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. Read more about this function.
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.
Lord Minginish is the Chair of the Scottish Land Court. As such he holds the same rank and tenure as a judge of the Court of Session.
Lord Minginish conducted an interview with Hey Legal about the forthcoming unification of the Scottish Land Court and the Lands Tribunal for Scotland.
The interview is available to watch.
Senators
.jpg?sfvrsn=4edd21c2_8 "Lord Carloway")
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.
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.
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.
The Right Hon Lord Turnbull
Lord Turnbull was appointed a judge of the Supreme Courts in 2006 and elevated to the Inner House in September 2016.
The Right Hon Lord Woolman
Lord Woolman was appointed a judge of the Supreme Courts in March 2008 and was elevated to the Inner House in February 2020.
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.
.jpg?sfvrsn=6781f036_6 "Lord Doherty")
The 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 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 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 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 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.
.jpg?sfvrsn=5972bce2_6 "Lord Brailsford")
The Hon Lord Brailsford
Lord Brailsford was appointed a judge of the Supreme Courts in February 2006.
The Hon Lady Stacey
Lady Stacey was appointed a judge of the Supreme Courts in January 2009.
The Hon Lady Scott
Lady Scott was appointed a judge of the Supreme Courts in November 2012.
The Hon Lord Armstrong
Lord Armstrong was appointed a judge of the Supreme Courts in February 2013.
The Hon Lord Beckett
Lord Beckett was appointed a judge of the Supreme Courts in May 2016.
The Hon Lady Carmichael
Lady Carmichael was appointed a judge of the Supreme Courts in May 2016.
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 Lord Minginish
Lord Minginish was appointed to the Chair of the Scottish Land Court in October 2014. As such he holds the same rank and tenure as a judge of the Court of Session.