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The Lord President of the Court of Session is head of the judiciary in Scotland and presiding judge of the College of Justice and Court of Session. She or he is also Lord Justice General of Scotland and head of the High Court of Justiciary, the offices having been combined in 1836. She or he is a Senator of the College of Justice.

The office of Lord Justice General is derived from the justiciars who were appointed from the twelfth century, and the current title dates from the late fifteenth century. From around 1514 it was held heritably by the Earl of Argyll until it was resigned to the Crown in 1628. It was first listed as a Great Officer of State in 1911.

The current Lord President, Lord Hamilton, was sworn in on 2 December 2005.

Their deputy is the Lord Justice Clerk.

Office Holders

Lord Justice General

partial list

The office was combined with that of Lord President on the death of the Duke of Montrose in 1836.

Lord President

  • 1532-1543: Alexander Milne, abbot of Cambuskenneth
  • 1543-1558: Robert Reid, Bishop of Orkney
  • 1558-1565: Henry Sinclair, Bishop of Ross
  • 1565-1566: John Sinclair, Bishop of Brechin
  • 1566-1593: William Baillie of Provand
  • 1593-1604: Alexander Seton, Lord Fyvie
  • 1605-1609: James Elphinstone, Lord Balmerino
  • 1609-1616: John Preston of Fenton Barns
  • 1616-1625: Thomas Hamilton, 1st Earl of Haddington
incomplete

See also

Scottish court systems | Scottish judges | Political office-holders in Scotland | Lists of Scottish people | Positions within the British Royal Household

 

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "Lord President of the Court of Session".

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