The Office of Senator of the College of Justice

Judges sitting in the Supreme Courts are known as Senators of the College of Justice. There are currently a maximum of 36 senators.

In Scotland (and distinct from the UK Supreme Court), the Supreme Courts are the Court of Session, which deals with civil matters and the High Court of Justiciary, which is the senior criminal court in Scotland. 

The Lord President is the most senior judge in Scotland and has a deputy,  the Lord Justice Clerk who is the second most senior judge. The role of the Lord President includes regulatory responsibilities. 

Eligibility

To be eligible to apply for the office of senator of the College of Justice, you must be one of the following:

• A Sheriff Principal or a Sheriff who has exercised these functions continuously for a period of at least five years
• An Advocate of five years standing *
• A Solicitor who has had rights of audience before either the Court of Session or the High Court of Justiciary continuously for a period of not less than five years
• A Writer to the Signet of ten years standing who has passed the examination in civil law two years before taking up their seat on the Bench

 * PLEASE NOTE that there is no requirement in relation to the eligibility of advocates that they be an advocate immediately prior to their application or that the minimum five years standing as an advocate be continuous. 

The Court of Session

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 two 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. 

The Lord President presides over the First Division and, as Lord Justice General, in a number of significant criminal appeals. The Lord President is the chairing member of the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service Board. They also are the head of the Scottish Tribunals in terms of the Tribunals (Scotland) Act 2014. 

The Lord Justice Clerk presides in the Second Division. Traditionally the Lord Justice Clerk has particular responsibility for criminal law and procedure. They chair the appellate sittings of the High Court in many important cases. They also deputise for the Lord President in administrative matters as required.

There is a maximum of 12 judges in the Inner House. The remaining judges sit in the Outer House. Outer House judges are occasionally asked to sit in the Inner House, especially if the appeal concerns a matter within their particular expertise

Skills and Requirements

The essential requirement for the role of a judge is to possess the ability and legal standing to perform the functions of the office. This requires knowledge and experience in the branch of the law in which they have regularly practised, but also demonstrate the ability to work effectively in other branches of the law that may arise in the course of their judicial duties, including new or emerging areas.

Though these skills are essential, any judicial post holder must in addition possess a range of personal and judicial qualities in order to successfully perform the functions of the office. A link to further information about these qualities can be found here.

Working as a Senator

The Court of Session has special provisions for dealing with commercial actions to enable specialist judges to handle cases quickly and flexibly. Examples are banking and insurance transactions, contracts for the sale or supply of goods or services (national or international) and commercial leases. The court also deals with disputes about building contracts, partnership agreements, professional negligence, and business property.

A newly appointed judge will begin work in the Outer House of the Court of Session and the High Court. The precise division of work will depend upon circumstances and pressure of business. At present, there is a high level of demand in the first instance courts of the High Court. All new judges can expect to conduct criminal trials. Those from a civil background will have the opportunity to preside for prolonged periods in the commercial, family and other courts in the Outer House. The workload of a judge is challenging, but is stimulating and rewarding. The decisions of judges on controversial matters can attract substantial, and often critical, scrutiny in the media. Judges are expected to be sufficiently robust in character to withstand public criticism, even if ill-informed.

Judges will be expected to conduct some, particularly procedural, hearings remotely.  For Outer House procedural business this will often be by video conferencing. Technology presents judges with the opportunity to widen public access and make the courts more visible and accessible therefore the ability to master digital technology is an important tool in a modern judge’s armoury.

In addition to their judicial work, judges may be given responsibility for some administrative duties. 

Other Duties

In addition to their judicial work, judges may be given responsibility for certain administrative duties. The main administrative duties are:

• Administrative Judge
• President of the Scottish Tribunals
• Supervising family or personal injury litigation
• Supervising the business of the commercial court
• Chair and Vice Chair of the Judicial Institute
• Chair of the Scottish Law Commission (part-time)
• Member of the Judicial Appointments Board for Scotland
• Member of the Parole Board
• Member of the Scottish Civil Justice Council
• Member of the Criminal Courts’ Rules Council
• Member of the Scottish Sentencing Council
• Deputy Chairman of the Boundaries Commission for Scotland
• Member of the International Hague Network of Judges and family liaison judge for the European Civil Judicial Network
• The Judicial Council for Scotland and its Committees. 

Finally, judges promote public understanding of the law and the justice system by giving lectures and speeches in the universities or at professional conferences. They give lectures at judicial training events. They assist in international programmes for judicial exchanges. Judges represent Scotland and the United Kingdom at judicial exchanges and international meetings.