History
The College was founded in 1532 by King James V following a bull issued by Pope Clement VII on 15 September 1531. It provided for 10,000 gold ducats to be contributed by the Scottish bishoprics and monastic institutions for the maintenance of its members, one half of whom would be members of the "ecclesiastical dignity".
The Parliament of Scotland passed an Act on 17 May 1532 authorising the creation of the college with 14 members, half spiritual, half temporal, plus a president and the Lord Chancellor. The college convened for the first time on 27 May 1532, in the royal presence.
Supplementing the 14 ordinary lords, who were called Senators, were an indefinite number of supernumerary judges called extraordinary lords.
The founding members of the College of Justice were:
- the Lord Chancellor, Gavin Dunbar, Archbishop of Glasgow
- the Lord President, Alexander Myln, Abbot of Cambuskenneth
- Richard Bothwell, Rector of Ashkirk
- John Dingwell, Provost of Trinity College
- Henry White, Rector of Finevin
- William Gibson, Dean of Restalrig
- Thomas Hay, Dean of Dunbar
- Robert Reid, Abbot of Kinloss
- George Ker, Provost of Dunglass
- Sir William Scott of Balweary
- Sir John Campbell of Lundy
- Sir James Colville of Easter Wemyss
- Sir Adam Otterburn of Auldhame and Redhall, King's Advocate
- Nicholas Crawford of Oxengangs
- Francis Bothwell of Edinburgh (brother of Richard)
- James Lawson of Edinburgh
- Sir James Foulis of Colinton (He was added at the first meeting of the court when the king added him as a "Lord of the Session".
The College at its foundation dealt with underdeveloped civil law. It did not dispense justice in criminal matters as that was an area of the law reserved to the King's justice, through the justiciars (hence the High Court of the Justiciairy), the Barony Courts and the Commission of Justiciary. The High Court of Justiciary was only incorporated into the College of Justice in 1672.
Initially, there was little legal literature. Acts of the Parliament of Scotland and the books of the Old Law as well as Roman Law and Canon law texts were about all to which the pursuer and defender could refer. It was only after the establishment of the court that this situation improved, with judges noting their decisions in books of practicks.
The Treaty of Union 1707 with England preserved the Scottish Legal System. Article XIX provided "that the Court of Session or College of Justice do after the Union and notwithstanding thereof remain in all time coming within Scotland, and that the Court of Justiciary do also after the Union ... remain in all time coming."
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