Lord President of the Court of Session

"Lord Justice General" redirects here. For the Lord Justice General of Ireland, see Lords Justices of Ireland.

Lord President of the Court of Session and Lord Justice General of Scotland
Scottish Gaelic: Àrd-mhorair Cùirt an t-Seisein
Incumbent Lord Carloway since 18 December 2015
Style	The Right Honourable
Appointer	Monarch on the advice of the First Minister
Term length	Life tenure with compulsory retirement at 75
Inaugural holder	Alexander Mylne, Abbot of Cambuskenneth
Formation	1532
Deputy	Lord Justice Clerk
Salary	£222,862 (Salary Group 1.1)
Website	Roles and Jurisdiction | Judicial Office for Scotland

The Lord President of the Court of Session and Lord Justice General (Scottish Gaelic: Àrd-mhorair Cùirt an t-Seisein) is the most senior judge in Scotland, the head of the judiciary, and the presiding judge of the College of Justice, the Court of Session, and the High Court of Justiciary. The Lord President holds the title of Lord Justice General of Scotland and the head of the High Court of Justiciary ex officio, as the two offices were combined in 1836. The Lord President has authority over any court established under Scots law, except for the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom and the Court of the Lord Lyon.

The current Lord President of the Court of Session is Lord Carloway, who was appointed to the position on 18 December 2015. In June 2024 Lord Carloway announced he would retire from judicial office in early 2025.^[1] 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 judge in Scotland, the head of the judiciary, and the presiding judge of the College of Justice, and the Court of Session.^{[2]: Section 2(1)} 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 Scots law, except for the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom and the Court of the Lord Lyon.

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).

— Section 2(5), Judiciary and Courts (Scotland) Act 2008^{[2]: Section 2(5)}

The Scottish Land Court, which until 1 April 2017 was administered separately, was transferred to the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service.^[3] The 2008 act states:

The Lord President is the Head of the Scottish Judiciary.

— Section 2(1), Judiciary and Courts (Scotland) Act 2008^{[2]: Section 2(1)}

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, and the Lord President chairs the corporate board of the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service.^{[2]: Schedule 3} 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.^[4][5][6]

Inner House

The Lord President presides over the 1st Division of the Inner House of the Court of Session.^[7] The Inner House is the part of the Court of Session which acts as a court of appeal for cases decided the Outer House and Sheriff Appeal Court, and hearing appeals on questions of law from the Sheriff Appeal Court, Scottish Land Court, Court of the Lord Lyon, and the Lands Tribunal for Scotland.^[8][9]

Official Oath

In Scotland the Official Oath is taken before the Lord President of the Court of Session.^[10]

Lord Justice General

The Lord President is also the Lord Justice General of Scotland and the head of the High Court of Justiciary ex officio, with the two offices having been combined in 1836.The office of Lord Justice General is derived from the justiciars who were appointed from at least the twelfth century. From around 1567 onwards it was held heritably by the Earl of Argyll until the heritability was resigned to the Crown in 1607.^[11]

Officeholders

Justiciars

See also: Justiciar of Scotia and Justiciar of Lothian

(called Lord Chief Justices by Scot of Scotstarvet).

• Argadus, Captain of Argyll, in the reign of Ethodius
• Comes Dunetus; in the reign of King William the Lion. (Donnchad II, Earl of Fife)
• William Comyn
• Richard Comyn
• David, Earl of Huntingdon (died 1219)
• Walter Clifford, Justiciary of the Lothians
• 1216: Allan, Justiciary to King Alexander II
• 1224: William Cumin, Earl of Buchan
• Walter (died 1241), son of Allan High Steward of Scotland
• 1239: William, Earl of Ross, "Lord Chief Justice of Scotland"
• Alexander (d.1283), High Steward of Scotland 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^[12]
• 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 (died c. 1497), "Lord Chief Justice"
• 1489: John Lyon, 3rd Lord Glamis (died 1 April 1497), and John Drummond, 1st Lord Drummond: "Justice-General"
• 1492: Robert Lyle, 2nd Lord Lyle, 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
• 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, (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

