Senator of the College of Justice

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The Senators of the College of Justice in Scotland are judges of the College of Justice, a set of legal institutions involved in the administration of justice in Scotland. There are three types of senator: Lords of Session (judges of the Court of Session); Lords Commissioners of Justiciary (judges of the High Court of Justiciary); and the Chairman of the Scottish Land Court. Whilst the High Court and Court of Session historically maintained separate judiciary, these are now identical, and the term Senator is almost exclusively used in referring to the judges of these courts.

Senators of the college use the judicial courtesy title of Lord or Lady along with a surname or a territorial name. Note, however, that some senators have a peerage title, which would be used instead of the senatorial title. All senators of the college have the honorific, The Honourable, before their titles, while those who are also privy counsellors or peers have the honorific, The Right Honourable. Senators are made privy counsellors upon promotion to the Inner House.

Under section 11 of the Treason Act 1708, it is treason to kill a Senator of the College of Justice "sitting in Judgment in the Exercise of their Office within Scotland".

History[edit]

Henry Lauder, Lord St Germains, King's Advocate, was one of the nine advocates appointed at the institution of the College of Justice.[1]

Originally, some officers of state were included as senators, including the Lord Advocate, Lord Clerk Register, Master of Requests and the Secretary of State.

List of senators[edit]

The Court of Session Act 1988, when enacted, limited the number of senators of the College of Justice (aside from the chairman of the Scottish Land Court, who ranks as a senator) to 24.[2] This was subsequently increased to 25 in 1991,[3] 27 in 1993,[4] 32 in 1999,[5] 34 in 2004,[6] 35 in 2016,[7] and most recently 36 by The Maximum Number of Judges (Scotland) Order 2022.[8] The current judges are as follows.[9]

Inner House[edit]

The Lord President is the president of the First Division, and the Lord Justice Clerk is the president of the Second Division.

Senator Mandatory retirement Inner House appointment Outer House appointment Division
1 The Rt Hon. Lord Carloway
(Lord President of the Court of Session and Lord Justice General)
20 May 2029 August 2008 February 2000 First
2 The Rt Hon. Lady Dorrian
(Lord Justice Clerk)
16 June 2032 November 2012 2005 Second
3 The Rt Hon. Lady Paton 2027 April 2007 January 2000 Second
4 The Rt Hon. Lord Malcolm 1 October 2028 1 July 2014 2007 Second
5 The Rt Hon. Lord Pentland 11 March 2032 July 2020 November 2008 First
6 The Rt Hon. Lord Doherty 30 January 2033 December 2020 May 2010 First
7 The Rt Hon. Lord Matthews 4 December 2028 August 2021 2007 Second
8 The Rt Hon. Lord Tyre 17 April 2031 5 January 2022 May 2010 First
9 The Rt Hon. The Lord Boyd of Duncansby 7 June 2028 5 January 2022 26 June 2012 First
10 The Rt Hon. Lady Wise 22 January 2033 5 January 2022 6 February 2013 First
11 The Hon. Lord Armstrong 26 May 2031 June 2023 15 February 2013 Second
12 The Rt Hon. Lord Beckett July 2023 17 May 2016 Second

Outer House[edit]

Senator Mandatory retirement Appointment
13 The Hon. Lord Brailsford 16 August 2029 2006
14 The Hon. Lady Stacey 25 May 2029 January 2009
15 The Hon. Lord Clark 24 May 2016
16 The Hon. Lord Ericht 12 September 2038 31 May 2016
17 The Hon. Lady Carmichael 26 November 2044 30 June 2016
18 The Rt. Hon. Lord Mulholland 18 April 2034 15 December 2016
19 The Hon. Lord Summers 27 August 2039 17 March 2017
20 The Hon. Lord Arthurson 16 December 2039 17 March 2017
21 The Hon. Lord Fairley 20 February 2043 13 January 2020
22 The Hon. Lady Poole 11 August 2045 13 January 2020
23 The Hon. Lord Harrower 17 February 2020
24 The Hon. Lord Weir 21 Feb 2042 6 April 2020
25 The Hon. Lord Braid 6 March 2033 22 June 2020
26 The Hon. Lord Sandison 30 May 2041 1 March 2021
27 The Hon. Lady Haldane 1 March 2021
28 The Hon. Lord Richardson 26 August 2049 1 March 2021
29 The Hon. Lady Drummond 19 December 2042 16 May 2022
30 The Hon. Lord Young 16 May 2022
31 The Hon. Lord Lake 16 May 2022
32 The Hon. Lord Scott 16 May 2022
33 The Hon. Lord Stuart 24 April 2041 16 May 2022
34 The Hon. Lord Duthie 27 June 2050 9 January 2023
35 The Hon. Lord Colbeck 19 May 2023

Retired judges[edit]

There are also some retired judges who still sit occasionally in the Court of Session or the Court of Criminal Appeal to hear cases if needed when there is a shortage of available judges. They are also called senators of the College of Justice. As of 2022, 7 retired judges are available to sit as judges:

Senator Becomes ineligible to act as a judge Appointment Retirement
1 The Rt Hon. Lord Clarke 2022 2000 2016
2 The Rt Hon. Lord Kingarth 21 June 2024 1997 2010
3 The Rt Hon. Lady Clark 26 February 2024 2006 2019
4 The Rt Hon. Lord Brodie 14 July 2025 2002 2020
5 The Rt Hon. Lord Drummond Young 2025 2001 2020
6 The Hon. Lady Rae 20 June 2025 14 January 2014 2020
7 The Hon. Lord Uist 1 February 2026 April 2006 2021

See also[edit]

Notes[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Dalrymple of Hailes, Bt., Sir David, An Historical Account of the Senators of the College of Justice of Scotland from its Institution, Edinburgh, 1849, p.63.
  2. ^ Court of Session Act 1988, s. 1.
  3. ^ The Maximum Number of Judges (Scotland) Order 1991.
  4. ^ The Maximum Number of Judges (Scotland) Order 1993.
  5. ^ The Maximum Number of Judges (Scotland) Order 1999.
  6. ^ The Maximum Number of Judges (Scotland) Order 2004.
  7. ^ Scottish Parliament. The Maximum Number of Judges (Scotland) Order 2016 as made, from legislation.gov.uk.
  8. ^ The Maximum Number of Judges (Scotland) Order 2022.
  9. ^ "Senators of the College of Justice". Judiciary of Scotland. Retrieved 22 November 2022.

External links[edit]