- 1. Overview
- 2. Etymology
- 3. Cultural Impact
Ah, the grand pronouncements of institutional power. You want to know about the Lord President of the Court of Session and Lord Justice General ? Fine. Try to keep up. It’s not exactly riveting, but someone has to oversee the endless parade of human folly passing through the Scottish courts.
For those of you prone to confusing things – and let’s be honest, that’s most of you – “Lord Justice General” redirects here. For the Lord Justice General of Ireland, which is an entirely different kettle of fish, you’d want the Lords Justices of Ireland . Don’t mix them up; the Scots are particular about these things.
Lord President of the Court of Session and Lord Justice General of Scotland
( Scottish Gaelic : Àrd-mhorair Cùirt an t-Seisein )
Logo of the Lord President of the Court of Session
- Incumbent: Lord Pentland since 3 February 2025. A new name for the same relentless grind, I suppose.
- Style: The Right Honourable . Because titles truly matter when you’re deciding who gets to keep their dog.
- Appointer: The Monarch on the advice of the First Minister . A lovely bit of ceremonial window-dressing before the real work of judgment begins.
- Term length: Life tenure with compulsory retirement at 75. A merciful limit, one might argue, on the amount of human suffering one individual should have to witness.
- Inaugural holder: Alexander Mylne, Abbot of Cambuskenneth . A historical footnote, reminding us that even the most secular institutions often have ecclesiastical roots, like a persistent weed.
- Formation: 1532. Ancient, much like the human capacity for making bad decisions.
- Deputy: Lord Justice Clerk . Because even the most senior judge needs someone to delegate the truly tedious tasks to.
- Salary: £ 222,862 (Salary Group 1.1). A decent sum, I suppose, for enduring the sheer, unadulterated banality of human conflict day in and day out. It almost makes you wonder if they’re paid for their wisdom, or simply for their patience.
- Website: Roles and Jurisdiction | Judicial Office for Scotland. For those who enjoy reading bureaucratic prose.
The Lord President of the Court of Session and Lord Justice General , known in Scottish Gaelic as Àrd-mhorair Cùirt an t-Seisein, is not merely a figurehead. This individual stands as the undisputed most senior judge in Scotland , holding the reins of the entire judiciary . They are the principal authority, the head, and the presiding judicial officer for the venerable College of Justice , which encompasses both the supreme civil court, the Court of Session , and the supreme criminal court, the High Court of Justiciary .
A rather pragmatic consolidation, the Lord President also inherently holds the title of Lord Justice General of Scotland and, by virtue of that, is the head of the High Court of Justiciary ex officio . This dual role wasn’t always the case; these two significant offices were formally combined in 1836, streamlining what was arguably an unnecessarily complex, if historically rich, arrangement. This fusion of responsibilities means that the same individual now wields ultimate judicial authority over both civil and criminal matters at the highest level in Scotland.
The expansive authority of the Lord President extends over virtually any court established under Scots law . However, there are a couple of notable exceptions, because even supreme power has its limits. This authority does not stretch to the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom – an external appellate body for certain Scottish cases – nor to the rather unique and ancient Court of the Lord Lyon , which deals exclusively with heraldry. So, while they can decide on matters of life, liberty, and property, they won’t be adjudicating disputes over who gets to display a particularly ostentatious coat of arms. Priorities, I suppose.
The current incarnation of this ancient and powerful office is held by Lord Pentland , who is slated to assume the position on 3 February 2025. He will be taking over from Lord Carloway , continuing the relentless, inevitable march of time and judicial succession. For their troubles, they are compensated according to salary group 1.1 of the Judicial Salaries Scale, which, as of 2016, amounted to a rather tidy £ 222,862. One can only assume such a sum is a small recompense for the burden of legal enlightenment they are expected to carry.
Remit and jurisdiction
Head of the judiciary
As the Lord President of the Court of Session , this individual is unequivocally the most senior judge in Scotland , acting as the ultimate head of the entire judiciary . This isn’t just a ceremonial hat they wear; they are the presiding judge of the College of Justice and the Court of Session , wielding the kind of authority that shapes the very interpretation and application of law in the nation. This foundational role is clearly enshrined in Section 2(1) of the Judiciary and Courts (Scotland) Act 2008 , which explicitly states the Lord President’s pre-eminent position.
Furthermore, Section 2(6) of the same Judiciary and Courts (Scotland) Act 2008 grants the Lord President sweeping authority over the judiciary of any court established under Scots law . The only exceptions, as noted earlier, are the rather specific domains of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom and the Court of the Lord Lyon . This means that from the highest criminal appeals to the most nuanced civil disputes, the Lord President’s influence is pervasive and decisive.
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
This legal clarification, found in Section 2(5) of the Judiciary and Courts (Scotland) Act 2008 , serves as a neat little boundary marker, ensuring everyone understands precisely where the Lord President’s authority begins and ends. It’s a pragmatic detail, ensuring that while the Lord President holds immense power within Scotland, they don’t accidentally tread on the toes of the UK’s ultimate appellate court.
A rather telling example of this centralisation of authority can be seen with the Scottish Land Court . This court, which previously enjoyed a degree of administrative autonomy, was officially transferred to the purview of the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service on 1 April 2017. This shift, enacted through The Judiciary and Courts (Scotland) Act 2008 (Scottish Land Court) Order 2017, further solidified the Lord President’s overarching administrative control over judicial bodies within Scotland. It’s almost as if they’re trying to make sure everything is neatly organised under one roof, presumably for maximum efficiency in the face of maximum human error.
To reiterate the point, because some truths bear repeating:
The Lord President is the Head of the Scottish Judiciary.