	From	Until	Remarks
The 7th Earl of Menteith and 1st Earl of Airth	11 July 1628	8 November 1633
Sir William Elphinstone	23 December 1635	13 November 1641
Sir Thomas Hope, younger of Kerse	18 November 1641	23 August 1643
The 8th Earl of Glencairn	13 November 1646	15 February 1649
The 6th Earl of Cassilis	15 March 1649	9 August 1651
The 2nd Earl of Atholl	16 August 1661	21 May 1675
The 5th Earl of Moray	21 May 1675	5 May 1676
The Lord Carrington	5 May 1676	30 September 1678
The Lord Tarbat	30 September 1678	1 June 1680
The 3rd Earl of Queensberry	1 June 1680	1 March 1682
The 4th Earl of Perth	1 March 1682	13 June 1684
The 3rd Earl of Linlithgow	13 June 1684	3 August 1689
The 4th Earl of Lothian	3 August 1689	15 February 1703
The 1st Earl of Cromartie	17 October 1704	23 October 1710
The 3rd Duke of Argyll and 1st Earl of Ilay	23 October 1710	15 April 1761
The 4th Marquess of Tweeddale	27 June 1761	9 December 1762
The 3rd Duke of Queensberry	15 April 1763	22 October 1778
The 2nd Earl of Mansfield	23 October 1778	1794
The 3rd Duke of Montrose	14 January 1795	30 December 1836

