Court of Session

The Court of Session is the highest national court of Scotland in relation to civil cases, sitting in Parliament House in Edinburgh. It was established in 1532, when James V created the College of Justice on the model of the Parisian parlement, to take over the judicial functions that had until then been exercised by the royal council. Its work is divided between the Outer House, where a single judge hears cases at first instance, and the Inner House, which hears appeals from the Outer House and from other courts and tribunals in Scotland. Only Scottish advocates and solicitor-advocates may argue cases before it. Its judges are styled Lords of Council and Session and are led by the Lord President, who also heads the Scottish judiciary. Early judges recorded their decisions and so helped shape the distinct character of Scots law, and the court was preserved as part of Scotland's separate legal system by the Acts of Union in 1707. Criminal cases belong instead to its sister court, the High Court of Justiciary.