolution issues are concerned with the legislative competence of theScottish Parliament and the executive functions of theScottish Government under theScotland Act 1998.[15][16] Such referrals are made to the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom under Schedule 6 of the Scotland Act 1998 or Section 288A of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995.[2][20][41] For a referral to proceed permission must be granted by two or more Lords Commissioners of Justiciary, or by the Supreme Court itself.[16]
The most frequent devolution issues raised related toArticle 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which mandates theright to a fair trial, and the role of theLord Advocate who is both the chiefpublic prosecutor and a member of theScottish Government. Under the Scotland Act 1998 the Lord Advocate could do nothing that was incompatible with the European Convention on Human Rights, and should his actions be deemed incomparable then they werenull and void.[23] This led to the case ofCadder v HM Advocate where the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom ruled thatthe police in Scotland could not question asuspect without granting that person access to asolicitor.[42] This was one case, along withFraser v HM Advocate, that led theScottish Government to raise concerns withHM Government that it appeared that "virtually any objection, challenge, or point of law can be characterised as a devolution issue", thus undermining the High Court's final jurisdiction in criminal matters.[43] TheScotland Act 2012 modified provisions around devolution issues by no longer rendering null and void those actions of the Lord Advocate that were incompatible with the European Convention, but still allowing a right to appeal against those actions on grounds of incompatibility.[24][44][45]
The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom was established by theConstitutional Reform Act 2005, and is the highest court in theUnited Kingdom forcivil cases and those matters relating to human rights and devolution.[46] Prior to the establishment of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom devolution issues were decided by theJudicial Committee of the Privy Council, whose members were theLords of Appeal in Ordinary (who exercised thejudicial functions of the House of Lords.) However, the two bodies were legally and constitutionally separate.[14][47]
The High Court of Justiciary as a Court, or the Lord Justice General, Lord Justice Clerk and Lords Commissioners of Justiciary as a body, have the power to regulatecriminal procedure in the criminal courts in Scotland: regulations can be made for the High Court, sheriff courts (summary and solemn procedures), and the justice of the peace courts. Such regulations are promulgated byActs of Adjournal, which take the form ofsubordinate legislation asScottish Statutory Instruments, under powers granted by Section 305 of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995.[2]: Section 305 Schedule 6 of theScotland Act 1998 also grants that Acts of Adjournal can be used to regulate the procedure for referring aquestion of law relating to adevolution issue to either the High Court or theSupreme Court of the United Kingdom.[41]: Schedule 6
Section 305 of the 1995 Act states:
(1) The High Court may by Act of Adjournal—
- (a) regulate the practice and procedure in relation to criminal procedure;
- (b) make such rules and regulations as may be necessary or expedient to carry out the purposes and accomplish the objects of any enactment (including an enactment in this Act) in so far as it relates to criminal procedure;
- (c) subject to subsection (5)[note 3] below, to fix and regulate the fees payable in connection with summary criminal proceedings; and
- (d) make provision for the application of sums paid under section 220 of this Act and for any matter incidental thereto.
(2) The High Court may by Act of Adjournal modify, amend or repeal any enactment (including an enactment in this Act) in so far as that enactment relates to matters with respect to which an Act of Adjournal may be made under subsection (1) above...
