Everything about The Court Of Session totally explained
The
Court of Session is the
supreme civil court of
Scotland. It is both a
court of first instance and a court of
appeal and sits exclusively in
Parliament House in
Edinburgh.
The
Sheriff Court is the other Scottish civil court; this sits locally. Although the two courts have a largely co-extensive
jurisdiction, with the choice of court being given in the first place to the
pursuer (petitioner), the vast majority of difficult or high-value cases in Scotland are brought in the Court of Session.
Legal aid, administered by the
Scottish Legal Aid Board, may be available.
Modelled on the
Parlement of Paris when it was first founded by
King James V in
1532, the Court of Session is notionally a unitary collegiate court, with all judges other than the
Lord President and the
Lord Justice Clerk holding the same rank and title -
Senator of the College of Justice and also
Lord/Lady of Council and Session. The number of judges is now thirty-four (four of whom are women); there are also a number of temporary judges, who are typically either
sheriffs or
Advocates in private practice. The judges sit also in the
High Court of Justiciary, and the Lord President is also, as president of that court, the
Lord Justice General.
The Court of Session has extensive powers to regulate its own procedures and practice by
Acts of Sederunt. These are generally incorporated into the Rules of Court, which are published by the
Scottish Court Service. Members of the
Faculty of Advocates, known as
advocate or
counsel and corresponding approximately to a
barrister, have practically exclusive rights of audience; although since 1990 some
solicitors, known as
solicitor-advocates, have a right of audience, few will exercise it in cases of any difficulty and these only rarely.
The
Court of Session Act 1810, divided the Court into the
Outer House and the
Inner House.
The Outer House
The Outer House is a court of first instance, although some statutory appeals are remitted to it by the Inner House. Judges in the Outer House are referred to as Lord or Lady [name], or as
Lord Ordinary. They sit singly, sometimes with a
jury of twelve in personal injury and defamation actions. Jurisdiction is extensive and extends to all kinds of civil claims unless expressly excluded by statute. Some classes of cases, such as intellectual property disputes, are heard by designated judges.
Final (and some important procedural) judgments of the Outer House may be appealed to the Inner House. Other judgments may be so appealed with leave.
The Inner House
The
Inner House is the senior part of the Court of Session, it's a
court of appeal and a
court of first instance.
Criminal appeals in
Scotland are handled by the
High Court of Justiciary sitting as the
Court of Appeal.
The
Inner House is the part of the Court of Session which acts as a
court of appeal for cases from the Outer House and from appeals in civil cases from the
Sheriff Courts, the
Court of the Lord Lyon,
Scottish Land Court, and the
Lands Tribunal for Scotland. It will also sit as a court of first instance in rare instances. The Inner House is always a panel of at least three Senators and doesn't sit with a jury.
Unlike in the
High Court of Justiciary, there's a right of appeal to the
House of Lords from the
Inner House. However, under the
Constitutional Reform Act 2005 this right of appeal will move from the
House of Lords to the
Supreme Court of the United Kingdom when it begins sitting. The right of appeal only exists when the
Court of Session grants leave to this effect or when the decisions of the
Inner House are by majority.
Exchequer causes
The Court is the
Court of Exchequer for Scotland. Prior to 1856 the jurisdiction for
exchequer causes was that of the
Court of Exchequer, which has been transferred to the Court of Session with one of the
Lords Ordinary required to be Lord Ordinary in Exchequer Causes, this was restated by the
Court of Session Act 1988.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Court Of Session'.
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