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Lord Justice Clerk

 
British History: lord justice clerk
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Scottish legal post. Originally the lord justice clerk of Scotland was clerk and assessor to the Justiciar's Court. The court, usually presided over by peers, had professional lawyers as clerks. Gradually the post increased in importance and by the late 16th cent. the holder was always a member of the Privy Council. By the late 17th cent. he had become one of the judges in the court itself. Today the lord justice clerk is the holder of the second highest judicial office in Scotland.

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Scots law
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This article is part of the series:
Law of Scotland

The Lord Justice Clerk is the second most senior judge in Scotland, after the Lord President of the Court of Session.

The holder has the title in both the Court of Session and the High Court of Justiciary and is in charge of the Second Division of Judges in the Court of Session. The office is one of the Great Officers of State of Scotland.

History

Originally clericus justiciarie or Clerk to the Court of Justiciary, the counterpart in the criminal courts of the Lord Clerk Register, the status of the office increased over time and the Justice-Clerk came to claim a seat on the Bench by practice and custom. This was recognised by the Privy Council of Scotland in 1663 and the Lord Justice-Clerk became the effective head of the reformed High Court of Justiciary in 1672 when the court was reconstituted.

The Lord Justice Clerk now rarely presides at criminal trials in the High Court, with most of his time being spent dealing with civil and criminal appeals and appeals against the grant or refusal of bail.

Office-holders

partial list

References

  1. ^ a b "Scottish Judicial Appointments". 10 Downing Street. 2001-11-13. http://www.number10.gov.uk/output/Page2750.asp. Retrieved 2008-07-16. 
  • For listings to 1637 (may be wanting) refer The Staggering State of the Scots' Statesmen, by Sir John Scot of Scotstarvet, Director of Chancery, Edinburgh, 1754, p.183.
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High Court of Justiciary
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British History. A Dictionary of British History. Copyright © 2001, 2004 by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Lord Justice Clerk".  Read more