Definition
The Lord Justice Clerk is the second-highest judicial officer in Scotland, ranking immediately below the Lord President of the Court of Session. The office holder serves as Vice-President of the Court of Session, Scotland's supreme civil court, and simultaneously holds the position of second most senior judge of the High Court of Justiciary, Scotland's supreme criminal court. In practice, the Lord Justice Clerk presides over the Second Division of the Inner House of the Court of Session and plays a central role in the administration of criminal appeals in the High Court.
The office is one of the oldest in Scots law and carries both judicial and, historically, administrative functions. In the modern Scottish legal system, the Lord Justice Clerk is appointed by the Crown on the recommendation of the First Minister of Scotland, following consultation with the Lord President.
Why It Matters in Research
Historical sources treat this office with notable brevity — both Black's and Bouvier's define it in a single sentence as "the second judicial officer in Scotland." Researchers relying on those entries alone will miss the office's substantial development over several centuries and its dual role across civil and criminal jurisdiction.
The title creates a potential research trap: "Clerk" in the modern title does not signal a clerical or administrative subordinate role. The office evolved from an administrative position associated with the keeping of court records into a senior judicial office of the highest rank. Early sources that describe the Lord Justice Clerk in administrative rather than judicial terms reflect a historical reality that no longer applies.
Researchers working in Scottish legal history should note that the relationship between this office and the High Court of Justiciary is distinct from its relationship to the Court of Session. The criminal jurisdiction dimension — often underemphasized in general legal dictionaries — is significant for research touching on Scots criminal procedure and appellate history.
Cross-reference with the Lord President of the Court of Session is essential: the two offices together define the apex of the Scottish judicial hierarchy, and sources discussing one frequently implicate the other. The entry for Lord Keeper in historical dictionaries (including the note in Black's, which pivots abruptly to English office-holding after mentioning the Scottish judicial officer) reflects the tendency of English-language legal dictionaries to treat Scots law offices as secondary or to conflate the Scottish and English systems.
Historical Dictionary Support
Both Black's and Bouvier's agree on the core proposition: the Lord Justice Clerk is the second judicial officer in Scotland. Beyond that, neither source elaborates. Black's entry is particularly unhelpful to the researcher: after identifying the Lord Justice Clerk in a single sentence, it pivots immediately to the English office of Lord Keeper and the Lord Chancellor, with a citation to Comyns' Digest — material wholly unrelated to Scots law. This structural oddity in Black's reflects the dictionary's predominantly English and Anglo-American orientation and should not be read as suggesting any legal connection between the Lord Justice Clerk and the English Lord Keeper.
Bouvier's entry, though equally brief, at least confines itself to the Scots law context. Neither dictionary captures the office's dual civil and criminal jurisdiction, its administrative evolution, or its modern statutory footing. For historical depth on this office, researchers should look beyond general Anglo-American legal dictionaries to sources specifically addressing Scots institutional law.
Jurisdictional Note
This office is specific to Scotland and has no direct counterpart in English, Welsh, or Northern Irish law. Researchers applying English legal concepts of judicial hierarchy to Scottish materials should treat the Scottish system as a distinct jurisdiction with its own court structure, titles, and institutional history.