Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Email
Answers.com

Scottish law

 
Britannica Concise Encyclopedia: Scottish law
 
Home > Library > Miscellaneous > Britannica Concise Encyclopedia

Legal practices and institutions of Scotland. When the English and Scottish parliaments were joined in 1707, the legal systems of the two countries were very dissimilar. Scotland had supplemented its customary law with civil-law principles adapted from the systems of France and Holland. Its assimilation of English law following the union was significant, particularly in the area of mercantile law. The supreme Scottish civil court is the Court of Sessions, composed of 18 judges and divided into Outer and Inner houses. The supreme criminal court is the High Court of Justiciary. Below these two bodies are six sheriffdoms, each with its own sheriff court, an institution of great antiquity. Lesser cases are heard by district courts.

For more information on Scottish law, visit Britannica.com.

Search unanswered questions...

Enter a word or phrase...
All Community Q&A Reference topics

 
 

 

Copyrights:

Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. © 2006 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more

Related answers
» More
 
Answer these
» More

Mentioned in

» More» More