— Section 305,Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995[2]: Section 305
Thus the Lord Justice General, Lord Justice Clerk, and Lords Commissioners of Justiciary have the power to modify and amendprimary legislation, where that primary legislation deals with a matter of criminal procedure. The Criminal Courts Rules Council on 8 February 2016 considered Section 288BA of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995 (which prescribes rules fordockets andindictments forsexual offences) and asked the Lord President's Private Office to consider if this could be modified by Act of Adjournal.[48] A draft Act of Adjournal was also prepared in 2011 to amend the 1995 Act as the Rules Council was awaiting primary legislation, and the Rules Council agreed to proceed with the Act of Adjournal.[49] The Act of Adjournal amended the 1995 Act by adding Sections 75C and 137ZB to enable the court to discharge, vary and change the diet (sittings) of a case.[50]
Members of theFaculty of Advocates, known asadvocates orcounsel, and as of 1990 also somesolicitors, known assolicitor-advocates, have practically exclusiveright of audience rights of audience in the court.[51] Until 1990 only advocates had any right of audience before the High Court, but the Law Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Scotland Act) 1990 allowed solicitors to apply for enhanced rights and become solicitor-advocates.[52]
The court'spresident is theLord Justice General; the second most senior judge is theLord Justice Clerk; and a further 35Senators of the College of Justice hold office as Lords Commissioners of Justiciary. The total numbers of judges is fixed by Section 1 of the Court of Session Act 1988, subject to amendment byOrder in Council (the last order was made in 2022 and increased the number of judges to 36.)[53] Judges are appointed for life, subject to dismissal if they are found unfit for office, and subject to a compulsory retirement age of 75.[54]
The court is a unitary collegiate court, with all judges other than theLord Justice General and theLord Justice Clerk holding the same rank and title:Lord Commissioner of Justiciary.[25] There are 36,[55] in addition to a number of temporary judges; these temporary judges can besheriffs principal,sheriffs, oradvocates in private practice. The judges sit also in theCourt of Session, where they are known asLords of Council and Session; in the Court of Session the Lord Justice General is called theLord President of the Court of Session.[56][57]
The Lord Justice General is the most senior judge of the High Court of Justiciary. The Lord Justice General will sit as chairperson in theCourt of Criminal Appeal.[25]
The Justice Clerk is the second most senior judge of the High Court, and deputises for the Lord Justice General when the latter is absent, or is unable to fulfil his duties, or when there is a vacancy for Lord Justice General. The Lord Justice Clerk will sit as chairperson in theCourt of Criminal Appeal.[25]
| Name | Judicial title | Office | Year appointed to High Court |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paul Cullen KC | The Rt HonLord Pentland | Lord President of the Court of Session Lord Justice General | 2020 |
| John Beckett KC | The Rt HonLord Beckett | Lord Justice Clerk | 2016 |
| Ann Paton KC | The Rt HonLady Paton | Senator of the College of Justice | 2007 |
| Colin Campbell KC | The Rt HonLord Malcolm | Senator of the College of Justice | 2007 |
| Raymond Doherty KC | The Rt HonLord Doherty | Senator of the College of Justice | 2010 |
| Hugh Matthews KC | The Rt HonLord Matthews | Senator of the College of Justice | 2007 |
| Colin Tyre CBE KC | The Rt HonLord Tyre | Senator of the College of Justice | 2010 |
| Morag Wise KC | The Rt HonLady Wise | Senator of the College of Justice | 2016 |
| S Neil Brailsford KC | The HonLord Brailsford | Senator of the College of Justice | 2006 |
| Iain Armstrong KC | The HonLord Armstrong | Senator of the College of Justice | 2013 |
| Alistair Clark KC | The HonLord Clark | Senator of the College of Justice | 2016 |
| Andrew Stewart KC | The HonLord Ericht | Senator of the College of Justice | 2016 |
| Ailsa Carmichael KC | The HonLady Carmichael | Senator of the College of Justice | 2016 |
| Frank Mulholland KC | The Rt HonLord Mulholland | Senator of the College of Justice | 2016 |
| Alan Summers KC | The HonLord Summers | Senator of the College of Justice | 2017 |
| Paul Arthurson KC | The HonLord Arthurson | Senator of the College of Justice | 2017 |
| Douglas Fairley KC | The HonLord Fairley | Senator of the College of Justice | 2020 |
| Anna Poole KC | The HonLady Poole | Senator of the College of Justice | 2020 |
| Sean Smith KC | The HonLord Harrower | Senator of the College of Justice | 2020 |
| Robert Weir KC | The HonLord Weir | Senator of the College of Justice | 2020 |
| Peter Braid | The HonLord Braid | Senator of the College of Justice | 2020 |
| Craig Sandison KC | The HonLord Sandison | Senator of the College of Justice | 2021 |
| Shona Haldane KC | The HonLady Haldane | Senator of the College of Justice | 2021 |
| Martin Richardson KC | The HonLord Richardson | Senator of the College of Justice | 2021 |
| Lorna Drummond KC | The HonLady Drummond | Senator of the College of Justice | 2022 |
| Andrew Young KC | The HonLord Young | Senator of the College of Justice | 2022 |
| Jonathan Lake KC | The HonLord Lake | Senator of the College of Justice | 2022 |
