Legal History of Scotland - Wars of Independence

Wars of Independence

During the period of English control over Scotland there is some evidence to suggest that King Edward I attempted to abolish Scottish laws that were contrary to English law, as he had done in Wales. King Edward I also reformed the legal institutions of Scotland during this period with the organisation of a Scottish government in September 1305. He also sent out pairs of justices, one Englishman and one Scotsman, to oversee different regions in Scotland.

During the Wars of Scottish Independence legal developments in Scotland appeared to have slowed, likely affected by the widespread social turmoil. There is some evidence that there were attempts to codify the law of the time and a small number of reforming statutes were passed by the Parliament of Scotland evidencing at least some concern for remedying deficiencies in the law. Under Robert the Bruce the importance of the Parliament of Scotland grew as he called them more frequently and its composition shifted to include more representation from the burghs and lesser landowners. In 1399, a General Council established that the King should hold a parliament at least once a year for the next three years so, "that his subjects are served by the law". In 1318, a parliament at Scone enacted a code of law that drew upon older practices, but it was also dominated by current events and focused on military matters and the conduct of the war. Nevertheless, the Act also codified procedures for criminal trials and protections for vassals from ejection from the land.

Scotland's three oldest universities, the University of St Andrews, the University of Glasgow and the University of Aberdeen were also founded following the wars and the Education Act 1496 was passed requiring those who administered justice in Scotland to learn Latin and study law for at least 3 years at school.

From the 14th century we have surviving examples of early Scottish legal literature, such as the Regiam Majestatem (on procedure at the royal courts) and the Quoniam Attachiamenta (on procedure at the baron courts). Both of these important texts, as they were copied, had provisions from Roman law and the ius commune inserted or developed, demonstrating the influence which both these sources had on Scots law.