Scottish Blog

The Scottish law and Scottish courts system is unique within the United Kingdom.

The first unique element of the Scottish courts system is Scots law. Across the United Kingdom there are three separate law and courts systems, these are: the British and Welsh systems, the Irish system and the Scottish system of law and Scottish courts. Between these zones there is no unified judicial system, although there are some exceptions to this rule such as immigration and driving laws.

As unique as Scots law is across the United Kingdom, so are the Scottish courts. These include the Privy Council, House of Lords, Court of Session, Sheriff Court in the civil courts. The criminal courts consist of the District court, the Sheriff court and the High Court of Justiciary. There are a number of specialized courts in the Scottish courts system, these include the Court of the Lord Lyon, which deals with Scottish heraldry and Scottish symbols. There is also the Scottish court for children’s hearings.

Amongst Scottish courts, the House of Lords is the highest court in Scotland. Cases in the House of Lords are generally sat upon by Law Lords. Before this the most important Scottish court is the Court of Session, this is both the court of first instance and also the first court of appeals.