Extraordinary Lords of Session were lay members of the Court of Session in Scotland from 1532 to 1762, and were part of the historical judiciary of Scotland.
When the Court of Session was founded in 1532, it consisted of the Lord President, 14 Ordinary Lords and three or four Extraordinary Lords. The Extraordinary Lords were nominees of the Monarch of Scotland, and did not need to be legally qualified; Extraordinary Lords were unsalaried, and free to sit or not as they pleased. This may have been a device to conciliate the barons, but it facilitated royal interference in the work of the courts, and the Extraordinary Lords tended to sit only in cases where they had a personal interest.
The number of Extraordinary Lords rose to eight in 1553 but, after protest, was reduced to four and continued at around that level until 1723 when it was provided that no future vacancies should be filled. Archbishop Burnet was the last cleric to hold judicial office, being an Extraordinary Lord from 1664 to 1668, and John Hay, 4th Marquess of Tweeddale was the last Extraordinary Lord, holding office from 1721 to 1762. The practice of appointing Extraordinary Lords ceased in 1721, and the office of Extraordinary Lord was abolished by the Section 2 of the Court of Session Act 1723. Section 1 of the same restated that Ordinary Lords of Session should be legally qualified."When the four present Extraordinary Lords of Session shall become vacant, no Presentation shall be made by the King to supply such Vacancy.":
Extraordinary Lords of Session
1532: Alexander Stewart, Bishop of Moray 1532: John, Lord Hay of Yester 1532: John, Lord Lindsay 1532: William, Lord Herries 1532: John, Lord Erskine 1533: James Stewart, Abbot of Dryburgh 1533: Alexander Hamilton, Abbot of Kilwinning 1533: Robert, Lord Maxwell 1533: Hugh, Lord Somerville 1533: George, Lord Seton 1533: Sir James Hamilton of Finnart 1534: James Hay, Bishop of Ross 1539: William Ruthven, 2nd Lord Ruthven 1539: John, Lord Erskine 1541: William Keith, 4th Earl Marischal 1541: William, Earl of Rothes 1541: Robert Maxwell, 5th Lord Maxwell 1541: John Lindsay, 5th Lord Lindsay 1542: George Seton, 6th Lord Seton 1542: Alexander, Lord Livingston 1542: James Ogilvy, 4th Lord Ogilvy of Airlie 1544: John, Lord Innermeath 1544: Alexander, Lord Livingston 1544: James, Lord Ogilvie 1546: Gilbert, Earl of Cassilis 1546: Henry Lord Methven 1549: Sir George Douglas of Pittendreich 1550: Alexander Livingston of Dunipace 1554: Sir Richard Maitland of Lethington 1554: Adam Livingstone of Dunipace 1561: William Keith, 4th Earl Marischal 1561: William Maitland of Lethington 1561: James Balfour, parson of Flisk 1562: John Wood of Tilliedavy 1564: Adam Bothwell, Bishop of Orkney 1565: Alexander, Bishop of Galloway 1566: Gavin Hamilton, Commendator of Kilwinning 1567: Sir John Wishart of Pitarrow 1569: Mark Kerr, Commendator of Newbattle 1573: Archibald Campbell, Earl of Argyll 1573: Robert Boyd, Lord Boyd 1578: John Stewart, Earl of Atholl 1578: Patrick Gray, Master of Gray 1584: James Stewart, Lord Doune 1584: John Graham, Earl of Montrose 1584: Mark Kerr, Commendator of Newbattle 1586: Alexander Seton, Prior of Pluscardine, later Lord Fyvie, Earl Dunfermline 1588: Sir John Seton of Barns 1592: Thomas Hamilton, later Earl of Haddington 1593: William Stewart, Commendator of Blantyre, later Lord Blantyre 1594: Sir Robert Melville, later Lord Melville 1596: Peter Rollock, Bishop of Dunkeld 1599: Alexander Elphinstone, Master of Elphinstone 1601: Sir Robert Melville 1608: Sir Alexander Drummond 1610: John Spottiswoode, Archbishop of Glasgow 1610: Alexander Livingston 1616: Sir George Hay 1616: David Carnegie, Lord Carnegie 1620: John Erskine, Lord Erskine 1622: Sir Robert Spottiswood 1623: Archibald Napier 1626: Sir Archibald Acheson 1626:Patrick Lindsay, Bishop of Ross 1628: William Graham, Earl of Menteith 1628: Sir Andrew Kerr 1629: John Scot 1630: John Stewart, Earl of Traquair 1631: William Alexander, Viscount Stirling 1633: Sir John Hay 1633: John Maxwell, Bishop of Ross 1634: Archibald, Earl of Argyll 1635: William Alexander, Lord Alexander of Tullibody 1639: Archibald, Lord Angus 1641: John Campbell, 1st Earl of Loudoun 1641: John, Lord Lindsay 1641: John Elphinstone, 3rd Lord Balmerino 1649: James Elphinstone, 1st Lord Coupar 1649: John Kennedy, 6th Earl of Cassilis 1661: John Lindsay, 17th Earl of Crawford 1661: John, Earl of Rothes 1661: John, Earl of Lauderdale 1662: John Middleton, 1st Earl of Middleton 1664: John Hay, 2nd Earl of Tweeddale 1664: Alexander Burnet, Archbishop of Glasgow 1667: Alexander Bruce, 2nd Earl of Kincardine 1668: James Graham, 2nd Marquess of Montrose 1669: John, Earl of Dunfermline 1673: John, Earl of Atholl 1674: Archibald Campbell, 9th Earl of Argyll 1680: Alexander Stuart, 5th Earl of Moray 1681: William, Earl of Queensberry 1682: James, Earl of Perth 1684: Charles Middleton, 2nd Earl of Middleton 1686: William Douglas-Hamilton, Duke of Hamilton 1686: Patrick, Earl of Strathmore 1693: William Douglas, 1st Duke of Queensberry 1693: William Johnstone, 1st Marquess of Annandale 1693: Patrick, Lord Polwarth, later Earl of Marchmont 1693: William Douglas-Hamilton, Duke of Hamilton 1694: Archibald, Earl of Argyll 1696: James Douglas, 2nd Duke of Queensberry 1699: Hugh Campbell, 3rd Earl of Loudoun 1704: John Campbell, 2nd Duke of Argyll 1708: Archibald, Earl of Ilay 1712: John Murray, 1st Duke of Atholl 1721: John Hay, 4th Marquess of Tweeddale
See also
An historical account of the senators of the College of Justice : from its institution in MDXXXII, by George Brunton, pp xlvii-xlviii
References