SENATORS OF THE COLLEGE OF JUSTICE

 

The Kirking of the Court

 

Judges sitting in the Supreme Courts are known as senators of the College of Justice.

The Supreme Courts are the Court of Session, and the High Court of Justiciary. The High Court also sits as the Court of Criminal Appeal. The Court of Session is the supreme civil court and the High Court is the supreme criminal court. The Lord President is the most senior judge in Scotland and the Lord Justice Clerk is the second most senior judge. The role of the Lord President includes regulatory responsibilities. 

The Court of Session is divided into the Outer House, which normally deals with new civil cases and the Inner House, which deals mostly with civil appeals. The Inner House is separated into the First Division and the Second Division, which are chaired by the Lord President and Lord Justice Clerk respectively, each holding equal authority. These 2 judges have a wide range of responsibilities and, when neither is available to sit in court, an Extra Division is set up and chaired by the next most senior judge. 

Temporary judges may be appointed to sit in the Supreme Courts to carry out the same work on a part-time basis. They are referred to as Judge Smith rather than Lord or Lady Smith. See a list of the temporary judges in Scotland.

Read about how senators are appointed.

More information about the role of senator is available. 

See a list of senators in the Outer House; and in the Inner House divisions.

Commercial Actions

The Court of Session has special provisions for dealing with commercial actions to enable specialist judges to handle cases quickly and flexibly. More information is available in relation to the broad range of commercial cases the Court can deal with; and what the actions involve.

The commercial judges are: Lord Tyre, Lord Clark, Lord Braid and Lord Ericht

Scottish Land Court and Lands Tribunal for Scotland

Lord Duthie is the Chair of the Scottish Land Court and President of the Lands Tribunal for Scotland. He was appointed to these positions on 9 January 2023.

 

 Senators

 

Lord Carloway - Anna Henly (98)

The Right Hon Lord Carloway

Lord Carloway was appointed as Lord President of the Court of Session in December 2015 and was installed as the new head of Scotland's judiciary in January 2016.

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Lady Dorrian 1

The Right Hon Lady Dorrian

Lady Dorrian was installed as Lord Justice Clerk and President of the Second Division of the Court of Session in April 2016.

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Lady Paton

The Right Hon Lady Paton

Lady Paton was appointed a judge in January 2000 and was elevated to the Inner House in April 2007.

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Lord Malcolm WEB

The Right Hon Lord Malcolm

Lord Malcolm was appointed a judge of the Supreme Courts in March 2007 and was elevated to the Inner House in July 2014.

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Lord Pentland WEB BIO

The Right Hon Lord Pentland

Lord Pentland was appointed a judge of the Supreme Courts in November 2008 and was elevated to the Inner House in July 2020.

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The Right Hon Lord Doherty

Lord Doherty was appointed a judge of the Supreme Courts in May 2010 and was elevated to the Inner House in December 2020.

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Lord Matthews

The Right Hon Lord Matthews

Lord Matthews was appointed as a judge of the Supreme Courts in 2007 and elevated to the Inner House in August 2021.

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The Right Hon Lord Tyre

Lord Tyre was appointed a judge of the Supreme Courts in May 2010 and was elevated to the Inner House in January 2022.

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The Right Hon Lord Boyd of Duncansby

Lord Boyd was appointed a judge of the Supreme Courts in June 2012 and was elevated to the Inner House in January 2022.

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The Right Hon Lady Wise

Lady Wise was appointed a judge of the Supreme Courts in February 2013 and was elevated to the Inner House in January 2022.

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The Right Hon Lord Armstrong

Lord Armstrong was appointed a judge of the Supreme Courts in February 2013.

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LordBeckett

The Right Hon Lord Beckett

Lord Beckett was appointed a judge of the Supreme Courts in May 2016.

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Lord_Brailsford_02 (721)

The Hon Lord Brailsford

Lord Brailsford was appointed a judge of the Supreme Courts in February 2006.

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The Hon Lady Stacey

Lady Stacey was appointed a judge of the Supreme Courts in January 2009.

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The Hon Lord Clark

Lord Clark was appointed a judge of the Supreme Courts in May 2016.

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The Hon Lord Ericht

Lord Ericht was appointed a judge of the Supreme Courts in May 2016.

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Lady Carmichael resized

The Hon Lady Carmichael

Lady Carmichael was appointed a judge of the Supreme Courts in May 2016.

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Lord Mulholland resized

The Rt Hon Lord Mulholland

Lord Mulholland was appointed a judge of the Supreme Courts in May 2016.

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Lord Summers resized

The Hon Lord Summers

Lord Summers was appointed a judge of the Supreme Courts in March 2017.

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Lord Arthurson resized

The Hon Lord Arthurson

Lord Arthurson was appointed a judge of the Supreme Courts in March 2017.

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The Hon Lord Fairley

Lord Fairley was appointed a judge of the Supreme Courts in January 2020.

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The Hon Lady Poole

Lady Poole was appointed a judge of the Supreme Courts in January 2020.

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Lord Harrower

The Hon Lord Harrower

Lord Harrower was appointed a judge of the Supreme Courts in February, 2020.

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Lord Weir

The Hon Lord Weir

Lord Weir was appointed a judge of the Supreme Courts in April 2020.

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Lord Braid 012 a SA

The Hon Lord Braid

Lord Braid was installed as a judge of the Supreme Courts in June 2020.

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Lord Sandison

The Hon Lord Sandison

Lord Sandison was installed as a judge of the Supreme Courts in February, 2021.

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WEBBIOShona Haldane, QC, installation Sandy Butler - crim robes non smiling

The Hon Lady Haldane

Lady Haldane was installed as a judge of the Supreme Courts in February, 2021.

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Martin Richardson, WEBBIO Sandy Butler-2

The Hon Lord Richardson

Lord Richardson was installed as a judge of the Supreme Courts in February, 2021.

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The Hon Lady Drummond

Lady Drummond was installed as a judge of the Supreme Courts in May, 2022.

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Lord Young intallation May 22

The Hon Lord Young

Lord Young was installed as a judge of the Supreme Courts in May, 2022.

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Lord Lake1

The Hon Lord Lake

Lord Lake was installed as a judge of the Supreme Courts in May, 2022.

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Lord Scott installation May 22

The Hon Lord Scott

Lord Scott was installed as a judge of the Supreme Courts in May, 2022.

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Lord Stuart Installation May 22

The Hon Lord Stuart

Lord Stuart was installed as a judge of the Supreme Courts in May, 2022.

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Lord Colbeck Installation

The Hon Lord Colbeck

Lord Colbeck was installed as a judge of the Supreme Courts in May, 2023

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Lord Duthie - Copy

The Hon Lord Duthie

Lord Duthie was appointed as Chair of the Scottish Land Court and President of the Lands Tribunal for Scotland on 9 January 2023.

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