Definition
"Of justice" is a qualifying phrase used in Scottish legal nomenclature to describe the judges of the Court of Session, Scotland's supreme civil court. The Lords of Session bear the formal designation "Lords of Justice," and the phrase "of justice" operates as a title modifier distinguishing these judicial officers by their specific institutional role within the Scottish court system.
The phrase functions as a title element rather than a standalone legal concept. It does not describe a doctrine, cause of action, or procedural mechanism. Its legal significance is purely institutional and honorific, identifying a defined class of judicial officers under Scots law.
Why It Matters in Research
Researchers encountering the phrase "of justice" in historical Scottish legal sources should treat it as a title fragment, not as a substantive legal term. It most commonly appears in the abbreviated form of judicial designations—"Lord of Justice," "Lords of Justice Clerk," or in the fuller institutional name "Court of Justiciary"—and confusion between these closely related designations is common in older records.
The phrase also appears in the compound title "Lord Justice-General" and "Lord Justice-Clerk," both of which are senior offices in the Scottish judiciary. These titles use "justice" similarly but refer to the High Court of Justiciary, Scotland's supreme criminal court, rather than the Court of Session. Researchers working with Scottish criminal records must distinguish between the civil Lords of Session and the criminal Lords of Justiciary, as the institutional lineages and jurisdictions are distinct.
In English and American sources, the phrase "of justice" appears in entirely different constructions—"court of justice," "minister of justice," "obstruction of justice"—with no connection to the Scottish titular use. Cross-jurisdictional searching on this phrase without limiting to Scottish sources will return a high volume of irrelevant results.
The 1540 Act cited by Rapalje & Lawrence (Act 1540, c. 93) is a foundational reference point. Researchers tracing the formal statutory origin of the designation for the Lords of Session should look to this early parliamentary enactment. However, the institutional history of the Court of Session predates codified title conventions, so records earlier than 1540 may use variant designations.
Historical Dictionary Support
Both Rapalje & Lawrence and Bouvier's are in complete agreement: the phrase "of justice" in its technical legal usage identifies the judges of the Court of Session in Scotland. Bouvier's entry is a near-verbatim compression of Rapalje & Lawrence, adding nothing independently. Neither source elaborates on the historical development of the title, the relationship to the High Court of Justiciary, or the distinction between civil and criminal judicial designations in Scotland—all points a researcher would need to use this term accurately.
Rapalje & Lawrence's inclusion of a cross-reference to "SENATUS" in the same passage is an artifact of alphabetical proximity in the original dictionary rather than a conceptual link; the Roman law term has no substantive connection to the Scottish title.
Neither dictionary acknowledges the broader English-language use of "of justice" as a modifying phrase (as in "court of justice" or "obstruction of justice"), which reflects the narrowness of the entry's focus. Researchers should not infer from these entries that "of justice" as a phrase is exclusively or primarily a Scottish title—that is simply the scope of the historical dictionaries' coverage.
Jurisdictional Note
This usage is specific to Scots law. English law uses "Justice" as a standalone title for judges of the King's Bench Division and Supreme Court, and American federal law designates Supreme Court members as "Justices," but neither system uses "of justice" as a title modifier in the Scottish sense. Researchers must confine this definition to Scottish institutional sources.
Encyclopedia Cross-Reference
The Law Mind Criminal Law Encyclopedia: Obstruction of Justice (18 USC 1501-1521) — for the unrelated but commonly searched modern use of "justice" as a noun in American federal criminal law.