| John Scott KC | The HonLord Scott | Senator of the College of Justice | 2022 |
| Michael Stuart KC | The HonLord Stuart | Senator of the College of Justice | 2022 |
| Craig Turnbull | The HonLord Colbeck | Senator of the College of Justice | 2023 |
| Andrew Cubie | The HonLord Cubie | Senator of the College of Justice | 2024 |
| Kirsty Hood KC | The HonLady Hood | Senator of the College of Justice | 2024 |
| Ronaldo Renucci KC | The HonLord Renucci | Senator of the College of Justice | 2024 |
| Morag Ross KC | The HonLady Ross | Senator of the College of Justice | 2024 |
| Fiona Tait | The HonLady Tait | Senator of the College of Justice | 2025 |
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To be eligible for appointment as a Lord Commissioner of Justiciary, or temporary judge, a person must have served at least 5 years assheriff orsheriff principal; or been anadvocate for 5 years, or asolicitor with 5 years rights of audience before the Court of Session or High Court of Justiciary; or been aWriter to the Signet for 10 years (having passed the exam in civil law at least 2 years before application.)[59][60]
Appointments are made by theMonarch on the recommendation of theFirst Minister of Scotland following a recruitment exercise undertaken by theJudicial Appointments Board for Scotland. The Judicial Appointments Board has statutory authority to make recommendations under Sections 9 to 27 of the Judiciary and Courts (Scotland) Act 2008 (as amended by the Courts Reform (Scotland) Act 2014).[61] Appointments to the Inner House are made by the Lord President and Lord Justice Clerk, with the consent of the Scottish Ministers.[53]
Temporary judges can also be appointed by theScottish Ministers provided that person would also be eligible for appointment as permanent judge of the High Court. Originally the power was granted by Section 35 of the Law Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Scotland) Act 1990,[62] but the enactment was repealed and replaced by Section 123 of the Courts Reform (Scotland) Act 2014. Such temporary judges are appointed for a period of 5 years.[63]
Section 123 of Courts Reform (Scotland) Act 2014 allows the Lord Justice General to appoint former senators, andformer Justices of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom, to the High Court provided they are under 75 years of age. The tenure of such appointments is determined by the Lord Justice General.[63]
Lord Gill, Lord Justice General from 2012 to 2015, issued guidance in 2013 on the use temporary judges which stipulated that:
Temporary judges will be used only where there are, for reasons of a temporary nature, an insufficient number of permanent judges to meet the demands of business and the Lord President has approved their use.
— Lord Gill,Guidelines for the Use of Temporary Judges (2013)
Further stating that the preference would be to allocate business to temporary judges who were already, had previously been, ajudicial office holder (namely,sheriff principal orsheriff); as opposed to using temporary judges who were practisingadvocates orsolicitor-advocates. Lord Gill's guidance allows for such judges to be allocated to any first instance business of the High Court, but requires the approval of the Lord Justice General for their deployment in the Appeal Court.[64]
The Lord Justice General, Lord Justice Clerk and the Lords Commissioners of Justiciary can only be removed office after a tribunal has been convened to examine their fitness for office. The tribunal is convened at the request of the Lord Justice General (in his capacity as Lord President) or in other circumstances if the First Minister sees fit. However, the First Minister must consult the Lord Justice General (or the Lord Justice Clerk, if the Lord Justice General is under investigation). Should the tribunal recommend their dismissal theScottish Parliament can resolve that the First Minister make a recommendation tothe Monarch.[65][66]
The administration of the court is part of theScottish Courts and Tribunals Service, and is led by thePrincipal Clerk of Session and Justiciary.[67] The Principal Clerk is responsible for the administration of theSupreme Courts of Scotland and their associated staff. As of April 2017[update] the Principal Clerk was Graeme Marwick, who was also Director of the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service.[68]
A labourer in 1834 had an annual salary of£27.17s.10d.
Until the introduction of the Law Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Scotland Act) 1990, only advocates were allowed to plead in the High Court and Court of Session, Scotland's supreme criminal and civil courts. The Act extended rights of audience to suitably qualified solicitors and there are now about 250 registered solicitor advocates in Scotland competing for work with advocates.
The Lord President is the Head of the Scottish Judiciary.
Office of lord justice general to devolve on lord president.
The judicial offices within the Board's remit are— (a)the office of judge of the Court of Session, ... (c)the office of temporary judge (except in any case where the individual to be appointed to the office holds or has held one of the offices mentioned in subsection (2))...]
The Supreme Courts are made up of: the Court of Session, the High Court of Justiciary and the Accountant of Court's Office. The Principal Clerk of Session and Justiciary is responsible for the administration of these areas
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