Lord President

	From	Until	Remarks
Alexander Mylne, Abbot of Cambuskenneth	1532	1543	Abbot of Cambuskenneth (1519–1548)
Robert Reid, Bishop of Orkney	1543	1558	Abbot of Kinloss (1528–1553); Commendator of Beauly (1531–1553); Bishop of Orkney (1541–1558)
Henry Sinclair, Bishop of Ross	1558	1565	Commendator of Kilwinning (1541–1550); Dean of Glasgow (1550–1561); Bishop of Ross (1558–1565)
John Sinclair, Bishop of Brechin	1565	1566	Appointed a Lord of Session, 1540; Bishop of Brechin (1565–1566)
The Lord Provand	1566	1567
The Lord Pittendreich	1567	1593	Appointed a Lord of Session, 1561
The Lord Fyvie	1593	1604	Appointed a Lord of Session, 1586; Provost of Edinburgh (1598–1608); Lord Chancellor of Scotland (1604–1622); Lord High Commissioner to the Parliament of Scotland (1612–1621)
The 1st Lord Balmerino	1605	1609	Appointed a Lord of Session, 1587; Secretary of State (1598–1609)
The Lord Fentonbarns	1609	1616	Appointed a Lord of Session, 1595
The 1st Earl of Melrose	1616	1625	Appointed a Lord of Session, 1592; Lord Advocate (1595–1596 and 1596–1612); Lord Clerk Register (1612)
Sir James Skene of Curriehill	1626	1633	Lord Clerk Register (1594–1612); Appointed a Lord of Session, 1594
The Lord Newabbey	1633	1646	Appointed a Lord of Session, 1622
Sir John Gilmour of Craigmillar	1661	1671	Commissioner for Edinburghshire (1661–1671)
The 1st Viscount Stair	1671	1681	Appointed a Lord of Session, 1661; Commissioner for Wigtownshire (1672–1674, 1678 and 1681–1682)
The 1st Earl of Aberdeen	1681	1682	Commissioner for Aberdeenshire (1669–1674, 1678 and 1681–1682); Appointed a Lord of Session, 1680; Lord Chancellor of Scotland (1682–1684)
Sir David Falconer of Newton	1682	1685	Appointed a Lord of Session, 1676; Commissioner for Forfarshire (1685)
Sir George Lockhart of Carnwath	1685	31 March 1689	Appointed Dean of the Faculty of Advocates, 1672; Commissioner for Lanarkshire (1681–1682 and 1685–1686)
The 1st Viscount Stair	28 October 1689	25 November 1695	Appointed a Lord of Session, 1661; Commissioner for Wigtownshire (1672–1674, 1678 and 1681–1682)
The Lord North Berwick	17 March 1698	20 June 1737	Commissioner for New Galloway (1690–1702); Dean of the Faculty of Advocates (1695–1698); Commissioner for North Berwick (1702–1707)
The Lord Culloden	20 June 1737	4 June 1748	MP for Ayr Burghs (1721–1722); MP for Inverness Burghs (1722–1737); Lord Advocate (1725–1737)
The Lord Arniston, the Elder	4 June 1748	26 August 1753	Solicitor General for Scotland (1717–1720); Lord Advocate (1720–1725); MP for Midlothian (1722–1737); Senator of the College of Justice (1737–1753)
The Lord Craigie	22 January 1754	10 March 1760	MP for Tain Burghs (1742–1747); Lord Advocate (1742–1746)
The Lord Arniston, the Younger	30 April 1760	13 December 1787	Solicitor General for Scotland (1742–1746); Dean of the Faculty of Advocates (1746–1760) Lord Advocate (1754–1760); MP for Midlothian (1754–1760)
The Lord Glenlee	22 December 1787	27 September 1789	MP for Dumfries Burghs (1761–1766); Solicitor General for Scotland (1759–1760); Lord Advocate (1760–1766); Lord Justice Clerk (1766–1787)
The Lord Succoth	26 October 1789	31 August 1808	Solicitor General for Scotland (1783–1784); MP for Clyde Burghs (1784–1790); Lord Advocate (1784–1789)
The Lord Avontoun	31 August 1808	20 May 1811	Solicitor General for Scotland (1789–1806); Dean of the Faculty of Advocates (1801–1808)
The Lord Granton	10 October 1811	20 July 1841	Lord Advocate (1801–1804); MP for Dumfries Burghs (1802); MP for Edinburgh (1803–1805); Lord Justice Clerk (1804–1811)
The Lord Boyle	7 October 1841	5 May 1852	MP for Ayrshire (1807–1811); Solicitor General for Scotland (1807–1811); Lord Justice Clerk (1811–1841)
The Lord Colonsay	14 May 1852	25 February 1867	MP for Argyllshire (1843–1851); Solicitor General for Scotland (1834–1835 & 1841–1842); Lord Advocate (1842–1846)
The Lord Glencorse	25 February 1867	20 August 1891	MP for Stamford (1858); Solicitor General for Scotland (1852); Lord Advocate (1852 & 1858); Lord Justice Clerk (1858–1867)
The Lord Robertson	21 September 1891	21 November 1899	MP for Buteshire (1885–1891); Solicitor General for Scotland (1885–1886 & 1886–1888); Lord Advocate (1888–1891); Lord of Appeal in Ordinary (1899–1909)
The 1st Baron Kinross	21 November 1899	22 January 1905	MP for Clackmannan and Kinross (1880–1899); Solicitor General for Scotland (1880–1881); Lord Advocate (1881–1885, 1886 & 1892–1895)
1st Baron Dunedin	4 February 1905	14 October 1913	MP for Buteshire (1891–1905); Solicitor General for Scotland (1905–1909); Lord Advocate (1909–1913); Secretary for Scotland (1903–1905); Lord of Appeal in Ordinary (1913–1932)
The 1st Baron Strathclyde	14 October 1913	1 April 1920	MP for Linlithgowshire (1895–1913); Solicitor General for Scotland (1891–1892 & 1895–1896); Lord Advocate (1896–1903)
The Lord Clyde	1 April 1920	1 April 1935	Solicitor General for Scotland (1905); MP for Edinburgh West (1909–1918) and Edinburgh North (1918–1920); Lord Advocate (1916–1920)
The Lord Normand	1 April 1935	6 January 1947	MP for Edinburgh West (1931–1935); Solicitor General for Scotland (1929 & 1931–1933); Lord Advocate (1933–1935); Lord of Appeal in Ordinary (1947–1953)
The Lord Cooper[13]	6 January 1947	23 December 1954	MP for Edinburgh West (1935–1941); Solicitor General for Scotland (1935); Lord Advocate (1935–1941); Senator of the College of Justice (1941–1954); Lord Justice Clerk (1941-1947); Lord President of the Court of Session (1947–1954)
The Lord Clyde[14]	23 December 1954	25 April 1972	MP for Edinburgh North (1950–1954); Lord Advocate (1951–1954); Senator of the College of Justice (1954–1972)
The Baron Emslie[15]	25 April 1972	27 September 1989	Dean of the Faculty of Advocates (1965–1970); Senator of the College of Justice (1970–1989)
The Baron Hope of Craighead	27 September 1989	1 October 1996	Dean of the Faculty of Advocates (1986–1989); Senator of the College of Justice (1989–1996); Lord of Appeal in Ordinary (1996–2009); Second Senior Law Lord (2009); Deputy President of the Supreme Court (2009–2013)
The Baron Rodger of Earlsferry	1 October 1996	13 November 2002	Solicitor General for Scotland (1989–1992); Lord Advocate (1992–1995); Senator of the College of Justice (1995–2001); Lord of Appeal in Ordinary (2001–2009); Justice of the Supreme Court (2009–2011)
The Baron Cullen of Whitekirk	13 November 2002	2 December 2005	Chairman of the Medical Appeals Tribunals (1977–1986); Senator of the College of Justice (1986–2005); Lord Justice Clerk (1997–2002)
The Lord Hamilton	2 December 2005	8 June 2012	Chairman of the Medical Appeals Tribunals (1989–1992); President of the Pensions Appeal Tribunal in Scotland (1992–1995); Senator of the College of Justice (1995–2012)
The Lord Gill	8 June 2012	31 May 2015	Senator of the College of Justice (1994–2015); Lord Justice Clerk (2001–2012)
The Lord Carloway	18 December 2015	present (early 2025)[1]	Senator of the College of Justice (2000–present); Lord Justice Clerk (2012–2015)

