High Court of Justiciary
The High Court of Justiciary, often referred to simply as the High Court, is the supreme criminal court in Scotland.[1]
The High Court had its origins in the office of king’s justice or justiciar, which emerged in the 12th century. The justiciars held court in each sheriffdom, ‘on ayre’ (circuit), and in the 15th century there were attempts to hold these more regularly.[2] These justice ayres heard both criminal and civil cases, including the four pleas of the crown (murder, robbery, rape and arson) and appeals from the sheriff courts. From the 14th century there were two justiciars, covering the north and south of Scotland but in the early 16th century these two offices were combined into the Lord Justice General and from 1524 the court was based in Edinburgh to hear criminal cases. Its effectiveness was limited by the power of local nobility, franchise courts as well as form the King and Privy Council. The Campbells, Earls and Dukes of Argyll, for example, held the office of Justiciar-General for the Sheriffdom of Argyll and Tarbert and the Hebridean Isles until 1748, having previously held the office of Lord Justice General on a hereditary basis.
The High Court of Justiciary was established as a separate court from the Court of Session in 1672 to hear criminal cases.[3] It consisted of the Lord Justice General, the Lord Justice Clerk and five Lords of Session, and it sat in Edinburgh but was to hold circuit courts annually, and from 1747, bi-annually. The circuits were initially set up to cover the north, sitting in Perth, Aberdeen and Inverness; the south, sitting in Dumfries and Jedburgh; and the west, sitting in Glasgow, Ayr and Stirling. This was adjusted in 1748 to include a sitting at Inverary as part of the western circuit, with Ayr moving into the southern circuit. Sittings at Dundee were added to the northern circuit in 1881. After 1887, the Lord Advocate could call for special sittings of the High Court at any convenient time or place as required and this led to the effective demise of the bi-annual circuit system. Instead, the High Court sits in Edinburgh, Glasgow and other towns on circuit, as and when required.[4]
The High Court hears all murder, rape and treason cases and generally any criminal cases where the penalty on conviction is potentially more than the penalty that a sheriff court can impose. The High Court also acts as the court of appeal from the sheriff courts as well as from its own trials.
The records of the High Court are held by the National Records of Scotland and further details can be found in the NRS online catalogue by searching for the phrase ‘High Court of Justiciary’ (reference code JC).
Contributors: Elspeth Reid, Alison Rosie (2023)
Related Knowledge Base entries
Bibliography
Scottish Record Office, Guide to the National Archives of Scotland (HMSO, 1996)
Dickinson, W. Croft, ‘The High Court of Justiciary’ in An Introduction to Scottish Legal History ed. by G. H. C. Paton (Stair Society, 1958), pp. 408-12
Longmore, B., ‘The High Court of Justiciary Databases: a ‘Solemn Path’ through Crime’ Scottish Archives 10 (2004) pp. 39-54
National Records of Scotland Research Guide – Crime and Criminals <https://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/research/guides/crime-and-criminals> [accessed 26 April 2024]
The Laws of Scotland: The Stair Memorial Encyclopaedia, 2nd re-issue Vol 6 (Butterworths, 2023)
References
[1] Constitutional Reform Act 2005 (c.4); Scotland Act 2012 (c. 11) s. 35.
[2] W. Croft Dickinson, ‘The High Court of Justiciary’ in An Introduction to Scottish Legal History ed. by G. H. C. Paton (Stair Society, 1958), pp. 408-12 (p. 408)
[3] Courts Act, 1672 (c.40).
[4] Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1887 (50 & 51 Vict.c.35); Scottish Record Office Guide to the National Archives of Scotland (HMSO, 1996), pp. 120-22.