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
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
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
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 Rt Hon. Lord Armstrong | 26 May 2031 | 23 June 2023 | 15 February 2013 | Second |
| 12 | The Rt Hon. Lord Beckett | 1 July 2023 | 17 May 2016 | Second |
Outer House
| 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
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 |