See also

• List of Senators of the College of Justice
• List of Leading Scottish Legal Cases

References

1. "Lord President announces his intention to retire in 2025". scts_judiciary. Retrieved 22 June 2024.
2. Scottish Parliament. Judiciary and Courts (Scotland) Act 2008 as amended (see also enacted form), from legislation.gov.uk.
3. Scottish Parliament. The Judiciary and Courts (Scotland) Act 2008 (Scottish Land Court) Order 2017 as made, from legislation.gov.uk.
4. "Strengthening Judicial Independence in a Modern Scotland – Chapter 4 – Judges' Council". www.gov.scot. The Scottish Government. 8 February 2006. Archived from the original on 4 April 2017. Retrieved 3 April 2017.
5. "Judiciary and Courts (Scotland) Bill – Policy Memorandum" (PDF). parliament.scot. The Scottish Parliament. 30 January 2008. p. 7. Archived (PDF) from the original on 4 April 2017. Retrieved 3 April 2017.
6. "Constitution of the Judicial Council for Scotland" (PDF). judiciary-scotland.org.uk. Judicial Office for Scotland. 2007. Archived (PDF) from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 3 April 2017. The Judicial Council for Scotland ("the Council") is a body constituted for the purpose of providing information and advice to— (a) the Lord President of the Court of Session ("the Lord President"); and (b) the judiciary of Scotland, on matters relevant to the administration of justice in Scotland.
7. "About the Court of Session". www.scotcourts.gov.uk. Scottish Courts and Tribunal Service. Archived from the original on 14 March 2017. Retrieved 2 April 2017. The Inner House is in essence the appeal court, though it has a small range of first instance business. It is divided into the First and the Second Divisions, of equal authority, and presided over by the Lord President and the Lord Justice Clerk respectively.
8. "Court of Session Act 1988". Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. 1988 (36). The National Archives: V. Archived from the original on 21 April 2017. Retrieved 20 April 2017.
9. Scottish Government (6 February 2014). Policy Memorandum, Courts Reform (Scotland) Bill (PDF) (Report). Scottish Parliament. Archived (PDF) from the original on 21 April 2017. Retrieved 20 April 2017.
10. "Schedule, Promissory Oaths Act 1868". Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. 72. The National Archives: Schedule. 1868. Archived from the original on 21 April 2017. Retrieved 20 April 2017. 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.
11. "Section 18, Court of Session Act 1830", Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, vol. 69, p. 18, 23 July 1830, Office of lord justice general to devolve on lord president.
12. "The Scots peerage : Founded on Wood's ed. Of Sir Robert Douglas's Peerage of Scotland; containing an historical and genealogical account of the nobility of that kingdom". archive.org. Archived from the original on 11 April 2016.
13. "No. 16401". The Edinburgh Gazette. 7 January 1947. p. 7.
14. "No. 17246". The Edinburgh Gazette. 28 December 1954. p. 687.
15. "No. 19080". The Edinburgh Gazette. 17 March 1972. p. 241.