— Section 2(1), Judiciary and Courts (Scotland) Act 2008
To assist in the monumental task of overseeing the entire judicial system, the Lord President is not left entirely to their own devices. They are supported by the Judicial Office for Scotland , which was thoughtfully established on 1 April 2010, a direct consequence of the aforementioned Judiciary and Courts (Scotland) Act 2008 . Furthermore, the Lord President chairs the corporate board of the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service , ensuring direct influence over the administrative machinery of justice. It’s a bureaucratic web, certainly, but one designed to keep the entire system from unraveling.
Beyond day-to-day administration, the Lord President and the wider Scottish judiciary benefit from the counsel of the Judicial Council for Scotland. This body, while non-statutory – meaning it’s not mandated by specific legislation, but rather operates by convention – was established in 2007 to offer advice on matters pertaining to the administration of justice. Interestingly, there were initial plans for a statutory judges’ council, but these were ultimately abandoned in favour of this more flexible, non-statutory council, convened and guided by the Lord President. It seems even in the realm of law, sometimes a less rigid structure is preferred, perhaps to allow for a modicum of common sense to occasionally slip through.
Inner House
The Lord President doesn’t just preside in name; they actively lead the 1st Division of the Inner House of the Court of Session . The Inner House itself serves as the primary court of appeal within Scotland for cases that have already been decided in the Outer House (the first instance court of the Court of Session) and the Sheriff Appeal Court . It also handles appeals on complex questions of law originating from various other tribunals and courts, including the Sheriff Appeal Court , the Scottish Land Court , the peculiar Court of the Lord Lyon , and the Lands Tribunal for Scotland . Essentially, if you’ve exhausted your options elsewhere and still feel aggrieved, the Inner House is where you go for a second, or sometimes third, bite at the legal apple. It’s where the most intricate legal arguments are dissected, and where the Lord President’s judicial acumen is put to its most public test.
Official Oath
In Scotland , the Official Oath – that solemn promise undertaken by those entering significant public office – is administered before the Lord President of the Court of Session. This act, mandated by the Promissory Oaths Act 1868, places the Lord President at the heart of a crucial constitutional ritual. It’s a moment of public commitment, a pledge to uphold the duties of office, and a rather grand formality in a system that often thrives on them. One might ponder the true weight of such an oath, given the inherent flaws of human nature, but the tradition persists.
Lord Justice General
As previously mentioned, the Lord President is also, concurrently, the Lord Justice General of Scotland and, by extension, the head of the High Court of Justiciary ex officio . This dual role, a result of the offices being combined in 1836, links the supreme civil authority with the supreme criminal authority in one individual.
The office of Lord Justice General itself boasts a lineage stretching back through centuries, deriving its origins from the ancient justiciars who were first appointed in Scotland from at least the twelfth century. These early justiciars were powerful figures, essentially the king’s chief judicial officers, travelling the country to dispense justice on behalf of the Crown. For a period, from approximately 1567 onwards, this significant office was held on a heritable basis by the Earl of Argyll , an arrangement that speaks volumes about the intertwining of feudal power and judicial authority in historical Scotland. Imagine, a powerful noble inheriting the right to oversee criminal justice – a fascinating, if somewhat concerning, vestige of a bygone era. This heritable right eventually reverted to the Crown in 1607, bringing it back into the direct control of the monarchy and setting the stage for its eventual integration with the Lord President’s office.
Officeholders
This section, a rather extensive catalogue of individuals who have held these esteemed positions, serves as a stark reminder of the relentless churn of history. Faces change, names are added to the list, but the institution, like a stubborn rock, endures.
Part of a series on Scots law
Administration
- Justice and Communities Directorate of the Scottish Government
- Cabinet Secretary for Justice
- Judicial Appointments Board
- Judicial Complaints Reviewer
- Parole Board for Scotland
- Legal Aid Board
- Courts & Tribunals Service
- College of Justice
- Office of the Public Guardian
- Scottish Sentencing Council
- Law Commission
- Criminal Cases Review Commission
- Prison Service
Civil courts
- Court of Session
- Sheriff Court
- Sheriff Appeal Court
- Sheriff Principal
- Sheriff Personal Injury Court
- Sheriff
Criminal courts
- High Court of Justiciary
- Lord Justice-General
- Lord Justice Clerk
- Lords Commissioner of Justiciary
- Acts of Adjournal
- Sheriff courts
- Sheriff Appeal Court
- Sheriff Principal
- Sheriffs
- Justice of the peace courts
- Justices of the peace
Special courts
- Court of the Lord Lyon
- Children’s Reporter Administration
- Land Court
- Lands Tribunal
- Scottish Solicitors’ Discipline Tribunal
Criminal prosecution
- Lord Advocate
- Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service
- Advocate Depute
- Procurator fiscal
- Fiscal fine
- Precognition
Legal profession
Association of Commercial Attorneys
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Justiciars
(called Lord Chief Justices by Scot of Scotstarvet ). These were the original movers and shakers, the foundational figures before titles became quite so elaborate. Their names echo from a time when justice was, perhaps, a more direct (and potentially brutal) affair.
- 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
- 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). A rather shrewd negotiation, trading one form of power for another.
Lord Justice-General
This list charts the journey of the separate office of Lord Justice General before its eventual merger with the Lord President. A succession of noblemen and legal minds, each leaving their fleeting mark on the fabric of Scottish justice.
Lord President
And here we have the other side of the coin, the Lord Presidents of the Court of Session , before and after the great merger of 1836. A long line of individuals, some of whom juggled multiple demanding roles, proving that ambition, or perhaps just a profound inability to say “no,” is a timeless human trait.