Court of Session

The Court of Session is the highest national court of Scotland in relation to civil cases. The court was established in 1532 to take on the judicial functions of the royal council. Its jurisdiction overlapped with other royal, state and church courts but as those were disbanded, the role of the Court of Session ascended. The Acts of Union which established the Kingdom of Great Britain on 1 May 1707 provided that the court will "remain in all time coming" as part of Scotland's separate legal system. Cases at first instance are heard in the Outer House by a single judge. The Inner House hears appeals from the Outer House and all other courts and tribunals in Scotland. Only Scottish advocates and solicitor-advocates may argue cases before the court. The Court of Session has sat at Parliament House since 1707. The Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service and the Principal Clerk administers the court and judges.

Decisions of the court are subject to review by both the UK Supreme Court and the European Court of Human Rights and on appeal, the UK Supreme Court can overturn them altogether. Early judges of the court recorded their decisions and codified the law at a time early in the development of Scots law, leading to the development and distinct character of Scots law. In modern times, the court has ruled on issues of public importance and proceedings of its Inner House have been streamed and recorded since 2023. The court now hears cases from any part of Scotland on any issue, other than criminal cases, which belong to its sister court, the High Court of Justiciary.

The Court of Session is the Royal Court of Scotland, hearing civil cases in the name of the Monarch. Judges are termed Lords of Council and Session and appointed simultaneously to the College of Justice and the High Court of Justiciary. Their number is fixed by statute, currently to 37, although a number of temporary judges assist the court with its workload. The court is led by the Lord President of the Court of Session who also heads the Scottish judiciary.

The creation of the court was part of wider efforts to improve and reform access to justice in Scottish society. By 1153, the local feudal courts had been established. Depending on the part of Scotland where the cause originated, justice might also be available from the local baron or lord of regality, sitting with the king's authority. Parties often found these courts ineffectual. Appeal of the decisions of local courts lay to the king and the Lords of Council, sitting together as the King's Council, or the Parliament of Scotland. The burden on these bodies of hearing appeals led to a growing effort to divest their judicial functions.

James I decided that a Session would be held periodically to hear appeals and decide cases. It came to be known as the Auld Session and sat three times a year, comprising the Lord Chancellor and "certain discreet persons of the Three Estates" as the Lords of Session. The Sessions had universal jurisdiction to hear disputes formerly arguable to the king's Council. According to the Stair Memorial Encyclopedia, they were so named because the Sessions were "a court and[…] the term 'session' was used to distinguish this new court from the royal court which was peripatetic, whereas the Session sat at such places as the king appointed."

By 1438, the Session was convening only yearly and it ceased altogether at a time between 1457 and 1468, with its function transferring back to the king's council and decided by the Lords of Council. The voluntary and unpaid nature of the office of Lord of Session was likely responsible for the Auld Session's failure. The work of the Session continued under the auspices of the king's council and in 1491, an act proclaimed that "the Chancellor with certain Lords of Council or else the Lords of Session sit for the administration of justice thrice each year… so that justice may be put to due execution to all parties complaining".

These sittings, or 'sessions', became more regular. Edinburgh was fixed as the location for the sessions, addressing a frustrating feature of the royal courts – litigants would summon an opponent to appear at one place on one date, but by that day the king may have decided to move onto another location. The summons would fail and the litigant would have to spend considerable money both following the court and issuing a fresh summons. The Lords of Council and the Lords of Session became commingled, and the modern court's judges are still styled Lords of Council and Session.

In 1531, it was decided to create a permanent, dedicated, national court of Scotland. James V obtained a papal bull in 1531 and established the College of Justice in 1532, basing it on the Parisian parlement. The council lords became members of the College of Justice and judges of the new Court of Session. The Lord Chancellor of Scotland presided over the court.