Civil Courts in Scotland

The main civil courts are the sheriff courts and the Court of Session. The civil jurisdiction of the sheriff court extends to most kinds of action and is normally unlimited by the value of the case. Much of the work is done by the sheriff, against whose decisions an appeal may be made to the sheriff principal or directly to the Court of Session.

The Court of Session sits only in Edinburgh, and in general has juris­diction to deal with all kinds of action. The main exception is an action exclusive to the sheriff court, where the value claimed is less than a set amount. It is divided into two parts: the Outer House, a court of first in­stance, and the Inner House, mainly an appeal court. The Inner House is divided into two divisions of equal status, each consisting of four judg­es — the first division being presided over by the Lord President and the second division, by the Lord Justice Clerk. Appeals to the Inner House may be made from the Outer House and from the sheriff court. From the Inner House an appeal may go to the House of Lords. The judges of the Court of Session are the same as those of the High Court of Justiciary. The Lord President of the Court of Session holds the office of Lord Jus­tice General in the High Court of Justiciary.

The Scottish Land Court is a special court, which deals exclusively with matters concerning agriculture. Its chairman has the status and ten­ure of a judge of the Court of Session and its other members are lay spe­cialists in agriculture.