Court of Session

The Court of Session (Scottish Gaelic: Cùirt an t-Seisein) is the supreme civil court of Scotland. It is based in Parliament House, Edinburgh, and serves as both a court of first instance and a court of appeal. Together with the High Court of Justiciary (Scotland’s supreme criminal court), it forms part of the College of Justice established in 1532.^[1]

Court of Session
Cùirt an t-Seisein
Parliament House, Edinburgh, home of the Court of Session
Established	1532
Jurisdiction	Scotland
Location	Parliament House, Edinburgh, Scotland
Composition method	Appointment by the Monarch on the recommendation of the First Minister of Scotland
Authorized by	College of Justice Act 1532
Appeals to	Supreme Court of the United Kingdom
Number of positions	34 Senators of the College of Justice
Lord President
Currently	Lord Carloway
Since	2015

History

The Court of Session was established by the College of Justice Act 1532 during the reign of King James V of Scotland. It was modeled on European courts of the time, with influence from France and other civil law systems. Initially, the court included clerical members, but over time, it evolved into a professional judiciary dominated by legal experts.^[2]

Parliament House in Edinburgh has been the court's home since 1639, making it one of the oldest courts in continuous operation in the world.

Related pages

• Scots law
• High Court of Justiciary
• Supreme Court of the United Kingdom