AI-transcribed

The Supreme Civil Court of Scotland. It consists of thirteen Judges, or "Lords of Session," and is divided into the Outer and Inner House. Five Judges, called Lords Ordinary, constitute the Outer House, each of whom sits separately, and before any one of whom most actions may be commenced. Unless it is of unusual difficulty, in which case the Lord Ordinary may "report" (transfer) it to the Inner House, he hears it fully and pronounces judgment. Against the judgment an appeal lies to the Inner House. The Inner House sits in two Divisions, the First and Second, four Judges sitting in each, and each Division being of co-extensive and independent jurisdiction. In very difficult cases either Division may consult the other Judges, or order the case to be heard before the whole Judges, which is called a "Hearing in presence," and the case is then decided by the opinion of the majority. From either Division an appeal lies only to the House of Lords. Appeals to the Court of Session from inferior Courts may generally be taken either before one of the Lords Ordinary (whose decision in that case is final), or before either Division of the Inner House. In all cases the plaintiff or appellant selects the Lord Ordinary and the Division to which the cause is to be attached.

Definition source
Kinnear, J. B., Digest of House of Lords Cases Decided on Appeal from Scotland, 1709-1864 — Glossary of Scottish Law Terms (Edinburgh, 1865). Public domain.

Legal Subject: Court of Session

Case Date Legal Subject Abstract
Marshall v. Youngson 1798 Procurator, Court of Session, Agent, Interlocutor, Clerks of Session, Jurisdiction James Marshall, Writer to the Signet, petitioned the Court to alter a recent interlocutor respecting the offices held by Alexander Youngson. Youngson answered, defending his concurrent practice as procurator before the High Court of Admiralty and Writer to the Signet on the ground that the two roles were not incompatible. The dispute turned on whether the office of Writer to the Signet could be held consistently with acting as a procurator in the Admiralty Court.
Smyth v. Bushby 1794 Advocation, Process, Sist, Procurator, Adjudication, Court of Session In the bill of advocation between Smyth and Bushby, the sheriff-clerks of Scotland moved the Court to recall an order that had permitted transmission of inferior court processes to the bill-chamber without warrant or security. The Clerks to the Bills opposed this relief, contending that the practice of granting two successive orders for production of inferior court process in such bills had been uniform since 1765.