SENATORS OF THE COLLEGE OF JUSTICE
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.
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 President
The Right Hon Lord Pentland
Lord Pentland was appointed as Lord President by His Majesty the King and was sworn in on 3 February 2025 . He was appointed as a judge of the Supreme Courts in November 2008 and was elevated to the Inner House in July 2020.
Lord Justice Clerk
The Right Hon Lord Beckett
Lord Beckett was appointed as Lord Justice Clerk by His Majesty the King He was appointed a judge of the Supreme Courts in May 2016 and elevated to the Inner House of the Court of Session in July 2023.
Inner House
The Right Hon Lady Paton
Lady Paton was appointed a judge in January 2000 and was elevated to the Inner House in April 2007.
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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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.
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.
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.
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.
The Right Hon Lord Armstrong
Lord Armstrong was appointed a judge of the Supreme Courts in February 2013.
The Hon Lord Ericht
Lord Ericht was appointed a judge of the Supreme Courts in May 2016 and was elevated to the Inner House of the Court of Session in February 2025
The Hon Lady Carmichael
Lady Carmichael was appointed a judge of the Supreme Courts in May 2016 and was elevated to the Inner House of the Court of Session in February 2025
Outer House
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The Hon Lord Brailsford
Lord Brailsford was appointed a judge of the Supreme Courts in February 2006.
The Rt Hon Lord Mulholland
Lord Mulholland was appointed a judge of the Supreme Courts in May 2016.
The Hon Lord Summers
Lord Summers was appointed a judge of the Supreme Courts in March 2017.
The Hon Lord Arthurson
Lord Arthurson was appointed a judge of the Supreme Courts in March 2017.
The Hon Lord Fairley
Lord Fairley was appointed a judge of the Supreme Courts in January 2020.
The Hon Lady Poole
Lady Poole was appointed a judge of the Supreme Courts in January 2020.
The Hon Lord Harrower
Lord Harrower was appointed a judge of the Supreme Courts in February, 2020.
The Hon Lord Braid
Lord Braid was installed as a judge of the Supreme Courts in June 2020.
The Hon Lord Sandison
Lord Sandison was installed as a judge of the Supreme Courts in February, 2021.
The Hon Lady Haldane
Lady Haldane was installed as a judge of the Supreme Courts in February, 2021.
The Hon Lord Richardson
Lord Richardson was installed as a judge of the Supreme Courts in February, 2021.
The Hon Lady Drummond
Lady Drummond was installed as a judge of the Supreme Courts in May, 2022.
The Hon Lord Scott
Lord Scott was installed as a judge of the Supreme Courts in May, 2022.
The Hon Lord Stuart
Lord Stuart was installed as a judge of the Supreme Courts in May, 2022.
The Hon Lord Young
Lord Young was installed as a judge of the Supreme Courts in May, 2022.
The Hon Lord Colbeck
Lord Colbeck was installed as a judge of the Supreme Courts in May, 2023
The Hon Lord Renucci
Lord Renucci was Installed as judge of the Supreme Courts in June 2024.
The Hon Lady Tait
Lady Tait was Installed as judge of the Supreme Courts in February 2025.
Chair of the Scottish Land Court and President of the Lands Tribunal for Scotland
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.